ONLINE-Quiz for Weeks 3 & 4

Chapter 8:  Abused Heterosexual Partners: Primarily Females

 

Lecture Outline

 

I.                   Blaming Victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

a.     Blaming of IPV Victim by Partner

i.      batterers tell their female partner that their violence happened because she did not do as he directed

ii.      70.5% of battered women said their partners blamed them for all the abuse, while blaming themselves for none of it

b.      Blaming of IPV Victim By Society (Beliefs based on misinformation, antiwoman biases, and so forth – myth-like beliefs)

i.      the public seems reluctant to place blame for violent behavior solely on perpetrators

ii.      there is too much focus on what the female victim may have done wrong, not on what the perpetrator had actually done wrong

iii.      because an adult woman’s relationship with a batterer is consensual, she is unworthy of empathy but worthy of blame

iv.      more than 40% believe the woman must have been at least partly to blame

v.      more than 60% agreed that if a battered woman were really afraid, she would simply leave

vi.      members of society believe the woman must have been emotionally disturbed or that she could have prevented the beatings if she had entered counseling

vii.      people felt some sympathy for female victims of partner abuse under externally imposed reasons (e.g. being threatened with death), rather than for internal reasons (e.g. loneliness or feeling helpless)

viii.      women were generally more empathic with victims than men

ix.      more willing to blame a nontraditional (i.e., career) woman than a traditional woman (i.e., housewife) due to assumed personal warmth of the housewife contrasted with the assumed coldness of the career woman

x.      blamed victims who reacted negatively (e.g., yelling) to the abuse rather than passively

c.      Blaming of IPV Victims By Professionals

i.      mental health, social services, corrections, shelters, criminal justice professionals, and coroners in the fields of mental health social services, medicine, and criminal justice all tend to blame female IPV victims

ii.      some assume that female victims are accomplices (“co-conspirators”) or at least indirectly responsible for the violence directed at them

iii.      family conflict model contends that partner violence occurs in the context of an argument; since the victim is engaged in the conflicts, she is partially responsible

1.      Blaming by Shelter Workers

a.       8.4% of workers held the husband and wife equally responsible for physical violence

b.      53.8% held the husband primarily responsible

c.       37.8% held the husband completely responsible

d.      13.9% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “victims ‘ask’ for it”

2.      Blame By Welfare Personnel

a.       politicians and others blame welfare recipients for their lack of economic independence, no matter the source of their needs (e.g. father’s desertion)

b.      common myths (none of the following beliefs is true)

i.      welfare-reliant women do not want to work

ii.      welfare clients lack a work ethic

iii.      women on welfare do not deserve assistance, especially women of color because they do not adhere to traditional family values (e.g., sex outside of marriage)

iv.      welfare encourages irresponsible women to have too many children and to have them out-of-wedlock

3.      Blaming By CPS Workers

a.       workers hold women accountable for remaining with an intimate male partner who concurrently abuses the children; expect mothers to protect their children by leaving the abusers

b.      they impose on mothers the immense task of protecting children, even when they lack sufficient means to do so – “powerless responsibility”

c.       clashing mandates between agencies has left battered mothers in the middle

i.      the primary directive of CPS is to safeguard children

ii.      the primary directive of battered women’s services is to help both women and children achieve safety, even if a mother does not leave her partner

4.      Blaming By Healthcare Workers

a.       some health workers classify IPV victims as noncompliant because their problems do not fit neatly into the medical model

b.      doctor encountering a woman with injuries caused by battering (diagnosis) cannot simply prescribe that she avoid the battering by leaving; if the doctor does tell her to leave and she does not, he may label her as noncompliant

c.       medical personnel in six states are mandated by law to report her abuse to the police or social service agencies

d.      doctors are frustrated about their medical role and the demands placed upon them to screen for intimate partner violence, document their injuries, and refer them to social agencies

d.      Self-Blame for IPV (Keep in mind about all the blame she is receiving from other sources)

i.      the female IPV victim may believe that she somehow provoked the violence or that they should have been able to prevent it by changing their own behavior

ii.      she feels guilt and shame for not leaving her abuser, thereby exposing her children

iii.      reluctant to disclose their problems to family and friends or to seek help

iv.      researchers found higher levels of self-blame in battered women than in nonbattered women

v.      IPV victims both regret some of their actions (e.g., isolating themselves from social support) and some of their inactions (e.g., failure to seek help

vi.      The victims are prone to blame themselves for initiating aggression because of a misconception about the word “initiate.”  If the victim was simply “angry,” but took no (aggressive) action she still believed her (internal) anger was actually “aggression”

e.       Attitudes (“Blaming”) of Faith Community (Note how myth-like some of their attitudes are)

i.      many abused women turn first to their faith leaders for counseling, and clergy/pastoral counselors’ responses can strongly impact battered women’s decision making

ii.      Faith leaders may tend to perpetuate silence about male IPV

iii.      majority said that perpetrators must assume responsibility, but victims bear some of the blame

iv.      half said victims’ staying with the abuser made victims blameworthy

v.      half thought the causes of IPV were lack of self-control and respect, and/or social learning (i.e., saw their fathers do it)

vi.      they believed conflict is the culprit, and couples (especially women) must halt the escalation of an argument before abuse started

vii.      blamed battered women’s low self-esteem and their wish to be victims

viii.      majority said divorce should be last resort

ix.      minority said that women’s power to divorce is limited by sacred documents; the only acceptable rationale for divorce is infidelity or desertion, and the severity of abuse cannot be considered

x.      scientific evidence about the harm done to child observers of male assaults is a lesser issue than divorce

