Domestic Violence Intervention Research Articles

Anti-Domestic Violence Training for Hairstylists in Black Communities: A Policy Feasibility Study

ABSTRACT This paper reports on the findings of a policy feasibility study. The study examined the feasibility of mandatory anti-domestic violence training legislation for Black communities in Virginia. The study used a mixed-method approach, incorporating surveys of 33 hairstylists and interviews with three key stakeholders. The results revealed that hairstylists are receptive to anti-domestic violence training and perceive themselves as valuable resources for addressing domestic violence. However, participants cautioned against making training compulsory. The study also found that Virginia legislators would likely support mandating anti-domestic violence training for hair professionals. The study concludes that there is value in adopting incentivized and easily accessible anti-domestic violence training laws for Virginia hair professionals. This study presents numerous implications, such as the need for further research to explore the impact of engaging hairstylists and other community leaders in domestic violence intervention efforts.

Stop the Silence: A Self-Paced Program on Bystander Intervention for Domestic Violence for College Students

AbstractBystander intervention programs have the potential to address domestic violence in college settings by providing students with specific ways to support friends and peers experiencing abuse. However, the majority of bystander intervention programs require in-person facilitators and hours of commitment. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a self-paced online program focusing on bystander intervention for domestic violence. The Stop the Silence Project is a self-paced online program that can be utilized at no cost and in the absence of trained facilitators or scheduled training sessions. An experimental group of college students (n = 168) engaged with the program and completed the Bystander Intervention for Domestic Violence Questionnaire. A control group (n = 30) completed the questionnaire without engaging with the program. First, an exploratory factor analysis was performed to validate the Bystander Intervention for Domestic Violence Questionnaire. Results indicated that the questionnaire measures students’ willingness to offer support to peers, intentions to address domestic violence as a societal issue, and sense of responsibility to help one’s peers. Next, the two groups were compared on their responses to the questionnaire. College students who engaged with the program reported higher intentions to address domestic violence as a societal issue. This promising program offers one way to counter domestic violence when faced with limited resources in college and university settings.

Victim–Survivors Accounts of Men's Change: Findings From a Combined Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Domestic Violence Intervention

Purpose: This article is a process evaluation of a previously published outcome study. It provides an exploratory analysis of victim–survivor accounts of behavior change among men participating in a combined alcohol and other drug and domestic violence intervention and women's experiences of family safety contact services. Methods: Interviews with victim–survivors ( n = 10) and program participants ( n = 9). Results: Findings illustrate three patterns: victim–survivor accounts validating, challenging, and offering more nuanced perspectives on men's reports of behavior change. Conclusions: This article argues that victim–survivor engagement in behavior change programs is critical to assess and monitor risk to victim–survivors and other family members, validate other outcome measures related to men's behavior change (or lack thereof), and provide victim–survivor access to support.

Exploring Professional Agency in Domestic Violence Interventions Within Social and Health Care

While the existing research on domestic violence (DV) interventions has provided substantial insights into the challenges associated with addressing DV, the factors that facilitate its intervention in social and health care remain under-researched. This study focuses on DV intervention practices that professionals have deemed successful and employs subject-centered sociocultural theories of professional agency to analyze how professional agency is manifested in these situations. To this end, 10 focus group interviews were conducted with 45 experienced social and health care professionals. The collected data were subjected to thematic content analysis. The findings illustrate how professional agency is manifested in various contexts: through understanding DV as a phenomenon and its contextual factors (epistemic agency), launching a process (processual agency), collaborating with other professionals (relational agency), and reflecting on one’s own actions and emotions (reflective agency).

Determining Whether State Policy Is in Line With Substance- and Alcohol-Related Best Practices for Domestic Violence Intervention Programs

