Domestic Violence Advocates Research Articles

Reentering Survivors: Invisible at the Intersection of the Criminal Legal System and the Domestic Violence Movement

Like all returning citizens, women coming home after incarceration face significant challenges to successful reentry. In addition to the collateral consequences of their criminal convictions, reentering women also encounter uniquely gendered obstacles. This Article explores one such obstacle: the relationship between women's reentry and domestic violence. Women on probation or parole who are also experiencing domestic violence too often fall into a blind spot in which the structure of community supervision pressures them to remain in unsafe homes and also punishes them when the abuse they endure interferes with their ability to comply with the conditions of their release. Because reentering survivors' criminal histories place them outside of the traditional conception of a “real” victim of domestic violence, many domestic violence agencies deem them ineligible for services and assistance. Despite the serious challenges experienced by reentering survivors, this intersection has received very little attention from scholars and activists. This Article exposes the structural invisibility of reentering survivors within the criminal legal system and the domestic violence movement. An analysis of both the criminal legal system's shift from rehabilitation to “tough on crime” platforms and the domestic violence movement's transition away from grassroots activism toward criminal intervention reveals how reentering survivors have become caught in a double bind that threatens both their liberty and their safety. Reentering survivors risk being reincarcerated for failing to successfully reintegrate into their communities, yet they struggle to access the resources they need to achieve stability and safety. This Article builds on recent scholarship urging domestic violence advocates and activists to embrace reforms addressing the needs of marginalized survivors. In addition to recognizing reentering survivors as legitimate victims of domestic violence, this Article recommends that the domestic violence movement reevaluate its emphasis on criminalization and instead prioritize economic empowerment and community economic development.

Rabbinical response to domestic violence: A qualitative study

ABSTRACTClergy, including Rabbis, though not specifically trained to provide domestic violence (DV) counseling, are often now considered formal helpers because of the active role they have taken in addressing DV issues among congregants. Participants were presented with two vignettes about couples engaged in conflict and asked to describe how they would respond to each. The Rabbis in this sample, while willing and desiring to help, also talked much about their discomfort with providing advice, as they did not feel qualified to help or to provide advice. Implications for social work practitioners and educators will be discussed.

Nonprofit Organizations Serving Domestic Violence Survivors

Using interviews of 26 nonprofit domestic violence advocates, this article analyzes how South Asian–focused nonprofit organizations in the United States address the domestic violence–related intersectional needs of Asian Indian marriage migrants and the challenges they encounter in doing so. Our research indicates that these organizations offer services addressing a combination of structural and cultural needs that emerge from their clients’ social locations, but these organizations also encounter challenges in providing services targeting the specific subgroups of Asian Indian marriage migrants. To meet the intersectional needs of clients, there should be greater coalition-building within and between Asian Indian–focused and mainstream organizations.

The Abuse of Technology in Domestic Violence and Stalking.

We focus on an emerging trend in the context of domestic violence-the use of technology to facilitate stalking and other forms of abuse. Surveys with 152 domestic violence advocates and 46 victims show that technology-including phones, tablets, computers, and social networking websites-is commonly used in intimate partner stalking. Technology was used to create a sense of the perpetrator's omnipresence, and to isolate, punish, and humiliate domestic violence victims. Perpetrators also threatened to share sexualized content online to humiliate victims. Technology-facilitated stalking needs to be treated as a serious offense, and effective practice, policy, and legal responses must be developed.