 

II.                Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Victimization

a.     Fear

i.      Women’s fear

1.      Classical conditioning—explains that cues such as the abuser’s yelling, hurling insults, drinking heavily, and particular facial expressions become aversive and the cues often become even more recognizable over time, so when these cues have been followed by an assault, they generalize to current situations, keeping female victims in a chronic state of fear or anxiety

2.      because of men’s greater physical size and strength, women are significantly more fearful of IPV than men are

3.      These kinds of gender differences make male IPV qualitatively different the female-to-male IPV despite quantitative similarities (frequency rates)

4.      Neurological changes

a.       fear conditioning—a type of learning that is now known to cause neurological alterations in the brain

b.      certain structures in the brain (e.g., amygdala) are areas responsive to stress reactions

c.       changes entail memory for vivid or traumatic experiences

d.      high rates of head injury among female victims

i.      prevalence rate for head injury of 35%

ii.      74% for one partner-related brain injuries

iii.      50% for multiple partner-related head injuries

iv.      victims suffered an average of 2.8 concussions, 219.7 head blows, and 725.4 body blows during the average 5.9 years of their relationships

v.      blood clots and swelling of the brain, hemorrhaging, bleeding in one eye, vision impairment, and concussion

ii.      Others’ fear of the batterer’s IPV

1.      extended family members and others close to battered women also fear batterers and refuse to interact with a battered woman out of this fear; batterers often threaten other family members

2.      police also find dealing with domestics fear-provoking

b.     Stress, Trauma, and PTSD

i.      stress, trauma, and PTSD stem from exposure to a traumatic event (i.e., battering in the case of IPV victims)

ii.      stress, trauma, and PTSD lead to inadequate cognitive processing, trauma memory, poor problem-solving, depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, sleep problems, and suicidal ideation

iii.      Stress as a response to IPV

1.      a physiological or psychological response to internal or external stressors (e.g., pain, humiliation)

2.      involves changes affecting nearly every system of the body, influencing how people feel and behave

3.      can cause temporary or even permanent changes in the brain

4.      reactions include cognitive impairment (e.g., confusion and poor test performance), emotional responses (e.g., anxiety, anger, aggression, depression), and physical illness (e.g., headaches and gastrointestinal problems)

iv.      Trauma (traumatic events with traumatic responses)

1.      trauma occurs when an individual experiences, witnesses, or is confronted with an event or events that entail actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of the individual or others

2.      responses include intense fear, helplessness, horror, depression, aggression, substance abuse, physical illness, and lowered self-esteem, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, identity problems, guilt, shame, and debilitation

v.      PTSD Arising from IPV

1.      when a traumatic event causes an acute, prolonged emotional reaction

2.      PTSD is a common response to trauma and terror

3.      both child abuse and adult victimization were predictive of PTSD

4.      symptoms are disturbed sleep, re-experiencing in painful recollections, numbing of responses, an exaggerated startle response, difficulty in concentrating or remembering, anger, and avoidance of activities that rekindle memories

5.      40%-60% of female victims suffer from PTSD

6.      extent and severity of exposure to male abuse are significantly correlated with severity of PTSD symptoms

7.      usually, victims’ traumatic symptoms decrease after they have been away from their abusers for six months to three years

8.      some abused women still experience PTSD as long as 9-years after the last abusive episode

vi.      Problem Solving: a higher mental process that people use to overcome difficulties, achieve a goal, or reach a conclusion

1.      IPV victims exhibit a vast array of problems in cognitive processing, trauma memory, and appraisals in female victims

2.      female victims were less effective general problem-solvers; some are good at solving relationship problems  

c.      Health Problems

i.      Physical illness and health issues

1.      victims smoke more, consume more alcoholic beverages, have a higher risk for HIV and STDs

2.      they have a higher body mass index

3.      they suffer from more cervical cancer, pelvic pain, unwanted pregnancies, exhibit greater fear about negotiating condom use with their partner

4.      they have more disabilities, take significantly longer sick leaves, and suffer from disturbed sleep

ii.      Injuries resulting from IPV

1.      physical injuries are one of the most serious consequences of IPV

2.      IPV-related injuries may be severe, even disabling, and the emotional, economic, and societal costs are enormous

3.      IPV causes far more injuries, and more severe injuries, to women than to men

4.      50% of female victims of partner aggression report some sort of injury, and about 20% seek medical assistance

5.      the most common injuries result from blunt force trauma to the face and being strangled

