Child custody evaluations and domestic violence: case comparisons

The literature indicates that witnessing domestic violence is harmful to children, that them is a high overlap between domestic violence and child abuse, and that safety is an important issue for separating women because separation from abusive partners is a particularly dangerous time for victims of domestic violence. Further, child custody is often a contentious issue in domestic violence cases. Child custody evaluations are typically used to assist courts in deciding custody when custody is disputed and when the best interests of the child are unclear. The concept of "best interests of the child" does not specify evaluation techniques or approaches, however, and while custody evaluation standards generally address the best interests of the child, they offer little guidance in high-risk situations such as parental domestic violence. In addition, there has been limited research focused on understanding the custody evaluation process or the degree to which practitioners differ in their procedures and reporting for cases with and without parental domestic violence. This study is one of the first to examine characteristics of disputed custody cases and their custody evaluation reports differences between domestic violence and non-domestic violence cases. This study selected a 60% random sample of cases with custody evaluations in Fiscal Year 1998 and 1999 (n = 82 cases). Out of the 82 cases, 56% (n = 46) met criteria for classification into the domestic violence group and 44% (n = 36) did not. In general, results indicated that although there were some important differences in court records between cases with and without domestic violence, there were only minor differences between custody evaluation reported process and recommendations for the two groups. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

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?     

Apples and Oranges in Child Custody Disputes: Intimate Terrorism vs. Situational Couple Violence

ABSTRACT

In response to Dutton's (this issue) critique of feminist theories of domestic violence, the author of this article makes three points relevant to the debate about the gender asymmetry of intimate partner violence. First, there are three major types of intimate partner violence, only one of which (intimate terrorism) is the kind of violence that we all think of when we hear the term “domestic violence.” Second, both major types of sampling designs in domestic violence research are seriously biased, and those biases account for the fact that both sides of this debate have been able to marshal ostensibly contradictory empirical evidence for their position. Third, intimate terrorism (also know as domestic violence, spouse abuse, wife-beating, etc.) is, indeed, primarily male-perpetrated and, in the case of heterosexual relationships, probably best understood through some version of a feminist theory of domestic violence. The author then discusses the implications of these points for assessment of risk in child custody deliberations.     

Domestic Violence and Aging

Women of all ages experience domestic violence, and the population of middle-aged and older women is growing rapidly. This article discusses how women’s issues, domestic violence, aging, and elder abuse all relate to social work education and then suggests how they can be integrated together into the social work curriculum through teaching about elder domestic violence.     

Therapists' prototypical assessment of domestic violence situations

Prototypical perceptions by therapists have the potential to influence the therapeutic process of assessment. The purpose of this study is to begin to develop an understanding of how prototypes might affect marriage and family therapists' assessments of domestic violence situations. Participants evaluated one of three domestic violence scenarios that were identical in dynamics but different in terms of sexual orientation of the couple (i.e., heterosexual, gay, or lesbian). The most significant finding was that initial assessments of victim and perpetrator identification and power attribution differed depending on the sexual orientation of the couple. The "man as perpetrator, woman as victim" prototypical paradigm for heterosexual domestic violence emerged. In the same-sex scenarios, often "both" partners were perceived to be indicated both as victim and perpetrator.     

Wars and Invisible Girls,Shadow Industries,and the Politics of Not-Knowing

This article begins in the interior of Mozambique during the country's post-independence war with the stories of three girls variously affected by violence. It then follows girls' war experiences in general out from the frontlines to wider international locales where girls face domestic violence in their home communities and civil and labor violence at the hands of (shadow) transnational profiteers; who reap billions of dollars yearly on children's factory, domestic, and sexual labor. The article is set in an overall theoretical framework that explores how a politics of invisibility - literally of 'not-knowing' - has developed in which little public information is available on children's human rights violations or on the political tactics and economic gain that have attended to these violations.     

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.     

Praise Is Not Enough

This article argues there is a need for a more encompassing understanding of the relationships between domestic violence and all forms of marginalisation in the Australian context. Specific attention will be given to the invisibility of class and poverty in contemporary discourse about domestic violence in the mainstream population. That there continues to be a higher prevalence of domestic violence, and more severe physical injury sustained as a result of domestic violence among population groups living with poverty, exposes the partiality of mainstream knowledges informing Australian domestic violence policy and practice. This article proposes prevention efforts must accommodate how class and the effects of poverty interlock with other aspects of social identity to shape the experience of domestic violence for people both victimised by, and perpetrating violence.     

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.     