Supplemental Material for Vicarious Resilience in Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Advocates

Supplemental Material for Vicarious Resilience in Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Advocates

Adult social work and high-risk domestic violence cases

Summary This article focuses on adult social work’s response in England to high-risk domestic violence cases and the role of adult social workers in multi-agency risk and assessment conferences. The research was undertaken between 2013 and 2014 and focused on one city in England and involved the research team attending multi-agency risk and assessment conferences. Interviews with 20 adult social workers, 24 multi-agency risk and assessment conferences attendees, 14 adult service users at time T1 (including follow-up interviews after six months, T2), focus groups with independent domestic violence advocates and Women’s Aid and an interview with a Women’s Aid service user. Findings The findings suggest that although adult social workers accept the need to be involved in domestic violence cases they are uncertain of what their role is and are confused with the need to operate a parallel domestic violence and adult safeguarding approach, which is further, complicated by issues of mental capacity. Multi-agency risk and assessment conferences are identified as overburdened, under-represented meetings staffed by committed managers. However, they are in danger of becoming managerial processes neglecting the service users they are meant to protect. Applications The article argues for a re-engagement of adult social workers with domestic violence that has increasingly become over identified with child protection. It also raises the issue whether multi-agency risk and assessment conferences remain fit for purpose and whether they still represent the best possible response to multi-agency coordination and practice in domestic violence.

The lethality assessment program

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the differential use of the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) – a risk-informed, collaborative police-social service intervention – across female victim-survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in four police jurisdictions in Oklahoma. Design/methodology/approach – Women visited by the police during the study period participated in semi-structured telephone interviews. Logistic regression was utilized to examine what factors impacted implementation of the LAP. Findings – There was differential use of the intervention based on the following: jurisdiction, severe violence at the incident, perpetrator’s use of a weapon ever in the relationship, PTSD symptomology, and women’s prior protective actions and utilization of domestic violence advocacy services. Research limitations/implications – Future research should examine the decision-making process of survivors and police officers to better elucidate the meaning behind these statistical relationships. Practical implications – PTSD education should be an integral part of police training on domestic violence. In addition, officers should be trained to recognize less injurious, but also damaging, forms of IPV, such as verbal abuse and coercive control. Social implications – While police contact can provide accountability for the offender, the social service system is best equipped to provide safety options for the victim-survivor of violence. Originality/value – Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of the LAP. It is important to understand how the intervention is applied in order to better understand who is most assisted by the intervention and what training or education could be beneficial for officers providing the intervention.

Countering Neoliberalism and Aligning Solidarities: Rethinking Domestic Violence Advocacy

This article seeks to situate domestic violence in a larger analytical frame of the political economic, to extend institutional responsibility for violence beyond the criminal justice system, and to form common bonds with other social justice initiatives. It argues that improved remedies for domestic violence victims lie within the reform of the political economy. It examines the efficacy of integrating anti-domestic violence initiatives into realms of work and labor and issues pertaining to the financialization of everyday life, as a way to engage larger questions bearing on economic justice and structural social change. The relationship between domestic violence and political economy is under-theorized and constrained by prevailing neoliberal paradigms. Moreover, deepening wealth inequality in capitalist societies has produced new forms of suffering within families, which underscores the need for diverse constituencies to act in concert and in common political cause. Shifting domestic violence strategies so that they operate within the frame of the political economy may generate greater opportunities for coalition building for and with domestic violence advocates.The relevance of economic security has loomed large in domestic violence advocacy, to be sure. It has been properly identified as a critical factor that determines whether a victim can escape domestic violence. However, advocacy in this area has been often circumscribed by a narrow focus on individual circumstances, reliance on a residualist welfare state that perceives dependency on public assistance as moral deficiency. Too often economic justice initiatives designed to mitigate domestic violence have been fitted neatly within neoliberal economics that fail to provide meaningful social change. These responses have failed to challenge such policies while discounting the full impact of the neoliberal model on one’s ability to escape domestic violence.This article relies on the scholarship that considers the impact of neoliberalism on law and social justice claims to provide a contextual examination of the ways in which the constraints of neoliberalism hinder efforts to address laws gender-based violence. It describes and then critiques current economic-related strategies offered by the state and the market designed to improve outcomes for victims of domestic violence and questions the “sources of submission” by domestic violence advocates to a neoliberal pragmatic. It offers proposals to advance economic security in ways that join domestic violence advocacy with other forms of socio-economic advocacy that provide additional progressive promise, but does so cautiously as “[n]eoliberalism is everywhere and nowhere; its custodians are largely invisible.” It suggests that transforming the ways in which attention is paid to economic concerns provides a complementary if not alternative way of understanding and addressing the phenomenon of domestic violence through the broad perspective of socio-economic justice.