Enhancing the effectiveness of Domestic Violence Intervention Programs (DVIPs) is necessary and may require up-to-date state-specific or national guidance. Currently, many U.S. states provide recommendations and requirements for DVIP length, content, and treatment curriculum through one or more of three types of documents: state laws, standards, and/or guidelines. However, these documents are updated irregularly and vary substantially in length, content, enforceability, and authorship expertise (i.e., legislators versus domestic violence [DV] experts and/or DV coalition members). Meanwhile, one robust yet controversial finding is that DV perpetrators with co-occurring substance use conditions have increased difficulty engaging with, sustaining attendance at, and benefiting from standard DVIP treatment (Jewell & Wormith, 2010). Yet, the degree to which state-specific DVIP documents address how perpetrator substance use is to be assessed and treated within DVIPs is understudied. To fill this gap, guiding state documents were obtained as available (n= 47 states; 94%); these were coded with excellent interrater reliability (agreement = 91%). Consistent with research advances, state documents generally encouraged DVIPs to assess perpetrator substance use at intake (n= 41). However, fewer documents directed DVIP facilitators to address the link between substance use and DV within their curriculum (n= 25). Some state documents even prohibited substance use-related messages to be incorporated into the DVIP curriculum (n= 19). Unfortunately, even fewer states’ documents recommended follow-up of the perpetrator’s substance use during DVIP participation or after a substance abuse-related referral (n= 14). Efforts to align DVIP-guiding documents with knowledge related to increasing DVIP treatment effectiveness are necessary as is determining adherence to guiding documents.

Global Expectations for Bystander Intervention in Domestic Violence: A Scoping Review of Governmental Policies and Community Resources in Eight Countries

Abstract Purpose Over recent years, expectations for bystanders to intervene to interrupt or prevent domestic violence have increased. However, the extent of these expectations and the ways in which bystanders are supported to uphold these expectations remain ambiguous. Drawing on a scoping review methodology, this study aims to map the bystander expectations and advice contained in government policies and community resources across eight countries. Methods We conducted a grey-literature search to identify the three most recent and relevant policy documents from each country, as well as the three most easily-accessible online community resources. We charted key information from each policy and resource, including type of violence and level of prevention; responsibility to intervene and effectiveness of bystander intervention; recognition of danger; and recommended bystander actions. Results The results indicate that the government policies and community resources included in the review held high expectations for bystanders to intervene in domestic violence. However, the information provided on how to safely and effectively intervene was inconsistent in its recognition of the risk posed to bystanders, and often offered contradictory advice. Conclusions An examination of our findings within the context of existing evidence suggests that there are severe limitations to the messages and information presented by the policies and resources. As a matter of urgency, more empirical research is needed to inform the government policies and community resources that encourage bystanders to intervene in domestic violence.

The Interplay of Social Norms and Legal Systems: Unraveling the Complexity of Domestic Violence in China and Paving the Path for Change

This research investigates the perpetuation of domestic violence (DV) in China by analyzing how social norms and institutional practices collectively contribute to the challenges faced by individuals experiencing DV. Despite the implementation of China's Anti-Domestic Violence Law in 2016, its effectiveness in protecting DV survivors' rights has been subject to scrutiny among researchers. This research aims to understand whether law enforcement and judicial responses post-legislation effectively align with policy objectives to mitigate DV issues. It hypothesizes a dissonance between the DV legislation and social norms emphasizing family and social harmony and non-interference in family affairs. Focusing on specific DV cases and incorporating the meta-analysis of secondary empirical data, archived governmental reports, periodicals, interviews, Confucian writings, and prior scholarly insights, this study examines how social norms and institutional practices in governmental agencies impact the framing and responses to DV cases. Findings suggest that entrenched social and gender norms shaped by Confucianism and traditional Chinese cultural values legitimize and reinforce institutional norms regarding how police and judges should downplay DV cases, leading to indifference and ineffective DV interventions. This research highlights the importance of adopting a social norms approach to effectively address this problem and the need for a transformative shift in social attitudes toward DV. It contributes to a nuanced understanding of DV and policy implementation in China, potentially serving as a significant step towards devising practical strategies to improve the protection of DV survivors at the local level.

A Survivor-Centered Framework for Domestic Violence Brief Crisis Intervention: A Stakeholder-Informed Approach

Program evaluation and assessment are critical for understanding the impact of domestic violence services and interventions and for making necessary refinements and revisions to programs. Demonstrating the impact of domestic violence programs (e.g., hotlines and shelters) poses challenges due to the complexities associated with abuse experiences. The use of an assessment framework will help categorize users’ multiple needs, clarify specific components of intervention approaches, and ensure that services meet clients’ needs. This article provides a comprehensive overview of a theoretical and stakeholder-informed approach used to develop an assessment framework for the National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline). The research resulted in a framework which underscores the importance of survivor empowerment and support as key survivor outcomes. This article presents detailed information about the SAF-T project including methods and processes used to develop the survivor-centered framework and provides guidance for those interested in developing similar theoretical and stakeholder-informed frameworks for program planning, measuring performance, and evaluation efforts.