6.      IPV victims suffered more complex fractures, orbital blow-outs, and intracranial injuries than non-IPV victims

d.     Coping by IPV Victims     

i.      Coping is the use of cognitive and behavioral strategies to manage the demands of a situation when these are appraised as taxing or exceeding one’s resources or to reduce the negative emotions and conflict caused by stress

ii.      Coping ability is strongly correlated with physical and mental health and outcomes such as depression and marital satisfaction level

iii.      some battered women have inadequate coping skills that were present even before battering began, while others have inadequacies that are the result of male assaults

iv.      IPV diminishes a victim’s ability to cope effectively

1.  Victims are less apt to use active coping strategies but significantly more prone to use passive or avoidance strategies

2.  the use of avoidance coping actually generates stress

3.  problem-focused coping is associated with decreased hopelessness

4.  placating and resisting are the strategies used early, most often, and are the least effective

v.      if one coping method does not work, a battered woman may try a different strategy

vi.      leaving an abuser may lead to a change in a victim’s coping strategies; emotionally-focused coping may decrease, while problem-focused coping may increase

vii.      couples tend to use similar coping styles and their styles become more similar over 10-years

e.     Hostage Syndrome, Attachment, and Bonding of IPV Victims

i.      Hostage/Stockholm syndrome: in some circumstances of extreme threat and isolation, imprisoned men and women may exhibit strange behaviors that encompass praising the abusers, denying that abuse has taken place, and blaming themselves

1.      the syndrome represents a struggle for survival

2.      conditions of alternating threats and kindness appear to make hostages emotionally dependent and they come to believe that the only way to survive is to avoid angering their captors

3.      batterers may create prison-like settings for their partners that creates the sheer terror of being held captive which dictates victims’ responses to all events in their lives

ii.      Attachment: adult attachment is a relatively long-lasting affectional bond that is typified by wanting to be close to a romantic partner who is not exchangeable with any other

1.      combining self-views (positive/negative) with response style (anxious/avoidance) yields four types of attachment

a.       secure

b.      preoccupied

c.       dismissing

d.      fearful

2.      conflicting types of attachment lead to each partner’s attempting a variety of unsuccessful strategies to regulate proximity

3.      unfulfilled attachment needs produces frustration and sometimes escalates to intimate partner violence

iii.      Traumatic Bonding:  victim becomes traumatically bonded to the abuser through a cyclical pattern of loving behaviors (rewards) coupled with sporadic violence (assaults)

1.  insecurely attached women may form very intense bonds with their abuser which may actually increase the abused partner’s dependence on the abuser

2    insecurely attached women may form very intense bonds which cause a negative outcome because it may play a role in persistence in the relationship and diminish her resolve to leave

f.       Learned Helplessness vs. Survivor Theory Applied to IPV Victims

i.      Learned Helplessness: a concept emanating from laboratory work with dogs using uncontrollable shock

1.      the dogs learned that nothing they did mattered, that abuse was uncontrollable in the first phase of the experiment

2.      experiencing many trials of uncontrollable shock undermined the dog’s trying to escape

3.      the dogs became passive and did nothing to escape, even though escape was possible during the second phase of the experiment

4.      even if a woman uses a passive strategy (usually a poor coping method), it may be the safest choice

5.      the victims may be passive because they are actually failing to learn control (not learning to be helpless); this learning failure may result from complex brain reactions to stress

ii.      Survivor Theory: battered women are not helpless as evidenced by their help-seeking efforts to resist male battering

1.      they appear helpless because social organizations thwart their effort to take action

2.      female IPV victims averaged six help-seeking behaviors (e.g., calling police, contacting a clergyman) before they entered a shelter

3.      social entrapment occurs when women cannot escape abuse because social institutions present insurmountable obstacles

4.      responses to battering

a.       nonconfrontational (e.g., trying to escape or calling the police): 43%

b.      confrontational: 34% struggled and shouted; 4% defied their partners with weapons

c.       did nothing (e.g., took no self-protection): 23%’

d.   in a different study, only 5% used self-defense; self-defensive attempts were unsuccessful and resulted in even more physical injury

g.       (Mis)Perceived Control by IPV Victims

i.      some battered women may try to offset feelings of helplessness by striving for control

ii.      the victim may come to actually believe she can impose control over the environment through her own actions and intentions

iii.      women more than men believe that the motivation for male-to-female intimate partner violence is control

iv.      battered women misconception is the belief that if they have personal focus on their batterer’s happiness, that would allow them to exert control over the IPV in their relationship

v.      women’s high perceived control over their current abuse was linked with greater drug use, increased dysphoria (depression), low self-esteem, and employment of disengagement coping strategies (i.e., self-blame)

vi.      physical abuse was related to women’s decrease in their beliefs about their ability to manage their relationships

h.     Psychological/Brain Disorders Related to IPV Victimization

i.      Depression: goes far beyond just feeling blue for a few days or feeling sad over a lost relationship; it is a serious medical illness that can affect one’s ability to function

1.      sleep disturbances, changes in appetites, and fatigue

2.      depression and suicide attempts were four times more likely in female victims of severe male battering

3.      depression among IPV victims stems from the abuse and is not an inherent trait of the women

4.      when male-to-female abuse stopped, victims’ depression decreased

ii.      Mental Disorders

1.      there is a significant correlation between abuse severity and victims’ psychopathology ratings

2.      female victimization is a risk factor for mental disorders, especially depression and PTSD

