Separating batterers and guns: a review and analysis of gun removal laws in 50 States

Firearms play an important role in lethal domestic violence incidents. The authors review state laws regarding two policies to separate batterers from firearms: laws authorizing police to remove firearms when responding to a domestic violence complaint ("police gun removal laws") and laws authorizing courts to order guns removed from batterers through a protective order ("court-ordered removal laws"). As of April 2004, 18 states had police gun removal laws; 16 states had court-ordered removal laws. The authors examine relevant characteristics of the laws and recommend that these laws be mandatory, apply to all guns and ammunition possessed by an abuser, and include clear procedures to enhance implementation.     

Disarming batterers through restraining orders: the promise and the reality in California

Laws that prohibit persons under a domestic violence restraining order from purchasing or possessing a firearm are a primary way to keep guns out of the hands of batterers. In July 2005, the California Attorney General's Task Force on the Local Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence issued a report called Keeping the Promise: Victim Safety and Batterer Accountability. The report focused, in part, on the extent to which California's domestic violence restraining order system succeeds in disarming batterers. Restraining orders are the principal means by which the criminal justice system can accomplish this objective. The Task Force found that criminal justice agencies and the courts performed poorly in this area. The report strongly recommended that a more strategic, collaborative use of laws already on the books could significantly improve performance, without much additional expense. What follows is a summary of those finding and recommendations.     

What criteria do child protective services investigators use to substantiate exposure to domestic violence?

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether child protective services investigators apply a recognizable set of criteria to substantiate batterers and victims of battering for exposing their children to domestic violence. Although domestic violence occurred in 35% of the 1,248 substantiated incidents of child maltreatment, only 31 (7.1%) couples were investigated for exposing a child to domestic violence or failing to protect a child from domestic violence. All of the batterers investigated and in the caregiver role when their children were exposed to domestic violence were substantiated. The unsubstantiated victims of battering tended to use more protective behaviors (M=3.82) than the substantiated victims (M=2.00); yet, at the case level, using more than one protective behavior did not seem to be a criterion used to substantiate the victims. Instead, it appears that investigators were discriminating between those protective behaviors by the victims that ended contact between the batterers and the children--for a substantial amount of time--and those that did not in both the substantiation and removal decision. Key issues related to applying criteria in incidents involving domestic violence are discussed along with recommendations to further refine and document them.     

BATTERING AND COUPLES THERAPY: UNIVERSAL SCREENING AND SELECTION OF TREATMENT MODALITY

As family therapists begin to experiment with couples treatment models for batterers and their partners, a basic question is: Which couples can be safely treated with conjoint therapy? Following a definition of battering and a review of rationales for considering couples therapy in cases of domestic violence, a framework for assessment of domestic violence is outlined, including sample questions, criteria for excluding couples from conjoint therapy, how to conduct a lethality assessment, and how to conceptualize postassessment treatment recommendations. This article also introduces family and couples therapists to domestic violence literature that is often not well integrated in family therapy theory and practice.     

The Batterer's View of the Self and Others in Domestic Violence

Researchers estimate that 3-4 million women are abused by intimate partners each year, and the United States Surgeon General reports physical abuse as the leading cause of injury to women in the U.S. Although numerous studies have examined survivors'perceptions of domestic violence, few have examined battery from the perpetrator's perspective. We use a symbolic interactionist perspective to examine in-depth interviews with thirty-three male batterers and a demographically matched comparison group of twenty-five nonviolent male subjects. Our findings indicate that batterers minimize others'negative views of themselves, and they dissociate themselves from their partners'physical and emotional injuries. The comparison subjects, on the other hand, consider others'negative views of themselves, and they describe a deeper understanding of their intimate others'problems. We argue that an understanding of the batterer's perception of himself and others in domestic violence will help counselors develop techniques to stop male violence against women.     

Neuropsychological correlates of domestic violence

Neuropsychological functioning was assessed in 39 males who had committed domestic violence (batterers) and compared to 63 nonviolent (both maritally discordant and satisfied) subjects recruited by advertisement. Subjects were subsequently divided into two groups (head injured, nonhead injured) and these groups were also contrasted as a function of batterer status. Tests were administered to assess for cognitive and behavioral functions, including executive dysfunction, hypothesized to be a factor contributing to propensity for violence. Questionnaires and structured clinical interviews were used to assess marital discord, emotional distress, and violent behaviors. Batterers differed from nonbatterers across several cognitive domains: executive, learning, memory, and verbal functioning. Batterers were reliably discriminated from nonbatterers based on three neuropsychological tasks: Digit Symbol, Recognition Memory Test-Words, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Neuropsychological performance was the strongest correlate of domestic violence of all clinical variables measured. However, the inclusion of two other variables, severity of emotional distress and history of head injury, together with the neuropsychological indices provided the strongest correlation with batterers status. Among batterers, neuropsychological performance did not vary as a function of head injury status, indicating that while prior head injury was correlated with batterer status, it was not the sole basis for their impairments. The findings suggest that current cognitive status, prior brain injury, childhood academic problems, as well as psychosocial influences, contribute along with coexisting emotional distress to a propensity for domestic violence.     

