"He Did Exactly What They Probably Did to Him" : A Qualitative Study on Transgenerational Effects of Foster Care Related Experience of Violence

Until the 1980s, countless children and adolescents in Switzerland were used as cheap labour forces on farms, placed in reformatories, closed institutions or in foster families. This was part of the Swiss poverty governance. As we know today due to the social-political reappraisal and scientific investigation, many of those affected suffered greatly. They experienced physical and psychological violence, were exploited, sexually abused, subjected to drug trials or forced medication and suffered from the separation from their parents and siblings. After the years of placement, coming of age represented an abrupt transition to independence: The young adults lacked the financial resources, educational and occupational prospects and sustainable social relationships and networks needed for a successful life. They had no or difficult relationships with their families of origin. With these burdens, the affected people began to lead their lives as adults, and some started their own families. What does it mean when people who have experienced such forms of multiple violence as children and adolescents become parents? This study shows the transgenerational effects of these coercive measures in shedding light on experiences of domestic violence in the second generation. Also, this chapter deals with the question of how domestic violence can be approached in qualitative research, how this is shaped by a reciprocal vulnerability of study participant and researcher, and what can be gained in considering body and space as additional analytical dimensions. Based on these scientific insights, the importance of trauma-informed Social Work that includes a transgenera-tional perspective is pointed out.