3.      women with multiple abusive relationships had significantly higher rates and levels of psychopathology (i.e., dependent, paranoid, and self-defeating personality disorders)

4.      women experiencing  only one abusive relationship did not evidence significantly more psychopathology

 

III.             Employment of IPV Victims

a.     Barriers to Employment for IPV Victims

  i.      assaults increase women’s risk for unemployment, reduce their incomes, and frequently precipitate divorce

ii.      battering can cause serious problems in both finding and holding down a job

iii.      PTSD and psychological abuse predicted unemployment

iv.      33% were prohibited from working by batterers

v.      21% were prevented from searching for employment

vi.      59% were discouraged from working

vii.      24% were not allowed to attend school

viii.      50% were discouraged from attending school

ix.      55% said that IPV caused absenteeism from work

1.      absenteeism was significantly higher for lifetime victims than for current victims

2.      62% victims said IPV caused lateness or leaving early

3.      victimized workers missed significantly more work hours because of distraction at work

4.      56% victims experienced batterers harassment at work

x.      Batterers harassment actions

1.      turning off an alarm clock so a woman will be late for work

2.      cutting off her hair to embarrass her

3.      failing to fulfill childcare obligations, so she cannot leave

4.      destroying her homework or hiding her books, so she can’t go to school or will fail the class

xi.      48% victims who ended the abuse made some kind of change in their employment or school status

b.     Welfare Assistance Dilemmas for IPV Victims

i.      battered women wishing to leave their abusive relationships often do not have adequate economic resources to support their children without relying on their abusive partner

ii.      lack of economic support is the major reason that victims seek welfare

iii.      there is a high prevalence of male battering among women on welfare; victimization rates among women on welfare may be twice as high

iv.      levels of IPV range from 30%-40% for mothers investigated for child maltreatment

v.      average a frequency of 6.8 severe assaults in a year for women whose children were on welfare

vi.      a reassessment of mothers whose children were on welfare after 18 months identified 4 groups:

1.      13% of women had multiple problems (e.g., depression), high rate of child maltreatment, and little support; continued to have a moderate amount of male partner abuse, and 46% received new allegations of child maltreatment; received the highest level of welfare support

2.      2% of women had substance abuse problems but received the most social support; lowest rate of new child maltreatment allegations

3.      20% of women had some drug abuse, very high stress levels, some childhood abuse, and low social support; victimization was higher

4.      65% of women received low social support and low welfare support but had fewer problems such as drug abuse; highest level of partner abuse and the greatest number of new allegations of child maltreatment

vii.      actions of male batterers make it close to impossible for battered women to manage economically

viii.      two most serious impediments for women trying to work were the lack of child care and lack of transportation

c.      Family Violence Option for IPV Victims: a special government program under the welfare program entitled  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for women experiencing harassment from their violent male partners

i.      helps women deal with batterer harassment at their work site and has the authority to allow welfare clients more flexibility in meeting the TANF work requirements

  ii.      example: FVO recipients have some latitude in meeting the requirement to name the father of their children so that authorities can collect child support from him

iii.      latitude is necessary because abusive men who find out the whereabouts of a woman in hiding in order to visit his children, it places her in greater danger

iv.      implementation of the program has been problematic and in some cases is futile because some fathers cannot gain employment and have no money to pay child support

 

IV.              Criminal Justice System Responses to IPV

a.       Major Problems for IPV Victims Within the Legal System

i.  the combination of a large gap in legal resources and inadequate  responses on the part of the criminal justice system is the second most pressing problem facing IPV victims

ii.  batterers who were prosecuted and convicted were actually more likely to reabuse

b.     Legal Issues Confronting IPV Victims

i.      males appear to have benefited more than females from legal or social changes that were geared to protect women

ii.      there are few affordable legal services available to battered women

iii.      poor women often have to wait two years to obtain legal services for divorce or custody issues

iv.      2000: Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) included provisions that should help victims get legal help

v.      2009: American Bar Association launched a program to provide services to battered women that includes a National Domestic Violence Pro Bono Directory sponsored by Verizon Wireless

vi.      Protective Orders (POs) need to be more available and easier to obtain

1.      A PO is a stay-away order forbidding an abuser from contact with the victim

2.      POs have several functions

a.       protect victims from physical abuse, harassment, and threats

b.      force an assaultive partner to vacate the family residence

3.      police have stepped up their activities in recommending that women get POs

4.      women filing for criminal POs usually cited documented physical abuse as their rationale for their PO petition

5.      women filing for civil POs were more likely to cite emotional abuse as the reason for seeking a PO; they did not want to formally process the respondent through the criminal justice system (CJS)

a.       civil POs allow women more flexibility in having their individual needs met through specific constraints on the offender; women feel more empowerment

b.      abuser is not jailed and may still be able to provide economically for the woman and her children

