Across France and Spain, professionals supporting women victims of domestic violence were identifying the same challenge: although services typically offered assistance to mothers and to children, the relationship between them—also damaged by violence—received too little focused support. This gap motivated three organisations to create the Erasmus+ Hyphen project: Solidarité femmes 13 (France), Deméter por la Igualdad, and Egeria Desarrollo Social (Spain). Their objective was to examine the effects of domestic violence on the mother–child bond, exchange professional methods across borders, and develop new tools for frontline practitioners.

Running from September 2023 to June 2024, the project combined action research with professional mobility, enabling teams from both countries to analyse practice together and create shared resources.

Understanding the Impact on the Bond

The Franco-Spanish research conducted by the partners highlighted several key points:

• violence can affect the bond even during pregnancy, particularly when the pregnancy unfolds in a climate of fear or control;
• children develop diverse coping mechanisms—including withdrawal, hypervigilance, aggression, or protective behaviour toward the mother;
• mothers may underestimate the child’s exposure or feel constrained by guilt, fear, or conflicting emotions;
• the bond can be weakened, disrupted or confused, requiring specific support to help it recover.

The final research article documents these dynamics, combining social analysis, theoretical perspectives, and clinical examples from both countries.

Cross-Border Collaboration Through Residencies

A central feature of the project was the organisation of two working residencies—one in Málaga, one in Marseille—bringing together staff from all three partner organisations.

Málaga (Spain)

During the first residency, the French and Spanish teams worked on:

• analysing clinical cases involving mothers and children,
• discussing trauma and attachment processes,
• harmonising methodological approaches,
• validating the structure of the research publication.

These sessions allowed partners to compare their respective legal frameworks, intervention tools, and child-protection procedures.

Marseille (France)

The second residency focused on finalising project outputs through hands-on collaborative work. Activities included:

• co-writing sections of the research article and refining its analysis;
• developing the structure and content of the training module;
• a joint workshop based on the short film “Tom & Léna”, used to discuss the lived experience of children exposed to violence;
• a presentation of Solidarité femmes 13’s prevention tools and youth outreach work;
• a visit to the “Auberge Marseillaise”, a shelter for highly vulnerable women, to explore how mother–child relationships evolve in emergency accommodation contexts.

Both residencies strengthened mutual understanding and allowed professionals to jointly build practical tools informed by their combined expertise.

Outputs: Research and Training

At the end of the 10-month project, the partners produced two key deliverables:

1. A trilingual research article (FR / EN / ES)

This publication analyses:

• how domestic violence affects mother–child relationships,
• how French and Spanish services address these issues,
• clinical methods and therapeutic approaches used in both countries.

2. A half-day training module for professionals

Tested and refined during the Marseille residency, the training aims to help frontline workers:

• recognise how trauma affects the maternal and child experience,
• support mothers without reinforcing guilt,
• provide appropriate space for children to express their experiences,
• understand when and how to work on the bond directly.

The training sessions organised within the project included 42 professionals dealing with the issue. These tools are now available to associations, social services, psychologists, educators, and child-protection professionals.

Strengthening Professional Practice and Service Cooperation

The project contributed to:

• greater awareness among professionals about the relational impact of domestic violence;
• improved cooperation between adult and child services;
• better recognition of children as victims in their own right;
• the development of shared training resources across both countries;
• organisational growth, as Hyphen marked Solidarité femmes 13’s first Erasmus+ KA210 project.

The organisation publicly recognised the commitment of the team members who contributed to the project’s success, reflecting the strong local engagement behind its European dimension.

A Foundation for Ongoing Work

By combining Franco-Spanish expertise, Hyphen helped place the mother–child bond at the centre of domestic violence recovery efforts. The project’s resources—now finalised—will continue to support teams in both countries and can serve as a basis for future European cooperation on the topic.

Through its collaborative approach, Hyphen demonstrates how small-scale partnerships can generate practical, transferable tools for addressing complex social issues—and contribute to safer, more inclusive environments for women and children affected by violence.