Paramedic educational interventions for out-of-hospital domestic and intimate partner violence cases: A scoping review

Domestic and intimate partner violence are significant causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The act is usually serial in nature and tends to amplify in severity if not intervened. The first interaction a victim-survivor has with the healthcare system may be through a paramedic. Paramedics are opportunely placed for early violence intervention. Previous research sought to assess the impact of domestic and intimate partner violence education on healthcare professionals, primarily with in-hospital staff, however, there has been relatively minimal inquiry concerning paramedic education and practice. This study aimed to investigate evidence regarding domestic and intimate partner violence educational interventions for pre- and in-service paramedics. Additionally, we describe the nature and extent of interprofessional training and the relevant practice guidelines/policies for paramedic responses. A scoping review, utilising an a priori piloted search strategy (Medline via PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCOhost), was used to identify literature published from 2002 related to paramedic domestic and intimate partner violence interventions. Academic literature including research produced by organizations outside of conventional academic publishing were searched. A total of 1713 records were identified, and 36 were included for descriptive analysis. Major topic domains identified included teaching content and methods, professionalising best practices for public protection, intersectionality calls for interprofessional training, and the impact of educational interventions. With reports increasingly highlighting the potential role of the paramedic response to violence, there is a paucity of studies related to its improvement. Reported teaching strategies across multiple settings have some consistency. Though interventions may improve behaviour and actual/perceived knowledge and competence, there is no evidence suggesting an impact on victim-survivor experiences and outcomes. Interprofessional collaborations between out-of-hospital services, police, social workers, and in-hospital staff may be useful but remains underreported/underutilised. Future research should focus on domestic and intimate partner violence victim-survivor stakeholder engagement and intervention implementation.

Keeping Safe Together: A Brief Report on Children’s Experiences of One ‘All of Family’ Domestic Violence Intervention Program in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract Purpose To develop a response to an identified service gap for domestic violence (DV) victim-survivors who are living with their abusive partner and have children in their care, Keeping Safe Together (KST) was designed as an ‘all of family’ program and piloted over 18-months in Victoria, Australia. The purpose of this brief report is to explore how children had experienced the KST program, and what, if any, changes to their safety and situations they experienced because of the program. Methods Interviews were conducted with eight children engaged in the program alongside their family members. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken to draw out themes. Results The children were aware of the impact of the violence and conflict on their families. They demonstrated strong empathy for their family members’ wellbeing, and a desire for change. The children saw the KST program as having a positive impact on their own and their families’ safety and circumstances, particularly in terms of reducing their fathers’ abusive behaviors. The program supported them to increase their own sense of control, happiness, and development of coping strategies. Conclusions The findings indicate that the program met a significant support gap and improved the lives of children in this sample who were living with fathers using violence against their mothers. Further trial and evaluation of ‘all of family’ programs such as KST is needed to build the evidence base on their effectiveness for children.

‘And that was her choice’: Dutch general practitioners’ perceptions of the autonomy of patients with non-western migration backgrounds who experience domestic violence

ABSTRACT Women in the Netherlands with non-western migration backgrounds experience domestic violence at the intersection of culture and gender, and visit their general practitioners (GPs) with health concerns related to the violence. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with GPs, this paper illuminates how GPs navigate the process of decision-making around intervention in domestic violence, with particular attention to the role of autonomy. Patient autonomy is a core principle in Dutch general practice. The term refers to the principle that GPs must respect that competent adults can make autonomous decisions about the care they do and do not want, and that GPs must respect patients’ views, choices, and ways of life. The interview data shows great variation in how GPs respond in situations of domestic violence against women with non-western migration backgrounds. Deploying ‘somatechnics of perception’, this paper explores how GPs’ perceptions of their patients’ autonomy are both the agent and effect of a complex and embodied negotiation of gender, race, culture, ethnicity, medical ethics, and morality. In highlighting how these patients’ autonomy is rendered (un)intelligible and (il)legible in contextually specific ways, this paper sheds light on how GPs in the Netherlands can better assist women with non-western migration backgrounds who experience domestic violence.

