Shelter Service Utilization of Domestic Violence Victims

This study examines service utilization among 283 adult victims of domestic violence identified by crisis responders as being in need of crisis services. The purpose of this study is to explore the differences between the domestic violence victims who choose to utilize shelter services and those who do not. Findings suggest that domestic violence victims who were more likely to utilize shelter services included those who had children at the time of the incident, victims who called for assistance from a location other than their home, victims who did not have a current order of protection in place, and victims who were injured during the domestic violence incident. Implications suggest more specific services to be provided by shelters.     

Domestic Violence and Intergenerational Rates of Child Sexual Abuse: A Case Record Analysis

Using case review at a shelter for battered women and their children, this exploratory study investigated the association between physical abuse, exposure to domestic violence and intergenerational occurrence of child sexual abuse. The charts of 570 children were reviewed in an attempt to explore the relationship between the children's experiences with sexual abuse and their nonoffending parent's own history of having been sexually abused. Results indicated that a significant percentage of nonoffending parents who reported a history of child sexual abuse also had children who were sexually abused. Additionally, we found that most (93%) of the children studied had been exposed to domestic violence, and while the base rate of sexual abuse was relatively low (11%), the rate of physical abuse of the children was substantial (41%). Logistic regression results indicated that children of sexually abused nonoffending parents may be at heightened risk for sexual abuse. Implications for treatment and intervention are discussed.     

Domestic Abuse Assessment in Child Custody Disputes: Beware the Domestic Violence Research Paradigm

ABSTRACT

In some states, custody assessors are now required to become familiar with the dynamics of prevalence of domestic abuse since the presence of one or more abusive parents in the house has an impact on the “best interests of the child.” The domestic abuse literature is misleading in setting a framework for abuse incidence and threat source for children. Males are represented as primary perpetrators of physical abuse although data from meta-analytic studies show otherwise. Indirect aggression is scarcely mentioned in the literature, although prevalent in research on aggression. Physical violence directed towards children is actually more likely to be mother-perpetrated. Child safety may be compromised if attention is focused solely on the possibility of abuse from a male perpetrator.     

Domestic Violence in Rural India: Phenomenological Study from Cultural Perspective

Historically, women in India have been experiencing domestic violence in various forms throughout their lives, irrespective of caste, class, religion, and region. The objective of this study is to gain a deep and thorough understanding of the causes and concerns relating to domestic violence in rural Indian sociocultural context. It also tries to understand the type of support the female partners get while coping with intimate partner violence through phenomenological principles. The purposive sample consisted of 15 rural Indian women. The results showed four main themes: (1) causes of domestic violence, (2) impact on health, (3) support received, and (4) dilemma of abused women. During the study the women came up with various causes leading to domestic violence that affected their physical and mental health. They also narrated the limited support they received in terms of protection from their family and/or neighbors, highlighting their dilemma and helplessness in the rural Indian cultural context. This study also attempts to show some insights on what Hindu religion says about women.     

Competing Values in Serving Older and Vulnerable Adults: Adult Protective Services,Mandated Reporting,and Domestic Violence Programs

State mandatory reporting statutes may directly or indirectly list domestic violence programs as among those that are mandated reporters of cases of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of older individuals and those with disabilities. Domestic violence programs, however, may not consider themselves to be mandated reporters, because the responsibility of reporting abuse may be contrary to their programmatic philosophy. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the potential conflict between domestic violence programs and Adult Protective Services about the issue of mandated reporting has created tension between these organizations as each entity continues interpreting the issues and policies of mandated reporting through its own lens. The authors draw out some of the reasons for the conflict as well as make recommendations for improving relationships between the two organizations, which will ultimately benefit vulnerable adults who are experiencing abuse.     

Domestic violence: a priority in child protection in New South Wales,Australia?

Over the last several years there has been increasing awareness of the connection between domestic violence and child abuse, yet only minimal attention has been paid to the implications of this for child protection practice. This article begins to address this gap. Drawing on research undertaken in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, it examines child protection practice in relation to children and young people who have been exposed to domestic violence. The research involved analysis of the responses of the statutory child protection authority in NSW (the Department of Community Services or DoCS) to abuse allegations involving domestic violence. The data are drawn from observation and analysis of the initial responses to referrals to DoCS and the ‘tracking’ of a sample of these referrals over an 18 month period. From the data obtained, it is evident that domestic violence referrals are treated less seriously than other referrals, with more being confirmed as abuse but fewer resulting in follow up or intervention. The implications of this for child protection practice are teased out. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patriarchy: The Predominant Discourse and Fount of Domestic Violence

While supporting the need to make class and other forms of marginalisation more visible in the understanding of, and response to, domestic violence, this article argues that, domestic violence is ultimately a discursive phenomenon and that patriarchal discourse remains the fount of domestic violence. This conclusion was drawn after data from a qualitative study of 24 men, from different cultural groups (ethnic, religious, racial, age and class), who had used violence in an intimate heterosexual relationship was considered, alongside ethnographical accounts of societies in which domestic violence is deemed not to have occurred, or to have been minimal. Whereas egalitarian and respectful attitudes towards women are enshrined in the discourse and social institutions of tribes such as the Semai and Waorani, in which intimate partner violence was absent, the most overwhelming discovery of the qualitative study was that class and cultural differences, evident in an analysis of the men's narratives, seemed to be eclipsed by the preeminence and strength of gendered discourse, in keeping with Western patriarchal dictates.     

