Abusive Intimate Relationships Research Articles

‘I Almost Poisoned Myself’: Understanding the Suicidal Behaviors of Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana*

ABSTRACT Despite growing evidence of an increased risk of suicidality among female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), no scientific research has explored this topic in Ghana, where male-partner violence is not uncommon. Using thematic analysis to analyze and synthesize 30 in-depth interviews with female survivors in the Eastern Region of Ghana, this study explored the suicidal behaviors of women in abusive intimate relationships. The findings showed IPV profoundly affected women, exposing them to complex intersecting economic, physical, and psychosocial health problems. Many saw suicide as a solution to their traumatic experiences. The results suggest the need for policymakers to create violence prevention programs and introduce community-based mental health programs, especially those targeting female survivors of violence.

Female perpetrators in intimate partner violence: perverse safe havens

This article considers the often-neglected role of women as intimate partner terror-ists within relationships and explores the ways that female aggression is manifested through psychological as well as physical means of intimidation. Using anonymised clinical material, the author discusses the development of toxic dynamics within an intimate partnership, the pathways through which early traumatic experience creates later destructive re-enactments and how forensic psychotherapy can be undertaken successfully, highlighting the pitfalls. The role of animal cruelty in abusive intimate partner relationships is discussed, with reference to the link between animal abuse and domestic abuse. The function of these violent destructive dynamics to serve as “perverse safe havens” within couples and the wider family systems is outlined. These entrenched dynamics maintain dysfunctional and abusive relation-ships but the harm they inflict is manifold and when breaking point is reached, foren-sic psychotherapy can enable essential changes to occur, as the clinical example demonstrates.

To Leave or Not to Leave, That Is the Question: Discussing Notions of Particularity in “Breaking the Cycle” through the Lens of Feminist Literary Theory

ABSTRACT This article presents a comparative investigation of intimate partner violence centering on the analysis of Breaking the Cycle (Zane 2005). The article addresses incest as both a pattern of intimate partner violence and a factor that influences the abused character’s decision to desert her perpetrator, putting an end to a seemingly endless cycle of violence. In this respect, incest is examined as one among other resistance factors that stress the necessity for the victim to take counteraction to end the cycle of violence within an intimate relationship once the safety of the abused woman’s children is at stake. The literary works discussed constitute the raw material for examination since they highlight different patterns of intimate partner violence against women and the factors that impact a woman’s decision to leave an abusive intimate relationship. The analytical approach adopted is that of qualitative content analysis. A central concern in this article is to voice the victim’s struggle and efforts to escape her violent marriage from a feminist perspective, highlighting the particularity of her experience rather than its generalizability, which has not been addressed in the available research on literary domestic violence studies to date.

The Effects of Workplace Support on Workplace Disruptions: Differences Between White and Black Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence.

Abuser-initiated workplace disruptions are experienced by women who are in abusive intimate relationships. However, workplace disruptions may be prevented with targeted workplace supports. Using pilot data, this study examined relationships between workplace disruptions and workplace supports. Crosstabulation and Fisher's exact test results were stratified by race to understand potential racial discrimination of survivors. Findings revealed supports are associated with infrequent workplace disruptions for Black women, but White women were extended a wider variety of supports, even with frequent disruptions. Discussion of results is applied to workplaces and policy makers seeking to better support employees experiencing partner violence.