6.      Other findings about POs

a.  judges have the authority to issue POs

b.  female victims no longer have to pay a fee to obtain a protective order

c.  34% of restraining orders issued in Los Angeles County and 18% in Ventura County were never served on male offenders

d.   protective order violation rates range from 44%-48%

e.  51% of violators re-abuse their victims

f.  59% of women called the police because of a PO violation

g.   86% said the order had stopped or reduced the abuse

h.   Victims felt POs were worthwhile because they documented the abuse, sent a message that abuse was wrong, punished the abuser, and empowered her

vii.      Criminal justice system processing of batterers

1.      sent to batterer intervention program: only 24.1%

2.      arrested and incarcerated: only 48.9%

3.      forced a firearm surrender: only 4.5%

4.      ordered electronic monitoring: only 3.8%.

viii.      Weapons possession by batterers

1.      weapons possession by batterers is extremely hazardous because the most frequently used weapon in IPV homicides (femicides)

2.      having access to a gun is a potent predictor of a fatal assault by a batterer

3.      abusers use guns to coerce and terrorize their victims

4.      many more males kill females than the reverse

5.      females may be more likely to use a weapon during an IPV incident than males because of size and strength differentials

6.      1997: U.S. Congress modified the Gun Control Act of 1968 through an amendment known as the Lautenberg Amendment

a.       bans individuals who have been convicted of domestic assault from carrying weapons

b.      does not exempt law enforcement officers who are batterers

c.       many of the guns used by males in femicides are illegal because of previous male partner abuse convictions

c.      Arrest Policies Affecting IPV Victims

i.      historically mirrored a “hands-off” approach as a private matter

ii.      attitudes influenced police decision making

1.      assaults may be the victim’s fault; it is justified

2.      if he beats her and she stays, there is no real victim

3.      battered women are manipulative and unbelievable

4.      police involvement is not the best way to stop battering

5.      responding to domestic abuse calls is not real police work; real police work is catching real criminals

6.      intervening in partner violence is the most dangerous work police must undertake

iii.      research revealed that police used a double standard in determining probable cause for making an arrest: one for domestic violence and the other for stranger assaults

iv.      mandatory arrests: police received notice that arrest is the preferred response, and that they must make an arrest if there is probable cause

1. positives following mandatory arrest guidelines

i.  aggression occurred 30% less often following arrest

ii.  60% drop in reoffending during the 6-month follow-up period

iii.  drop in intimate partner homicides

2.  negatives

i.  persisting police resistance, if not a downright backlash effect

ii.  actually arrested a greater proportion of women for assault than men, 34% and 23% respectively

iii.  many of the women arrested and charged with female partner abuse, were actually female victims

iv.  despite orders for mandatory arrests, the arrest rate was still only 50%, meaning that officers still used arrest discretion

v.      Dual arrest

1.      police departments decided to manage domestic assault by arresting both parties regardless of who was the primary aggressor

2.      may also ensue when police cannot truly determine who the perpetrator is and who the victim is

3.      women feel disempowered or blameworthy for being arrested when they are the victims

4.      dual arrests did decline following the passage of these laws if arresting officers had received specific training

vi.      Primary aggressor laws:  expect officers making a decision whether to arrest to evaluate the context of the IPV, such as self-defensive aggression.  The hope is to arrest only the abuser.

d.     Law Enforcement - Victim Interactions

i.      Calling the police

1.      circumstances that make it more likely victims will call police

a.       self-protection needs (current and future)

b.      perception of IPV assaults as serious

c.       victim injury

d.      perpetrator history of abuse

e.       offender intoxication

2.      reasons for calling:  the victim wants

a.       police to arrest

b.      police to issue a warning

c.       to get even

d.      shock him into straightening up

e.       to get advice from police about what to do

f.        to get help for the abuser

g.       police to take her and her children to a safe place

ii.      Specialized police units improve response by the police

1.      29% of abusers handled by specialized units were rearrested for IPV contrasted with 37% re-arrested by ordinary patrols

e.     Prosecution of IPV Perpetrators and Criminal Justice Processing

i.      decision to prosecute was as low as 4.6%

ii.      44% of prosecuted cases resulted in a guilty verdict, 5% resulted in a not guilty verdict, and the court dismissed 51%

iii.      male perpetrators received significantly shorter sentences than did perpetrators of other crimes

iv.      prosecutors often deferred male abusers from prosecution

v.      punishments did not fit the crimes, and did not necessarily follow the dictates of family law

vi.      in some jurisdictions, IPV is a crime against the state, so prosecutors execute their duties whether or not the victims are willing to testify; in other jurisdictions, the prosecution decision is left to the discretion of their victims

vii.      mandatory (no-drop) prosecution policies—a battered woman cannot recant her testimony:

viii.      establishment of specialized prosecutor offices greatly increased prosecution and conviction rates

f.       Judicial Behavior and Decision Making Regarding IPV Cases

i.      more than 75% of attorneys said that judges allowed inappropriate questioning of female victims

  ii.      variations in judicial responses are extreme

iii.      judges did not follow sentence guidelines and disregarded the offenders’ prior criminal history in some cases

iv.      male defendants are treated more sternly than female defendants at all stages of criminal justice processing

v.      male intimate partner homicide defendants are sanctioned more severely

vi.      the greater the court involvement by the criminal justice system after the arrest, the less the recidivism

vii.      types of judges

1.      good-natured judges who were supportive of victims and firm with abusers

a.       most judges fell into this category

b.      victims under the supervision of these judges felt empowered and were more likely to cooperate with judicial orders

