Violence Perpetration Research Articles

Expanding Bystander Behavioral Approaches to Address Racial Violence in Health Research, Pedagogy, and Practice.

A bystander to racial violence is conventionally thought of as someone who witnesses an overt act of racial oppression at the interpersonal level, such as police brutality. However, racial violence in health research, pedagogy, and practice often shows up more covertly, like through epistemic injustice, deficits-based framing, and racial essentialism. We aim to expand how we think about bystanders and perpetrators of racial violence within health institutions, and how antiracism bystander behavioral approaches can be deployed to intervene against such violence. Existing public health antiracism frameworks, such as the Public Health Critical Race Praxis and the PEN-3 Cultural Model, offer valuable constructs and processes through which health practitioners, researchers, and academics can disrupt racial violence. Such antiracism frameworks are well suited to provide individuals within public health and health care with the knowledge, skills, and efficacy to intervene as engaged bystanders against racism within their contexts. To illustrate how constructs within antiracism frameworks can be applied by bystanders in various health settings, we outline case examples of antiracism bystander interventions across three scenarios. The more bystanders there are within health institutions that are equipped with antiracism tools, the more likely normative behaviors uplifting White supremacy within these institutions can be disrupted and health equity can be actualized.

Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences in a Sample of Largely Indigenous Children.

The purpose of this study was to develop, pilot, and evaluate a culturally grounded, family-based program to prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among low-income and Indigenous children aged 10 to 14. The Tiwahe Wicagwicayapi program (TWP) is a 7-session program that teaches skills to prevent ACEs and is rooted in Lakota culture, language, and history. A total of 124 families (124 caregivers [96% Indigenous; 90% reported yearly income <$40 000] with 194 children aged 10 to 14 [93% Indigenous]) were randomly assigned to treatment (N = 66 families and 173 individuals) or waitlist (N = 58 families and 145 individuals) control groups. Caregivers and children completed a baseline, immediate posttest, and 6-month follow-up survey. Treatment effects were detected, indicating, compared with control participants, reductions in the incidence of child ACEs (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.64), bullying victimization (odds ratio = 0.53), depression (d = -0.20), and externalizing behaviors (d = -0.23) and increased parent-child communication (g = 0.27) and child help-seeking behaviors (d = 0.28). For caregivers, the effects indicated that the program prevented intimate partner violence victimization (IRR = 0.36) and perpetration (IRR = 0.45), harsh parenting (g = -0.35), and depression (d = -0.24) and increased emotion regulation (d = 0.37), social support (d = 0.33), and cultural connection (d = 0.34). The TWP holds great promise in preventing ACEs among low-income, Indigenous children, showing potential promise for widespread public health impact. Future rigorous research on the TWP is warranted.

‘Let’s not be afraid to sort them out’: analysing Australia’s carceral representations of RAMSI

ABSTRACT The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was an Australian-led and largely Australian-funded state-building project, which included the strengthening of the police force and state bureaucracy and which took place over a 14-year window from 24 July 2003 to 30 June 2017. A few months beforehand, former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer argued that the deployment of Australian troops to the Solomon Islands would be unjustifiable to Australian taxpayers and likely resented in the region. In this article, I argue that RAMSI became thinkable and legitimate through representations of Solomon Islands in Australian political discourse and media during the mission’s early years (2003–2007) which depended on carceral and colonial logics of containment, control and intervention. The credibility of RAMSI depended on the existence of a perpetrator of violence to be contained and innocents to be saved. These representations reproduce colonial constructs of the dangerous, racialised Other and depend on the carceral assumption that criminality is an individual aberration or failure, rather than one which is socially, culturally and historically produced. These discourses have carceral effects as they contribute to the naturalisation of policing and (neo)colonial control as solutions to social and economic problems.

Post Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial: Longer-Term Efficacy of a Bystander Program to Reduce Violence Perpetration and Victimization in a Prospective Cohort

Post Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial: Longer-Term Efficacy of a Bystander Program to Reduce Violence Perpetration and Victimization in a Prospective Cohort

Violence during transition: accounts of gender-affirming care in South Africa’s public health system

Despite constitutional protections afforded to the LGBTQ+ community, South Africa remains a society violent towards gender minorities. With public healthcare over-burdened, this system of care remains particularly unresponsive to the needs of transgender people who seek to affirm their gender medically. With a narrative design, this research explored the experiences of transgender people of violence through their access to gender-affirming care. This study troubled the notion of violence from a social determinant of health to situate it as an unexplored mechanism of meaning-making in the South African context. Using gatekeepers aligned with LGBTQ+ support groups, 15 volunteer participants recollected their accounts through semi-structured interviews. Using this undirected talk, the narrative analysis found that gaps in care become a key point in the narrative trajectory of participants shaping their decision-making around experiences of interpersonal violence and for personal advocacy with healthcare professionals. Similarly, the clinic was narrated as a site of violence both symbolically through invasive bodily examinations and structurally as a place for perpetrators of anti-transgender violence to target transgender patients. Transition in this context can be seen as a mode to understand several competing violence/s where the body is treated as a site for physical, psychological and structural harm.