"I need to hear from women who have 'been there'": Developing a woman-focused intervention for drug use and partner violence in the emergency department.

Addressing violence and linking women to community services in parallel with drug change goals is critical for women with coexisting intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use disorders (SUD). Our objective was to develop a Web-based intervention to address violence and drug use among women patients in the ED. The intervention was developed in a five-step process: 1) Initial intervention development based on selected theoretical frameworks; 2) In-depth interviews with the target population; 3) Intervention adaptation, with iterative feedback from further interviews; 4) Beta testing and review by an advisory committee of domestic violence advocates; 5) Acceptability and feasibility testing in a small open trial. Themes supported the selection of MI and empowerment models but also guided major adaptations to the intervention, including the introduction of videos and a more robust booster phone call. Participants in the open trial reported high scores for satisfaction, usability, and consistency with essential elements of motivational interviewing. This qualitative work with our target population of women in the ED with SUD experiencing IPV underscored the importance of connection to peers and empathetic human contact. We developed an acceptable and feasible intervention distinct from prior ED-based brief interventions for substance-using populations.

Sex differences in substance use, health, and social functioning among opioid users receiving methadone treatment: a multicenter cohort study.

BackgroundDespite the growing numbers of men and women with opioid use disorder in Canada, sex-specific issues in treatment have not been re-examined in the current population of patients with opioid addiction. We aimed to evaluate sex differences in substance use, health, and social functioning among men and women currently receiving methadone treatment for opioid use disorder in Ontario, Canada.MethodsWe recruited 503 participants with opioid dependence disorder receiving methadone maintenance treatment. We collected data on demographics, treatment characteristics, psychiatric history, addiction severity, and drug use patterns through urinalysis. We performed adjusted univariate analyses and logistic regression to identify distinct factors affecting men and women.ResultsAmong our sample of 54 % (n = 266) men and 46 % women (n = 226) with mean age 38.3 years, less than half of participants were employed (35.6 %) and married (31.8 %) and had completed a high school education (27.9 %). Compared to men, women had frequent physical and psychological health problems, family history of psychiatric illness, and childcare responsibilities and began using opioids through a physician prescription. Men had higher rates of employment, cigarette smoking, and cannabis use compared to women.ConclusionsOur results have revealed different patterns of substance use, health, and social functioning among men and women currently receiving methadone treatment for opioid addiction in Ontario, Canada. This information can be used to develop an integrative treatment regimen that caters to the individual needs of men and women, as well as to inform methadone treatment protocols to include specialized services (including vocational counseling, childcare and parenting assistance, medical assistance, relationship or domestic violence counseling, etc.) and increase their availability and accessibility on a larger scale.

Women-Centered Drug Treatment Services and Need in the United States, 2002-2009.

We examined options and need for women-centered substance use disorder treatment in the United States between 2002 and 2009. We obtained characteristics of facilities from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services and treatment need data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We also examined differences in provision of women-centered programs by urbanization level in data from the National Center for Health Statistics 2006 Rural-Urban County Continuum. Of the 13 000 facilities surveyed annually, the proportion offering women-centered services declined from 43% in 2002 to 40% in 2009 (P < .001). Urban location, state population size, and Medicaid payment predicted provision of such services as trauma-related and domestic violence counseling, child care, and housing assistance (all, P < .001). Prevalence of women with unmet need ranged from 81% to 95% across states. Change in availability of women-centered drug treatment services was minimal from 2002 to 2009, even though need for treatment was high in all states.

