Expanding the Intersectional Paradigm to Better Understand Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities

The study of battered women of color marginalized by their race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, and immigrant status (defined as an intersectional approach) has created new ways of thinking of and dealing with domestic violence in immigrant communities. This article applies the principles of an intersectional and interlocking analysis to the experiences of battered immigrant women in the U.S. In addition, here I bring together another dimension of intersectionality: one that inter-relates certain dynamics of domestic violence specific to immigrant communities and some of the unique ways in which immigrant communities are dealing with domestic violence in the U.S. In these ways, we are better able to see both the concerns about displacement and marginalization, as well as contestation and empowerment of battered immigrant women. For more information on this topic, see the extensive bibliography by Natalie J. Sokoloff, Multicultural Domestic Violence Bibliography, at .

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Policing Race,Gender, and Sex: A Review of Law Enforcement Policies

Growing attention to the unique ways in which women of color’s bodies are racially profiled and policed has prompted questions concerning gender-specific impacts of law enforcement practices. Arrest statistics, patterns of enforcement, and high-profile cases of police violence against Black women and other women of color suggest that gaps in policy and implementation will disproportionately affect women of color. In the current research, the policies of 36 police departments across the country were examined to ascertain the degree to which they address profiling, police sexual misconduct, and other gendered experiences of policing. The findings reveal considerable divergence in attention to regulating police behavior in the context of interactions with women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, exposing important gaps in police policies, and highlight a need for further research and action specifically focused on intersectional factors at play in the context of policing women’s bodies.     

Intersections,Immigration, and Partner Violence: A View From a New Gateway—Baltimore,Maryland

This article reports on the results of exploratory surveys with immigrant women regarding their observations of intimate partner violence and criminal justice practices in their communities in the emerging immigrant gateway of Baltimore, Maryland. Using an intersectional/interlocking theoretical framework, it asks how nativity interacts with other social locations in the experiences of partner violence through surveys of women representing 5 language groups. The study found high levels of awareness of the problem of partner violence in immigrant communities and strong awareness of many U.S. criminal justice approaches to the problem. Although the women preferred informal sources of support in a situation of abuse, they strongly supported government intervention. We found low levels of awareness of the Violence Against Women Act as well as little support for the higher levels of prosecution for batterers, even though arrest was sometimes approved. The article calls for sensitive policies and practices that take into account the particular vulnerabilities of the foreign-born, especially in localities where national diversity is relatively novel.     

Participatory action research in practice: a case study in addressing domestic violence in nine cultural communities

Participatory action research (PAR) is increasingly recognized as a viable approach to developing relationships with communities and working closely with them to address complex public health problems. In the case of domestic violence research, where ensuring the safety of women participants who are battered is paramount, participatory approaches to research that include advocates and women who are battered in research design, implementation, analysis, and dissemination are critical to successful and mutually beneficial projects. This article presents a case study of a PAR project that conducted formative qualitative research on domestic violence in nine ethnic and sexual minority communities. The article describes the specific ways in which a PAR approach was operationalized and discusses in detail how community participation shaped various stages of the research. Furthermore, specific actions that resulted from the research project are reported.     

Mental disorder in violent women in secure settings: Potential relevance to risk for future violence

The relevance to women of common violence risk factors identified in men has in many instances yet to be established. Consequently, there is a reluctance to accept without question the application to women of practices relating to violence risk assessment and management developed from research into men. This study examines mental disorder in women who are violent in order comment on its relevance to the practice of violence risk assessment and management. A sample of 95 violent women in high secure prison and forensic psychiatric care were assessed. Structured assessments of Axis I and II mental disorders and psychopathy were undertaken on all women and conviction histories were recorded. Very high levels of psychiatric morbidity were noted and patterns in comorbidity were detected. Among Axis I conditions, psychotic disorders and disorders of mood co-occurred at a very high rate. Among the Axis II conditions, dimensional ratings of borderline personality disorder (PD) correlated with dimensional ratings of avoidant, dependent and paranoid PDs while ratings of antisocial PD correlated with those of narcissistic, histrionic and obsessive–compulsive PDs. Women who had been incarcerated for a major violent offence were four times more likely to have a diagnosis of borderline PD than women whose index offence was one of minor violence. A number of the findings reported are in contrast to those reported in similar studies of men. Findings suggest that practitioners are right to question the application to women of knowledge derived from research into men. The practice of violence risk assessment and management with women should emphasise the development of individual risk formulations and responding to psychiatric comorbidity should be the rule rather than the exception with this population.     