Intention to Act: Predicting Bystander Intervention in Violent Situations in South Korea.

The purpose of this study is to explore the predictors of bystanders' intentions to intervene and types of intended intervention in domestic violence (DV) and sexual violence (SV) situations in South Korea. Using nationally representative data from the 2016 National Fact-Finding Survey on Gender Equality (N = 7,399) and logistic regression-based models, this study focused on two key predictors, bystander gender and attitudes about gender equality, while controlling for age, educational level, and employment status. Our findings indicated that males and females were equally likely to state intentions to intervene in both DV and SV situations. While both males and females were more likely to state that they would intervene indirectly rather than directly, females were even less likely to intervene directly than were males for both situations. Attitudes indicative of gender equality further increased the intention to intervene for DV and SV situations in multivariate models. Gender equality attitudes, however, decreased the intentions to intervene directly in DV but not SV situations. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Harmonising outcome measurement for child focused domestic abuse interventions. Reflections on the development and implementation of a core outcome set.

There is appetite in the UK to better measure the impact of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) interventions on children. The spread of outcomes-based commissioning means outcome measurement is no longer just the territory of academic researchers but is now firmly within the purview of practitioners and policy makers. However, outcomes measured in trials only partially represent the views of those delivering and using services with respect to how success should be defined and captured. Even within trials there is huge inconsistency in the definition and measurement of important endpoints. This yields a body of evidence that is difficult to make sense of, defeating the ends for which it was produced - to improve the response to children and families who have experienced abuse. Development of Core Outcome Sets (COS) is seen as a solution to this problem, by establishing consensus across key stakeholder groups regarding a minimum standard for outcome measurement in trials, and increasingly in service delivery contexts. To date COS development has addressed outcomes relating to health conditions or interventions, with limited application to public health challenges. We reflect on our efforts to develop a COS to evaluate psychosocial interventions for children and families experiencing DVA. We highlight the value of COS development as a mechanism for improving evidence quality and the response to families experiencing abuse. Finally, we make recommendations to researchers and COS guideline developers to support this broader application of COS methodology.

Stuck Behind the Times: How Current Controversies Related to Domestic Violence Intervention Programs are Addressed in U.S. State-Specific Documents

ABSTRACT This research assesses the extent to which current treatment-related controversies are addressed in state documents related to Domestic Violence Intervention Programs (DVIP). Specifically, we consider state-specific guidance on conducting treatment with female-identifying perpetrators, perpetrators in LGBTQ+ relationships, perpetrators located within relationships with bi-directional violence and perpetrators with a trauma history. Relevant DVIP governing documents were obtained from all U.S. states, as available (n = 47, 94%). Documents were coded with good interrater reliability (IRR = 82.4%). Although most states have gender-neutral or gender-non-specified DVIP guidelines (n = 31, 66%), 16 states (24%) have documents that specify they can only be applied to male perpetrators. Only two states (4%) provide detailed guidance for work with LGBTQ+ perpetrators. Of note, 44% of states (n = 22) exclude addressing bidirectional violence within their programs, despite its prevalence among violent couples. Only one state currently advises its DVIPs to assess for bidirectional violence at intake. While a substantial minority of states (n = 20, 40%) advise DVIPs to assess for perpetrator trauma, only a few state documents specifically endorse a trauma-informed approach (n = 6, 12%) even fewer require DVIP facilitators to include trauma information in their curriculum (n = 2, 4%). Problematically, many states’ DVIP guidelines have not been updated recently, with only 17 states having guidelines updated in the last five years. State policies must address the needs, motivations, and experiences of all DVIP perpetrators by acknowledging violence-related dynamics, incorporating a strength-based perspective, providing trauma-informed care, and enacting gender and LGBTQ±specific treatment recommendations.

Pathways to Resistance: Theorizing Trauma and Women's Use of Force in Intimate Relationships.