Do laws restricting access to firearms by domestic violence offenders prevent intimate partner homicide?

Domestic violence imposes a large cost on society. The authors exploit state variation in timing to examine the impact of three types of law on intimate partner homicides. These laws restrict access to firearms by individuals who are subject to a restraining order or have been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor or allow law enforcement officers to confiscate firearms at a domestic violence scene. The authors find that female intimate partner homicide rates decline 7% after a state passes a restraining order law. They find no effect from the domestic violence misdemeanor or confiscation laws.     

Applying the transtheoretical model to female and male perpetrators of intimate partner violence: gender differences in stages and processes of change

The Transtheoretical Model has been recently applied to men seeking services at battering intervention and prevention programs (Eckhardt, Babcock, & Homack, 2004; Murphy & Baxter, 1997). This study considers whether women arrested for intimate partner violence differ from male perpetrators in terms of stages of change and processes of change. No gender differences were found regarding stage of change. In general, all individuals presenting for treatment were in the early stages of change. The use of various processes of change was strongly related to stage of change, with individuals in the more advanced stages of change using more behavioral and experiential strategies to become nonviolent. However, except for the use of social liberation strategies, there were no gender differences in the use of the various processes. These findings suggest that the Transtheoretical Model may apply to female perpetrators equally as well as to male perpetrators. Intervention programs designed for male batterers using the Transtheoretical Model may also be helpful in the treatment of women arrested for domestic violence.     

Engaging men and women as allies: a workplace curriculum module to challenge gender norms about domestic violence, male bullying and workplace violence and encourage ally behavior

This post-hoc analysis discusses a replicable workplace behavior change module called Men and Women As Allies, that was designed and implemented by a team of labor, management and community anti-violence educators at a private sector telecommunications employer. A job site-specific educational seminar linked issues of domestic violence to male bullying and workplace violence. It challenged social stereotypes about gender, taught skills to engage ally peer behavior and provided information on how to seek assistance from union, workplace and external community resources.     

Motivational interviewing as a mechanism for change in men who batter: a randomized controlled trial

The present study reports on the potential effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) in changing the way batterers think about their violent behavior. Thirty-three domestic violence offenders who were court-mandated to treatment were randomly assigned to MI or a control condition before attending their first mandated treatment group. Consistent with predictions, the MI group demonstrated generally more improvement on stages of change subscales than the control group. Further, the MI group demonstrated a significantly greater decrease in the extent to which they blamed their violence on external factors. Current data indicate that MI has the potential to increase batterers' motivation to change, although validation trials with larger sample sizes and more refined measures are required.     

Demographic, psychosocial, and personality characteristics of lesbian batterers

Prevalence of domestic violence (DV) in lesbian and heterosexual relationships appears to be similar. Despite this, few studies have examined factors associated with DV in lesbian relationships, and even fewer have examined characteristics of lesbian batterers. Demographic and psychosocial characteristics and personality traits were examined in 100 lesbians in current relationships (33 Batterers and 67 Nonbatterers). Results indicated that Batterers were more likely to report childhood physical and sexual abuse and higher rates of alcohol problems. Results from the MCMI-III indicated that, after controlling for Debasement and Desirability indices, Batterers were more likely to report aggressive, antisocial, borderline, and paranoid personality traits, and higher alcohol-dependent, drug-dependent, and delusional clinical symptoms compared to Nonbatterers. These results provide support for social learning and psychopathology theoretical models of DV and clinical observations of lesbian batterers, and expand our current DV paradigms to include information about same-sex DV.     

Stages of change in batterers and their response to treatment

One important dimension of individual differences among batterers is their readiness to change. According to the transtheoretical model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984), all individuals go through precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance before a change in behavior is accomplished. The applicability of this model to intimate partner violence was assessed by administering the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) scales (with reference to their domestic violent behavior) to 210 court-ordered male batterers. Their responses were clustered, and two clusters were derived and then compared on other measures. As hypothesized, cluster 2 individuals (characterized by a profile of URICA scale scores suggesting an earlier stage of change) self-reported less initial distress (depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse), less violence, and fewer problems with anger than cluster 1 individuals (characterized by URICA scale sores suggesting a later stage of change), although partners reported no difference in violence perpetrated by the two clusters. Cluster 1 individuals evidenced greater improvement in self-reported depression, anxiety, and anger control. Strategies to engage the more resistant cluster 2 individuals as well as suggestions for future research are considered.     