Trajectories in and exits out for young men involved with violence on an inner-city housing estate

ABSTRACT This paper narrates an induction process about how adolescents and young men are drawn into living and practising a distinctive and often violent cultural form of street masculinity on an inner-city estate in London. The paper sets out to counteract dominant discourses which often portray young black men from working-class and impoverished backgrounds as ‘hypermasculine perpetrators of violence’. Developing the concepts of caring and personalized masculinities shows that, in the right conditions, young men exercise agency to perform different masculinities in different contexts and times, fashion more inclusive identities, and create new trajectories and lifestyles. The ethnographic fieldwork took place over nine months in 2019. It involved around 50 young men who were Black, Asian and minority ethnic. The paper focuses on two particular young men, aged 19 and 22, who appear as exemplars of ways of enacting different patterns of masculinity.

The Relationship between Cognitive Impairment and Violent Behavior in People Living with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Critical Review and Treatment Considerations.

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). Violent and aggressive behavior represents a complex issue in psychiatry, and people with SSD have been shown to be at risk of being both victims and perpetrators of violence. In this review, the complex relationship between cognitive impairment and violent behavior is explored, also considering the usefulness of treating cognitive impairment to improve violence-related outcomes. Several studies report that cognitive impairment is linked to violent behavior, but significant differences between domains and conflicting results are also present, leaving the identification of specific cognitive profiles predicting violent behavior in SSD as an important aim for future research. Evidence regarding the effectiveness of treating cognitive impairment to improve violent behavior, while heterogeneous, provides more consistent results: cognition-targeting interventions appear to provide significant benefits also in the prevention of aggression in people living with SSD, and preliminary evidence shows cognition-focused interventions targeting violent behavior improve both cognition- and violence-related outcomes. Implementing these interventions in clinical practice could be of great usefulness, particularly in forensic contexts. Physical exercise, which improves cognitive performance and psychosocial functioning in SSD, appears to reduce violent behavior in healthy individuals, but requires further studies in clinical samples.

A national evaluation of Project Cautioning And Relationship Abuse ('CARA') awareness raising workshops for first time offenders of domestic violence and abuse: protocol for a concurrent mixed-methods evaluation design.

Interventions related to the perpetration of Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) have gained traction over the past several years, in response to dissatisfaction by victims, an inadequate response from the criminal justice system, increased demand on police time and a lack of rehabilitative responses to the perpetration of domestic abuse. The CARA model is a conditional diversionary caution, offered by police for first time offenders of 'standard' or 'medium risk' domestic abuse, that engages perpetrators in awareness raising workshops and signposts them onto further services. Although quasi-experimental studies have indicated that CARA showed promise at reducing reoffending, the CARA model has yet to be evaluated nationally and there is no qualitative evidence related to understanding or learning about the lived experience of perpetrators and victims as they engage with the intervention. Using a concurrent pragmatic mixed methods design model we will undertake a national evaluation of CARA by triangulating quantitative data from up to nine police forces, and routine data from service providers, with qualitative data from workshop participants, victims and professional stakeholders to: (1) understand the long-term impact of CARA implementation on DVA reoffending and engagement with services and (2) explore perceptions and experiences of both delivery and receipt of CARA. We will use qualitative methodologies that draw on interpretivist and phenomenological perspectives, as well as quantitative methodologies using interrupted time series models, Poisson regression models, Geo mapping and a cost benefits analysis. Where currently the CARA model is being introduced as a national option for standard risk first-time offending, we will engage with policymakers and academics nationally in the live debate on its effectiveness and suitability during its roll-out. Ethical approval was approved by the University of Southampton on the 1 st June 2022 (Ref: ERGO ID: 71818.A1).

Disentangling the effects of self-control and the use of tobacco and cannabis on violence perpetration from childhood to early adulthood.

