Investigating the Readiness of Hospital Social Workers to Respond to Domestic and Family Violence

ABSTRACT

Domestic and family violence (DFV) is recognised as a health care priority. Women experiencing DFV use health services at a higher rate than the general population. Hospital social workers are an important component of a public hospital response to domestic and family violence but how prepared are they for this role? This research study explored the readiness of social workers in a Melbourne metropolitan hospital setting to respond to DFV. Results indicated that although the social workers had a knowledge base highly relevant for responding to DFV, many lacked specific knowledge of risk assessment, safety planning, legislative responsibilities, and referral pathways for support, including legal support. As a result, it was likely that they were not adequately responding, either by not recognising when they needed to, or with knowledge and confidence when they did. They also identified a range of organisational enablers, including policy, time, and safe conversation spaces.

IMPLICATIONS

• Hospital social workers have a central role to play in responding to domestic and family violence.

• Hospital social workers need to be better prepared for domestic and family violence responses.

• Social workers require ongoing training and organisational support including practice protocols and guidelines, and the provision of time and private, safe spaces for sensitive conversations to occur.

• Universities should ensure that the role of hospital social workers is considered within curriculum addressing the area of domestic and family violence (DFV).

     

Statute Definitions of Elder Abuse

ABSTRACT

Older women victims of violence by a partner or family member are more often categorized as victims of elder abuse, not victims of family violence. Their needs are assessed, if at all, by social and health service agencies, often with little knowledge or understanding of domestic violence, while domestic violence policy initiatives, advocacy, and services focus on younger women and children. A survey of domestic violence services in British Columbia and the Yukon found that women over 60 years of age were a very small fraction, generally less than two percent, of women served, and those 50 to 59 years of age were also substantially under-represented. Only four percent of respondents had special services for older women. Comments from respondents confirm that abused older women face enormous difficulties in trying to establish a safe and secure future. It was also evident that better interaction is needed between those providing support and advocacy for abused women, and those who provide health and social services for older persons. A majority of the shelters provided community education to a wide range of agencies. Most have only partial accessibility to women with mobility handicaps.     

Family violence laws: Traditional narratives and the (in)visibility of lesbian relationships and lesbian-parented families

Abstract

Feminist advocacy and activism over the last 40 years broke historic ground in shining a light on “domestic” or “family” violence, traditionally conceptualized as male violence against female intimate partners and their children. This has resulted in a large body of research, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and similar jurisdictions, around the gendered nature of family violence and violence within heterosexual relationships and heterosexual-parented families. As a consequence, the predominant narrative—in political, policy, and advocacy settings—is largely heteronormative. Less research has focused on family violence in non-heterosexual relationships. The data that do exist have employed different methodological approaches and there are limitations on the extent to which they can be compared to the data on violence within heterosexual relationships. However, the existing research does demonstrate that family violence within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities is a significant issue. Even so, the current narrative does not acknowledge this, and predominantly reflects heterosexual norms of intimate relationships and family structures in society. LGBTI relationships are described as “invisible” in policy and practice responses to family violence, due to the failure to acknowledge violence in such communities. This article explores these claims in relation to lesbian relationships in the context of Australian legislative responses to family violence. It considers the extent to which family violence laws in two Australian jurisdictions recognize and frame lesbian identity in intimate relationships and lesbian-parented families. This is considered in light of the emerging conceptualization of family violence in lesbian relationships and lesbian-parented families, as evidenced by the wider scholarly literature on the nature and dynamics of such violence.     

Violence Against Homeless Women: Safety and Social Policy

Abstract

Over the past 20 years there has been increasing understanding of the gendered nature of homelessness in Australia. Most significantly, this gendering has occurred through the acknowledgement of the links between domestic violence and homelessness and this has played out in Australian social policy through the funding of specialist domestic violence services. However, not all women are assisted by these specialist services—either because they are not homeless due to domestic violence, or because they fall through the gaps in the service system. Homelessness exposes these women to heightened vulnerability to violence. This article considers homeless women's experiences of violence and their implications for homelessness policy. Framed by Australian and Victorian social policy and drawing on a qualitative study of 29 women, all of whom had experienced violence during homelessness, the article argues that greater policy attention needs to be paid to ensuring homeless women's safety.     

