Domestic Violence Programs Research Articles

Intimate Partner Violence Programs in a Children's Hospital: Comprehensive Assessment Utilizing a Delphi Instrument.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a baseline assessment of intimate partner violence (IPV) practices in a pediatric hospital system. The Delphi Instrument for Hospital-based Domestic Violence Programs was used to assess the structure and components of the hospital system's IPV practices. Through key stakeholder interviews, we also assessed IPV practices in individual patient care areas. Qualitative analysis of interview data used a grounded theory approach. The hospital scored 17 of 100 points on the Delphi instrument assessment. Key areas of weakness identified by the Delphi instrument and interviews included lack of coordinated provider training and evaluation of IPV-related processes and no standards for IPV screening, safety assessment, and documentation. Most interviewees supported addressing IPV; all identified barriers to IPV screening at individual provider and institutional levels. Institutional barriers included lack of a standardized response to IPV disclosure, need for individualized screening protocols for different patient care settings, lack of standardized provider training, concerns about overextending social work resources, and lack of resources for hospital staff experiencing vicarious trauma. Individual barriers included concern that screening may harm physician-patient-family relationships and the perception that physicians are unwilling to address psychosocial issues. The Delphi Instrument for Hospital-based Domestic Violence Programs identified weaknesses and key areas for improvement in IPV practices. Deficiencies revealed by the Delphi instrument were affirmed by individual interview results. Institutional and individual provider level barriers must be addressed to optimize IPV practices in a pediatric hospital system.

Unequal Treatment of Transgender Individuals in Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Programs

ABSTRACTTransgender people often face barriers in accessing culturally competent domestic violence and rape crisis services, yet few studies have used a national sample of transgender people to study this topic or examine differential rates of discrimination within this population. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey, conducted in 2008 to 2009 by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, collected data about discrimination affecting transgender people across a variety of settings. The present study involves secondary data analysis of this data set to examine whether certain sociodemographic factors and psychosocial risks are significant predictors of unequal treatment of transgender people in domestic violence programs (N = 2,438) and rape crisis centers (N = 2,424). For both settings, findings indicate that transgender individuals who are low-income and not U.S. citizens are more likely to experience unequal treatment based upon being transgender or gender-nonconforming. Within domestic violence programs, transgender people of color, those with disabilities, and those more frequently perceived to be transgender by others are more likely to experience unequal treatment. Psychosocial risk factors (suicidality, sex work history, and disconnection from family) predict unequal treatment in both settings. The article concludes by discussing implications for social service practitioners and future research.

Mexican Immigrant Women Searching for a Solution to Intimate Partner Abuse: Common Breaking Points and Type of Help Needed

This phenomenological grounded theory study, with a sample 29 Mexican immigrant women affected by intimate abuse and secondary sample of 15 service providers, examines the breaking point for help seeking and the type of help needed. Harm to children, infidelity, and threat to the participant's life were the most common breaking points. Some didn't know what type of help was needed, only that they could not solve the problem on their own. Other types included protection (physical and legal) from the abusive partner and economic assistance. The findings have implications for attorneys, domestic violence programs, mental health and social service programs, police, and health care workers.

Developing an outcome evaluation plan for the domestic violence programme in Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores

Introduction: There is a growing recognition that violence against women has a far-reaching and devastating public health impact, affecting approximately 30% of women globally. Therefore, domestic violence shelters and programmes play an essential role in providing immediate safety and support for victims and their families. Objectives: The purpose of this project was to help Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) De Colores identify their intended outcomes and develop an outcome evaluation plan, which included the definition of outcomes (indicators) and the measurement tools. Materials and methods: Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted during the summer of 2014 at De Colores with a sample of six participants, representing the different services provided, including director of operations, office manager, case manager, counsellor and legal advocate and one participant was interviewed on behalf of funding sources. The duration of the interview ranged from 45 to 60 minutes. An interview guide was used to guide the interviews with open-ended questions. Data from the interviews were audio recorded and used to evaluate interviewer notes and interpretations during the data analysis period. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants and confidentiality assured. In addition, a literature search was undertaken to identify additional outcomes. Results: An outcome evaluation plan was developed for De Colores, which identified significant/high priority outcomes, indicators and measurement tools. Sixteen outcomes were identified of which 12 have existing indicators in the programme. Conclusions: An assessment tool to measure the four outcomes that lack assessment tools or to strengthen the tracking of the other outcomes. The assessment tools included ‘ Self-Sufficiency Matrix’, ‘Pre/Post survey on domestic violence’ and ‘The 19-item regulation of emotions questionnaire’ . Acknowledgements: Dr Norma Perez-Brena for supervising this project.