The resource utilization of women who use violence in intimate relationships

Studies have found high rates of help seeking among domestic violence victims. However, little research has investigated the help-seeking patterns of women who use violence (many of whom are also abused). Understanding the resources utilized by women who are violent toward their partners may aid in designing interventions that will reduce the women's violence, as well as reduce the victimization they may be experiencing. This study examines the resource utilization of 108 women who used violence against a male partner (94% of whom also experienced victimization). Findings revealed that (a) almost all of the women utilized community resources in an attempt to manage the violence in their relationships; (b) victimization was related to resource utilization via self-defense motives, avoidance coping, and posttraumatic stress symptoms; and (c) greater resource utilization was related to lower levels of women's violence against their partners. Findings suggest that community resources may help prevent women's violence.     

Disproportionate Representation: Communities of Color in the Domestic Violence,Juvenile Justice,and Child Welfare Systems

A number of State and Federal surveys show that communities of color are involved with the domestic violence, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems at rates that are disproportionately higher than their population size. As courts are responsible for decisions that could propel families into these systems, it has become increasingly critical that judges become aware of these trends. This article will provide an overview of the current statistics on the disproportionate representation of communities of color in the domestic violence, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems. It will discuss the factors that are contributing to these trends and present preliminary recommendations for judicial leadership and decision making.     

Strengthening the Connection Between Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and Family Violence: The Importance of Ongoing Monitoring,Research and Inclusive Terminology

Family violence (FV) harms communities worldwide so FV prevention strategies and effective responses are urgently needed. This article reports on FV apparent in a study which explored the experiences of people with both ABI and justice system encounters in Victoria, Australia. One hundred interviews and one focus group consulted people with ABI, their families and carers, and various stakeholder groups in the Victorian justice system in Australia. Qualitative content analysis determined dominant themes and sub-themes and the less common themes. Inductive interpretive content analysis identified themes commonly found in previous published research and themes that appeared unique to, or unanticipated in, our data, such as the FV theme upon which this article focuses. Our findings reveal that FV has adversely affected many people with ABI who came into contact with Victoria’s justice system. Further, as ABI and FV often co-occur with substance abuse, mental health problems, socio-economic and many other significant disadvantages, for some FV perpetrators with an ABI, their ABI symptoms and characteristic co-morbidities may be a mitigating factor in their offending. The connection between ABI and family violence emerged as a troubling research theme. Indeed, the impact of FV on too many of our participants with an ABI compels us to call for further related research and secondary prevention programs targeted at FV victims, and offenders, living with ABI. An intersectional understanding of family violence and TBI/ABI in social ecological contexts is required to better understand brain injury at both individual and population levels.

     

Bruise Documentation,Race and Barriers to Seeking Legal Relief for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: a Retrospective Qualitative Study

Documentation of physical injuries from intimate partner violence (IPV) is critically important when a victim seeks legal help. Bruising, a common IPV injury, is often less visible on victims of color. This retrospective qualitative study is focused on IPV survivors’ and service providers’ experiences with the complex interrelationship between IPV injury, bruise documentation, race and legal assistance. Focus group results with a racially diverse group of female IPV survivors and legal service providers indicate that all victims struggle with documenting their bruises, but for women of color, even documentation of visible bruising underrepresents the severity of their IPV injuries. Further, there are a number of social, logistic, and systemic barriers to injury documentation that may make legal relief for IPV difficult for all women, but particularly more difficult for women of color. Proposed solutions to address the gap include, improved documentation techniques, and greater education for legal service providers. Implications for the field of family violence generally and potential future research directions are also discussed.     

Intersectional Criminology: Interrogating Identity and Power in Criminological Research and Theory

Intersectional criminology is a theoretical approach that necessitates a critical reflection on the impact of interconnected identities and statuses of individuals and groups in relation to their experiences with crime, the social control of crime, and any crime-related issues. This approach is grounded in intersectionality, a concept developed from the tenets of women of color feminist theory and activism. To demonstrate how intersectionality is useful in criminology, this article reviews a sampling of feminist and critical research conducted on Black girls’ and women’s experiences with crime, victimization, and criminal legal system processes. This research demonstrates the interlaced social impacts of race, gender, femininity/masculinity ideals, sexuality, and socioeconomic class. This article also provides a basis for widely deploying an intersectional approach throughout the field of criminology across all social identities and statuses.     

National self-image as an obstacle to ensuring children’s rights in the context of domestic violence and family law – the case of Sweden

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to highlight and discuss contradictions and challenges in the current policy and practice regarding fathers’ violence towards mothers and children in the Swedish welfare state. In particular, professional discourses and understandings of domestic violence in disputes about contact, custody, residence and maintenance, following parental separation, are analysed. My research suggests that abusers find ways to manipulate professionals and get them unwittingly to enable their continued control of victimised mothers and children. One conclusion is that oppression is maintained through processes of familialisation and selective repression. These discursive practices reproduce intersectional inequalities and, in doing so, in many cases result in the administration rather than prevention of further violence.     