2.      bureaucratic judges who were formal and firm with both victims and abusers

3.      condescending, harsh, and demeaning judges who treated women unfavorably but were often good-natured with abusers

viii.      judges’ lack of training in male-to-female IPV is a serious problem

ix.      judges’ lack of scientific rigor can be observed in the courtroom

x.      judges’ acceptance of parental alienation—debunked concept proposing that one parent alienates the child by making false allegations of abuse against the other, or by coaching the child to lie about abuse in custody hearings

 

V.                 IPV and Leave/Stay Decisions

a.     The Decision-Making Process

i.      barrier model

1.      practical, easy to understand model that envisions the impediments to finding safety as lying within four concentric circles with the victim in the center

2.      the other three rings, beginning with the outermost, include

a.       environmental barriers, (e.g., lack of money)

b.      family and social role expectations (e.g., she should love her abusive husband and accept his abuse)

c.       psychological impact of abuse (e.g., fear)

3.   most frequently reported barriers to leaving

a.  partner’s promise to change (70.5%)

b.  partner’s apology (60.0%)

c .  lack of money (45.9%)

d.  nowhere to go (28.5%)

ii.      common characteristics of victims more likely to leave

1.      younger age

2.      possession of a protective order

3.      previous relationship partings

4.      higher psychological vulnerability

5.      abuse related physician visit

6.      successful procurement of external supports, such as food stamps, Social Security benefits, assistance with employment, transportation, or housing

iii.      help-seeking actions that enabled battered women to leave

1.      education/information seeking (e.g., got information about available resources)

2.      interpersonal help-seeking (e.g., disclosed the problem to a healthcare professional)

3.      self-empowerment strategies (e.g., opened a bank account)

4.      protection/separation activities (e.g., called the police)

iv.      physical assaults in leave/stay decision making

1.      physical assaults are one factor but not the only factor in deciding to leave

2.       increase physical and psychological abuse were associated with leaving

3.      physical abuse is related to women’s increased use of resources and to a decrease in their beliefs about their ability to manage their relationships

4.      community (not shelter) survivors who experienced more physical abuse and for longer durations were less likely to leave

5.      childhood abuse was associated with remaining with the abusive male partner

6.      odds of leaving a violent relationship depends somewhat on structural gender inequality, especially economic dependency

v.      psychological/emotional abuse as related to leave/stay decision making

1.      higher levels of emotional abuse were more likely to leave than those exposed to lesser levels

2.      emotional abuse is more highly correlated with actual leaving than is physical abuse

3.      level of emotional abuse is associated with victim’s level of marital dissatisfaction, which is then related to leaving

vi.      entrapment as related to leave/stay decision making

1.      the mingling of hope and fear tend to make it difficult for women to leave – they get entrapped

2.      some observers take the evidence that some women  do leave as evidence that they are not entrapped

3.      perhaps it is better to think of entrapment as factors that make it extremely difficult for women to leave

vii.      approach-avoidance conflicts (ambivalence):  battered women are often overwhelmed by ambivalent feelings

viii.      double approach-avoidance conflict

1.      entails making a decision about an object (or person) that contains both desirable and undesirable features

2.       people caught in this kind of conflict vacillate over an extended length of time, first going toward one goal and then retreating, next going toward the other goal and then retreating

3.      example: a battered woman approaches her batterer as she sees him lovingly caring for the children; she avoids him when he comes home drunk and tries to rape her

b.     Rates of Leaving and Returning to IPV Relationships

i.      Leaving a violent relationship

1.      43% sheltered women left within 2 years

2.      38% nonsheltered women living in the community divorced/separated within 2 years

3.      43% nonsheltered, community female victims left within 5-years

4.      71% nonsheltered community victims and shelter women left within 10-year

ii.      Returning to a violent relationship

1.      24% to 33%

2.      women leave and return to their abusers an average of five to six times before they leave for good

3.      forgiveness was a more powerful predictor of returning than constraints (e.g., pressure to leave), severity of the male aggression, and malicious (negative) attributions about the male partner’s rationales for the violence

4.      on average battered women leave and return 5-6 times before finally leaving

c.      Dangers of Leaving IPV Relationships

i.      increases in domestic violence services and changes in women’s social status may provoke retaliation among violent male partners

ii.      victimization rate of women who were separated from their husbands was about 3 times higher than that of divorced women and about 25 times higher than that of married women

iii.      when female victims try to leave, the risk of femicide is at its highest

1.      75% of women who were killed by their male partners and 85% of those who were severely beaten had left or had tried to leave

2.      increases in homicide occurred along with prosecutors’ willingness to pursue cases of protection order violations