Converge! Reimagining the Movement to End Gender Violence, Plenary 44Mobilization (Transcript)

Stoops: I am the Executive Director of a statewide, nonprofit coalition of domestic violence and sexual assault programs in Washington State. We have seventy-three member programs, forty-three of which are state-contracted shelter programs. We have ten tribal member programs and several community-based programs that do their work in a by/for/with kind of way in marginalized communities. You can see that basically I am a bureaucrat in the nonprofit domestic violence and sexual assault industrial complex. I do not say that lightly. It really is an industry and in some ways I am surprised to find myself on a panel about mobilization because I do not often think about the radical mobilizing happening among my constituency.

"I have lost everything": Trade-offs of seeking safety from intimate partner violence.

A primary aim of mainstream domestic violence (DV) programs is to help survivors and their children achieve safety from intimate partner violence. That goal, however, is neither simple nor straightforward. Instead, research demonstrates that the very actions survivors take to achieve safety may trigger a wide range of negative consequences. Missing from this research, however, is a focus on survivors' own perception, evaluation, and expectation of the costs surrounding their safety-seeking efforts. Using a mixed-methods design, this study explored safety-related trade-offs among a convenience sample of 301 female survivors seeking DV services across 3 states in the Northeast region of the United States. Quantitative findings demonstrate that 62% of participants reported having to give up too much to keep safe, 55% reported that safety led to new problems in other domains for survivors and their loved ones, and 50% reported that these problems were often unexpected. Qualitative findings illuminated the categories of loss participants experienced as they worked toward safety, as well as the actions participants would have taken had they anticipated these losses. Findings suggest that an emphasis on safety over other needs-common in a human services landscape composed of multiple narrowly defined service silos-can force survivors into a zero-sum trap of painful and detrimental trade-offs.

Coordinated public health initiatives to address violence against women and adolescents.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a well-recognized public health problem. IPV affects women's physical and mental health through direct pathways, such as injury, and indirect pathways, such as a prolonged stress response that leads to chronic health problems. The influence of abuse can persist long after the violence has stopped and women of color are disproportionately impacted. Successfully addressing the complex issue of IPV requires multiple prevention efforts that target specific risk and protective factors across individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and societal levels. This paper includes examples of community-based, state led and federally funded public health programs focused on IPV along this continuum. Two community-based efforts to increase access to mental health care for low income, women of color who had experienced IPV, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and a telehealth intervention are discussed. Core tenets of a patient-centered comprehensive approach to assessment and responses and strategies for supporting a statewide comprehensive response are described in Project Connect: A Coordinated Public Health Initiative to Prevent Violence Against Women. Project Connect provides technical assistance to grantees funded through the Violence Against Women Act's health title and involves developing, implementing, and evaluating new ways to identify, respond to, and prevent domestic and sexual violence and promote an improved public health response to abuse in states and Native health programs. Health care partnerships with domestic violence experts are critical in order to provide training, develop referral protocols, and to link IPV victims to advocacy services. Survivors need a comprehensive response that addresses their safety concerns and may require advocacy around housing or shelter, legal assistance, and safety planning. Gaps in research knowledge identified are health system readiness to respond to IPV victims in health care settings and partner with domestic violence programs, effects of early IPV intervention, and models for taking interventions to scale.

Survivor-Defined Practice in Domestic Violence Work: Measure Development and Preliminary Evidence of Link to Empowerment.