Domestic violence in Ghana: an initial step

This article aims to expose the anxiety of abused women in Ghana by defining domestic violence within their culture. A survey conducted among 50 women clients of the Legal Aid Clinic of the International Federation of Women Lawyers in Ghana revealed that wife beating, to some extent, is an acceptable norm of the society. These battered women are more likely to define their experiences as a form of discipline at the hands of their husbands rather than domestic violence or wife battering. An examination of their social practices demonstrates that tradition is the most important reason why Ghanaian women accept the obvious disparity between their lifestyles and that of their male counterparts. Their traditional folk tales narrates stories about a man beating his wife to maintain law and order; while Ghanaian folk and highlife songs revolve around themes that encourage this mastery of wives and male superiority. The existence of domestic violence in all Ghanaian communities highlights the need for social reforms and substantive equality for Ghanaian women. Initial solutions include emphasis on public education, which fosters awareness and social change through women's organizations that work within communities. Once educational efforts have been established, long-term solutions such as adopting legislation to help battered women, as well as educating the police and the judiciary about domestic violence can then be integrated into Ghanaian society.     

Factors related to willingness to help survivors of intimate partner violence

Although researchers have found that survivors of intimate partner violence seek support from a multitude of sources, ranging from professionals to informal support networks, little is known about the extent to which community members reach out to help survivors. This study explored the type of support provided to survivors and various factors that relate to individuals' willingness to help. Survivors were more likely to be helped by women, younger individuals, those who strongly endorsed criminal justice interventions for perpetrators, and those who perceived intimate partner violence as a frequently occurring issue in their communities. Two additional factors were found to relate to an individual's likelihood of assisting others, including witnessing intimate partner violence as a child and prior victimization. Further research is needed in this area to explore helper, survivor, and contextual characteristics that may affect one's likelihood to offer assistance to survivors.     

REDUCING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: AN EVALUATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE JUSTICE SYSTEM‐COMMUNITY COLLABORATION*

Research Summary In 1999, three communities were selected to participate in a research demonstration designed to test the feasibility and impact of a coordinated response to intimate partner violence that involved the courts and justice agencies in a central role. The primary goals of the Judicial Oversight Demonstration (JOD) were to increase victim safety, hold offenders accountable, and reduce repeat offending using coordinated community services and integrated justice system policies in intimate partner violence court cases. The partnerships differed from earlier coordinated community responses to domestic violence by placing special focus on the role of the court, specifically the judge, to facilitate offender accountability in collaboration with both nonprofit service providers and other criminal justice agencies. This article presents the results of an impact evaluation of this demonstration in all sites. The demonstration received mostly positive responses from justice system agencies, service providers, offenders, and victims. Improvements were made in offender monitoring, consistent sanctioning, and increased supervision. However, these changes did not translate into gains in victim perceptions of their safety or into reductions in repeat violence in all sites. Policy Implications The demonstration had minimal impact on changing offender attitudes and behavior. The mixed results of the evaluation indicate that the most effective justice system responses to intimate partner violence must include a focus on protecting victims, close monitoring of offenders, and rapid responses with penalties when violations of court‐ordered conditions are detected. Indications were found that JOD strategies were effective for some subgroups, including younger offenders with fewer ties to the victim and offenders with extensive arrest histories. The observed reductions in intimate partner violence in selected subgroups in the JOD sites may suggest a fruitful way to begin designing new intervention strategies, including prevention programs for men and women.     

Just trust me and you’ll make a fortune – relationships between offenders and victims of human trafficking

ABSTRACT

Despite the increasing amount of research on human trafficking, certain aspects of the phenomenon have remained less studied. For many years, research had focused on trafficking for sexual exploitation and men-exploiting-women cases. Recently, the body of literature has become more diverse, and different forms of trafficking have been recognised. However, the trafficking research has largely ignored the notion of intersectionality, although intersectionality has been applied in several studies, for example, on domestic violence. This article deals with the relationships between offenders and trafficked persons. The study asks what is the nature of the relationships between them. Furthermore, the intersectional approach is applied to analyse what factors make trafficked persons prone to exploitation and, on the other hand, keep them in the exploitative situation. The study also focuses on the power relations between the parties involved. The data consists of trafficking in human beings court judgments from the Finnish courts. The intersectional analysis focuses particularly on the close reading of two cases. The analysis shows that many intersecting factors are linked to the victimisation of trafficked persons. Furthermore, the exploitative relationships between offenders and trafficked persons display many features of unequal distribution of power.     