Reconceiving Coercion-Based Defenses

Coercing someone is sometimes wrong, and sometimes a crime. People subject to coercion are sometimes eligible for criminal defenses, such as duress. How, exactly, does coercion operate in such contexts? Among legal scholars the predominant understanding of coercion is the “wrongful pressure” model, which states that coercion exists when the coercer wrongfully threatens the target and, as a result of this threat, the target is pressured to act in accordance with the coercer’s threat. Some tokens of coercion do not fit neatly within existing legal categories or the wrongful pressure model of coercion. For example, coercive control is a psychological phenomenon of interpersonal abuse in which one person pervasively regulates the choices of another. Coercive control is sometimes carried out through violence or threats of violence, but often through ostensibly non-violent forms of degradation (such as humiliation and isolation). Coercive control is often evinced in abusive intimate relationships, including in human trafficking. People subject to coercive control are undeniably coerced. Yet the wrongful pressure model cannot adequately explain why. Those subject to coercive control are ineligible for coercion-based criminal defenses, such as duress and affirmative defenses for victims of human trafficking, in part because of the inadequacy of the wrongful pressure model. This Article articulates and defends an alternative understanding of coercion that, after philosopher Scott Anderson, we call the “enforcement approach” to coercion. According to the enforcement approach, coercion involves the coercer’s using power to determine what the target will or will not do. The enforcement approach is superior to the wrongful pressure approach as an explanation for what makes coercion wrong and why being subject to coercion should provide a defense to criminal liability. Furthermore, the enforcement approach better explains how coercion operates pervasively, such as in coercive control contexts. The enforcement approach also invites a broader rethinking of coercion-based criminal defenses. We utilize the enforcement approach to propose a model criminal defense for those subject to coercive control that would supplement existing defenses.

The Challenges of Conducting Qualitative Research on "couples" in Abusive Intimate Partner Relationships Involving Substance Use.

Undertaking qualitative dyad or couple interviews involving intimate partner abuse and substance use presents considerable ethical, safeguarding, and theoretical challenges throughout the research process from recruitment to conducting interviews and analysis. These challenges and how they were managed are outlined using the experience from a qualitative study of 14 heterosexual “couples” that explored the complex interplay between intimate partner abuse and substance use. Managing these challenges for participants, their families, and researchers included the use of safeguarding protocols and procedures to manage risk and the provision of clinical support for experienced researchers. Researchers often felt drawn into the conflicts and complex dynamics of opposing accounts from the male and females’ relationship which could be emotionally and methodologically taxing. Researchers discussing their analysis and felt experiences with each other provided a reflexive space to manage emotions and stay close to the theoretical underpinnings.

The Challenges of Conducting Qualitative Research on “couples” in Abusive Intimate Partner Relationships Involving Substance Use

Undertaking qualitative dyad or couple interviews involving intimate partner abuse and substance use presents considerable ethical, safeguarding, and theoretical challenges throughout the research process from recruitment to conducting interviews and analysis. These challenges and how they were managed are outlined using the experience from a qualitative study of 14 heterosexual couples that explored the complex interplay between intimate partner abuse and substance use. Managing these challenges for participants, their families, and researchers included the use of safeguarding protocols and procedures to manage risk and the provision of clinical support for experienced researchers. Researchers often felt drawn into the conflicts and complex dynamics of opposing accounts from the male and females' relationship which could be emotionally and methodologically taxing. Researchers discussing their analysis and felt experiences with each other provided a reflexive space to manage emotions and stay close to the theoretical underpinnings.

Developing and Implementing a Sexual Assault Violence Prevention and Awareness Campaign at a State-Supported Regional University

The purpose was to analyze the percent of targets achieved for seven student objectives of HealthyCampus 2020. The objectives were chosen to assess our university's implementation of a Sexual AssaultViolence Prevention and Awareness campaign. Overall, 1,019 students at our university filled out the ACHA-NCHA II Survey. Our SSRU identified four areas of health concerns where improvements arenecessary to align more closely with Healthy Campus 2020: physical assaults, emotionally and sexually abusive intimate relationships, non-consensual touching and penetration, and feelings of safety at night. To align our student health objectives with the Healthy Campus 2020 targets we have identified the following areas that need extra eff orts: physical assaults, emotionally and sexually abusive intimate relationships, non-consensual touching and penetration, and feelings of safety at night. Based on these results we will continue emphasizing the prevention model using a coordinated, educational approach.

Two-Year Update on ACHA-NCHA II Results Following the Implementation of a Sexual Assault Violence Prevention and Awareness Campaign at a State-Supported Regional University

Objective: We measured progress on seven (7) objectives from Topic Area: Injury and Violence Prevention of the Healthy Campus 2020 campaign at our university. We assessed execution of a Sexual Assault Violence Prevention and Awareness campaign one-year post implementation. Participants and Methods: One thousand and fifty-two students at our University completed the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II Survey. Results: From 2.8-11% of students reported emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive intimate relationships, and non-consensual touching and penetration. Conclusions: Our University is committed to supporting and maintaining an educational environment free from all forms of violence and will continue to offer educational sessions and outreach efforts.