Survivor-defined practice, characterized by an emphasis on client choice, partnership, and sensitivity to the unique needs, contexts, and coping strategies of individual survivors, is an aspirational goal of the domestic violence (DV) movement, assumed to be a key contributor to empowerment and other positive outcomes among survivors. Despite its central role in DV program philosophy, training, and practice, however, our ability to assess its presence and its presumed link to well-being has been hampered by the absence of a way to measure it from survivors' perspectives. As part of a larger university-community collaboration, this study had two aims: (a) to develop a measure of survivor-defined practice from the perspective of participants, and (b) to assess its relationship to safety-related empowerment after controlling for other contributors to survivor well-being (e.g., financial stability and social support). Results supported the reliability and validity of the Survivor-Defined Practice Scale (SDPS), a nine-item measure that assesses participants' perception of the degree to which their advocates help them achieve goals they set for themselves, facilitate a spirit of partnership, and show sensitivity to their individual needs and styles. The items combined to form one factor indicating that the three theoretical aspects of survivor-defined practice may be different manifestations of one underlying construct. Results also support the hypothesized link between survivor-defined practice and safety-related empowerment. The SDPS offers DV programs a mechanism for process evaluation that is rigorous and rooted in the feminist empowerment philosophy that so many programs espouse.

"Strength at Home" Intervention for Male Veterans Perpetrating Intimate Partner Aggression: Perceived Needs Survey of Therapists and Pilot Effectiveness Study.

Veteran and active duty populations evidence higher rates of intimate partner aggression (IPA) than comparable civilian groups, perhaps due in part to their unique service-related experiences. IPA offender treatment programs that take military background into consideration are not widely available, and it is unclear to what extent there is a perceived need for them among clinicians who serve service members and Veterans. Strength at Home (SAH) is a promising 12-session cognitive-behavioral group intervention designed to address IPA perpetration in military populations. While clinical support for SAH is emerging, the extent to which service members and Veterans find it appropriate and helpful is not yet known. Goals of the current study were threefold: (a) assess the perceived need for a military-specific IPA program among Veterans Administration and community domestic violence (DV) program providers; (b) conduct a pilot study to examine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of SAH in a sample drawn from a diverse, multicultural community; and (c) conduct focus groups to obtain participant feedback on the SAH protocol. Findings from the provider survey suggested a need for specialty programs to treat military personnel who perpetrate IPA of mildtomoderate severity. Results of the SAH pilot study (n = 6) indicated decreased psychological aggression and increased anger control from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Focus group feedback indicated participants found the program to be helpful and appropriate across a wide variety of ethno-cultural variables. As more service members and Veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan war era reintegrate into our communities, it will become increasingly important for providers in both private and public sectors of care to understand the unique needs of this treatment population, and to have access to effective IPA treatment programs.

"The Only Solution There Is To Fight": Discourses of Masculinity Among South African Domestically Violent Men.

This qualitative study investigates the discourses that men used when talking about their experiences of attending a Duluth-cognitive-behavioral-therapy (CBT) domestic violence program in Cape Town, South Africa. Data were collected from 12 men who were recruited from three programs. A discourse analysis of interviews revealed that men drew upon various dominant discourses of masculinity that may reinforce the subordination of, control over, and violence against women. Our findings from this study contribute to the debate surrounding the Duluth model's effectiveness in South Africa by questioning its successes in transforming violent masculinity.

Peer Discussion and Client Motivation in Men's Domestic Violence Programs: An Australian Qualitative Interview Study

Relationships Australia NSW and Baptist Community Services NSW & ACT, through its BCS LifeCare Counselling & Family Services program, collaborated to explore client perceptions of men's domestic violence programs. Recruitment targeted male clients and their female partners, across six locations in New South Wales, Australia. In total, 63 qualitative interviews were gathered from 28 participants, between 2007 and 2009, at program intake, program completion and 6-month follow-up. The focus of this article is on the 20 male interviews conducted with 14 participants at program completion (10) and at 6-month follow-up (10). Recurring themes from these interviews indicate the potentially disruptive effect of client dialogue on group dynamics. While positive group discussion has the potential to enhance client motivation, negative peer discussions, external to group sessions, can diminish group functioning and client motivation for these participants. The paradoxical nature of the group-intervention experience is explored in light of these accounts. Suggestions for men's domestic violence program facilitation and research are outlined.

Effectiveness of Risk-Needs-Responsivity-Based Family Violence Programs with Male Offenders

The following presents the outcome of an evaluation of family violence prevention programs for male offenders. The moderate and high intensity programs were designed and implemented to conform to the Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) principles. Results showed that program participation significantly reduced attitudes that supported violence against women and improved pro-social skills related to non-abusive relationships; treatment effects were moderate to high. Parole officer feedback generally reported positive changes in behavior and attitude associated with treatment. A post-release follow-up indicated that program completion significantly reduced spousal violence and general violent recidivism. Program participation did not, however, have a significant impact on non-violent crime. Results indicate that domestic violence programs respecting the RNR principles may be effective in reducing partner violence.