3.      some women stay because it is safer; the decision is not whether to leave, but whether to live

iv.      forgiveness and leaving: forgiveness is a strong predictor of a woman’s decision to return

d.     Economic Dependence as Related to Leaving IPV Relationships

i.      when women leave or divorce in an attempt to end an abusive relationship, their incomes nearly always decline, while men’s usable incomes remain relatively constant

ii.      impoverished female survivors may not leave their abusers because even basic survival is such a struggle

iii.      many female survivors return if they cannot financially provide for their children

iv.      having sufficient funds was the strongest predictor of leaving

v.      the negative impact of leaving a violent relationship often radiates outward to relatives/friends who are asked to provide a place to live, financial support, and child care

e.     Society’s Inadequate Support for Battered Victims Make Leaving IPV Relationships Difficult

i.      actions of the police or the responses of emergency personnel may exert a strong influence on a victim’s leave/stay decision

ii.      major problem for many women in leaving is navigating access to helping agencies

iii.      poorly trained service providers who are unpleasant and unhelpful increase the difficulty of leaving

iv.      the major complaint of 61% of the clients was agency helpers’ attitudes (e.g., blaming the client, not listening to the client)

v.      clients greatly disliked having to change therapists or to be cut off from services

f.       Responses by Faith Communities to Battered Women

i.      nonreligious battered women also seek clergy assistance in managing IPV for economic reasons or at the request of a family member

ii.      one study found that confiding in clergy was protective of battered women’s self-esteem

iii.      there is a tension between some psychological models of helping and religious ones - they may conflict

iv.      some clergy blame battered women to various degrees for male battering; they ask questions such as “Why were you drawn to an abusive man?”

v.      others state that there is no acceptable rationale for leaving, so they do not help them find a way to leave

vi.      80% of the women rated clergy as helpful

vii.      useful tools/skills documents are available for clergy

1.      a list of warning signs that partner violence is present

2.      actions clergy should take to provide compassion to IPV victims

3.      list of clergy resources

4.      clergy should hold Christian men accountable for their partner violence and stop blaming victims

5.      they should include the topic of battering in premarital counseling

6.      they should help congregants understand IPV and its signs in sermons

g.     Welfare Failures to Follow the Laws Regarding Assistance for IPV Victims

i.      Family Violence Option (FVO) obstacles

1.      allowing abusive male partners to know the location of their children presents serious dangers to mothers

2.      many workers mishandled information about the family violence option by screening clients for IPV in only 9.3% of the cases

3.      often a mismatch between the type of services offered to welfare recipients and what they thought they required; example: welfare staff did not always provide assistance with practical problems such as finding child care

4.      staff’s attitudes toward welfare applicants revealed a lack of civility: recipients felt blamed, disrespected, humiliated, threatened, and bullied by workers issuing threats, perhaps every month, to cut off the woman’s benefits

h.     Shelters and Transitional Housing for IPV Victims

i.      Shelter services strengths

1.       shelters offer a temporary separation from an abuser that assists female victims in feeling safe and by providing them with people who will listen to their concerns

2.      staff emphasize safety planning to help a victim who would like to leave: finding a safe place to go, having money hidden in a separate account, getting a second set of keys for the car, and packing a bag with important documents in it - hiding important papers is rated as the most helpful tactic used to cope with male battering

3.       shelter counseling can help victims accept personal responsibility for their own safety while rejecting personal responsibility for the violence

4.      staff can help victims obtain temporary welfare benefits and prepare for employment (e.g., referral to training programs) are usually top priorities for shelter programs

5.       help victims complete the legal forms needed to get restraining orders, teach them (nonviolent) parenting skills, and help them enroll in substance abuse programs

6.        women who accessed shelter services were significantly more likely to leave abusive relationships than those who remained in the community

ii.      Challenges in shelter care

1.       staff employs selective admittance policies that require shelters to deny admission to some women

a.      medical conditions or disabilities that the staff cannot handle

b.      teenage boys over the age limit of 13

c.      felony drug convictions of the client

d.      admission of female-to-male abuse

2.      selective admittance policies often force women to return to their abusers

iii.      Transitional Housing

1.      family violence and other forms of victimization appear to be the major causes of female homelessness

2.      male violence affects 21% to 64% of homeless shelter clients

3.      affordable permanent housing is an especially pressing need among female victims whose safety depends upon their leaving

4.      third-largest gap in society’s response to partner abuse is the failure to provide permanent affordable housing

5.      furnishes access to affordable housing and other support for battered women during the period of time when they are trying to establish their independence

6.      during a stay, staff provides counseling and practical support for up to two years

i.        Emotional Factors Related to Leaving an IPV Relationship

i.      Beliefs about leaving/staying in an IPV relationship

1.      battered women bust changes their beliefs: (a) acknowledge that the relationship is unhealthy, (b) realize that the relationship will not get better, (c) experiencing some catalytic event, such as abuse of an infant prompts women to leave, (d) give up the dream of an idealized committed relationship, and (e) accept that, to some extent, the relationship will never be over (e.g., because of the constraints imposed by shared child custody)

ii.      Commitment to the violent partners

1.      believing that she should stay with her partner “no matter what” is significantly related to her decision to stay

2.      a victim may remain with her abuser in part because she has adopted socially approved attitudes of love, hope, and commitment to the relationship

3.      she loves her partner with whom her life has been entwined, and hopes the violence will end

4.      she believes it is her duty to stay

iii.      Investment in the IPV Relationship

1.      degree of commitment to an intimate relationship rests on the fulfillment of certain needs: (a) one’s relationship satisfaction level (relationship’s perceived rewards minus its perceived costs), (b) the quality of one’s alternatives (perceived relationship rewards minus the costs of a better option—another partner, advanced education), and (c) the magnitude of one’s investment—time and effort, financial resources, having children together