Feminist Perspectives on Disaster, Pandemics, and Intimate Partner Violence

The COVID-19 pandemic brought international awareness to the likelihood of increased abuse of those in abusive intimate partner relationships because of the forced confinement with their abusers (Bettinger-Lopez and Bro, A double pandemic: domestic violence in the age of COVID 19, Council on Foreign Relations, 2020). While this awareness was much discussed, assistance to survivors of abuse was limited because survivors often could not reach out for help, nor could advocates wishing to offer assistance safely reach in to advise them (Taub, A new Covid-19 crisis: domestic abuse rises worldwide, 2020). The ever-present influence of the abuser prevented or limited the delivery of effective aid in many cases (Taub, A new Covid-19 crisis: domestic abuse rises worldwide, 2020). But this was not the first disaster to place those experiencing intimate partner abuse at greater risk. Other disasters have in various ways increased women’s safety risks both during and after crisis. Other crises routinely resulted in increased abuse of survivors in intimate partner relationships including sexual and other assault by intimate partners (Rao 2020; Sohrabizadeh Prehosp Disaster Med, 31(4):407–412, 2016). This chapter briefly identifies some forms of abuse experienced by women outside of the home during times of crisis and their connection to intimate partner abuse. Then, the impact of COVID-19 on intimate partner survivors will be explored and some of their experiences described.Gaps and flaws in nations’ approaches to gender violence are often highlighted during and after disasters. Lack of planning to protect survivors of intimate partner violence and other highly vulnerable populations during crises was exacerbated by the additional dangers brought by COVID-19. Primarily, the heightened dangers resulted from stay-at-home orders, which made services for abused partners more difficult to obtain and highlighted the possibility of unintended consequences resulting from policies designed to protect the public as a whole (Godin 2020).This chapter concludes by considering what has been lacking in strategic disaster planning, including what lessons have been learned thus far through the COVID-19 experience. Recommendations for effective disaster planning to protect survivors of intimate partner abuse, while also protecting other vulnerable populations, are suggested. This information is presented with the caution that as of this writing the global pandemic continues to limit access to hard data. Long-term analysis of the implications of the pandemic on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) survivors awaits the passage of time.

Reconstructing Sexuality after Excision: The Medical Tools

ABSTRACTClitoral reconstructive surgery is not sufficient to restore women’s sexual pleasure after excision. If the surgical technique aims at reconstructing the cut clitoris after type 2 female genital mutilation, the surgery alone cannot reconstruct other dimensions invoked by women in their requests for the procedure. In France, where clitoral reconstructive surgery since 2004 has been entirely covered by national insurance, a multidisciplinary approach precedes the surgery. Ethnographic fieldwork in one public hospital contributes a wider comprehension of the entire process of clitoral reconstruction, as well as the tools elaborated by the medical team. In particular, analysis of the assessments of the psychologist and sex therapist compiled in the medical folders shows how the multidisciplinary medical team developed specific tools. These tools are oriented at reconstructing the patient’s sexual sensibility, at breaking through psychological blocks such as self-esteem and body image, and/or at addressing abusive intimate relationships.

Conceptual Factors That Support Safety Behaviors Among Abuse Survivors: A Literature Review

Debate continues on the appropriate theoretical framework for understanding behavior change in abusive intimate partner relationships. The purpose of this review was to identify theories applied to relationship abuse experiences of survivors, to uncover conceptual factors that support safety behaviors, and to discuss how results can be used to inform the development of a conceptual framework for evaluation of interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). A rapid review of peer-reviewed published articles on IPV, safety behavior, and theory through two online databases (i.e., PubMed, Scopus) identified 1,604 citations; 143 articles underwent full-text data extraction, and 32 meet criteria for inclusion. Outcomes focused on safety behaviors but also included decision-making, coping strategies, stages of change, ending abuse, and leaving the relationship. The Transtheoretical Model was used most frequently. Despite variation in specification of outcomes of interest, elements that contributed to safety behaviors were similar across articles and included intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental factors. More work to identify the scope and relationship of conceptual factors that facilitate safety behaviors is needed. The limited published literature provides valuable insights into the range of factors, but homogeneity of samples across articles limited our ability to draw concrete conclusions regarding factors facilitating safety among diverse populations and settings.

