Frequency and Types of Partner Violence Among Mexican American College Women

Objective and Participants: The authors studied the prevalence of partner violence, by type, among Mexican American college women aged 18 to 35 years (N = 149; response rate = 85%). Results: Twelve percent of women who reported a dating partner in the past year were physically or sexually assaulted, 12.1% were stalked, and 9.1% scored as psychologically abused. Among those experiencing partner violence, almost half experienced stalking and 89% reported psychological abuse. Few women (25%) who experienced physical violence believed violence was a problem in their relationship. Conclusions: Partner violence was prevalent in this population, and participants experienced many forms of violence. Because few women experiencing physical violence report that violence is a problem in their relationship, interventions must address perceptions of violence and its impact on women's mental and physical health in college populations.     

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).

     

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.

     

Behavioral health correlates of exposure to community violence among African-American adolescents in Chicago

AimsThough public health researchers are more aware of behavioral health concerns among African American youth, few studies have explored how exposure to community violence may be related to adverse youth concerns. This study examines the relationship between exposure to community violence and mental health problems, substance use, school engagement, juvenile justice involvement, and STI risk behaviors.MethodsA total of 638 African American adolescents living in predominantly low-income, urban communities participated in the study by completing self-report measures on exposure to community violence, mental health, school engagement proxies, substance use, delinquency markers and sexual risk behaviors.ResultsAdolescents who reported higher rates of exposure to community violence were significantly more likely to report poorer mental health, delinquent behaviors, a history of juvenile justice involvement, lower school bonding and student-teacher connectedness. These youth were also significantly more likely to use alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit substances, and engage in sexual risk behaviors.ConclusionsFindings suggest that there is a critical need for culturally relevant prevention and intervention efforts for African American adolescents who are frequently exposed to community violence.     

Strengthening the Domestic and Family Violence Workforce: Key Questions

ABSTRACT

The significant impact of domestic and family violence in Australia calls for a workforce that is both highly skilled and capable of meeting the demands of complex and challenging jobs. Yet despite the increasingly national visibility of domestic violence, the workers—and work itself—have largely remained invisible. We argue for a shift in conversation, highlighting the need for a workforce approach that is not only strategic but that also applies a theorised lens to domestic and family violence work inclusive of both gender and Indigeneity.

IMPLICATIONS

• The domestic and family violence workforce and workers should be made more visible to better support development in this sector.

• A workforce development strategy is needed to build knowledge about who is doing this work, the nature of the work, workplace structures and cultures, and work environments and conditions.

• The significance of gendered power relations, Indigeneity, high risk, trauma environments, and emotional labour in domestic and family violence work cannot be ignored in development strategies.

     

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.     

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.     

The logic of sacrifice in the book of job: Philosophy and the practice of religion

Abstract

The relation between truth and violence is explored through the logic of sacrifice presented in the Book of Job. Job, as an arbitrary sacrificial victim, learns the truth of the violence perpetrated against him. Such violence is also shown to be constitutive of Western reasoning, including its practices of the truth.     

Violence and Lesbian and Gay Youth

Abstract

Violence has become an increasingly common event in the lives of many adolescents. Lesbian and gay youth are subject to physical as well as non-physical forms of violence. This article explores multiple forms of violence and suggests strategies for addressing violence.     

Race Backwards

Abstract

This article discusses recent highly criticized National violence initiatives and behavioral interventions. These interventions include drug therapy and psychosurgery aimed at preventing later adult violence. The article provides an overview of the roots of eugenic violence. It charges that science is being misused to justify racism at the highest levels of government. A case is made that by failing to factor in socio-economic causes of violence black and brown youth, and despised and persecuted minorities are targets for experimentation. Strategies for preventing black genocide are offered.     

Narratives of aging in intimate partner violence: The double lens of violence and old age

PurposeWith the increase in life expectancy, couples living in intimate partner violence are aging together. The aim of this article is to explore the constructions of aging in intimate partner violence as narratives of couplehood or narratives of old age.Design and methodsThirty individual in-depth interviews with 15 older Israeli couples were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a narrative approach.ResultsThree main domains emerged from the data: health issue narratives, loneliness narratives and relationships with adult offspring narratives. Each of the narratives that emerged from the data analysis consists of a narrative of old age constructing IPV and a narrative of IPV constructing old age.ImplicationsConflictual couplehood dynamics, such as intimate partner violence in old age, is not one-dimensional, but is diverse and complex and this should be taken into consideration.     

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.

     

Violence in Predominantly White Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

This chapter examines the patterns of violence associated with the tenure process for the African American professor in traditionally white higher education institutions. In this article, violence is examined in the context of its psychological and demeaning effects. The following dimensions are reviewed: recruitment of African American faculty; the review process for tenure; the politics of tenure; socialization and orientation of faculty; junior faculty as victims and tenure denial. Intervention strategies for addressing the problems of violence are recommended.     

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.     

An Exploration of Violence Among Homeless Women with Emotional Disabilities

Abstract

This research found a high incidence of violence among homeless women with emotional disabilities. The study reports that 82 percent of the homeless women with emotional disabilities had a history of violence in their lives. The most common form of violence was physical; the least common was sexual abuse. The practice and policy implications for these findings are discussed. It is suggested that the Olmstead v. L. C. (1998) ruling under the Americans With Disabilities Act might force states to provide better services to homeless women with a history of violence and emotional disabilities.     

Introduction

Abstract

This article discusses why it is important to consider how cultural racism contributes to the construction of motives and justifications among individuals who have committed acts of structural violence, including, lynching, hate crime and police violence against African Americans. Cultural racism is also discussed as a factor that contributes to interpersonal structural violence in situations involving black offenders and victims.     

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.     

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain!

Abstract

This paper considers issues of violence against women through the conceptual lens of public/private ideology, exploring numerous ways that the public/private dichotomy is reinforced in the law and public policy of rape, domestic violence, and sexual harassment. We argue that the power of this ideology continues into the contemporary law of gendered violence, as evidenced most recently by the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Morrison (2000). We find that public/private ideology offers men a “violence shield”: freedom from scrutiny that enables gendered violence to thrive. Although gendered violence is now on the public agenda, these crimes remain shielded from scrutiny because they are associated with the private sphere. We suggest that feminist activists concentrate on undermining these ideological roots when crafting strategies to combat violence against women.     

Working with Women Associated with Bikie Gangs: Practice Dilemmas

Abstract

Much has been written about bikie gangs, but there is little about the women and children who are part of gang life. The present paper describes domestic violence agency social workers’ ethical practice dilemmas when assisting women who have left bikie gangs to search for a new, safer lifestyle away from the gang culture of drug use and violence, in particular sexual violence. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ethical processes and issues in resolving such practice dilemmas.