Women's Accounts of Domestic Violence

Abstract

Critiques of behavioral inventories, qualitative studies of battered women's experiences, and communications research all suggest that women's accounts of violence contain information and a more complex structure than is captured by checklist measures that focus on types of abuse. We conducted a quantitative thematic analysis of 162 women's accounts of domestic violence to assess structure and content. Most women presented domestic violence as a “story” with an introduction, body and a conclusion: 59% presented a “complete story” and 33% a “near story.” Background information and problem statements were the most prevalent content statements in the “introduction,” and relationship issues and explanations were most common in the “conclusion.” Bivariate analyses revealed that accounts did not vary by socio-demographic factors and severity of the incident. Men were less likely to present complete stories, had far briefer narratives, and never discussed relationship issues. Knowledge of the structure and content of women's accounts provides greater understanding of women's responses to violence.     

The End of Domestic Violence

In this article, I examine the rationales that have been given for extending domestic violence legislation to associated persons. I argue that the empirical and principled rationales are unfounded and that the ideological rationale is reactionary. With regard to the empirical rationale, the extent of violence that the aggregate of associated persons suffers is not high enough to justify privileging associated persons over other citizens with regard to protection from violence. In relation to the principled rationale, the impetus for domestic violence legislation was based on isolation and inequality, which are not experienced in particular by the category of associated persons when taken as a whole. With regard to the ideological rationale, it is worrying that intimacy and equality are emerging as the touchstones of a newer rationale for domestic violence legislation, which rightly has more to do with isolation and inequality than intimacy and equality.     

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Domestic Violence on Young Children's Intellectual Functioning

This study examined the direct and indirect effects of domestic violence on preschoolers' intellectual functioning. The sample consisted of 100 women and their 3–5-year-old children (44 boys and 56 girls) recruited from the general community. Forty-three percent of mothers had experienced domestic violence within the last year, defined by at least one physically aggressive act by an intimate partner. Children who had witnessed domestic violence had significantly poorer verbal abilities than nonwitnesses after controlling for SES and child abuse, but there were no group differences on visual–spatial abilities. Domestic violence also indirectly affected both types of intellectual abilities through its impact on maternal depression and the intellectual quality of the home environment. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed, as well as the implications for interventions for young child witnesses.     

Righting Domestic Violence

For too long human rights have been used to support a legalapproach to domestic violence which is non-interventionist.This article discusses the ways in which human rights can beused to compel an approach to cases of domestic violence whichrequires state action to protect those harmed by domestic abuse.It argues that the state has an obligation to protect its citizensfrom torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and this obligationis heightened in respect of vulnerable adults and particularlychildren. Further, correctly understood, rights to respect forprivate and family life, rather than being a barrier to stateintervention can be seen as justifying it.     

Parenting in Battered Women: The Effects of Domestic Violence on Women and Their Children

This study integrates an ecological perspective and trauma theory in proposing a model of the effects of domestic violence on women's parenting and children's adjustment. One hundred and twenty women and their children between the ages of 7 and 12 participated. Results supported an ecological model of the impact of domestic violence on women and children. The model predicted 40% of the variance in children's adjustment, 8% of parenting style, 43% of maternal psychological functioning, and 23% of marital satisfaction, using environmental factors such as social support, negative life events, and maternal history of child abuse. Overall, results support the ecological framework and trauma theory in understanding the effects of domestic violence on women and children. Rather than focusing on internal pathology, behavior is seen to exist on a continuum influenced heavily by the context in which the person is developing.     

Women's Violence Against Their Children

Feminist scholars have rarely ventured into the realm of child abuse research. The aim of this paper is to lay the foundation for a feminist understanding of women's violence against their children. It begins with an assessment of the fundamental nature of the oppression of women in society and within the family. It continues with a critical analysis of how conventional child abuse and family violence experts have attempted to explain the problem of violence against children in the family. Ultimately, this paper reveals that if one is genuinely interested in unlocking the secrets of maternal child abuse, then the key is a feminist perspective that provides insight into the lives of women in the patriarchy.     

The War on Violence: Improving the Response to Domestic Violence in the Military

The Department of Defense has taken steps in recent years to improve outcomes for victims of domestic violence who reside on military installations. In 2000, the Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence was established, a military‐civilian group of experts charged with improving the military's effectiveness in addressing domestic violence in the Armed Forces in a variety of areas including offender accountability, coordination between military and civilian communities, and changing the military climate around domestic violence. This article will provide an overview of the Task Force, its work during the past three years, and its recommendations.     

The Impact of Specialized Domestic Violence Units on Case Processing

This study involves an evaluation of an innovative approach to the handling of domestic violence (DV) cases in the city of Cleveland, Ohio that includes (1) a DV Project composed of specially trained police detectives, prosecutors and victim advocates for investigating and prosecuting domestic violence cases involving adult female victims who are married to, cohabitating with, or have a child with the defendant; and (2) a Dedicated Domestic Violence Docket that involves two Municipal Court judges hearing all of the domestic violence cases that are handled by the DV Project. We collected data on six months of domestic violence cases occurring in the latter half of 2008 (N?=?1388), by linking records from the Cleveland Police Department, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Municipal Court. We found that very few victims in police districts lacking the DV Project follow up with a prosecutor to pursue the case further, indicting that specialized DV units in police departments can have a significant impact on the number of DV cases that move forward through the criminal justice system. DV Project cases were slightly less likely to result in charges issued by prosecutors (OR?=?.499) but more likely to result in dismissals (OR?=?2.545) and referrals to DV treatment programs (χ²?=?3.88).     

