Muted Lives:

Battered older women are a silenced and invisible group. They are silenced by ageist assumptions about them as too resistant and hopeless to change or made invisible by the notion that very frail elders are the only victims of elder abuse. Women over 50, abused by partners or adult children, are not accurately perceived and consequently not adequately helped by current domestic violence or elder abuse intervention systems. A new program serving this group, involving 132 women, shows some important similarities and differences between younger and older battered women. Although barriers can differ across the life cycle, even women of advanced age can be free of abuse or develop coping skills to minimize its damage. This article explores the unique factors affecting older women victimized by domestic abuse. The author concludes with questions and suggestions for helpers interested in better serving older battered women.     

Motherhood of Battered Women: The Struggle for Repairing the Past

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze battered women's subjective perceptions of their own motherhood. Although there is substantial knowledge about the negative effects of children witnessing their mothers' abuse by their fathers, there is little research available on the motherhood of battered women. Examining this issue in the clinical, ethical, and research domains is a complex process. Yet, increasing our understanding of battered women's own perspective is essential if we want to implement comprehensive and effective treatment. The present study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 battered women. The finding show that battered women describe a basic mission in their life that structure the core meaning of their motherhood, namely, to repair the negative experiences of physical and emotional distress caused by their parents. Such repair is seen as compensating for the past and as building a positive and safe emotional reality for their children's future.     

Traumatic Responding in Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

Abstract

The present cross-cultural study summarizes the traumatic responses of Mexican, Mexican American, and non-Mexican American children who were residents of three shelters for battered women in Monterrey Mexico, McAllen Texas, and Ft. Worth Texas. Sixty-eight mothers reported on their children's (n = 90) individual and total traumatic symptoms. Findings revealed very slight differences in individual responses with no overall trauma symptom differences. Multiple regression analyses revealed that mothers' experiences of physical, and sexual abuse predicted greater trauma responses in children. Implications for practice with children and mothers in shelters for battered women are highlighted.     

The impact of severe stalking experienced by acutely battered women: an examination of violence, psychological symptoms and strategic responding

Stalking has been relatively understudied compared to other dimensions of intimate partner violence. The purpose of this article was to examine concurrent and subsequent intimate partner abuse, strategic responses and symptomatic consequences of severe stalking experienced by battered women. Thirty-five battered women classified as "relentlessly stalked" and 31 infrequently stalked battered women were compared. Compared to infrequently stalked battered women, relentlessly stalked battered women reported: (a) more severe concurrent physical violence, sexual assault and emotional abuse: (b) increased post-separation assault and stalking; (c) increased rates of depression and PTSD; and (d) more extensive use of strategic responses to abuse. Results underscore the scope and magnitude of stalking faced by battered women and have implications for assessment and intervention strategies.     

Issues in intervention with battered women in collectivist societies

Over the past three decades, several models for individual and group intervention with battered women have been developed. The common assumption underlying all of these models is that violence and abuse are never appropriate in an intimate relationship, and that battered women have a basic right to safety, which is not negotiable. Because almost all of those models were developed in the individualistic contexts of Western societies, some questions and concerns have been raised as to their suitability for intervention with battered women in collectivist contexts. In this article, we explore the characteristics of collectivist societies based on the conceptual framework of Triandis, Brislin, and Hui, (1988) which focuses on five dimensions: the self, attitudes, values, activities, and behaviors. Furthermore, we explore each of those dimensions and their relevance to various aspects of wife abuse in collectivist societies, such as the way that battered women cope with violence against them, and possibilities for professional intervention.     

Psychological abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder in battered women: examining the roles of shame and guilt

Psychological abuse among battered women has been relatively understudied. However, battered women's reports in the existing qualitative and quantitative research suggest that the effects of psychological abuse can be even more damaging than the effects of physical abuse. The current study attempted to clarify the relationship between psychological abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within a sample of battered women by statistically controlling for the effects of physical abuse. This study also explored the affective experiences of shame and guilt as important variables in the development of PTSD in battered women. This investigation replicated previous work suggesting that battered women are very much at risk for a diagnosis of PTSD and suggests that clinicians and researchers may need to focus on psychological abuse as a predictor of PTSD symptomatology. The current findings encourage attention to shame reactions in battered women and suggest new directions in the study of PTSD for other traumatized populations.     

