Engagement strategies and change: an intentional practice response for the child welfare worker in cases of domestic violence

In order to engage mothers who are victims of domestic abuse, the child welfare worker needs to be challenged to develop an intentional practice response that includes knowledge and skill concerning the complexities of domestic violence, as well as the process of change. Developing a supportive relationship, understanding the stages of change (SOC) and engaging mothers as leaders in the change process are essential to successful child protection outcomes. Within the context of the SOC model, this practice‐based paper focuses on the importance of engaging mothers who are victims of domestic violence in conversations about their own unique dilemmas, challenges and barriers regarding change. Through the inclusion of engagement strategies such as signs of safety, active listening and cost/benefit analysis, in concert with the SOC theory, the child welfare worker would be equipped with an approach to successfully assist mothers through their change journey, ultimately keeping children safe.     

Women under protection – in hiding from violent men

In Sweden in 2007, 11,047 people, out of a population of around nine million were living under at-risk conditions requiring protective measures for their safety. Sixty per cent were women, most of them hiding from men who had battered them and were still threatening and stalking them. In this research and intervention study, a group of women in hiding were given different kinds of support and 23 women were interviewed. These women struggle to make a living, work or study, and their finances are extremely strained. Their social networks/interactions are nonexistent. Living under constant threat and insecurity has an adverse impact on the women's health. The community is obliged, for economic and security reasons, to support battered women. There are still severe shortcomings with regard to security. One recommendation is the institution of personal protection officers, i.e. specially trained social service caseworkers able to support the woman once protection measures have been decided.     

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.     

A Postmodern Critique of Societal Discourses of Male Violence in Interpersonal Family Relationships: A Balancing Act for Social Work

In recent years, treatments of family violence have tended to be built around conventional discourses suggesting that men are major initiators in instances of interpersonal violence. Utilizing a postmodernist analysis, we assess societal discourses that continue to give life to this narrow conceptualization of interpersonal violence. We also examine literature suggesting that both men and women resort to violence to resolve relationship difficulties and suggest that a more holistic and inclusive approach to understanding interpersonal violence is critical for social workers committed to social justice and a balanced understanding of the contextual nature of human problems.     

The Importance of Domestic Violence-Sensitive Language

Abstract

It is important for judges to accurately convey what they intend when speaking to litigants involved in domestic violence. Language has idiosyncratic meaning to perpetrators and to victims. Therefore, it is imperative that judges know and understand the language of domestic violence and use it properly. This editorial comments on some of the pitfalls of improper use of language, its impact, and suggests some solutions.     

A Qualitative Analysis of College Women's Leaving Processes in Abusive Relationships

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed the process of leaving an abusive dating relationship utilizing a qualitative design. Methods: Participants included 123 college women in abusive dating relationships who participated at the beginning and end of a 10-week academic quarter. Results: Qualitative content analyses were used to analyze the transcribed responses to an open-ended question about women's leaving processes over the interim period. A variety of categories and themes emerged for women in different stages of the leaving process, consistent with the Transtheoretical Model of Change and Investment Model. Data also underscored women's lack of acknowledgment, minimization, and normalization of abuse. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the importance of dating violence intervention and prevention programming on college campuses and offer information that may be useful to college health providers who assist women in abusive dating relationships.     

Leadership Dimensions,the Critical Link for the Evolution of Collaboration

Abstract

This article traces the history of one community's efforts to coordinate services to address family violence. The current mazeof organizations in communities is overwhelming to the professionals who work in them, the political leaders who authorize them, the foundations and United Ways who fund them, and, most assuredly, to the persons for whom the various organizations were established. A review of the literature on coordination and collaboration is included as well as a discussion of leadership challenges during the various stages in the evolutionary process to provide confidential, culturally sensitive, comprehensive, accountable, and user-friendly community social service systems.     

非正常时期理想主义与群体暴力的悖论——以法德两国为例

理想主义往往让人联想到伦理学的至善，但理想主义者却往往由于对自己理论和道德的过分自信、对理想社会的过分执著而表现出对他人的不宽容，从而演化出理论上和实践上的暴力事实。法国大革命和德国纳粹为我们提供了绝好的案例来思考二者之间的悖论。     

Relational Aggression in Peer and Dating Relationships: Links to Psychological and Behavioral Adjustment

We examined the contribution of relational aggression in adolescents' peer and dating relationships to their psychological and behavioral adjustment. In the Fall and again four months later, 1279 (646 female) grade 9 students reported on relational aggression perpetration and victimization in their romantic and peer relationships, depression/anxiety symptoms (psychological adjustment) and delinquency (behavioral adjustment). Using hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for Time 1 adjustment/behavior, peer relational aggression perpetration predicted depression/anxiety. Dating relational victimization also predicted depression/anxiety, but only for girls. Furthermore, girls who were perpetrators of relational aggression in both peer and dating contexts were most likely to show increases in delinquent behavior. We conclude that dating and peer relationships are not redundant, but make independent and additive contributions to adolescent adjustment. Girls, in particular, may be at greatest risk for poor outcomes when they have relationally aggressive relationships. Results also highlight the need for greater awareness of the complexity and significance of adolescent dating relationships.