The significance of the victim advocate for domestic violence victims in municipal court

Previous research has examined factors that influence felony case prosecution in domestic violence cases, but few have analyzed how victim participation, or lack thereof, may affect the defendant's case outcome in misdemeanors. This study used 384 municipal cases from a specialized domestic violence court to examine the role of the victim advocate and variables that had an impact on victim participation with prosecution and case disposition. To ensure that decisions in all cases were consistent, all decision makers in the sample involved the same group: the court advocate, prosecutor, and judge. The analysis found that victim cooperation after arrest coupled with services provided by shelter court advocates were a strong predictor of victim cooperation at disposition and case outcome.     

Domestic violence beliefs and perceptions among college students

This study builds on current research, investigating the relationships between sociodemographic variables and domestic violence attitudes and beliefs among college students. Data from the Relationship Characteristics Study conducted in 2001, which includes a sample of 1,938 college students, are used to replicate and extend the research of Carlson and Worden (2001, 2005), the developers of the attitudes and beliefs items. In addition, the research portends to analyze factors associated with domestic violence causation endorsement, physical and sexual abuse, stalking, and verbal abuse beliefs, including gender, race and ethnicity, university year, parents' education, family income, parents' marital status, and relationship status. Results are consistent with the rates reported by the item developers. Further, results demonstrate that sociodemographic variables are correlated with physical and sexual abuse and verbal abuse beliefs and causation endorsement.     

Domestic violence among male and female patients seeking emergency medical services

Gender differences among a cohort of injured patients seeking emergency medical services were examined with respect to their experiences as perpetrators and/or victims of domestic violence. Contextual issues, including violence initiation, emotional and behavioral responses to partner-initiated violence, and injury frequency and severity were analyzed. Women reported male partner-initiated violence more frequently than men reported female partner-initiated violence. Behavioral responses to partner initiated violence varied. Women were more likely to report using force back and to involve law enforcement. Women were more likely to be injured in a domestic assault over their lifetime, within the last year, and at the time of recruitment. Comparison of injury severity revealed that women reported higher rates of injuries than men in all possible severity categories. Women also reported experiencing more fear than men during partner-initiated violence, as well as being subjected to larger numbers of dominating and controlling behaviors, and greater intimidation secondary to their partner's size. Understanding contextual differences in partner violence for women and men has significant implications for policy development, identification, treatment, and referral of patients identified as living in violent relationships.     

Experience of maltreatment as a child and acceptance of violence in adult intimate relationships: mediating effects of distortions in cognitive schemas

Links exist between being subjected to maltreatment as a child and tendencies to accept violence as normative in adult relationships. Constructivist Self Development Theory suggests that such relationships may be affected by "cognitive disruptions" in "self" and "other" schemas. Mediating effects of distorted cognitive schemas on the association between history of child maltreatment and the acceptance of violence in intimate interpersonal relationships were investigated among 433 men and women. Outcomes indicated that individuals who reported childhood maltreatment were more likely to display distortions in their cognitive schemas and those individuals with disrupted schemas were more likely to accept relationship violence. Least-square multiple regression analyses revealed that distorted beliefs fully mediated the relationship between reporting childhood maltreatment and acceptance of violence, for both men and women. Subsidiary analyses suggested that this full mediation was replicated for schemas involving the self but not for schemas about others.     

Domestic violence laws and suicide in Mexico

In the mid-1990s Mexican states began adopting reforms that for the first time criminalized domestic violence. Two separate policies were also adopted which allowed domestic violence to be grounds for divorce and established prevention and assistance programs for victims of domestic violence. I exploit the variation in time and geography to estimate the impact of these three policies on female suicide rates using a difference-in-difference methodology. The results indicate that states that criminalized domestic violence exhibited a 22–34% decrease in suicide rates compared to non-adopting states, but there is no robust evidence that the other two policies had any impact. A battery of tests provides support for the robustness of these findings and indicates that most of the effects are concentrated among married women. Analysis of a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey covering violence against women in Mexico suggests reduction in sexual and physical violence as a possible mechanism behind the reduction in female suicide rates. These findings are consistent with an intra-household bargaining model with asymmetric information and costly conflict which predicts that policies that reduce conflict within the household can reduce female suicides. The results highlight the importance of developing and implementing policies that facilitate reporting and providing access to legal institutions for victims of domestic violence, which can in turn improve a victim’s wellbeing.

     

Domestic violence in african-american and african-caribbean families

This article explores domestic violence, specifically spouse abuse, in African-American and African-Caribbean families in the United States. Its purpose is to review the existing literature on Black couples and violence, examine the applicability of current theories of violence to Blacks, and outline the barriers to the treatment of domestic violence in this population. The variables of institutionalized racism and internalized racism, as factors in lowering self-esteem, are examined as contributors to Black women's acceptance of mistreatment. Suggestions are made for empirical research to close the gaps in the literature.     

