Violence In Intimate Relationships Research Articles

Violence in intimate relationships from the point of view of adolescents: perspectives of the Complexity Paradigm.

To analyze adolescents' perceptions about intimate violence from the perspective of the Complexity Paradigm. A qualitative approach configured as strategic social study. The study participants were adolescents between 15 and 18 years old, attending high school in two public schools in a city in the interior of São Paulo State, Brazil. Data collection was performed through a focus group and a semi-structured interview as a complement. Data analysis was based on the dialogical, organizational and holographic principles of the Complex Paradigm. The study included 39 adolescents (14 males and 25 females). Through the emerging categories, it was noticed that intimate violence occurs through dialogical affection-jealousy/control by a naturalization of violent acts which permeates gender, cultural and social issues, and by technology as preponderant for intimate violence among adolescents, denoting new forms of control and coercion. The study introduces aspects present in intimate violence among adolescents, presenting them in an articulate and interdependent way. These aspects constitute a relevant contribution to the actions of health professionals.

Violence in intimate relationships in adolescents: effectiveness of an intervention by peers through forum theater.

The main goal was the peer evaluation of the effectiveness of a health education intervention, also seeking the characterization of violent behaviors experienced by teens in intimate relationships. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was performed with a non-probabilistic sample of 197 teens of both genders without control group. The intervention performed consisted of one peer-run forum theater session about intimate violence in dating relationships of teens. Boys reported being both victims and perpetrators of violent behaviors more frequently than girls. The sample reported more behaviors associated with victimization than perpetration. Girls showed a higher level of knowledge on the topic and this knowledge increased after the intervention. Psychological violence is highly prevalent in dating relationships, particularly in cases of victimization. It seems essential to understand and act upon adolescents' perceptions about what violent behavior is. This study confirmed the effectiveness of health education in acquiring knowledge on this topic.

A Review of Economic Consequences and Costs of Male Violence Against Women

This article focuses on male violence against women. As it takes place in what is often considered to be ‘the private sphere’ of the home, violence is difficult to prove, to measure, to prevent and easy to ignore. A multi-country study (WHO, 2005, WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women: Summary report of initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses, Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization) shows that there are wide variations between countries resulting in 15 per cent to 71 per cent of women aged between 15 and 49 years saying that they have been victims of physical or sexual violence in intimate relationships. This article reviews and summarises literature that analyse types of economic costs that result from domestic violence and abuse perpetrated against women.

The Role of Violence Acceptance and Inequitable Gender Norms in Intimate Partner Violence Severity Among Couples in Zambia.

Inequitable gender norms, including the acceptance of violence in intimate relationships, have been found to be associated with the occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization. Despite these findings, few studies have considered whether inequitable gender norms are related to IPV severity. This study uses baseline data from a psychotherapeutic intervention targeting heterosexual couples (n = 247) in Lusaka, Zambia, who reported moderate to severe male-perpetrated IPV and male hazardous alcohol use to consider: (a) prevailing gender norms, including those related to IPV; (b) the relationship between IPV acceptance and IPV severity; and (c) the relationship between inequitable gender norms and IPV severity. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to model the relationships between IPV acceptance and inequitable gender norms, and female-reported IPV severity (including threats of violence, physical violence, sexual violence, and total violence), separately among male and female participants. In general, men and women were similar in their patterns of agreement with gender norms, with both highly endorsing items related to household roles. More than three-quarters of men (78.1%) and women (78.5%) indicated overall acceptance of violence in intimate relationships, with no significant differences between men and women in their endorsement of any IPV-related gender norms. Among men, IPV acceptance was associated with a statistically significant increase in IPV perpetration severity in terms of threatening violence (B = 5.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.84, 9.89]), physical violence (B = 4.54, 95% CI = [0.10, 8.98]), and total violence (B = 11.65, 95% CI = [3.14, 20.16]). There was no association between IPV acceptance and IPV victimization severity among women. Unlike IPV acceptance, there was no evidence for a relationship between inequitable gender norms and IPV severity for either men or women. These findings have implications for the appropriateness of gender transformative interventions in targeting men and women in relationships in which there is ongoing IPV.