Warrantless Arrest in Domestic Violence

Abstract

Legislators in the United States have responded to domestic violence by passing laws to criminalize domestic violence without empirical support of the effectiveness of this intervention. This research examines policy implementation and domestic violence arrest rates to determine the effectiveness of such legislation in Virginia. The implementation of written domestic violence policies and training for law enforcement officers was expected to increase domestic violence arrest rates. The findings show a positive impact of law enforcement training on felony (repeat offender) domestic violence arrest rates. The findings are relevant for social workers involved in policy and resource allocation for domestic violence interventions.     

Social Work in the Emergency Department—Implementation of a Domestic and Family Violence Screening Program

Abstract

Women who have experienced domestic and family violence use health services more frequently than women who have not. Early identification and intervention by the health system may reduce health problems associated with domestic and family violence and lead to savings for the health sector. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a new domestic and family violence screening program, which was based on an ecological model and introduced by a social work team in the Emergency Department of a major metropolitan hospital. The evaluation method included an audit of social work case files to assess the effect on referral rates and a survey of Emergency Department staff to obtain perceptions of the impact of the program on the staff and clients. In the 3-month period following the introduction of the program, the rate of referral to social work increased by 213%. Staff agreed that the Emergency Department is an appropriate place to ask about domestic and family violence, under certain conditions. Findings suggest that an ecological social work model provides an approach to screening for domestic and family violence that not only contributes to increased identification and supportive client interventions but may also contribute to more sustainable systemic change.     

Gendered Policies and Practices that Increase Older Men's Risk of Elder Mistreatment

SUMMARY

We aim to detail some of the ways that social policy and gendered practices put older men at risk of elder mistreatment. Research on the abuse and neglect that older adults experience has often focused on the characteristics of the victims and the dynamics within families, emphasizing factors such as the likelihood of an intergenerational cycle of violence, substance abuse and dependency, and older men's financial status as key risks in elder abuse. The effect on men from this type of analysis is that elder mistreatment remains an individual or family problem rather than being viewed as a larger societal concern. This article challenges the individualistic focus by outlining the importance of societal forces affecting older men's risk of mistreatment.     

An Exploration of Family Violence Among the Homeless

Abstract

This research found a high incidence of family violence among homeless people. The most common form of violence was physical; the least common was sexual abuse. The data also reported a high percentage of violence among homeless people confronted with mental illness. The policy and practice implications for these findings are discussed.     

Preventing Domestic Violence by Changing Australian Gender Relations: Issues and Considerations

ABSTRACT

In recent years Australian governments have significantly refocused domestic violence policies to prioritise primary prevention strategies. The objective of such strategies is to change how Australians perceive, acknowledge, and respond to domestic violence as a gender-based problem. Recognising the value of these efforts to address oppressive cultural practices, we draw attention to limitations inherent in shifting culture as a means to prevent domestic violence. We demonstrate how governments may improve policy approaches by addressing the structural inequalities that have historically forced women into positions of subordination. This will help us move toward more effective and long-term solutions to domestic violence.

IMPLICATIONS

• Australian domestic violence policy must include structural and systems changes prioritising women’s equal rights in addition to equal opportunities.

• To change cultural attitudes and behaviours, we must alter the environment in which oppressions and opportunities are located.

• Social workers can shape the debate to ensure that changing culture to prevent domestic violence is conceptualised as part of a wider social and policy change agenda.

     

The New Sisters of the Road: Homeless Women and Their Children

ABSTRACT

This article examines the growing social problem of homeless women and their children. It provides a historical perspective, reasons for the increased incidence of family homelessness, the negative effects of homelessness on women and children, and programmatic responses. It also makes recommendations for effective program services and policy reforms. It urges family social workers to adopt a policy advocacy orientation. The article concludes that there is a need for further research to separate causes from effects when studying homeless women and children, and that researchers need to attend to the significance of gender for the social problem of family homelessness.     

Family violence: Multiple levels of assessment and intervention

Abstract

Violence in the family is examined as a political, social and practice issue. The literature is reviewed with attention to varying views on the aetiology of violence in the family, including psychological, social and political perspectives. Suggesting an integrated psychosocial perspective, the author proposes concepts of power, powerlessness and effectance as useful explanatory notions in understanding the violent moment. Implications for intervention are suggested.     

Domestic Violence and Children with Disabilities: Working Towards Enhancing Social Work Practice

Abstract

Globally, domestic violence, where a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically, sexually or psychologically dominate or harm the other, is now recognised as one of the most entrenched and pervasive forms of violence in society. Nevertheless, internationally and in Australia, the occurrence of domestic and other forms of violence in families affecting children with a disability is poorly understood. The present article examines the information available on domestic violence and children with a disability. Through the use of case studies drawn from a large disability organisation in New South Wales, Australia, practice issues with families where domestic violence affects a child with a disability are drawn out for social workers to consider. These considerations are designed to enhance practice in this field.     