Chronic Victims, Risky Women: Domestic Violence Advocacy and the Medicalization of Abuse

Critical literature on the antiviolence movement has largely overlooked the role of biomedical institutions in depoliticizing domestic violence advocacy. Additionally, studies of medicalization have largely failed to attend to domestic violence screening and diagnosis as key technologies through which gendered biomedical surveillance has expanded. Based on interviews with domestic violence medical advocates and health-care providers, I show how domestic violence is being transformed into a chronic disease category, thereby reconfiguring the historical relationship between feminist-based advocacy and medical expertise. What follows is a scientized and degendered transformation of causal explanations for domestic violence: rather than patriarchy, advocates now explain domestic violence using the language of risk. I argue that haunting this construction of women as at high risk for abuse is a reconstituted gender essentialism that casts women victims as passive recipients of their partners’ abusive actions.

Special Services for Women in Substance Use Disorders Treatment: How Does the Department of Veterans Affairs Compare with Other Providers?

BackgroundGender is an important consideration in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). Although the number of women seeking care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has increased dramatically, little is known about the capacity of the VA to meet the needs of women with SUD. We examined the prevalence of programs and key services for women in VA facilities in a survey of 14,311 SUD treatment facilities. MethodsUsing data from the 2012 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, we calculated the percent of VA facilities offering special programs or groups exclusively for women, compared with facilities under other types of ownership. For each ownership type, we also calculated the mean number of ancillary services offered that are critical for many women in SUD treatment, including child care, domestic violence counseling, and transportation assistance. Multivariable models were used to adjust for differences in other facility characteristics. FindingsApproximately 31% of facilities had special programs exclusively for women. The VA had the lowest prevalence of programs for women, at 19.1%; however, the VA offered an average of 5 key services for women, which was significantly higher than the averages for other federal (n = 2), local (n = 4), and private for-profit (n = 2) facilities. Results were generally robust to multivariable adjustments. ConclusionsThe VA should consider developing more SUD programs and groups exclusively for women, while maintaining ancillary services at their relatively abundant level. Gender-specific programs and groups could serve as points of referral to ancillary services for women veterans.

Assisting Rural Domestic Violence Victims: The Local Librarian's Role

Rules prohibiting the unauthorized practice of law by non-lawyers serve many important purposes: limiting fraudulent activities, protecting the public, protecting the bar, and many more. However, those valid purposes can limit non-lawyers from engaging in otherwise helpful activities, particularly in the domestic violence arena. For instance, the laws against the unauthorized practice of law have been relaxed in some states, including Illinois, in the case of laypersons working to assist domestic violence victims in court to allow those who cannot afford a lawyer to have a helping hand from a knowledgeable and trained layperson or victim advocate. Librarians are ideally suited, especially in rural areas, to serve as advocates, at least within the confines of the library, to domestic violence victims as well. Indeed, with the proper training, librarians could be an ideal partner to combating domestic abuse in rural areas, as many victims of domestic abuse are prevented from working outside the home and may only be permitted by their abuser to access public places, like a library, without punishment. To establish this premise, the Article will begin by attempting to define the term rural to better form a context for the surrounding discussion of a specific portion of the domestic violence victim population. Next, the Article will further elaborate on the specific needs of domestic violence victims in rural areas, where shelters and legal services are often limited or absent. Then, the Article will explain why unauthorized practice of law (UPL) policies exist generally and how they have been interpreted to apply to librarians. Additionally, the relaxation of domestic UPL policies, with respect to domestic violence advocates, will be explained. Finally, some examples of the justification for and use of librarians to serve the domestic violence population will be examined. The Article will conclude with a plea for more efforts to train rural librarians to support domestic violence victims. Copyright 2016 Sara Rachel Benson (35 pages) University of Illinois College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-34 Language: en