Experiences of Minority Stress and Intimate Partner Violence Among Homosexual Women in Turkey.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been recognized as an important public health problem over the past two decades, and increased attention to violence in intimate relationships has been given to heterosexual couples. Although the vast majority of literature has determined the rate of IPV among lesbian, gay, bisexual couples, and relationship quality, few studies investigated how stress specific to living as a lesbian or bisexual woman might correlate with IPV in these relationships. For this reason, the purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the experiences of minority stress and IPV among homosexual women (n = 149) in Turkey. Data were collected using convenience and snowball sampling. Participants completed an interviewer-administered survey. Results indicated that victimization and perpetration of all the forms of IPV occur but the most prevalent was perpetration (66.4%) and victimization (63.1%) of psychological violence. The mean score of participants' total level of outness was found 4.78 ± 2.15 (0-10). Most participants (74.5%) reported being often exposed to discrimination in the public area and reported moderate level of internalized homophobia (2.72 ± 0.87). Participants' level of outness associated with psychological (Victimization r = .319, p = .00; Perpetration r = .421, p = .00), physical (Victimization r = .184, p = .025; Perpetration r = .209, p = .010), and sexual (Victimization r = .263, p = .001; Perpetration r = .372, p = .00) violence perpetration and victimization. It is also founded that there was relation between internalized homophobia level and sexual violence perpetration (r = .164, p = .045)/victimization (r = .189, p = .021). These findings demonstrate a need for health care staff to be aware of the prevalence of IPV and minority stress that affected this population. Mental health of homosexual individuals is under the risk due to minority stress and IPV experiences. Furthermore, this finding illustrated that need for additional empirical research improved interpersonal relationship among these women. Also, policies need to be developed to reduce the minority stress experienced by these individuals and provide integration with the society.

Sexual violence and safety: the narratives of transwomen in online forums

An online forum analysis was conducted to explore experiences of sexual violence and safety among transwomen, with a particular focus on transwomen of colour. Four online forums were chosen for the analysis. Three key themes were identified: dating and violence in intimate relationships; fear of violence and safety strategies; and coping after sexual assault. Forum posters faced heightened gender policing and scrutiny, due to not conforming to normative ideals of femininity. Femininity was also predicated on white, middle-class status, and associated with domesticity and romance. As a result, expressions of femininity from non-white backgrounds could be read as deviant or excessive. The intersection of deviation from gender norms and femininity based on whiteness meant that transwomen of colour faced disproportionate levels of violence, both in public and private spaces. Transwomen of colour also faced disadvantage due to participation in higher-risk forms of sex work, low socioeconomic status and employment, and institutional discrimination. Coping mechanisms to deal with cumulative disadvantage included seeking support from health professionals and transgender community networks. However, it also included more harmful forms of self-medicating such as heavy alcohol and drug use, self-harm and suicide attempts.

Men's Experiences of Violence in Intimate Relationships

1. Violence Against Men in Intimate Relationships -- 2. Method and Analysis -- 3. Prevalence Studies from the Nordic Countries -- 4. Men's Experience of Intimate Partner Violence -- 5. Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence. - 6. Men Who Are Subjected to Sexual Abuse. - 7. Experience with Support Agencies. - 8. The Need to Develop Established Theory of Partner Violence Further.

The Conundrums of Counselling Women in Violent Intimate Partner Relationships in South Africa: Implications for Practice.

Little research focuses on how counsellors experience counselling encounters concerning intimate partner violence. This study reports on narrative research conducted with eight South African non-governmental organisation counsellors. Participants spoke of creating productive and caring counselling dynamics, and providing non-directive counselling. However, they also indicated providing moral guidance, particularly in cases where pregnancy or children were involved. Success was viewed rather narrowly as the women leaving the relationship, setting up ‘all-or-nothing’ outcomes. Such ‘success’ led to counsellor happiness, whilst failure in this regard led to counsellors experiencing anger and burn-out. We conclude that the conundrums evident in these data are grounded in patriarchal systems, limiting the efficacy of counselling based on a bondage and deliverance narrative. Implications for practice and training are also outlined.

Macrosystem and Women’s Fear of Crime in Intimate Relations: An Integrated Model

AbstractFear of crime has been the focus of fruitful criminological investigation for the last 50 years. Simultaneously, the literature related to intimate partner violence has also been developing. Empirical studies have neglected the association between fear of crime and violence committed in private spaces, so this research seeks to provide an integrated approach to these concepts. Using the data from the first Brazilian National Victimization Survey, this research aims to explore how fear of violence in intimate relationships is associated with both individual and macro-contextual variables, in an ecological framework as proposed by Heise. Statistical analyses were conducted by aggregating data, and the analytical model integrated both individual- and macro-level variables and took the fear of intimate partner violence as the outcome variable. The results demonstrate a strong association between the fear of intimate partner violence and the individual-level predictors tested, especially previous victimization as well as social inequality (Gini coefficient). This way, results indicate that fear of crime manifests its predictors far beyond what the dyad “victim–aggressor” may suggest.