Homeless Military Veterans and the Intersection of Partner Violence

The objective of this paper was to identify, screen, and assess homeless veterans through outreach for domestic abuse services. This study focuses on 507 homeless veterans, from 2002 to 2007 identified in a homeless shelter and a transitional housing program. Homeless veterans completed the Domestic Violence/Abuse Screen (DV/AS) and psychosocial assessment. The majority were males, African American, divorced, Army, Vietnam, substance-dependent, and homeless, while the minorities had combat-PTSD; were charged and convicted of domestic violence; were on supervised parole or probation; had juvenile records; were victims of domestic violence during rearing; had a perpetrator relative; had prior domestic violence treatment; and were referred for domestic abuse treatment services. There is a lack of research evidence for the effectiveness for screening of homeless veteran partner violence. This sample shows the benefit of integrating domestic abuse screening into homeless programs and more research.     

Domestic Violence and Parental Divorce as Predictors of Best Friendship Qualities Among College Students

Data regarding the effects of domestic violence and parental divorce have been inconsistent. Assessments of the effects of childhood trauma on psychosocial adjustment might be enhanced by an examination of the way developmental stressors interact. A total of 370 college students with histories of combinations of parental divorce and domestic violence participated in this correlational study of best friendships in early adulthood. College students exposed to domestic violence during childhood described their best friendships as relatively less reinforcing, helpful, and sustainable than those without the abuse history. Participants from intact families, as compared to those with parental divorce histories, described their best friendship as relatively more reinforcing and favorable. The combination of parental divorce and exposure to domestic violence was linked to magnified effects regarding these best friendship qualities. Average effect sizes for domestic violence (d?=?.31), parental divorce (d?=?.18), and the interaction between domestic abuse and divorce (d?=?.85) pointed to mild to modest links between these stressors and best friendship qualities. These results emphasized the benefits of interaction analysis in attempts to predict the adverse effects of developmental stressors on late psychological functioning.     

Domestic Violence in the Second Half of Life

Providing an adequate and effective community response to women age 50 and older who experience domestic violence is complicated by the oftentimes disparate goals and expectations of service providers, emergency responders, and victims themselves. This article shares information provided by participants of focus groups designed to understand and identify what women age 50 and older want and need from agencies that provide services to enhance victim safety.     

Domestic Violence

Summary

Domestic violence in same-sex relationships is still a rarely spoken about phenomenon that occurs far too often. This article explores this heinous behavior as a gross violation of human rights and explores how and why domestic violence may happen. Strategies for professional social work intervention for both the victim and the perpetrator are explored, and myths about same-sex domestic violence are exploded.     

Women's “Justification” of Domestic Violence in Egypt

We explored the influences of women's social learning, marital resources and constraints, and exposure to norms about women's family roles on their views about wife hitting or beating among 5,450 participants in the 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. One half justified wife hitting or beating for some reason. Women from rural areas who were exposed to domestic violence more often justified such acts. Dependent wives whose husbands had more schooling, were blood relatives, and were coresident more often justified such acts. In settings where women tended to marry at older ages, women less often justified such acts. Women's resources and constraints in marriage accounted for the largest share of the variability in their attitudes about domestic violence against women.     

(In)credible Violence: An Analysis of Post-Alvarado Domestic Violence Asylum Cases in the United States

ABSTRACT

Every year, women from around the world apply for asylum in the United States to escape an abusive partner. In this article I find that domestic violence applicants may not be interpreted as viable truth tellers since they are missing specific markers of credibility, including legitimacy of fear, coherence and corroboration, and proof of no culpability. I link these questions of credibility to broader US discourses about gender-based violence and racialized conceptions of victimhood, which show a preference for credentialed knowledge over women’s experiences and employ assumptions about autonomous, linear decision-making. I argue that the deployment of these discourses represents a tactic of exclusion, likely motivated by fears of immigration. Asylum adjudication practices (including credibility determinations) must address these issues in order to secure the health and well-being of women fleeing abusive partners in their countries of origin.     