A realist review of which advocacy interventions work for which abused women under what circumstances.

A realist review of which advocacy interventions work for which abused women under what circumstances.

Intimate partner violence as a mechanism underlying the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment among economically disadvantaged mothers and their adolescent daughters.

Child maltreatment represents a pervasive societal problem. Exposure to maltreatment is predictive of maladjustment across development with enduring negative effects found in adulthood. Compelling evidence suggests that some parents with a history of child abuse and neglect are at elevated risk for the maltreatment of their own children. However, a dearth of research currently exists on mediated mechanisms that may underlie this continuity. Ecological and transactional theories of child maltreatment propose that child maltreatment is multiply determined by various risk factors that exist across different ecological systems. Intimate partner violence (IPV) often co-occurs with child maltreatment and may represent a pathway through which risk for child abuse and neglect is transmitted across generations within a family. Informed by theories on the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment and utilizing a community-based, cross-sectional sample of 245 racially and ethnically diverse, low-income mothers and daughters, the objective of this study was to investigate IPV as a propagating process through which risk of child abuse and neglect is conferred from parent to child. We found evidence suggesting that mothers' history of maltreatment is associated with both their IPV involvement and their adolescent daughters' maltreatment victimization (with exposure to IPV as a maltreatment subtype excluded for clarity). Maternal IPV also partially accounted for the continuity of maltreatment victimization from mother to adolescent. A secondary analysis that included the adolescent's own engagement in dating violence provided compelling but preliminary evidence of the emergence of a similar pattern of relational violence, whereby adolescent girls with maltreatment histories were likewise involved in abusive intimate relationships. Future directions and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

A Qualitative Analysis of Requests for Financial Help via GoFundMe by Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Research suggests that a lack of financial resources contributes to victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) both remaining in and returning to abusive intimate relationships. Requesting financial assistance via crowdfunding has emerged as a new alternative for victims of IPV to access financial assistance. Therefore, our study explores how victims of IPV frame requests for financial assistance via the crowdfunding website GoFundMe.com. We qualitatively analyze a sample of 27 women’s requests. We find that victims of IPV may internalize the stigma of seeking assistance and therefore actively work to redefine their character in a positive manner. We also discover that victims’ requests speak to guidelines reflected in aid-based organizations and to judgments they anticipate facing when requesting help from informal social ties. Our findings suggest that seeking financial assistance through crowd funding may reflect similar challenges of accessing help through more traditional avenues.

Exploring the Association of Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences with Maternal Health and Child Behavior Following Intimate Partner Violence.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been empirically linked to a host of negative health outcomes, both physical and psychosocial. Exposures to ACEs make individuals more susceptible to conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers, and depression. Many of these conditions do not appear until sometime in adolescence or adulthood and have been linked to premature death. This study explores the association between the number and type of exposure to ACEs in women (mothers) who experienced intimate partner violence and health outcomes. Specifically, it explores the association between maternal ACEs and maternal perceived health and maternal mental and behavioral health. This study also explores the association between ACEs and child behavior. This analysis is part of a 7-year prospective study. A cohort of 300 mother-child pairs was assessed at baseline and every 4 months after reaching out for shelter or justice services for the very first time after being in an abusive intimate relationship. Data document individual mothers' ACE scores and show a trend at 12 months, 24 months, and is most significant at 36 months. Additionally, at 36 months, higher ACE scores were significantly associated with all child behavioral subscales (anxiety, depression, aggressive behavior, attention problems, internalizing, externalizing). The women in this study reported ACE scores consistently higher than national rates. Our data highlight the added benefit of using ACE criteria as a global prevention strategy to identify those most at risk for delayed mental and behavioral health issues and to intervene with supportive strategies and guided referrals as indicated.