The Relationship Between Exposure to Violence in the Family of Origin During Childhood, Psychological Distress, and Perpetrating Violence in Intimate Relationships Among Male University Students.

Witnessing or experiencing violence early in childhood is a significant risk factor for later perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) by men against women. Despite a large body of research on the topic, there is a need for more specific information about how differing patterns of family violence might pose distinct risks of later mental health problems and violence perpetration. Using a self-administered questionnaire, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 745 male university students in Israel (age = 21-43, M = 25.56, SD = 3.172) to examine the effects of their exposure to family violence (i.e., parent-to-child psychological aggression [PA] and physical violence [PV] and witnessing interparental PA and PV) on their use of IPV. This study also examined whether psychological distress mediates the relationship between family violence exposure (witnessing or experiencing) and later IPV perpetration. Results indicate that experiencing PA and PV in childhood and current psychological distress predict significantly current IPV perpetration. Results also revealed that psychological distress mediates only the relations between participants experiencing parental violence and their PA against intimate partners. However, results showed that higher rates of participants witnessing interparental violence correlate significantly with lower rates of their PV against intimate partners; this relationship was not mediated by their psychological distress. It was also found that experiencing parental violence has significant direct and indirect positive effect on participants' PV against intimate partners. The limitations of the study and the implications of its results are discussed.

Exploring Correlates of Probable Traumatic Brain Injury among Intimate Partner Violence Survivors

ABSTRACT Although intimate partner violence (IPV) related (TBI) is increasingly recognized as an important area of concern, there is no existing research that seeks to identify correlates of IPV related TBI. Given the profound consequences of TBI, it is important to identify individual and social-ecological conditions that are associated with probable TBI among persons with a history of physical violence in their intimate partnerships. In this paper, we are concerned specifically with physical abuse that occurs in violent intimate relationships. The sample included 130 participants who were formerly abused by an intimate partner. This study was part of a larger research project that utilized a web-based survey to learn about the socio-ecological conditions surrounding IPV-related TBI. The HELPS screening tool was employed to calculate risk for TBI. Approximately half of the survey respondents (n= 64) were determined to have likely experienced IPV-related TBI. This finding is consistent with existing literature showing that TBIs are highly prevalent among individuals who have experienced IPV. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the correlates of IPV-related TBI. The results show that punishment for the abuser, time since the relationship ended, and seeking help for the health consequences of IPV were significantly associated with probable TBI. Results, limitations, future directions and implications are discussed.

The Intimate Partner Violence Stigma Scale: Initial Development and Validation.

The stigma associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major challenge facing those in abusive and violent intimate relationships. This study explored the initial development and validation of the Intimate Partner Violence Stigma Scale, designed to measure stigma related to IPV. An exploratory factor analysis revealed four subscales including internalized stigma, anticipated stigma, perpetrator stigma, and isolation. The scale demonstrates evidence for clinical and research purposes to assess experiences of stigma related to IPV among survivors.

Women's Experiences of Sexual Violence in Intimate Relationships: Applying a New Taxonomy.

How do women describe their experiences of sexual violence in their intimate relationships? In answering this question, the present article builds upon a newly developed taxonomy of intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV). Women with past or present intimate partner violence experience (N = 28) were recruited from a domestic violence program and the community at large. Data were collected with semistructured, in-person interviews, audio recorded, and transcribed. As defined by the taxonomy, 27 women (96%) experienced intimate partner sexual abuse; 19 (68%) experienced intimate partner sexual coercion; 14 (50%) experienced intimate partner sexual assault; and two (7%) experienced intimate partner-forced sexual activity. Intimate partner sexual abuse was central to women's experiences of IPSV. Common categories of sexual abuse were having sex outside of the relationship, controlling reproductive decisions, degrading with sexual criticism and insults, refusing communication, denying pleasure, and withholding sex. The types of IPSV did not typically occur in isolation; the taxonomy revealed a grouping pattern, with intimate partner sexual assault and intimate partner sexual coercion co-occurring with sexual abuse. Understanding the different types of IPSV as a comprehensive mechanism of sexual control is a meaningful way to conceptualize sexual violence in intimate relationships. The expanded taxonomy provides a useful therapeutic tool in helping women share and heal from these experiences.

Intimate partner problems and suicide: are we missing the violence?