The Influence of Domestic Violence on Preschooler Behavior and Functioning

Enhancing current explanations of domestic violence exposure effects on child cognitive and behavioral functioning was the purpose of this investigation. Participants were 31 domestic violence exposed and 31 non-exposed children ages 3 to 5 years and their single-parent household mothers. Child-mother pairs were matched for child’s age, gender, and ethnicity, mother’s age and education, and annual family income. Child cognitive and behavioral functioning was assessed via psychological assessment and parent report. The presence of mental health difficulties in mothers was assessed using self-report and clinician-administered instruments. Exposed children showed lower verbal functioning and higher internalizing behaviors than did their non-exposed peers. Exposed mothers displayed greater psychological difficulties than did their counterparts.     

加拿大家庭暴力项目的发展

在消除对妇女的歧视方面 ,从性别 (sex)到社会性别 (gender)的术语上的转变拓展了政府的人权义务 ,各国政府有法定义务须纠正历史建构的男女两性之间的结构性不平等。随着 2 0世纪 90年代期间国际社会在优先事项上的改变 ,对妇女的暴力成为国际日程的重要议题。由于对妇女的暴力是个结构性问题 ,因而要求国家承担预防针对女性的暴力并改变结构不平等的义务 ,后者使妇女的屈从地位永久化 ,使妇女更易于遭受暴力的侵犯。根据消除对妇女歧视委员会 1 989年发布的第 1 2号一般性建议 ,《消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约》第 2、第 4、第 1 1、第 1 2…     

Specialized Domestic Violence Courts

Abstract

The multimethod study assesses the perceptions of specialized domestic violence courts' processes with victims' experiences as the central focus. Perceptions of the traditional courts and specialized domestic violence courts are compared among victims, courtroom police, attorneys, judges and victim advocates. Domestic violence education among attorneys, judges, and victim advocates is also compared. Despite the intended improvements with the specialized court model, victims report similar problems in both court models. Safety and victims support among respondents is mixed. Professionals from the specialized court receive no more domestic violence education than those from the general court. Victims' and courtroom police recommendations are presented.     

The Effects of a Police/Victim Assistance Crisis Team Approach to Domestic Violence

A police/victim assistance crisis intervention program was evaluated over a 6-month period for its effect on police-related outcomes. Police report data on crisis team cases (N = 96) were compared to a random selection of family violence cases (N = 80) that were not served by the crisis team. The crisis team cases generated more arrests; however, victim cooperation was lower than in noncrisis intervention cases. Implications for work with family violence and victim assistance are discussed, as well as needs for future research.     

Male Victims of Domestic Violence

Most studies regarding DV focused mainly on female victims. To gain more insight into the problems male victims encounter, this study investigated the characteristics of this group in the Netherlands. Adult male victims of DV filled out an online questionnaire regarding the characteristics of the abuse (N?=?372). When men are victims of DV, they are physically as well as psychologically abused with the female (ex)-partners often being their perpetrator. The most important reason for men not to report the abuse is the belief the police would not take any action. Our findings suggest society should be aware that men are also victims of DV and feel the need to talk about it and desire support.     

Differences in Effects of Domestic Violence Between Latina and Non-Latina Women

There has been much research on the effects of domestic violence on women; however, little research has focused on possible differences in reactions to domestic violence between Latina and non-Latina women. Comparable samples of Latina and non-Latina women were obtained and analyses revealed that there were no significant differences between the two samples with regard to the nature and severity of the domestic violence to which they were exposed. However, results indicated that Latina women who had been victims of domestic violence had significantly greater trauma-related symptoms, depression, lower social and personal self-esteem, and were less likely to make global attributions for positive events than were non-Latina women. They also reported more parenting stress due to their child's behaviors than did non-Latina women. The implications of these results in light of cultural differences between Latina and non-Latina women are discussed.     

Exposure Reduction or Retaliation? The Effects of Domestic Violence Resources on Intimate‐Partner Homicide

Rates of homicide involving intimate partners have declined substantially over the past 25 years in the United States, while public awareness of and policy responses to domestic violence have grown. To what extent has the social response to domestic violence contributed to the decline in intimate‐partner homicide? We evaluate the relationship between intimate‐partner homicide and domestic violence prevention resources in 48 large cities between 1976 and 1996. Controlling for other influences, several types of prevention resources are linked to lower levels of intimate‐partner homicide, which we interpret in terms of their capacity to effectively reduce victims' exposure to abusive or violent partners. Other resources, however, are related to higher levels of homicide, suggesting a retaliation effect when interventions stimulate increased aggression without adequately reducing exposure. In light of other research on deficiencies in accessing and implementing prevention resources, our results suggest that too little exposure reduction in severely violent relationships may be worse than none at all.     

The Effects of Child Abuse and Exposure to Domestic Violence on Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems

This study examines the effects of child abuse and domestic violence exposure in childhood on adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Data for this analysis are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, a prospective study of 457 youth addressing outcomes of family violence and resilience in individuals and families. Results show that child abuse, domestic violence, and both in combination (i.e., dual exposure) increase a child’s risk for internalizing and externalizing outcomes in adolescence. When accounting for risk factors associated with additional stressors in the family and surrounding environment, only those children with dual exposure had an elevated risk of the tested outcomes compared to non-exposed youth. However, while there were some observable differences in the prediction of outcomes for children with dual exposure compared to those with single exposure (i.e., abuse only or exposure to domestic violence only), these difference were not statistically significant. Analyses showed that the effects of exposure for boys and girls are statistically comparable.