Competing Values in Serving Older and Vulnerable Adults: Adult Protective Services, Mandated Reporting, and Domestic Violence Programs

State mandatory reporting statutes may directly or indirectly list domestic violence programs as among those that are mandated reporters of cases of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of older individuals and those with disabilities. Domestic violence programs, however, may not consider themselves to be mandated reporters, because the responsibility of reporting abuse may be contrary to their programmatic philosophy. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the potential conflict between domestic violence programs and Adult Protective Services about the issue of mandated reporting has created tension between these organizations as each entity continues interpreting the issues and policies of mandated reporting through its own lens. The authors draw out some of the reasons for the conflict as well as make recommendations for improving relationships between the two organizations, which will ultimately benefit vulnerable adults who are experiencing abuse.

Promoting partnerships between women's health and domestic violence programs: lessons learned from Virginia's pilot sites

Participants in this session will view a presentation containing a description of the need for partnerships between domestic violence and women's health programs, an overview of Virginia's Project Connect pilot sites, including the resources and challenges specific to each community and various models employed for providing on-site health services in each domestic violence program, challenges raised and how they were addressed, and evaluation activities and findings. The statewide coordinator of the initiative will share stories, experiences and feedback from health care providers and program staff in the pilot sites. Participants will also be given copies of all screening tools, forms, policies and training resources developed and the speakers will facilitate group discussion to get feedback on and answer questions about the materials.

A five year follow-up study of the Bristol pregnancy domestic violence programme to promote routine enquiry

Objectivea follow-up study to evaluate the degree to which practice changes identified in the 2004/2005 evaluation of the Bristol Pregnancy Domestic Violence Programme (BPDVP) for routine enquiry for domestic abuse have been maintained. Methodsa multimethod approach was adopted, using a follow-up survey and focus groups. Settingan acute Trust within the South West of England. Participants58 midwives completed the survey, 73% (n=36) of whom had taken part in the original study in 2004/2005. Eleven of those surveyed also participated in focus group interviews. Measurementsparticipating midwives completed a 54-item questionnaire, where possible the questions were the same as those utilised in the original follow-up questionnaire. Similar to the previous study, the questionnaire was divided into a number of sections, including view of professional education, knowledge of domestic violence and abuse, attitudes and efficacy beliefs, barriers and support. The aim of the focus groups discussion was to obtain the overall views of midwives with the regard to the on-going implementation of routine enquiry. Frequency distributions for midwife responses in 2010 were compared with the corresponding frequency distributions in 2004/2005 and a statistical assessment of differences was performed using the χ2 test of association. Resultsmidwives have to feel confident in their abilities to ask about abuse and the findings from this study demonstrate that across the cohort there was a tendency to have an increase in confidence in asking about domestic violence. Midwives have to feel confident in their abilities to ask about abuse. The findings from this study demonstrate that across the cohort there was a statistically significant increase in self-reported confidence in asking women about domestic abuse. In addition, there was a statistically significant increase in the degree of self-reported knowledge of how to deal with a disclosure of domestic violence when comparing the 2010 data with 2005 data. Conclusionsresults suggest that improvements in antenatal enquiry for domestic violence and abuse developed through the 2004/2005 BPDVP have improved over time, with the support of mandatory training. Nevertheless, barriers continue to exist, which include presence of a male partner and lack of face to face interpreting services, both these obstacles need to be addressed if all women and, in particular those who are most at risk of abuse are to be identified and supported.