A pattern of violence: analyzing the relationship between intimate partner violence and stalking

As the literature on stalking has grown, several studies have proposed a relationship between stalking and intimate partner violence (IPV). This study examines a clinical sample of intimate partner batterers to assess the stalking-related behaviors committed against the participants' intimate partners. The study examined the levels of severity between stalking-related behaviors and IPV, as well as identified differences between batterers who exhibited stalking-related behaviors and those who did not. A significant relationship between stalking-related behavior and IPV was found, with more severe stalking related to higher levels of IPV and more extreme psychopathology.     

Online Civic Engagement and the Anti-domestic Violence Movement in China: Shifting Norms and Influencing Law

In the context of China’s new law against domestic violence, proposed by the State Council in November 2014 and passed in July 2015, this article examines online engagement by Chinese citizens leading up to the legislative revision, and examines the Sina Weibo microblog activities of one influential organisation, nǚquán zhī shēng (Feminist Voice). I ask how a Chinese Civil Society Organisation (CSO) uses online media to open public discourse on, and in some cases challenge, formal and informal institutions around a normatively marginalised issue, the case of domestic violence. Drawing on and synthesising literature on domestic violence, civil society and online communications in China, this study provides a timely contribution given the relative limitedness of up-to-date data, after the huge wave of publications following the 1995 Beijing conference. Findings are based on content analysis of the Feminist Voice microblog during 2012. While Chinese CSOs are often dismissed as non-confrontational and therefore ineffective change agents, Feminist Voice does challenge status quo marginalisation of domestic violence in the public sphere and facilitate discussion around formal and informal institutional reform, thereby influencing social attitudes and potentially also policy and law making.     

The Influence Of Family Violence On Youth Attitudes

This study investigated the impact of violence exposure on youth attitudes toward violence and guns. Rural youth were surveyed on their exposure to violence in the home, school, and neighborhood in addition to their attitudes toward guns and violence. Results indicated youth were exposed to an alarming amount of violence in each setting, particularly the school. Findings also demonstrated that attitudes toward violence and guns were significantly influenced by violence in the home and being male. Karen Slovak, is affiliated with the Ohio University, Zanesville; Karen Carlson is affiliated with the Ohio Univerisity, Athens; Linda Helm is affiliated with Miami University, Ohio. Address correspondence to Karen Slovoak, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work, Ohio University , 1425 Newark Road, OH 43701, Zanesville; e-mail: solvak@muohio.edu     

Constructions of local culture and impacts on domestic violence in an Australian rural community

Studies of domestic violence in rural areas have predominantly focused on barriers that keep women trapped in abusive relationships. The literature has frequently suggested that rural culture influences the incidence of domestic violence, the forms it takes, and how it is experienced. Yet there is surprisingly little research on how rural culture plays out in relationships between women and men who experience domestic violence. The study described in this paper explored local culture in a South Australian rural community and how it affected women's experiences of, and men's perpetration of, domestic violence. It found several local cultural discourses that bore on the issue, including self-reliance, pride, privacy, belonging and closeness, family, and Christianity. The power and influence of these discourses made it difficult to name and challenge domestic violence. The paper concludes with the argument that it is important to acknowledge and understand the values and beliefs of rural women and men when developing effective and appropriate responses to rural domestic violence. There is a need to move away from universal understandings of a rural culture to acknowledge discourses that have power and strength within a community so that we can sensitively challenge discourses that silence domestic violence.     

DVCC Protocol

ABSTRACT

High conflict issues including domestic violence allegations are present in a significant number of contested divorce cases. The DVCC (Domestic Violence in Child Custody) protocol is a series of questions designed to guide the interviewer in assessing for the various aspects of how partners handle conflict, including domestic violence. The protocol is not a test and no definitive findings of abuse can come from the use of this protocol but it certainly is a beginning step in asking questions that can assist the trier of fact in determining whether domestic violence–physical, emotional, and/or sexual–is present in a given case.     

The Need for Domestic Violence Laws With Adequate Legal and Social Support Services

Long overlooked by the law, the area of family violence is one of the most strident examples of the law's potential impotency when unsupported by strong enforcement procedures and serious re-education programs. The law, by itself, is simply a grouping of words and phrases, innocuous in and of themselves. A law must have the backing of the community for which it is passed. If it means a major change in the lifestyle of the people, concurrent services must be made available to facilitate that change. A domestic violence law without necessary support services involving medical, legal, psychological, economic, and child care needs may as well not exist at all. Even though most states have passed some recent legislation involving family violence, much more needs to be done in order to adequately implement those laws. The major thrust of this article seeks the development of comprehensive domestic violence programs which take into consideration all aspects of the problem.     

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.     

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.