Understanding Chinese Battered Women in North America

SUMMARY

Spouse abuse is an ignored, invisible, but significant problem in the Chinese community. This paper describes the experience of Chinese battered women in North America and provides suggestions for culturally sensitive and competent interventions for them. The discussion is based on an extensive review of the literature regarding Chinese battered women. In understanding the experience of Chinese battered women and their strategic responses to the abuse, helping professionals are urged to consider cultural, contextual, as well as individual factors including family dynamics. A three-tier model of intervention for treatment of spouse abuse in the Chinese community is proposed that targets the individual battered women, the family system, and the larger community.     

“I Help the Ones that Want Help”: Emotion Work and the Victim Advocate Role

Using data gathered from participant observation and 32 individual in-depth interviews, this study examines how victim advocates achieve emotion management in their work with battered women. This research reveals that victim advocates often experience difficulty coping with occupational stress via daily “deep acting” strategies as they work to change their understandings of battered women and the advocate role from the “inside out.” The data reveal that the core of their ability to cope requires victim advocates to redefine their perceived role from “savior” to “options giver” to more accurately define their role interactions with battered women.     

Mothers' strategies for protecting children from batterers: the perspectives of battered women involved in child protective services

During in-depth, individual interviews, seventeen battered women involved in the public child welfare system discussed the effects of domestic violence on their children, and their strategies for protecting and supporting them. Most mothers articulated the detrimental effects of domestic violence on their children and coherent strategies to protect them physically, but described difficulties supporting young children psychologically. Collectively, mothers reported a number of apparently useful strategies for supporting children's psychological resilience. Implications for intervention are discussed.     

"Victims" and "Survivors": Emerging Vocabularies of Motive for "Battered Women Who Stay"*

This paper reviews the literature providing reasons for why battered women "stay" in abusive relationships and examines the emergence of images of battered women as "survivors" in early and contemporary activists' discourses, drawing on ideas from social constructionist approaches to social problems, identity, and deviance to explore this phenomenon. Most of the early representations of battered women I analyze emphasize their emotionality and their victimization, while the more recent constructions of this collective identity discussed here emphasize their rationality and their agency. Both "victim" and "survivor" typifications provide accounts for why battered women stay in violent relationships, thus providing a vocabulary of motive for this oft-imputed "deviance." Constructing battered women as survivors, however, may also remediate some of the stigma that can attach to victimization more generally. After situating victim and survivor discourses and considering how the image of a survivor may meet normative expectations that a victim image perhaps violates, I briefly discuss some implications of these alternate collective identities.     

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.     

An examination of sheltered battered women's perpetration of stalking and other unwanted pursuit behaviors

In the current study, sheltered battered women (n = 105) self-reported whether they had perpetrated stalking or other unwanted pursuit behaviors (e.g., harassment, threat) during relationship separations from their abuser. Results indicated that sheltered battered women who admitted perpetrating stalking behavior (about 25% of the sample) had more self-blame, depression, and a greater tendency to leave the shelter within the first week (45%) than did battered women who did not report perpetrating stalking behaviors. The majority of battered women who reported perpetrating stalking behavior also reported being victimized by stalking behaviors (bidirectional stalking). Although these women reported similarly high levels of fear toward their abuser as did unidirectionally stalked women, bidirectionally stalking women were less likely to perceive that their abuser was using his violence to obtain control over them and were more depressed and self-blaming. Directions for future research, recommendations for shelter staff, and the potential treatment implications of these findings are discussed.     