Availability of Women-Centered Drug Treatment Services in the United States [1

AIMS: Women who receive gender-specific drug treatment services have improved outcomes. We investigated how the availability of women-centered services has changed over time, geographic variation, and whether treatment availability corresponds to need. We hypothesized that, although treatment availability has increased over time, there are still disparities between treatment need and available services. METHODS: The National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services was used to describe treatment availability from 2002 to 2010. Facilities with specific programs for women were contrasted with programs without these services. Treatment need was captured from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health 2002–2009. Services were compared over time and by geographic variation using STATA 11 and ArcGIS 10.2. RESULTS: There was a decline over time in specific programs reported for women (38% in 2002 compared with 32% in 2010, P<.001). There was an increase in facilities providing transportation (35–38%) and domestic violence counseling (33–36%) and a decline in peripartum and postpartum services. Facilities that reported specific programs for women were more likely to report trauma-related counseling, child care, housing assistance, and domestic violence counseling (P<.001 for all). There was a decline in women-centered services across a geographic gradient, from 41% in urban areas to 20% in small, non–urban-adjacent regions (P<.001). Availability of treatment services was not proportional to need (P<.001). CONCLUSION: There has been minimal change in women-centered services in drug treatment facilities over time. Marked geographic disparities exist for all components of women-centered care, and the availability of treatment services does not match treatment need nationwide.

Determinants of clergy behaviors promoting safety of battered Korean immigrant women.

Korean immigrants rely heavily on their respective churches for assistance with domestic violence. Yet, Korean clergy's responses to domestic violence are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence Korean clergy's responses to domestic violence in their congregations. Results showed that clergy's Korean cultural values, age, and length of residence in the United States influence their responses to domestic violence. Developing a collaborative working relationship between Korean clergy and domestic violence advocates, as well as providing training to Korean clergy targeting their knowledge, beliefs/attitudes, and skills is critical for promoting safety of battered Korean immigrant women.

An investigation of the relationship between the caseload model of midwifery for socially disadvantaged women and childbirth outcomes using routine data – A retrospective, observational study

Objectivethe objective of this study was to describe and compare childbirth outcomes and processes for women with complex social factors who received caseload midwifery care, and standard maternity care in the UK. Backgroundwomen with complex social factors experience high rates of morbidity, mortality and poor birth outcomes. A caseload team was established to support these women throughout pregnancy and childbirth by providing continuity and individualised care. Methodsdata was collected from computerised birth details of 194 women with complex social factors who presented for maternity care between May 2012 and June 2013; 96 received standard care and 98 caseload care. SPSS v21 was used to calculate descriptive and inferential statistics. Logistic regression modelling found no differences in demographics, therefore unadjusted statistics are presented. Comparative analysis between women receiving caseload care and those receiving standard care was accomplished using χ2 test, relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Resultsthe relationship between type of care and outcome was not changed by the inclusion of confounding factors. Women receiving caseload care were more likely to experience; spontaneous vaginal childbirth (80% versus 55% RR 1.88, 95% CI 1.27–2.77, P=<0.001), use water for pain relief (32% versus 10%, RR 4.10 95% CI 1.95–8.64, p=<0.001), birth in the midwife led centre (26% versus 13% RR 1.48 95% CI 1.12–1.95, p=0.023), assessment by 10 weeks gestation (24% versus 8% RR 1.61 95% CI 1.24–2.10, p=0.008), shorter postnatal stay (1 day versus 3 days SD 1.2 versus 2.2, p=<0.001), and know their midwife (90% versus 8% RR 8.98 95% CI 4.97–16.2, p=<0.001). More women in the caseload group were referred to multidisciplinary support services; psychiatry (56% versus 19% RR 2.06 95% CI 1.59–2.65, p=<0.001), domestic violence advocacy (42% versus 18% RR 1.68 CI 1.31–2.15, p=<0.001) and other services (56% versus 31% RR 1.58 95% CI 1.15–2.16, p=0.03). They were less likely to have a caesarean section (11% versus 33% RR 0.26 95% CI 0.12–0.55, P=<0.001), an epidural/spinal for pain relief (35% versus 56%, RR 0.64 95% CI 0.46–0.86, p=0.004), give birth on the labour ward (70% versus 88% RR 0.63 95% CI 0.49–0.83, p=0.006), and had fewer antenatal admissions (0.9(SD 1.1) versus 1.3(SD1.5), p=0.036) and neonatal unit admissions (4% versus 18%, RR 0.35 95% CI 0.15–0.85, p=0.005). Conclusioncaseload midwifery care appeared to confer increased benefit and reduced harmful outcomes. Findings for individual outcomes differed from previous literature depending on outcome, suggesting caseload care may affect women in different ways depending on their individual needs.