2.      lesser relationship satisfaction, greater alternatives, and fewer investments contributed to lower levels of commitment and greater intentions to leave their abuser

3.      some victims may have stayed and worked harder to make their relationships work in order to justify the time and effort they had already expended

4.      frustration may motivate some victims to try even harder to work things out

5.      individuals high in narcissism reported less commitment associated with low satisfaction, high quality of alternatives, and low investment in the relationship

iv.      Level of Hope Affects in Leaving IPV Relationships

1.      optimism is generally linked with greater persistence toward goals, better coping, and improved health

2.      learned hopefulness—victims often stay in their marriages because they hope and need to believe that their abusers will stop the violence

3.      73% of the female victims in one shelter sample returned to their homes because the batterers repented and the women believed the men would change

4.      hopes of battered women were rekindled by their male partners’ attendance at even one counseling session

5.      95% of female victims whose husbands were in court-ordered counseling believed their husband would complete the program, although only half typically do

6.      most frequently reported justifications for staying were that her partner promised to change (70.5%) and that he apologized (600%)

7.      hope also springs from the fact that an abusive male’s behavior is intermittently rewarding rather than continuously abusive, which not only create hope but also allow the victim to deny the side of the abuser that terrifies her

v.      Changing/shifting patterns in coping with IPV relationships helped some women stay by living differently

1.      the steps they took involved

a.       taking control

b.      counteracting abuse

c.       living differently

2.      key element in men’s change was reducing their various addictions (e.g., alcohol)

3.      re-negotiating the couple’s relationship by re-investing in the relationship led to living differently (e.g., becoming more assertive) and living more successfully

vi.      Marital satisfaction/dissatisfaction of IPV relationships

1.      satisfied survivors were younger, had been more severely abused, pursued more methods for ending the abuse, were more committed to their partners, felt more hopeful about their relationship, they had abusive partners who tended to become involved in the therapeutic change process and sought drug and alcohol treatment more readily than their counterparts

2.      dissatisfied survivors had fewer job opportunities, had a strong fear of failure, had more children, and had male partners who were more likely to sexually abuse them and physically abuse their children

vii.      Attachment to the violent partner

1.      battered women mourn the loss of their relationships

2.      70% said that they returned to their perpetrators because of feelings of loneliness and loss generated by the separation

viii.      Fear of the violent partner

1.      afraid to leave and afraid to stay–Approach-avoidance conflict

2.      one of the most common reasons women do not leave is their sense of foreboding over the possibility of losing their children

3.      more than half of the callers cited apprehension about revenge as their principal reason for staying with an abusive partner

4.      in other situations the opposite occurs - Concern about one’s children and the impact his abusive actions have on them is often the ultimate reason victims give for leaving their abusive partners

 

VI.              Male Victims of IPV

a.     Conflicting research findings/interpretations about Male IPV Victimization

i.      Credible evidence for the existence of male IPV victims

1.      some men suffer from a battered husband syndrome comparable to the battered woman syndrome

2.      women and men commit physical and psychological intimate partner with almost equal frequency

3.      male victims of IPV suffer significantly more illness, disabilities, and risk factors for disease than do non-IPV abused males

4.      some claim that men are just as victimized by non-physical types of abuse as women are

5.      because women are the most likely to be injured, male victims become invisible

6.  overall, some men truly are victims of female perpetrated  IPV

7.   24% admitted to an ER reported female violence (including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse)

a.       only 1% of these men had been injured by partner violence, and 3% said they had perpetrated partner violence themselves

b.      11% of the offenders were male and 89% were female; some of the abusers were male same-sex partners

ii.      Against the belief that male IPV victimization is a serious social problem

1.      data collected within a crime context or in clinical settings establish that women comprise the vast majority of victims

2.      no consensus among experts that female-to-male intimate partner violence is even a major social problem, let alone a behavioral equivalent to male-to-female intimate partner violence

3.      injured men were likely to be batterers injured while committing battery

b.     Criminal Justice Findings about Male IPV Victims

i.      males identified as victims in one episode of IPV are likely to be the suspected perpetrators in a second, new episode and far less likely to be identified as victims

ii.      male homicide victims are far more likely than female homicide victims to have been identified previously as abusers

c.      Male Victims’ Victim Decisions and Responses to IPV

i.      men are less likely than women to leave if they are the economic providers and the IPV is minor/symmetrical

ii.      men experiencing severe female-to-male are less likely to leave than women if they have young children

iii.      increased levels of asthma and stroke, more heart attacks, heart disease, and higher cholesterol beset male victims compared with nonvictims

iv.      victimized men stay because they may feel or believe

1.      it is too embarrassing to report female IPV victimization

2.      they might lose their children in a custody battle if they leave

3.      they can protect their children from an abusive woman if they remain

4.      if they leave, they will be less financially solvent because of the costs of child support and maintaining two residences

5.      the violence is too minor to break up their families

6.      they love their wives

7.      they believe that their female partner’s stress level or alcohol is the real culprit

8.      men may fear that fighting back might lead to femicide