Community violence and PTSD in selected South African townships

Given the high rates of crime in South Africa's townships, nonpolitical violence out-side the home and its psychological impact on women were investigated within two samples, the primary a help-seeking sample and the secondary a community sample. In the help-seeking sample, two thirds of the women reported having experienced several traumatic events outside the home. Those women displayed a median of 9 PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) symptoms, with nearly half meeting all criteria for PTSD. In the community sample, 40 women of color were interviewed at a community festival for women, and again two thirds reported having experienced several traumatic events outside the home during the previous year. These women displayed a median of 8.8 PTSD symptoms, with none meeting all criteria for PTSD. South Africa's distinctive culture of violence is discussed as context for understanding issues of community violence and PTSD among women in its minority townships.     

What is violence against women? Defining and measuring the problem: a response to Dean Kilpatrick

This article discusses (a) the relationship between the reemergence of the women's movement in the 1970s and the current field of violence against women; (b) the role voluntary associations and social activism play in shaping social institutions, including the institution of academic scholarship; (c) the need to broaden our definition of violence against women to include nonviolent acts, such as stalking and emotional abuse; (d) the need to study the interrelationships among various forms of violence and abuse, including violence and abuse experienced as a minor and violence and abuse experienced as an adult; (e) the importance of using precise language when reporting research findings; (f) the importance of using a multiple definition/measurement approach when conducting research on violence against women; and (g) the need for comprehensive research on violence against women that takes into account the various types of violent and abusive behaviors experienced by women over their lifetimes.     

Violence against women in video games: a prequel or sequel to rape myth acceptance?

Current research suggests a link between negative attitudes toward women and violence against women, and it also suggests that media may condition such negative attitudes. When considering the tremendous and continued growth of video game sales, and the resulting proliferation of sexual objectification and violence against women in some video games, it is lamentable that there is a dearth of research exploring the effect of such imagery on attitudes toward women. This study is the first study to use actual video game playing and control for causal order, when exploring the effect of sexual exploitation and violence against women in video games on attitudes toward women. By employing a Solomon Four-Group experimental research design, this exploratory study found that a video game depicting sexual objectification of women and violence against women resulted in statistically significant increased rape myths acceptance (rape-supportive attitudes) for male study participants but not for female participants.     

The Effects of Domestic Violence on the Formation of Relationships Between Women and Their Babies: “I Was Too Busy Protecting My Baby to Attach”

Until now, research into the effects of domestic violence on the formation of relationships between women and their babies has been from an attachment theory perspective. The research reported in this article takes a different approach. Innovative qualitative research methods are used to uncover knowledge about the formation of such relationships from the lived experiences of sixteen women who have mothered babies while enduring domestic violence. Analysis of the findings in this study identifies domestic violence constitutes an environment of sustained hostility where women respond with maternal protectiveness to maximise their babies’ physical and psychological safety whether or not they had attained a secure relationship. However, women recognize domestic violence constricts space to form close mother/baby relationships. Supported by these findings, this research suggests policy and practice concerned with relationships between women and babies subjected to domestic violence address protectiveness and space to attach. The article concludes with suggestions for further research.     

Action Research at the Intersection of Structural and Family Violence in an Immigrant Latino Community: a Youth-Led Study

The current study addresses the lack of research exploring the social and emotional impact of anti-immigrant policy on Latino communities, and the intersection of anti-immigrant climates with other family stressors, like domestic violence (DV). In this paper we describe a qualitative study led by the participatory action research group La Voz Juvenile de Caminar Latino. Youth researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with Latino men, women, and youth participating in a domestic violence program. Using an inductive approach to thematic analysis, researchers identified themes that reflect how Latino families with histories of DV experience an increasingly anti-immigrant climate. All participants in this study described emotional stress, fear, and restrictions in their day-to-day life attributed to the anti-immigrant sociopolitical climate, and adults also spoke to work-related stress and economic insecurity. Both adults and children described harassment by strangers, coworkers, and/or peers. With regard to DV, women tended to describe immigration stress as exasperating family conflict, while men viewed these external stressors as discouraging DV. Distrust of police and other formal supports was a key theme underlying adult and youth perceptions of help-seeking for DV. The findings of this study suggest that anti-immigrant sentiment and policy creates undue stress for Latino families and barriers to formal help-seeking for DV. The participatory research process provided a corrective experience for youth witnesses of DV and prioritizes the voices of those most affected by immigration policies and violence.