Availability of women-centered drug treatment services: An analysis of NSSATS 2002–2010

Aims: The importance of gender in drug treatment has been well described in research and it is now generally accepted that womenwho receive gender specific treatment services have better outcomes than those who do not. However little is known about how this has translated into treatment service development. This study will use the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (NSSATS) to investigate the availability ofwomencentered treatment options throughout the US over time. Methods: NSSATS 2002–2010 an annual survey of treatment facilities receiving federal fundingwas used. Facilities with specific programs for womenwere contrastedwith those that without. The availability of additional services of benefit to women and families (suchaschild care, trauma-relatedcounselingandspecialprograms for pregnant/postpartumwomen)were investigated. Serviceswere compared over time and by geographic variation using STATA v 11. Results: Over 13,000 participated in the survey each year with a slight decline over time of the proportion reporting specific programs forwomen (38% in 2002 vs 32% in 2010, p<0.001). Therewas a slight increase in facilities providing transportation (3538%) and domestic violence counseling (33–36%), minimal change in child care (9–8%) and a decline in pregnant/postpartum services. Facilities that reported specific programs for women were more likely to also report trauma-related counseling, child care, housing assistance and domestic violence counseling (p<0.001 for all). There was a decline in women centered services across a geographic gradient from 41% in urban areas to 20% in small non-urban adjacent regions (p<0.001). Conclusions: There has been minimal change in women centered services in drug treatment facilities over time. Marked geographic disparities exist for all components of women centered care. Financial support: None.

Neuropsychological changes during residential substance use treatment

Aims: The importance of gender in drug treatment has been well described in research and it is now generally accepted that womenwho receive gender specific treatment services have better outcomes than those who do not. However little is known about how this has translated into treatment service development. This study will use the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (NSSATS) to investigate the availability ofwomencentered treatment options throughout the US over time. Methods: NSSATS 2002–2010 an annual survey of treatment facilities receiving federal fundingwas used. Facilities with specific programs for womenwere contrastedwith those that without. The availability of additional services of benefit to women and families (suchaschild care, trauma-relatedcounselingandspecialprograms for pregnant/postpartumwomen)were investigated. Serviceswere compared over time and by geographic variation using STATA v 11. Results: Over 13,000 participated in the survey each year with a slight decline over time of the proportion reporting specific programs forwomen (38% in 2002 vs 32% in 2010, p<0.001). Therewas a slight increase in facilities providing transportation (3538%) and domestic violence counseling (33–36%), minimal change in child care (9–8%) and a decline in pregnant/postpartum services. Facilities that reported specific programs for women were more likely to also report trauma-related counseling, child care, housing assistance and domestic violence counseling (p<0.001 for all). There was a decline in women centered services across a geographic gradient from 41% in urban areas to 20% in small non-urban adjacent regions (p<0.001). Conclusions: There has been minimal change in women centered services in drug treatment facilities over time. Marked geographic disparities exist for all components of women centered care. Financial support: None.

MODEL PENYULUHAN KB BERBASIS GENDER DALAM MENCEGAH KEKERASAN DALAM RUMAH TANGGA DI KABUPATEN PURBALINGGA

This study was conducted in Purbalingga which has a lot of hair manufacturing company which are predominantly done by women. The aims of this research were: (1) to analyze the phenomena of shifting of gender role in labor families, (2) to analyze the implementation of family planning counseling as a prevention of domestic violence, and (3) to create a gender-based family planning model to prevent it. The result shows that (1) there is a shifting of gender role in research location, (2) the activity of domestic violence counseling was rarely implemented, and (3) revitalization of those counseling model involving strategy, target and counseling materials need to be implemented.Key words: family planning extension shifting gender role, domestic violence and dissemination on gender basic.