Associations among self-control, substance use (e.g., tobacco and cannabis use), and violence perpetration have been documented during the adolescent years, but the direction of these associations is not well understood. Using five assessments (covering 9 years) from a prospective-longitudinal study, we examined self-control as a precursor and subsequent mechanism of associations between adolescent substance use and physical violence perpetration. Data came from a large, ethnically diverse sample (n = 1,056). Youth reported their self-control at ages 11, 13, 15, 17, and 20; and their tobacco and cannabis use, and physical violence perpetration at ages 13, 15, 17, and 20. Cross-lagged panel analyses examined associations between these constructs over time. More self-control in late childhood and early adolescence was associated with less future tobacco and cannabis use and physical violence perpetration. Tobacco use was partially associated with more physical violence over time; these associations were not mediated by self-control. Tobacco use in early adolescence was associated with future cannabis use; during late adolescence, tobacco and cannabis use were reciprocally associated over time. Cannabis use was not associated with future physical violence perpetration. Early adolescent self-control plays an important role in later substance use and violence perpetration, and tobacco use has unique links with both later cannabis use and violence perpetration. Supporting the capacities for self-control in late childhood and early adolescence and preventing the initiation and use of entry-level substances could play an important role in preventing both substance use and violence perpetration and their many costs to society.

URSAVS – histoire et politique d’une intercontenance réussie

The regional unit for the care of perpetrators of sexual violence (URSAVS) was established in Lille in 2009, under to the impetus of Doctor Tiphaine Séguret, and under the aegis of the Regional Health Agency of the department of Hauts-de-France. It is hosted by the University Hospital of Lille. This unit was born out of the urgent need to establish and coordinate specific care services including psycho- and sex-criminological dimensions, at the crossroads of mental health service and judicial entities. Originally destined for those who had been convicted of sexual offences and who were being released from prison, this unit has diversified in many ways, as the many cases and problems entrusted to it were discovered. Operating today in the realms of pediatrics, care of the elderly, and including the National Education system, URSAVS has paved the way for a fundamental reflection on the methods and practices of care specific to perpetrators of sexual violences. Its results in the prevention of recidivism after 5 years (1%), demonstrate the lasting effectiveness of its paradigm of care, especially when compared to national statistics on recidivism over the same period (15% for rape, 11% for sexual assault, 12% for sexual harassment, according to the French Ministry of Justice).

Dari Kekerasan Menuju Kesehatan Mental: Studi Kasus Konseling Realita pada Pelaku Kekerasan Seksual

Sexual violence is a serious problem that has deep psychological, physical and social impacts on victims and perpetrators. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of Reality counseling in helping male perpetrators of sexual violence overcome identity conflicts, modify maladaptive behavior, and improve their adaptation skills. This case study uses a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews and participant observation to analyze the effectiveness of Reality counseling for a perpetrator of male sexual violence against men. The study results showed that this therapy was successful in changing the perpetrator's behavior and emotional responses, and contributed to his emotional well-being while reducing the risk of relapse. Future research needs to explore the long-term effectiveness of Reality counseling in different contexts and individual characteristics to further deepen rehabilitation strategies for sexual assault perpetrators.

Settlement Of Cases Of Criminal Acts Of Violence Against Women And Children In The Jurisdiction Of Batanghari Regency Which Are Handled Through The Resort Police

The aim of this research is to find out how violence against children and women can happen to anyone and the perpetrators are not only people the child has just known, people the child has known for a long time can also be the perpetrators of violence against the child, even family or school friends and the child's playmates. can be the perpetrator. The research method used is an empirical juridical approach, namely a type of legal research focused on facts in the field found in this type of research, the Socio Criminological approach. All information is through direct observation and interviews with the research object. The research results showed that the increasing prevalence of acts of violence against children shows that children are often used as objects of violence because they are physically and mentally immature. Criminal acts of violence against children cause children to experience prolonged trauma and often make victims remain silent, therefore physically, mentally, sexually and the child's approach must receive special attention. The conclusion is that the problem of crime victims has not been an old thing for a long time, simply because violence has received less attention, perhaps it has been forgotten.

The prevalence of physical and verbal violence among emergency medicine physicians in military hospitals vs non-military hospitals, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: multi-center cross-sectional study

