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.     

Divorcing Abused Latina Immigrant Women's Experiences With Domestic Violence Support Groups

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of Latina immigrants who are divorcing and in domestic violence support groups (DVSGs). To gain an understanding of the client perspective, an ex-post facto research design was utilized with the data collection taking place after the members had terminated with the DVSG services. The convenience sample consisted of 15 Latina women. A questionnaire was used to determine the women's satisfaction with the group services. Results indicated that overall the group experience was positive, with 80% of the women reporting an overall “excellent” experience and 20% reporting an overall “good” experience.     

TANF Recipients' Barriers to Employability: Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence

Recipients of temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) encounter a variety of expectations and sanctions. Recipients face work requirements, limited resources, and barriers to employability, including the barrier of substance use. This article addresses the sanctions that are applied to clients who do not meet expectations of the policy, barriers to employability, disparities in resources, and factors influencing referrals for substance abuse treatment for TANF clients.     

Domestic Violence against Men in India: A Perspective

In the absence of any systemic data, with more men coming up and reporting violence by women, it is important to understand and examine the issue of violence against men by women and associated factors. With changing gender roles and power relations, the author predicts that this will increase in the future, which will have far-reaching consequences and implications for the larger society and relationships between men and women. The paper attempts to understand the dynamics and factors that play or will play a crucial role in escalating violence against men by women. The paper is based on author's counseling sessions, discussion with men victims of violence, and other secondary sources.     

Hidden in the Margins: A Qualitative Examination of What Professionals in the Domestic Violence Field Know About Transgender Domestic Violence

This qualitative study endeavored to examine the views and experiences of individuals who work with, and those who consider issues related to, transgender domestic violence in an effort to determine what (if anything) is known about this construct. Using a phenomenological approach, ten interviews were conducted with individuals who professionally confront transgender intimate partner violence. Overall, the study found that many individuals from different disciplines were in agreement concerning the paucity of resources for this population, and future research would benefit from quantitative research to understand more about transgender domestic abuse. Furthermore, criminal justice organizations should take active steps within their own agencies to appropriately address this problem for transgender victims of abuse. Finally, all of the participants stated their beliefs that transgender domestic abuse is a very serious problem and believed that more research should be done to better understand it before it can be addressed.     

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.     

Charting the Course: An Overview of Domestic Violence in the South Asian Community in the United States

In the South Asian community in the United States, domestic violence is a prevalent problem of significant magnitude. Although the community stridently denies the existence of this horror, women have been systematically organizing antiviolenceagainst- women work for the last 15 yearsAt this time, it is a vibrant movement struggling with several complex issues that are perhaps less common in thedominant white community. As in the lives of immigrant women of color, much of the intricacies of domestic violencein the South Asian context emerge from the intersections of race, class, andsresidencystatus problems. Consequently, a slew of personal, institutional, and cultural barriers commingle to form roadblocks for battered South Asian women, who attempt to escape family violence. As the needs of battered South Asian first and second generation women enlarge and become more perceptible, the community-based organizations have to ready themselves for more complicated activities in the future.     

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.     

Sources of Family Violence

This paper suggests a direction for the exploration of the causes of family violence. Explanatory models offamily violence were considered in this regard, with the recommendation that a multi-determined model should be considered to ensure the most accurate explanation. We suggest that family violence will be best understood and prevented or alleviated, if a model is used that considers the interaction of structural violence and the personality features of all the family members.     

Implementation of the Family Violence Option 20 Years Later: A Review of State Welfare Rules for Domestic Violence Survivors

The Family Violence Option (FVO) was included in the 1996 welfare reform legislation to ensure that domestic violence survivors are not subject to unfair penalties resulting from compliance with the new requirements. This study presents a comprehensive review of the states’ different approaches to address domestic violence. Our findings identified variation in implementation and practice, from the decision to adopt the FVO to the process of granting waivers. Although not contradictory to the federal legislation, the variation is indicative of the limited research on best practices and lack of national discussions on how state FVO processes relate to one another.     

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.     

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.     

Model Minority Demystified

Summary

This population-based study investigated the prevalence of domestic violence and other types of interpersonal victimization among a random sample of women of Japanese descent (immigrants from Japan and Japanese Americans) in Los Angeles. This study found a high prevalence of domestic violence, as well as other types of violence, perpetrated by non-intimates. Differences by country of birth were found in some, but not all, types of victimization; a larger proportion of Japan-born respondents reported experiencing contact and no-contact sexual violence perpetrated by non-intimates and witnessing their fathers' violence against their mothers. The severity of domestic violence experienced during the respondents' lifetimes was significantly associated with a higher degree of psychological distress. Findings question the commonly presumed image of the model minority and call for increased efforts to assess the history of domestic violence and other types of interpersonal victimization when working with women of Japanese descent.     

Victim or Whore: The Similarities and Differences between Victim's Experiences of Domestic Violence and Sex Trafficking

This research review addresses the similarities and differences between domestic violence and sex trafficking victimization. While there is evidence that domestic violence and sex trafficking often co-occur, there is a large disparity in the understanding and interventions utilized by law enforcement as well as the services available for victims of each crime despite the considerable overlap of victimization. This article explores current research regarding domestic violence and sex trafficking with a focus towards identifying areas of overlap and areas distinct to sex trafficking.     

Do Child Abuse and Interparental Violence Lead to Adulthood Family Violence?

The cycle of violence posits that victimized children grow up to victimize others. Three forms of the cycle have never been tested: whether exposure to physical victimization and interparental violence additively or interactively increase risk for adulthood (a) child abuse perpetration; (b) partner abuse perpetration; or (c) partner abuse victimization. These hypotheses were tested in a nationally representative data set (1985 National Family Violence Survey) comprising 6,002 participants. Dually exposed, compared to singly exposed, women had significantly increased risk for adulthood family violence. Frequency of family‐of‐origin violence predicted adulthood child and partner abuse through both main and interactive effects.     

Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence

ABSTRACT

This article presents a review of literature describing intimate partner violence (IPV) in same-sex relationships. The authors present definitions and the prevalence of the main forms of violence-physical, sexual, and emotional-that can occur within same-sex intimate partner relationships, an overview of the existing research that examines the dynamics and broader social context of same-sex IPV, and implications for counseling affected individuals.     

Domestic Violence in the South Asian Muslim Immigrant Population in the United States

This paper describes the phenomenon of domestic violence in the South Asian Muslim population living in the United States. Religion, culture, and family play significant and positive roles in the lives of South Asian women. This paper highlights some of the problematic areas in which these institutions are not responding to the needs of women. These findings are based upon the author's work in a committee for the prevention of domestic violence in the Muslim community and upon personal experience of the South Asian culture.     

Filipino American Dating Violence

Summary

This study examined 171 Filipino American undergraduate students on physical, sexual, and psychological definitions and contextual justifications of and experiences with dating violence. A blended methodology that combined survey and focus group data was used. Filipino Americans tended to define dating violence as physical and sexual abuse. Perceptions of psychological abuse were more narrowly defined than physical and sexual violence. Conversely, focus group data indicated that Filipino American students are very cognizant of what comprises psychological abuse. Scaled score findings showed no significant differences between Filipino males and females. However, closer examination of the items comprising the scales revealed significant gender differences in contextual justifications and definitions of psychological abuse. Contextual justification was the only variable to have a significant effect on experiences of dating violence. Filipino American culture and history are used to assist in explaining the findings and formulate implications for practice.     

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.