Public perceptions of “negging”: lowering women’s self-esteem to increase the male’s attractiveness and achieve sexual conquest

Purpose“Negging” can be described as the purposeful lowering of a woman’s self-esteem to increase perceived attractiveness of the man in order to achieve sexual conquest. Negging has evolved over time. Whilst “original” negging was intended to be a harmless tool for attracting women, more recently dating companies have been teaching men “evolved” negging in a potentially damaging way, which could escalate into an abusive intimate relationship. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey involving vignettes depicting negging between strangers with three conditions: “original”, “evolved”, and “control” was completed by 308 participants. Participants were asked how harmful, acceptable, and how likely to escalate each scenario was. A fourth vignette described “evolved” negging between partners.FindingsMixed methods analysis of variance indicated that participants perceived all negging as being significantly more harmful than control “pick-up” lines. “Evolved” negging was considered to be more likely to escalate in seriousness than “original” negging.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the public viewing negging as harmful and with the potential to escalate in seriousness, women are still being targeted in this manner and the industry “teaching” negging is growing despite controversy. This study aims to increase general awareness of negging in order to minimise harm caused to women who are “picked-up” through this technique. To this end, directions for future research are highlighted.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first empirical studies in the area of negging. The perceived, and potential, harm caused can be studied in light of these novel findings with the aim of protecting women from harm.

Sociocultural Groundings of Battered Women’s Entrapment in Abusive Marital Relationship in Ghana

ABSTRACTWhile social psychological theorizations have contributed to our understanding of why battered women continue to remain in abusive intimate relationships, its apparent exclusive focus on individual victims’ psychological orientation leaves little conceptual space for discovering the subtle ways by which social and cultural norms shape the stay/leave decisions of victims of spousal violence. Drawing upon discursive psychology, this study explores the sociocultural groundings of stay/leave decisions of battered women in Ghana. Semi-structured focus groups and personal interviews were conducted with 32 participants: 16 victims and 16 perpetrators from rural and urban Ghana. Discursive accounts of participants suggest that post-divorce social stigma, remarriage alternatives, and post-divorce child care, as well as privacy framing of marital abuse function in concert to influence battered women’s entrapment in violent marital relationships. The article argues that, rather than individual psychological orientation, the decision to stay in or leave abusive marital relationships in Ghana is socioculturally and structurally grounded. To understand the highly complex nature of spousal violence, one must always go beyond the person and his or her psychological orientations, and seek the origin of battered women’s entrapment also in the external conditions of life, and in the sociocultural and structural forms of human existence.

Quality of life as a vulnerability and recovery factor in eating disorders: a community-based study.

BackgroundEmerging evidence suggests that changes in quality of life (QoL) predicts later changes in eating disorder (ED) symptoms. The objective of this study was to explore individual sufferers’ perspectives on the influence of QoL on the onset, maintenance, and/or remission of ED symptoms.Method19 women from the community with a history of eating disorders (n = 13 currently symptomatic; n = 6 recovered) were interviewed about their observations on the relationship between QoL and ED symptoms over time in their own lives. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed, and then thematically analysed.ResultsThematic analysis uncovered two major themes: 1. QoL as a Vulnerability Factor, and 2. QoL as a Recovery Factor. In relation to the first theme, onset of ED symptoms was discussed by women in this study as having been triggered by impairment in QoL, including a general sense of lacking control in life, stress, abusive intimate relationships, poor role modelling from family, physical impairment related to obesity, peer pressure, and weight-related teasing. On the other hand, and in relation to the second theme, subsequent improvement in QoL was nominated as central to symptom improvement and recovery. QoL improvement was described by participants differently, but included increased general satisfaction in life, emotional maturation, prioritising and improving physical health, the development of a supportive intimate relationship and social relationships, and having children.ConclusionsImpairment in QoL may act as a trigger for the onset and maintenance of ED symptoms, whereas improvement in QoL may be central to eating disorder improvement and eventual recovery. Treatment should involve consideration of a core focus on QoL improvement as a potential ‘backdoor’ approach to improving ED symptoms.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1033-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Discrediting Identity Work: Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence by Transgender Survivors

ABSTRACTThis study explores how individuals can actively work to discredit identity work. We examine eighteen transgender victims’ accounts of intimate partner violence (IPV), providing insight into how abusers undermine victims’ constructions of self-concepts. Our findings illustrate two primary strategies of discrediting identity work: altercasting and targeting sign-vehicles, including controlling through props. Empirically examining the accounts of transgender IPV victims’ experiences contributes to addressing a serious gap in research on transgender IPV victims, while expanding theoretical understandings of processes of discrediting identity work within the context of abusive intimate relationships.