IntroductionIn healthcare settings, physical and verbal attacks are commonly encountered in the workplace among healthcare providers. Patients and patients’ relatives and friends have been reported to be the perpetrators of workplace violence. Among all healthcare settings, emergency department (ED) have been designated as high-risk settings for violence, where more than one-quarter of emergency physicians reported that they were victims of physical assault. This study aimed to report the prevalence of workplace violence against emergency medicine physicians in military and non-military hospitals in Jeddah city.MethodologyA cross-sectional design has been used in this study. An electronic questionnaire was developed through the Google Form Platform and it included demographic data, the occurrence of verbal or physical violence in the workplace to participants, how many times they experienced this violence, the time of incidents, the location either inside or outside the hospital, whether the perpetrators were mostly patients, patient families, or friends, and whether they reported any violence or not. Categorical variables were used to describe frequencies and percentages, while descriptive statistics such as mean and 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) were used to summarize the scale variables. P < 0.05 was considered for statistically significant differences.ResultsAmong the 100 participants, 76 experienced either physical or verbal violence, or both. The remaining 24 did not experience any sort of violence. 83% of the physicians who have been physically violated were working in non-military hospitals. Of the 72 participants who had experienced verbal violence, 51 (70.8%) were working in a non-military hospital, while 21 (29.2%) were in a military hospital. The most common reason for not reporting was that the participants felt that reporting the violence incidence was useless. Moreover, 92% of participants chose “Train healthcare workers to deal with violent attacks” as a suggested helpful factor in decreasing the number of work-related violence. In addition, “Education of the public” and “Raising awareness of healthcare workers” were chosen as helpful factors as well by 91% and 90% of participants, respectively.ConclusionThis revealed that physicians in non-military hospitals experience higher levels of violence compared to their military counterparts. However, it is concerning that instances of violence are substantially under-reported across both military and non-military healthcare facilities.

Exploring Christian Lutheran theological framings that shape men’s perpetration of domestic violence through pastor perspectives

ABSTRACT The inclusion of theological beliefs and practices in the analysis of domestic violence is needed, hence this paper explores how Christian theological framings shape men’s perpetration of domestic violence. Through engagement with the Lutheran Church of Australia, interviews and a survey with Pastors found that gender was dominant in the themes and provided a framework for how Pastors understood domestic violence and how they articulated their explanations for why they perceived a denial of domestic violence in their religious contexts. The interviews in this study brought out the capacity of gendered theological discourse and the truth valency of scripture to both inform domestic violence and potentially be part of the solution, while at the same time the narratives express the inherent tensions and the resistance to change in the religious culture. The paper argues for the coming together of sociological, feminist, theological and spiritual understandings of gender identity to shape responses to domestic violence in Christian contexts.

Measuring Propensity to Perpetrate Microaggressions Toward LGBTQ Individuals: Sexual Orientation Microaggression Scale (SOMS-P) and Gender Identity Microaggression Scale (GIMS-P) Perpetration Version

ABSTRACT This study is an initial psychometric evaluation of the Sexual Orientation Microaggression Perpetration Scale (SOMS-P) and Gender Identity Microaggression Perpetration Scale (GIMS-P). Using data from 2,059 undergraduate students (M age = 21.37, SD = 4.98; Range 18–68; 78.6% assigned female at birth, 13.3% self-identified as sexual minority person), item factor analysis for binary indicators and model comparisons indicated that a correlated four- and five-factor solution for the SOMS-P and GIMS-P, respectively, outperformed a one-factor and higher-order solutions. SOMS-P and GIMS-P scores were positively associated with self-reports of bullying, violence perpetration, and hostile attitudes toward individuals who self-identify as sexual or gender minorities. They were negatively associated with attitudes supportive of sexual or gender minority persons. Reliability of .80 and higher was observed only for theta values between + 0.40 to + 2.60 SD. The psychometric evaluation showed that, while there remain to be opportunities to examine their validity across diverse contexts, SOMS-P and GIMS-P are sound measures of the propensity for SOGI microaggression.

Investigating Multidirectional Violence in Eastern Congo: Owning ‘Genocide’ and Pre-judicial Atrocity

Researching mass violence and genocide in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is academically, politically, and socially fraught. In this country, multiple claims are laid on genocide as a marker of suffering and destruction. This article discusses research carried out with Banyamulenge soldiers as layered actors in perpetration of mass violence. It discusses their assertions of self-defense and victimhood that touch on other Congolese cases of mass violence. As a group, these soldiers serve as an archetype of the actors in stories of multidirectional mass violence in Congo. The problematic, yet rich, nature of this fieldwork is discussed in two observations: the narrative notion of a group owning genocide as exclusive suffering, and how researchers can approach pre-judicial atrocity, meaning violence that is yet to be established in a legal setting or even in an agreed historical record. I examine the innovation and limitations of seeing subjectivity in Congo-based genocide research, notwithstanding or perhaps because of the highly fraught nature of this term and its uses. These discussions are supported with an analysis of my own positionality as a researcher in this field. The intention is that emerging researchers can apply this discussion of how to approach ownership of genocide and prejudicial atrocity to other contexts, and more broadly encourage subjective approaches in the field of perpetrator research.

Predicting Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness in Seven U.S. Cities Using Interpretable Machine Learning.