Examining the relationship between Latinas' perceptions about what constitutes domestic violence and domestic violence victimization

Domestic violence is a serious issue for U.S. Latinas. Better understanding of the potential risk or protection that cultural perceptions about what constitutes domestic violence may convey can help strengthen interventions. Therefore, a convenience sample of 93 Latinas was surveyed about their current levels of domestic violence victimization, acculturation, and demographics, as well as about whether 5 behavioral scenarios constituted domestic violence. Hierarchical multiple regressions were performed to examine the relationships between the 5 perception items and domestic violence victimization. After adjusting for established risk factors, only viewing male partner stalking and female verbal aggression as domestic violence were significantly associated with decreased domestic violence victimization. Findings can be integrated into the development and implementation of culturally competent interventions targeting Latinas.     

Obstacles to victims' cooperation with the criminal prosecution of their abusers: the role of social support

Over the last 20 years, diminishing tolerance for domestic violence has triggered significant criminal justice reforms designed to facilitate the prosecution of abusers. Prosecutors, for example, have adopted policies requiring that cases go forward even if the victim later has second thoughts. Although increasingly common, these "no drop" policies reflect a profound irony about domestic cases that is well known but little understood: the most formidable problem in prosecuting such cases is often the victim's own unwillingness to bring the abuser to justice. This prospective study explored a range of factors potentially predictive of domestic violence victims' cooperation with the prosecution of their abusers. Although the study focused on interpersonal and institutional social support, it also investigated the influence of violence severity, victim demographic factors, and victim mental health characteristics, including the presence of depressive symptoms, emotional dependence on the abuser, and substance abuse. Findings showed that tangible support, severity of violence in the relationship, and the presence of children in common with the abuser all significantly predicted victims' cooperation with the prosecution of their abusers. Substance abuse significantly predicted victims' noncooperation with prosecution. The research and policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Norms and Costs of Government Domestic Violence Policies: A Critical Review

Domestic violence and governmental domestic violence policies impact many families and produce considerable economic costs. This paper reviews literature related to domestic violence including false claims of domestic violence. Domestic violence literature is considered in relation to economic literature on norm theory and the procedural justice concept. Norm theory provides a basis to understand and evaluate domestic violence policies and offer suggestions regarding those policies. Current norms may encourage overly aggressive governmental response to claims of domestic violence, provide an incentive to file false claims in some cases, and provide little if any penalty for filing false claims.     

Is Domestic Violence a Gender Issue,or a Human Issue?

Abstract

Domestic violence, like all violence, is a human issue. It is not merely a gender issue. Classifying spousal and partner violence as a women's issue, rather than a human issue, is erroneous. In domestic relations, women are as inclined as men to engage in physically abusive acts. Yet most reports appearing in the popular press, and in scholarly journals, have framed the issue as essentially a masculine form of assaultive behavior, thereby imbedding into the national consciousness a false and inaccurate view of the problem. This article presents the results of selected empirical studies that contradict the popular view of domestic violence, briefly focuses on the phenomenon as it relates to race, offers several elucidating case accounts, and suggests that the popular view of domestic violence not only contributes to men's increasing legal and social defenselessness, it also leads to social policies that obstruct efforts to address the problem of domestic violence successfully.     

Domestic violence and child protection: issues in safety planning

There is strong evidence for the link between domestic violence and child abuse. Agencies' policies regarding domestic violence and child protection are critical in determining the dimensions of practitioner intervention, including safety planning for women and children. This paper explores the issues identified in research around safety planning where there are domestic violence and child protection concerns which was conducted with practitioners in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, in 2001. In particular, the paper focuses on three of the factors that influence practitioner intervention with women and children. These are: definitional understandings of domestic violence and child abuse; child protection legislative changes, including mandatory reporting and domestic violence as a child‐at‐risk category; and the NSW child protection statutory authority's response to domestic violence. The interplay between these factors results in complexities of practice for practitioners as they attempt to maximize women's strengths and minimize risks to children's safety. The resultant inconsistent response to domestic violence and child protection by government and non‐ government agencies suggests the need for domestic violence interagency guidelines. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substance abuse by men in partner abuse intervention programs: current issues and promising trends

This article discusses key studies linking intervention for co-occurring substance abuse and partner abuse. Findings are grouped into three areas: (a) the effect of addictions treatment on partner violence; (b) application of transtheoretical, motivational, and culturally focused approaches to improve engagement and prevent attrition; and (c) assessment-based matching of services. Finally, the relative value of serial, coordinated, and integrated substance abuse programs and partner abuse intervention programs are considered. We reached three primary conclusions: (a) Addiction treatment alone reduces the risk for future domestic violence in a subset of men who batter, (b) screening and assessment for substance abuse by all men in partner abuse intervention programs is a standard of practice but needs to extend beyond "intake" and occur periodically, and (c) coordinated and integrated substance abuse and domestic violence programs probably offer more safety than traditional serial substance abuse treatment followed by partner abuse intervention.     