Research on Domestic Violence in the 1990s: Making Distinctions

This review of the family literature on domestic violence suggests that two broad themes of the 1990s provide the most promising directions for the future. The first is the importance of distinctions among types or contexts of violence. Some distinctions are central to the theoretical and practical understanding of the nature of partner violence, others provide important contexts for developing more sensitive and comprehensive theories, and others may simply force us to question our tendency to generalize carelessly from one context to another. Second, issues of control, although most visible in the feminist literature that focuses on men using violence to control “their” women, also arise in other contexts, calling for more general analyses of the interplay of violence, power, and control in relationships. In addition to these two general themes, our review covers literature on coping with violence, the effects on victims and their children, and the social effects of partner violence.

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Domestic Violence, Criminal Justice Responses and Homelessness: Finding the Connection and Addressing the Problem

As more social scientists examine the female side of social issues a host of questions are answered and further inquiries form in the wings. Two fields where much detailed and valuable information on women have been provided, and many questions still remain, are social work and criminal justice. A meeting point for these disciplines lies in the area of homelessness and females. By most accounts, a sizable proportion of homeless women, many of whom are mothers, become homeless due to domestic abuse. Knowledge of ineffective criminal justice responses to domestic violence leaves one to ponder whether there exists a connection between lack of social control in domestic abuse calls and the onset of female homelessness. The present work addresses this knowledge gap and suggests future research necessary to delineate a proposed link between weak criminal justice responses and female homelessness. Policy initiatives to correct these flaws are provided as well.     

Child's Play? Children and Young People's Resistances to Domestic Violence and Abuse

Children and young people's (CYP) space to play can be constrained in families affected by domestic violence and abuse (DVA), potentially impacting their development. Play also has the potential to strengthen CYP's capacity to resist controlling and abusive dynamics in the family. Interviews were conducted with 107 CYP aged 8–18, and were analysed using interpretive interactionism. Three themes relevant to children's experiences of play were identified: Play and Coercive Control; Play Re‐makes the World and Play and Relationality. This article highlights the potential for play to enable children to retain a sense of relational connectedness and agency, despite violence and control; we argue for more opportunities for children to play away from the gaze of adults and advocate for more dedicated services for families who experience DVA.     

The Infrequency of Family Violence

We examined the frequency of domestic violence and verbal altercations relative to the level of domestic conflict using survey data from the United States and Korea. We found evidence that individuals are generally less likely to use violence during an altercation if the antagonist is a family member than if the antagonist is a stranger. People apparently have stronger inhibitions about hitting family members than about hitting strangers, and, as a result, domestic violence is infrequent relative to the level of domestic conflict. In addition, verbal altercations are more likely to occur in conflicts with partners and children than in conflicts involving strangers, suggesting that the relaxation of rules of politeness contributes to the expression of grievances and ultimately the use of violence in these relationships.     

Domestic violence and women with disabilities: locating the issue on the periphery of social movements

Women with disabilities, like non‐disabled women, are at risk of experiencing abuse perpetrated by those closest to them. This paper reviews what is known about the domestic abuse of disabled women, explores some of the dynamics of that abuse and considers why this issue has not been high on the agenda of either the movement against domestic violence or the disabled people’s movement in the UK, taking into consideration several points that disabled women have raised. In doing so it focuses on the concept of compound oppressions as a potential explanation for the failure of this problem to have widespread recognition as a social issue.     

Partner Violence and Mental Health Outcomes in a New Zealand Birth Cohort

This study examines the prevalence and extent of domestic violence and the consequences of domestic violence for mental health outcomes in a birth cohort of New Zealand young adults studied at age 25 years. A total of 828 young people (437 women and 391 men) were interviewed about the domestic violence victimization and violence perpetration in their current or most recent partner relationship. Key findings of the study were (a) domestic conflict was present in 70% of relationships, with this conflict ranging from minor psychological abuse to severe assault; (b) men and women reported similar experiences of victimization and perpetration of domestic violence; and (c) exposure to domestic violence was significantly related to increased risks of major depression (p < .05) and suicidal ideation (p < .005) even after extensive control for covariates.     

Therapeutic Responses to Domestic Violence in Australia: A History of Controversies

This paper reviews controversies about domestic violence occurring in heterosexual relationships discussed in the Australian context by practitioners and academics and published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy over the past three decades. Controversies arose in relation to the provision of therapeutic interventions for domestic violence, primarily in individual and couple counselling and group programs. After a literature review, the following controversial issues are identified: (1) the role of patriarchy: Is a patriarchal culture the main cause of domestic violence? (2) Systemic family therapy and gendered violence: Does systemic family therapy hide men's responsibility for domestic violence? (3) Therapeutic and educational interventions for domestic violence: Does therapy turn a ‘crime’ into a ‘psychological problem’? (4) Men as victims: Do both men and women perpetrate domestic violence in equal measure? (5) It takes two to tango: What part do women play in eliciting men's violence?