Young adults experiencing homelessness (YAEH) are at higher risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization than their housed peers. This is often due to their increased vulnerability to abuse and victimization before and during homelessness, which can result in a cycle of violence in which YAEH also perpetrates IPV. Identifying and addressing factors contributing to IPV perpetration at an early stage can reduce the risk of IPV. Yet to date, research examining YAEH's IPV perpetration is scarce and has largely employed conventional statistical approaches that are limited in modeling this complex phenomenon. To address these gaps, this study used an interpretable machine learning approach to answer the research question: What are the most salient predictors of IPV perpetration among a large sample of YAEH in seven U.S. cities? Participants (N = 1,426) on average were 21 years old (SD = 2.09) and were largely cisgender males (59%) and racially/ethnically diverse (81% were from historically excluded racial/ethnic groups; i.e., African American, Latino/a, American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander, and mixed race/ethnicity). Over one-quarter (26%) reported IPV victimization, and 20% reported IPV perpetration while homeless. Experiencing IPV victimization while homeless was the most important factor in predicting IPV perpetration. An additional 11 predictors (e.g., faced frequent discrimination) were positively associated with IPV perpetration, whereas 8 predictors (e.g., reported higher scores of mindfulness) were negatively associated. These findings underscore the importance of developing and implementing effective interventions with YAEH that can prevent IPV, particularly those that recognize the positive association between victimization and perpetration experiences.

“We have to fight for our existence in the system”: exploring service providers’ experiences with male victims and female perpetrators of intimate partner violence

Purpose This study aims to investigate the experiences of service providers supporting male victims and female perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). The study explored the drivers, methods and treatments of female-perpetrated IPV, the nature and impact of abuse towards male victims, the barriers and facilitators to service provision and the impact on the practitioners themselves. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative approach, using reflexive thematic analysis to analyse semi-structured interviews with 13 experienced service providers. Findings Two overarching themes were identified: systemic issues in service provision, including challenges with multi-agency approaches, funding and availability of services and the impact on practitioners; and gender stereotypes, which created barriers to male victims' help-seeking and influenced the treatment of female perpetrators. Practical implications The findings suggest the need for a multi-level approach, addressing gendered inequalities in IPV policy and funding, implementing gender-inclusive, evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, and raising public and professional awareness to challenge the dominant “domestic violence stereotype”. Originality/value This study provides a detailed, in-depth exploration of the experiences of service providers supporting “non-typical” populations in IPV, revealing the complex, multi-faceted challenges they face within a system that is inherently designed to support female victims of male perpetrators.

A Comparison of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Mental Health Among Men in Same-Gender and Different-Gender Relationships

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious social and public health problem in the United States. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poor mental health are associated with IPV. Sexual minority men (SMM) experience each of these disproportionately; however, limited studies have examined the interrelationships of these variables among SMM. Cross-sectional data from the first wave (September 1, 2020–April 25, 2021) of the National Couples’ Health and Time Study were used to assess the prevalence of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV victimization and perpetration and the association with ACEs and depression, anxiety, and stress among cisgender men in same-gender and different-gender relationships. Log-binomial regression was used to evaluate relationships, stratified by couples’ gender identity. In a sample of 1,681 men, including 689 sexual minority men, 40.6% reported IPV victimization and 33.1% reported IPV perpetration. Stratified by couples’ gender identity, victimization and perpetration were reported more frequently among men in different-gender relationships compared to men in same-gender relationships (40.7% vs. 33.9%; 33.2% vs. 30.2%). Psychological victimization and perpetration were the most commonly reported. Among men in same-gender relationships, depression symptoms had the highest association with IPV victimization (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.56–2.95) and perpetration (PR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.24–2.39). Research, clinical screenings, and other settings that focus on understanding and intervening on partner violence victimization and perpetration should intentionally consider the experiences of SMM in order to effectively promote healthy relationships and optimal mental health.

Examining gang membership and victimisation as predictors of gun violence perpetration: testing for interactive effects

ABSTRACT Research has indicated the relevance of gang membership and victimisation as risk factors for predicting the perpetration of gun violence. However, there is a dearth of research that has examined the potential that gang membership may moderate the impact of victimisation on gun violence perpetration. This study examined this prospect within a sample of justice-involved youth. The Pathways to Desistance dataset was analysed. Generalised estimating equations were used to test for direct and interactive effects of gang membership and victimisation while accounting for nested error corresponding to the repeated measures in this 11-wave longitudinal dataset. Results indicated that gang membership was associated with an increased risk of gun violence perpetration, but not victimisation. The hypothesised interaction effect was also nonsignificant.