:Background:Suicide consistently ranks in the top ten causes of death nationally. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel coding scheme to determine what percentage of suicide cases from 2005-2015 in Kentucky involved violence when intimate partner problems were identified. Currently, researchers using the national dataset, containing these data, only have the option to identify in-timate partner problems unless each case is reviewed individually. Methods:Data from the Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System from 2005-2015 were used to create a subset of cases where intimate partner problems were identified and qualitative and quantita-tive analysis of the death scene investigation incident narratives was conducted to identify cases where intimate partner violence also contributed to the suicide.Results:Intimate partner problems were identified in 1,327 (26%) of all suicide cases where circumstances were known and intimate partner violence in 575 (43%) cases identified as having intimate partner problems. There was an argument or fight in 30% of cases where intimate partner problems were identified and most were immediately followed by the suicide.Conclusions:We did find supporting evidence of our hypothesis that there is a great deal of underlying and outright violence in intimate relationships, which is exacerbating the risk of suicide. This detailed coding schema guided abstractors to better identify intimate partner violence in suicides, which could be easily replicated.

The Right to Say No. Marital Rape and Law Reform in Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi ed. by Melanie Randall, Jennifer Koshan, & Patricia Nyaundi

Reviewed by: The Right to Say No. Marital Rape and Law Reform in Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Malawied. by Melanie Randall, Jennifer Koshan, & Patricia Nyaundi Francesca Gottardi (bio) The Right to Say No. Marital Rape and Law Reform in Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi( Melanie Randall, Jennifer Koshan, & Patricia Nyaundi eds., Hart Publishing 2017), ISBN: 9781782258605, v309 pages. This book explores the issue of sexual assault in marriage. According to the World Health Organization, one in three women who have been in a relationship report that they faced some form of "sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by a husband or other male intimate." 1Despite this alarming number, many countries today do not have the legislation in place to adequately criminalize sexual assault in intimate relationships. 2In fact, for centuries women who were sexually assaulted by their spouses had no legal recourse at all. The purpose of the book is to offer a contribution to fill the legal and research gap around marital rape and to stimulate an international conversation on this important, but too often overlooked, issue. 3The book also aims to offer a critical perspective on the challenges ahead to end the legal impunity of marital rape, while also highlighting the accomplishments achieved so far. 4 The book is divided in two parts. The first part is titled "Marital Rape, Human Rights and the Law: Mapping the Issues." It provides the theoretical and legal context necessary to put the issue of spousal sexual assault into a legal and historical perspective. Part one consists of four chapters. The first chapter is introductory and presents the book and its structure to the reader. Chapter Two, authored by Melanie Randall, addresses marital rape in relation to the wider issue of domestic violence against women. Randall asserts: "Despite advances in the separate spheres of domestic violence and sexual assault, the specific problem of marital rape and sexual violence in intimate relationships remains relatively under the radar both in society and in law." 5The author effectively calls for more recognition of how intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is a central component of domestic violence. 6Randall also calls for greater social attention to be devoted to the issue. An interesting perspective proposed by the author is that rape is often understood to be perpetrated by a stranger, rather than a husband coercing his wife to a sexual intercourse. 7Randall adds that "stranger rapes" tend to be perceived as more severe than marital sexual assaults, given the partners' union and past consent to engage in a sexual relationship. 8For this reason, the images conjured up by domestic violence tend to be centered on physical assault, threats [End Page 540]and mental abuse, rather than on sexual violence. 9Randall skillfully backs up her argument with surveys that show how, at a community level, people tend not to perceive IPSV as domestic violence. 10Randall denounces how this separation has implications on the effectiveness of a legal response in that all the focus is on domestic violence and none on IPSV, making the latter a de factoinvisible crime. 11The consequences are multifold. First, if marital sexual violence is not perceived as amounting to an assault, it ends up being under-reported and even undetected. 12Then, if there is no criminalization of marital rape, the victims are left with no tools to find help and to counteract the long-lasting and negative physical and mental effects of IPSV. Randall brings to light how often IPSV results in consequences that are even more severe than those registered amongst victims of assaults committed by strangers. This is because IPSV victims have to face a sense of betrayal as the damage comes from a trusted loved one—someone that should protect and respect them. 13Randall goes on to address effects that are insufficiently appreciated, such as the phenomenon of revictimization, which is defined as the heightened likelihood for women who were victims of sexual abuse as children to be victims of IPSV later in life as well. 14 A thought-provoking aspect of Randall's analysis is the influence of social norms and gender expectations in women...