Protecting Children

Abstract

In this study, difficulties that women with alcohol problems and victimization experiences might have protecting their children from victimization were investigated. Mothers of children (ages 3-17) were recruited from a longitudinal study of women, alcohol problems, and victimization; women came from alcohol treatment programs, battered women's shelters, mental health clinics, drinking and driving programs, and a random household sample. Hypothetical parenting scenarios were constructed to assess mothers' ability to protect their children from victimization trauma. Women's responses to the scenarios were analyzed thematically and coded. Next, coded responses were analyzed quantitatively to identify significant differences among women with past alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems, current AOD problems, and no AOD problems. Women with current AOD problems were more likely than women with no AOD problems and women with past AOD problems to provide aggressive responses to scenarios. Women with past AOD problems were more likely than their non-addicted counterparts to perceive sexual abuse as a possibility, to attribute responsibility for the problem to the other participant only (seeing no role for their child), and to seek information about what happened from the other participant only. Findings suggest that some interpersonal problem-solving difficulties resolve when women become sober while others persist into recovery, potentially affecting women's ability to protect their children.     

COUNSELING BATTERED WOMEN FROM FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCHES*

In addition to the emotional, physical, and economic issues that all abused women face, battered women from fundamentalist churches have religious issues that need to be addressed. While therapists usually leave discussion of such matters to the clergy, in the case of domestic violence, the fundamentalist clergy is likely to be unsupportive or to even unknowingly endanger battered women because of their legalistic attitudes about marriage and sex roles. It is, thus, imperative that the professional counselor understand these issues and be willing to discuss them. This article explains five teachings of fundamentalist churches, explores how they help perpetuate violent relationships, and offers suggestions to therapists on how to speak with clients about these issues.     

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 antiviolence-against-women work for the last 15 years. At this time, it is a vibrant movement struggling with several complex issues that are perhaps less common in the dominant white community. As in the lives of immigrant women of color, much of the intricacies of domestic violence in the South Asian context emerge from the intersections of race, class, and residency status 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.     

The "Medea complex" among men: the instrumental abuse of children to injure wives

It has been previously documented that wife and child abuse often co-occur. The present study tested competing hypotheses about the reasons for this co-occurrence, specifically trait versus instrumental theories of aggression within families. Three commonly cited catalysts (unemployment, drinking, and life-stress events) for men's abuse of family members were analyzed to determine whether they equally predict partner or child abuse. Interviews were conducted with 363 women and children about spousal and paternal abuse, and women were interviewed about sociodemographics and the stressors described above. Families were oversampled for the presence of spousal violence. Logistic regressions revealed that heavy drinking (log-odds ratio 4.86) and life stress events (log-odds ratio 1.6) predicted men's abuse of their partners. These risk factors were unrelated to child abuse. Wife battering, however, placed children at heightened risk (log-odds ratio = 2.77). Children of battered women stood a 42% chance of receiving escalated abuse from their fathers. It is proposed that men's abuse of children is in many instances instrumental in order to coerce or retaliate against women, echoing the Greek myth of Medea who killed her own children to spite their father.     

Child Custody and Domestic Violence

Abstract

Child Custody & Domestic Violence(Jaffe, Lemon, & Poisson, 2002) tries unsuccessfully to address both professional and lay audiences. It is a work of advocacy focusing on the plight of battered women and their children, rather than an authoritative text on the assessment and management of cases involving domestic violence allegations in family courts.     

Career Counseling for Women Preparing to Leave Abusive Relationships: A Social Cognitive Career Theory Approach

Career counselors work with people from varied segments of society. For battered women, some of the challenges they face from intimate partner violence may significantly influence their career exploration and decision making. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) is a framework that has important implications for working with these women. In this article, the authors present the unique career needs of battered women terminating abusive relationships, the relevance of SCCT to this population, strategies for using SCCT when working with these women, and a case study illustrating effective use of SCCT.     

The relative effects of intimate partner physical and sexual violence on post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology

This study examined the relative effects of intimate partner physical and sexual violence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Severity of physical and sexual violence as well as PTSD severity were assessed in a sample of 62 help-seeking battered women. The results of this study were consistent with prior research, finding significant and positive relationships between physical and sexual violence as well as sexual violence and PTSD symptoms. In order to further clarify these relationships, the unique effects of sexual violence on PTSD were examined after controlling for physical violence severity. Results indicated that sexual violence severity explained a significant proportion of the variance in PTSD severity beyond that which was already accounted for by physical violence severity. These findings have important implications for mental health and social service professionals who work with battered women.