Introduction to the Volume on Relocation Issues in Child Custody Cases

ABSTRACT

Recent JCC articles on the topics of gender bias in domestic violence research and practice and parental alienations syndrome are critiqued, with a brief preview of related articles on these topics scheduled for the upcoming special issue on domestic violence. The problem of false negative and false positive errors in evaluations of abuse allegations are discussed and the social psychological factors that contribute to systems failure in family courts are examined.     

Cultural Values and Domestic Violence

ABSTRACT

The value system for defining family violence is frequently based on the cultural beliefs imbedded in mainstream Euro-American values. This paper examines domestic violence from a cross-cultural perspective and evaluates how cultural beliefs and societal rules impact the incidence of family violence as well as the relative acceptability of this form of oppression. In this analysis, Asian, Latino, and African American cultures are examined in light of varying cultural perspectives on family violence.     

Welfare and Welfare to Work in the United States

Summary

Despite social work's historic ambivalence toward income support programs, the policy changes introduced by the TANF welfare to work program demand the profession's attention. Although social workers are not directly responsible for the administration or implementation of the program, many serve TANF clients whose lives have been affected by these changes. Tracing social work's historic but reluctant involvement with income support, this paper urges the profession to respond to the challenges posed by the TANF program in a more systematic way and to contribute more effectively to the wider task of poverty eradication.     

Technology as a Weapon in Domestic Violence: Responding to Digital Coercive Control

ABSTRACT

Technology-facilitated domestic violence is an emerging issue for social workers and other service providers. The concept of Digital Coercive Control (DCC) is introduced to highlight the particular nature and impacts of technology-facilitated abuse in the context of domestic violence. While practitioners have become more adept at working with women experiencing DCC, there is still little known about its dynamics and whether this violence requires a change in current service responses. This article explores findings from survey research conducted with 546 Australian domestic violence practitioners about the ways perpetrators use technology as part of their abuse tactics. The findings demonstrate that DV practitioners believe perpetrator use of technology is extensive and has significant impacts on the safety of clients. A major dilemma faced by practitioners is how to promote and facilitate client safety from DCC while still enabling safe use of technology so clients can remain connected to family, friends, and community.

IMPLICATIONS

• The use of digital technology in domestic violence creates a significant practice issue for Australian domestic violence practitioners.

• The development of a practice framework for responding to digital coercive control may assist practitioners to highlight the risks posed by this abuse, while still enabling women and children the freedom to participate in the digital realm.

     

The Best of Ties,the Worst of Ties: Close,Problematic, and Ambivalent Social Relationships

This study builds on research addressing intergenerational ambivalence by considering emotional ambivalence toward the wider social network. Men and women ages 13 to 99 (N = 187) completed diagrams of their close and problematic social relationships. Social ties were classified as solely close, solely problematic, or ambivalent, based on network placement (n = 3,392 social contacts). Multilevel models revealed that individuals viewed certain close familial ties (e.g., spouse, son or daughter, parent, sibling) with greater ambivalence than they viewed more distal family ties, friendships, or acquaintances. Participants classified more acquaintances than other relationships as solely problematic. Feeling closer to a social partner was associated with increased ambivalence. Older adults were more likely to classify their relationships as solely close than as ambivalent, in comparison with younger adults. Discussion focuses on tension and closeness in familial and nonfamilial relationships.     

Family Social Work Practice: Onward to Therapy and Policy

ABSTRACT

In a recent article published in the Journal of Family Social Work McNeece (1995) argued that family therapy has no interest in or relevance for social policy interventions. Through the presentation of several arguments he constructs an irreconcilable dichotomy between policy and practice, suggesting that therapeutic interventions are responsible for pulling resources away from the development of effective social policy interventions. This paper challenges the dichotomy between policy and practice and presents an alternative view concerning the relationship between social policy and family therapy. The increasing importance of family policy in family therapy is summarized and a new trend within marriage and family practice, policy as practice, is discussed. Current family practice literature and personal case examples are used to provide alternative viewpoints to three main points that were presented by McNeece concerning family therapy practice, and the therapy/policy interface. Finally, the current practice context of managed care is used to illustrate the interdependence of practice and policy, and the need for a new understanding concerning family practice.