Applying Effective Corrections Principles (RNR) to Partner Abuse Interventions

Results of outcome evaluations of the domestic violence (DV) programs are not encouraging. Overall, the most optimistic conclusion is that these programs have only a modest impact on reducing repeat partner violence. Recently, there are calls for DV programs to “grow up,” adapt a paradigm shift, shed ideology, and determine how the maximum impact can be realized from work to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV). The following review examines why program results are so unconvincing and proposes a comprehensive framework to advance the field. Specifically, it recommends that applying the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) principles of effective corrections could substantially improve treatment results. Using this framework, the article identifies selected risk assessment tools to screen offenders into appropriate levels of service (the risk principle) and provides an extensive review of the literature on appropriate targets for change (the need principle). Problems with substance use (particularly alcohol abuse), emotion management, self-regulation, and attitudes supportive of partner abuse have substantial empirical support as factors related to IPV. There is weaker but promising support for targeting the impact of association with peers who are supportive of abuse of women, poor communication skills, and motivation to change abusive behavior patterns. Responsivity could be enhanced through incorporation of motivational interviewing techniques, the processes of change identified in the Transtheoretical Model, solution-focused and strength-based approaches, and attention to identity change and cultural issues. In addition, the review describes strategies to insure ongoing program integrity, a key factor in implementing effective interventions.

Wonder Woman for a day: Affect, agency, and Amazons

I consider the ways in which the feminist utopian ethos of Wonder Woman, as defined by her creator, William Marston, has been used to actualize real-life social change. Specifically, I examine fan Andy Mangels's creation of Wonder Woman Day, a charity event held annually at a Portland, Oregon, comic book store to raise funds for local domestic violence programs. I look at how an affective bond with Wonder Woman informs and guides an affective attachment to one's local and national communities, actualizing the utopian promise of self, commodity icon, and America. These utopian iterations are primarily defined by a celebration of pluralism, and thus Wonder Woman is used to validate the inherent pluralism of the self in relation to society, an empowering strategy for all consumer-citizens.

Distant relations: limits to relational contracting in domestic violence programmes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of relational contract theory in situations where government departments contract with non‐government welfare organisations to deliver human service programmes. Its limits are highlighted by an assessment of programmes for domestically violent men that epitomise “management of incomplete contracts” central to the theory.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on an evaluation of contracted‐out programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence in Australia that set out to compare and contrast distinct models of service delivery by documenting programme logic, service delivery effectiveness and effects on programme participants. It reflects on the difficulties of monitoring such programmes and considers the implications of this for contracting theory and for human service practice.FindingsIn contrast to critiques of contracting‐out in a neo‐liberal environment that emphasise how accountability and reporting requirements limit the autonomy of contracted agencies, this paper highlights considerable variation in how programmes were managed and delivered despite standardised service delivery contracts developed by the government department funding the programmes. This leads to a consideration of “incomplete contracts” where service delivery outcomes are hard to measure or there is limited knowledge of the contracted agencies by the contracting government department.Originality/valueThe paper highlights a situation in which the recommendations of relational contracting theory can exacerbate the difficulties of quality assurance rather than minimise them. It then argues a need for workforce development in the government departments and the contracted agencies, to enable a nuanced monitoring of the programmes' service delivery and promotion of quality assurance processes.

A qualitative investigation of barriers to entry into couples' treatment for alcohol problems

This study used qualitative methodology to evaluate barriers to entry into couples' treatment for alcohol problems. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Patients were recruited from (a) treatment for primary substance use disorders, (b) treatment for psychiatric disorders (other than substance use disorders), and (c) court-mandated outpatient domestic violence programs. Mental health experts were recruited based on expertise in (a) couples' treatment, (b) alcohol treatment, and (c) couples' treatment for alcohol problems. Patients ( N = 57) met criteria for hazardous drinking and were in committed romantic relationships. Partners ( n = 19) and mental health experts ( n = 12) also completed interviews. Interviews were analyzed using accepted qualitative strategies. Barriers to treatment entry were identified at the patient, partner, and couple level. Barriers identified included psychological barriers, alcohol illness factors, treatment preferences and beliefs, and interpersonal factors. Although many barriers are similar to those previously identified in individual alcohol treatment, barriers unique to couples' treatment provide guidance for next directions for dissemination.

Characteristics of Women Who Do and Do Not Receive Onsite Shelter Services From Domestic Violence Programs

Shelter services are an essential means of providing help to women who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), but not all victims receive shelter. This article reports the results of a secondary analysis of statewide data from women using IPV services, comparing victims who did and did not obtain shelter. The demographic characteristics, abuse experiences, and service patterns of these survivors are examined. A model predicting characteristics associated with the likelihood of shelter receipt indicates that women who obtain shelter are more vulnerable and obtain more services than women who do not obtain shelter. The implications of these results are discussed.