Borderline personality symptomatology and history of domestic violence among women in an internal medicine setting

In this study of primary care patients, we examined the relationship between a history of domestic violence (measured with the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale [SVAWS]) and borderline personality (measured with the Self-Harm Inventory [SHI] and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 [PDQ-4]). We elected borderline personality for examination because several diagnostic criteria sets describe relationship features suggestive of partner abuse. In this study, both measures of borderline personality were highly related to each other (r = .73, p < .001) as well as to the SVAWS (r = .70, p < .001, for the SHI; r = .73, p < .001, for the PDQ-4). Using diagnostic cutoff scores on the measures for borderline personality, 64.0% of those with histories of domestic violence scored in the positive range on either or both measures, while only 11.1% of nonabused women did. We discuss the clinical implications of these findings.     

Lay people in court: the experience of defendants,eyewitnesses and victims

The article considers the effect of criminal trial procedures on the experience at court of victims, witnesses and defendants. Trials for offences involving physical violence were observed, and interviews conducted with those involved. The article highlights communication problems lay people encountered relating to courtroom conventions, discusses alternative procedures granting more room for narrative testimony, and draws parallels between such an approach and principles of research methods directed to securing valid, reliable data.     

Fear and expectations: differences among female victims of domestic violence who come to the attention of the police

This study investigated a broad range of female victims of domestic partner abuse who came to the attention of the police. Ninety-five consecutive victims were interviewed by officers in a police department's domestic violence unit. Twenty-two percent of the victims matched expectations of women who were both afraid of their abusers and expected future abuse. Surprisingly, 46% of the victims were unafraid of their offenders and believed that future abuse was unlikely. A consistent pattern of findings supports the conclusion that a much broader range of victims than expected comes to the attention of the police. These results suggest exploring alternative police responses for different types of victims.     

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.     

Shame and Indonesian women victims of domestic violence in making the decision to divorce

ABSTRACT

Studies on divorce and shame in Indonesia have found that shame has been used by the Indonesian government to restrict divorce; however, this built on existing negative cultural constructions of the female divorcee. Although being a widow is also stigmatised by the public, this is to a lesser extent than for a divorced woman. Research has shown that the concept of shame has been one of the barriers that women face when considering disclosing their marital problems, in this instance domestic violence. In general, this concept continues to exert influence on and within Indonesian women as it has been culturally and legally embedded in Indonesian society. Regardless of their identities, all respondents felt shame when they experienced domestic violence. The experiences of Indonesian women in responding to and making decisions dealing with domestic violence differ because their response depends on their needs and interests.     

Family myths among female adolescents in a residential setting

The purpose of the study was to understand the role of family myths in the lives of adolescent girls with problems, living away from home in a residential institution. Based on the semi-structured interviews, the researcher worked at exploring the different family myths that developed in the families. The results showed that there are a large number of problems prevalent in the form of scapegoating and salvation and redemption myths. The implications for practice reveal that it is necessary to understand family myths in order to comprehend family relationships. In order to work with myths, a therapist has to be an impartial arbiter and investigator and create an atmosphere for exploring the various family members involvements with each other.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder and health-related quality of life in female victims of intimate partner violence

The association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and health-related quality of life (QOL) in female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) was examined. The Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate health-related QOL. IPV victims with PTSD (IPV/PTSD+; n = 18), IPV victims without PTSD (IPV/PTSD-; n = 22), and a non-abused control group (NA; n = 30) were compared. Multiple Analyses of Covariance (covarying for socioeconomic status and age) indicated that the three groups scored significantly differently on health-related QOL, and the IPV/PTSD- group was significantly more impaired than the NA group. IPV/PTSD+ subjects were significantly more impaired than IPV/PTSD- subjects on physical functioning, mental health, vitality, role limitations due to emotional health, and social functioning. Multiple regression analyses indicated that PTSD severity was a significant statistical predictor of SF-36 mental health composite scores (but not of physical health composite scores), after controlling for depressive symptomatology and extent of physical and psychological 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.     

Predicting program success for adult offenders with serious mental illness in a court ordered diversion program

ABSTRACT

Individuals with mental illnesses are disproportionately involved with the criminal justice system and are now being diverted from jails to community-based supervision. This study examines secondary data from a state hospital, mental health diversion program. Logistic regression was used to examine risk factors that best predicted successful program completion. Results indicate that non-whites are more likely to complete. Participants in supervised housing, ever been re-hospitalized, diagnosed with a depressive or psychotic disorder or who had their probation revoked were less likely to complete. Findings indicate practitioners should provide a holistic and individually oriented treatment approach for success.     

Examining the nexus between domestic violence and animal abuse in a national sample of service providers

Companion animals play a complex role in families impacted by violence. An outlet of emotional support for victims, the family pet often becomes a target for physical abuse. Results from a comprehensive e-survey of domestic violence shelters nationwide (N = 767) highlight both improvements and existing gaps in service provision for domestic violence victims and their pets. Quantitative and qualitative data noted frequently encountered obstacles to successful shelter seeking by abuse victims with companion animals including a lack of availability, funding, space, and reliable programming. Although results indicate an overall improvement in organizational awareness, fewer than half of surveyed shelters include intake questions about animals. Continued awareness and an expansion of services is needed to create viable safety planning strategies and reliable alternatives for women with companion animals in order to improve the likelihood that abuse victims will seek escape and refuge for themselves, their children, and their pets.