Violencia en el noviazgo entre estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Un análisis mixto

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de una investigación realizada con metodología mixta, en la que se propone analizar el nivel de incidencia de la violencia en el noviazgo entre estudiantes universitarias, y la manera en que ésta repercute en sus experiencias estudiantiles. Para ello se utilizó como fuente cuantitativa la Encuesta sobre Violencia en el Noviazgo, réplica de la Encuesta Nacional sobre Violencia en el Noviazgo (ENVINOV) aplicada de manera representativa a estudiantes de la Escuela Nacional de Trabajo Social (ENTS). Como fuente cualitativa se usaron entrevistas a profundidad realizadas con estudiantes universitarias sobrevivientes de violencia en el noviazgo. Ambas aproximaciones a la problemática permiten visibilizar la forma en que la violencia de género en las relaciones íntimas afecta a las estudiantes y con ello refuerza el sistema de desigualdades de género en la sociedad.

Intimate Partner (Sexual) Violence: Danish Research and Policy

ABSTRACTIn this article the authors seek to describe state responses to figures showing that the rates of physical and/or sexual violence against women in Denmark are among the highest in Europe. The authors do so by investigating the representations of intimate partner sexual violence, framing contemporary political developments of the Danish field of welfare work addressing violence in intimate relationships as well as the dominating knowledge production substantiating these. Theoretically, Slavoj Zizek and his concept objective violence inform the paper, in order to analyze authoritative representations of “intimate partner sexual violence” in two areas: Danish research on sexual violence and Danish policy-papers. On the basis of a descriptive analysis we conclude that intimate partner sexual violence is essentially an unexplored problem in a Danish research context and we show that an incident-oriented conceptualization of rape and sexual assault dominates most of the research on sexual violence. Furthermore, in the political context we identify strong tendencies toward de-gendering violence as an outcome of strategies working to mainstream the field of welfare work addressing violence. This means that in a Danish context working with violence is now taking place within an ideological environment where the idea that equality between the sexes has been achieved dominates.

Terapia de Casal em Contextos de Violência Conjugal: revisão integrativa da literatura

Conjugal violence is a scarcely studied phenomenon, however, a few publications tackle the possibilities for couple therapy in this context. This article is an integrative literature review on publications about the theme from 2011 to 2016, through the following databases: ISI Web of Science, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Lilacs, and Medline. Sixteen articles were fully analyzed. Studies were predominantly published in The United States, in 2014, and designed as literature reviews. Objectives were not homogeneous, varying from assessments on the effectiveness of couple therapy in conjugal violence and investigations on variables associated to the context of violence in intimate relationships and therapy to contributions of theoretical constructions about the theme. Results evidenced that different demands are associated to manifestations of violence in conjugality, which limits the usage of similar interventions for all cases. Divergences are still ongoing about individual or conjoint treatments, which indicates the need for theoretical developments to sustain the practice. Keywords: marriage, conjugal violence, couple therapy, intervention.

Narratives of Those Who “Love” Violently: Identity Issues and Construction of Meaning of the Batterers

The present study aims to identify and analyze the interpretative repertoires on love and intimate relationships used by wife batterers, exploring how the repertoires may influence the development and experience of violent intimate relationships, and how this is linked to the identity issues. Twelve wife batterers participated in the study, answering to an individual interview on their lives’ love story. Through a discourse analysis of the data, five distinct interpretative repertoires were identified—romantic, companion, passionate, pragmatic and game-playing love—and their meaning construction was analyzed. It is discussed what repertoires reveal about gender roles prescribed by the model of masculinity, and how these gender roles constrain the construction of the identity, the personal growth and the self-actualization of the batterers.

Predictors of Marital Physical Violence: Personal and Relational Characteristics

Abstract Conjugal violence is a complex phenomenon that deserves attention because of its prevalence. The aim of this study was to verify the predictive power of the family-of-origin experiences, early maladaptive schemas, love, marital adjustment and family climate to marital physical violence occurrence. In this quantitative, correlational and explanatory study 186 men and 186 women took part, aged from 19 to 81 (M=41,17; SD=12,75). The instruments used measured general information, family of origin (FBQ), maladaptive schemes (YSQs), love (TLS), marital adjustment (DAS), family climate (FCI) and marital conflicts (CTS2). The results showed an association between the studied variables. In addition, the variables family conflict and sexual abuse in childhood were predictive of physical violence committed by women, while marital dissatisfaction was the predictor of marital violence committed by men. In view of the results, it can be established that the phenomenon of violence in intimate relationships is multidetermined, requiring attention from health professionals.