Using a feminist pathways general strain perspective, we explore the victim-offender continuum for women who perpetrated intimate partner violence/abuse (IPV/A). We use data from 86 women court-mandated to "female offender" domestic violence treatment programs, located in an American East Coast state, who were surveyed about their adverse childhood experiences and mental health/well-being as adults. Findings from bivariate linear regressions indicate childhood trauma negatively affects adult mental health/well-being, exacerbated for Black Indigenous People of Color women, suggesting a victim rather than an offender categorization for women using force against their abusive partner. Results imply the need to consider women's traumatic histories and IPV/A victimization, given an incident-driven system that criminalizes victimization over the life course.

Feminist Depictions of Coercive Control in ‘Domestic Noir’: Ilsa Evans’s Broken (2007) and Kathryn Heyman’s Storm and Grace (2017)

Concurrent with increasing social and legal discussions of coercive control, literary scholars are turning their attention to analyses of an emergent genre labelled ‘domestic noir’. Adding to earlier work, particularly that of Deborah Philips (2021), ‘Gaslighting: Domestic Noir, the Narratives of Coercive Control’, Women: A Cultural Review 32:2, pp. 140–160 and Meg Vann (2019), ‘Genre and Gender: Reading Domestic Noir through the Lens of Feminist Criminology’, TEXT Special Issue 57, pp. n.p., this paper contributes a therapeutic history of interventions for domestic violence, highlighting the history of the concept of control contextualized by its emergence from second wave feminism. Critical analysis of two novels, Ilsa Evans’ Broken (2007) and Kathryn Heyman’s Storm and Grace (2017), demonstrate writers centralizing feminist critiques of coercive control in domestic noir in the Australian context. This paper highlights the significance of women’s fictional representations of coercive control as sites of discursive sociocultural resistance and temporal political contextualization within the genre.

Embedded social workers within police organizations: Comparing domestic violence interventions in France and Finland

Embedded social workers within police organizations: Comparing domestic violence interventions in France and Finland

Вмешательство полиции в дела о домашнем насилии: посредническая деятельность, предупреждение или административное наказание?

China’s first law on domestic violence (DV) was passed in 2015 and implemented in 2016, which creatively established the DV warning system. It provides a way for police stations to intervene in DV and ensures family harmony and stability to some extent. However, there are regional and individual differences in implementation. In this study, information was collected during personal interviews with 12 police officers from three police stations in the same city in China. Through the discussion of police intervention in DV, we found that mediation was still the main way to settle a DV case due to the traditional concepts, ambiguity of related terms, weak deterrent of a warning paper, and inadequate understanding of related guide. Also, the support and cooperation mechanism to intervene in DV has not been established. Based on our findings, we will put forward suggestions on improving work norms and procedures, strengthening training and guidance, and establishing multi-party cooperation mechanisms.

Program Providers’ Perceptions of Restorative and Transformative Justice in the Context of Domestic Violence Offender Treatment in North Carolina

ABSTRACT Restorative justice (RJ) and other innovative approaches are increasingly being considered in lieu of traditional legal responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. This formative qualitative study investigated the perspectives of 29 North Carolina-based domestic violence intervention program (DVIP) providers, domestic violence service program providers, and North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence staff members regarding RJ and transformative justice (TJ) in the context of DVIP programming. Participants had mixed opinions about integrating RJ and TJ practices into current offender treatment and cited structural and organizational barriers to adoption. Simultaneously, they emphasized the cruciality of expanding inter-organizational networks and uncoupling offender treatment from the legal system. Participants cited increased inter-organizational cooperation and community involvement as critical steps in modifying offender treatment to include more restorative principles. Policies and institutional practices that endorse RJ and TJ may improve the effectiveness and transformational capability of offender treatment and increase healing for survivors.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Inviting Men to a Voluntary-Based Domestic Violence Intervention.

This study examines the factors motivating domestic violence perpetrators to participate in a voluntary-based intervention program. The experiences and determining factors around men's positive and negative responses to this invitation were examined through semi-structured interviews with professionals, observations, and reflexive notes during the first meeting with 29 men. Two major themes emerged from the thematic analysis: the factors making men more likely to attend the first meeting or resisting the group intervention. These findings can help professionals recognize the challenges of inviting perpetrators to interventions, especially in countries with insufficient laws for mandated domestic violence perpetrator programs. The paper discusses the importance during the first meeting of building rapport and trust and recognizing complex family histories to encourage voluntary attendance and intervention engagement.