Marital violence: comparing women in violent and nonviolent unions.

This study examined marital violence among Israeli Jews. Data were obtained from a sample of 161 women who gave birth at Soroka Medical Center in the Negev region of Israel in 1992. The literature reveals that Jewish families tolerate domestic violence if an "evil" woman refuses housework or shows no respect for her husband. It is believed that Jews do not beat their wives. This study explored the degree to which women accept as legitimate the gender division of authority and use of power. It is posited that women in violent marriages (VMs) tend to accept the traditional division of labor and authority and hold more tolerant attitudes toward VMs. It is posited that VMs may be less egalitarian and democratic. VMs may be maintained if women are emotionally dependent on husbands, have a lower self-image, and perceive their husbands more positively. The questionnaire asked about social background and resources, attitudes toward marital power and violence, power relations, self-image, conflict solving, and women's emotional dependency. 18% had 1 domestic violent episode. 8 factors explained 56% of the difference between VMs and non-VMs and 90% of the cases. Husbands tried to avoid conflict. Wives fought for their interests and used external resources when conflict occurred. Husbands were reluctant to share power. There were 2 distinct patterns: the battered women syndrome and the struggle for power. Marital conflict was associated, as in the American literature, with economic hardship, lack of collectiveness in the dyad, and the form of conflict solving tactics used by both spouses. Women in VMs had different attitudes toward husband control and were emotionally dependent on their husbands.     

Measuring the lifetime experience of domestic violence: application of the life history calendar method

In the absence of a "gold standard," research on domestic violence relies primarily on self-report, the quality of which is known to decline as the length of the recall period increases. Eliciting valid and reliable self-report data is crucial to the development of prevention and intervention policies and services. Nevertheless, existing measures typically do not incorporate devices to facilitate respondents' recall of the lifetime experience of domestic violence. This article describes the application of the Life History Calendar (LHC) method (Freedman, Thornton, Camburn, Alwin, & Young-DeMarco, 1988) to increase a respondent's recall of domestic violence victimization over the lifecourse. The LHC method elicits memorable information of a personal nature (e.g., children's birth dates) and uses this information to facilitate the recall of less memorable events. A recent field test of this LHC measure indicates its utility in assessing domestic violence victimization, which takes place in a complex sequence of episodes and often involves multiple perpetrators over the lifecourse.     

Understanding domestic violence against women: using evolutionary psychology to extend the feminist functional analysis

Evolutionary psychologists such as Wilson and Daly (1993b) hypothesize that one goal of male-perpetrated domestic violence is control over female sexuality, including the deterrence of infidelity. According to this hypothesis, domestic violence varies with women's reproductive value or expected future reproduction, declining steeply as women age. We tested this hypothesis with a sample of 3,969 cases of male-perpetrated partner-abuse reported to a single police precinct in a large urban area over a 14-year period. Results show that (a) rates of domestic violence decrease as women age, (b) younger men are at greatest risk for perpetrating domestic violence, (c) younger, reproductive age women incur nearly 10 times the risk of domestic violence as do older, post-reproductive age women, and (d) the greater risk of domestic violence incurred by reproductive age women is not attributable solely to mateship to younger, more violent men. Discussion addresses theoretical implications of these findings and suggests a refinement of the feminist hypothesis of domestic violence against women.     

Domestic Violence and Child Protection: Partnerships and Collaboration

Abstract

The interface between the child protection and domestic violence sectors is often problematic, in that the two sectors operate relatively independently, with little integration. However, it is widely recognised that these sectors need to work more closely to enhance both women's and children's safety. This paper explores the processes needed for the child protection and domestic violence sectors to develop collaborative partnerships that lead to the provision of higher-quality responses to both women and children. Drawing on collaboration theory, a number of barriers to the development of successful partnerships are described, and applied to initiatives that seek to develop integrated approaches between child protection and domestic violence services. It is concluded that there is much scope for the two sectors to work closely together, but that the development of integrated responses involving both child protection and domestic violence services will take a significant commitment, level of determination, and stamina from both parties.     

Meeting the needs of abused older women? A british columbia and yukon transition house survey

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.