Gutowski, E. & Goodman, L. A. (2020). “Like I’m invisible”: IPV survivor-mothers’ perceptions of seeking child custody through the family court system. Journal of Family Violence, 35, 441-457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-00063-1
Abstract This qualitative descriptive study examines the perspectives of 19 mothers who survived intimate partner violence (IPV) and sought custody of one or more children through the family court system. We explored these mothers’ perceptions of the nature of court processes from start to finish, their understandings of the impact of court processes and outcomes on their well-being, and their recommendations for improvements to facilitate a process that is sensitive to survivors’ experiences with IPV. Mothers interviewed in this study described an experience that was largely invalidating and distressing, compounding the adverse effects of IPV on their well-being. Qualitative content analysis yielded six clusters: 1) survivors must enter into a court environment that implicitly presumes the absence of trauma, 2) survivors face obstacles to getting their stories of abuse across and heard, 3) survivors experience harmful and helpful interactions with court professionals, 4) survivors endure distress in the courtroom, 5) survivors suffer psychosocial consequences outside of the courtroom, and 6) survivors make recommendations for an improved custody process that is sensitive to experiences of IPV. Results paint a picture of a family court system that has the potential to cause grave, lasting harms to survivor-mothers who are separating from abusive partners. Obtain a full copy of the article here: (PDF) “Like I’m Invisible”: IPV Survivor-Mothers’ Perceptions of Seeking Child Custody through the Family Court System (researchgate.net)
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Miller, S. L., & Manzer, J. L. (2021). Safeguarding children’s well-being: Voices from abused mothers navigating their relationships and the civil courts. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(9-10), 4545-4569. DOI: 10.1177/10886260518791599
Abstract Battered mothers often go to great lengths to protect their children from abuse. Most of these efforts play out in private settings such as the home. After their relationships end, women’s actions shift to the public sphere for judgment by the courts. Abusers’ strategies utilize the courts as another tool with which to call into question and challenge their former partners’ parenting. Images of “good mothers” who behave passively are favored by officials who often have incomplete understandings of the dynamics of intimate partner violence and abuse. Existing studies about justice-involved mothers insufficiently portray women’s experiences managing both continued abuse from past partners as well as discriminating treatment by the courts. Semistructured interviews with 25 women in the United States who have terminated their abusive relationships reveal strategies of negotiation and resistance used to protect their children both during and after their relationships; the women also recount instances of paternalism and naïveté present in civil and criminal courts. While their male abusers seemed to receive leniency from court officials, despite, in some cases, violating judges’ direct orders, the women’s efforts were sometimes interpreted as recalcitrance and disobedience when they challenged unfair labels, visitation, and custody decisions. This qualitative study contextualizes women’s efforts and actions taken to safeguard their children during and after their relationships to highlight women’s experiences the courts overlook and misconstrue as well as what happens when women engage with the courts. Policy suggestions include ways to prevent the continued victimization of battered women by the courts, to challenge the pejorative assessment of mother’s protective behaviors, and to illuminate court officials’ malfeasance and toleration of fathers’ tactics. Request a full-copy of the article here: Safeguarding Children’s Well-Being: Voices From Abused Mothers Navigating Their Relationships and the Civil Courts (researchgate.net) Goodson, A., & Hayes, B. E. (2018). Help-seeking behaviors in intimate partner violence victims: A cross-national analysis in developing nations. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(9-10). DOI: 10.1177/0886260518794508
Abstract: There is a dearth of research on help-seeking behaviors of intimate partner violence (IPV) victims, especially within developing nations. The current study uses the nationally representative population-based Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 31 nations to address this gap in the literature. Specifically, the study (a) assesses the extent to which IPV victims sought help in developing nations, (b) investigates from whom IPV victims sought help, and (c) evaluates individual and national factors that influence the likelihood of help seeking among IPV victims in developing nations. Given the hierarchical structure of the data, multilevel modeling techniques are used (individual level N = 65,530; national level N = 31). Descriptive findings revealed 34.88% of IPV victims engaged in help-seeking behaviors and the majority of victims who sought help reached out to family members (63.10%). Few IPV victims (3.24%) sought help from formal institutions. Results from the hierarchical generalized linear regression models indicated the severity of abuse, attitudes toward IPV, and indicators of empowerment all affected the likelihood of help seeking. National-level factors, including whether the nation had a law against IPV, were not significant. While providing formal services is important, policies designed to help IPV victims must recognize and address cultural barriers that may inhibit help-seeking behaviors. Because the majority of IPV victims sought help from informal support networks, it is important that individuals in these extended networks receive information about gendered norms and IPV so they can extend help and respond appropriately to family and friends. Request the full article here: Help-Seeking Behaviors of Intimate Partner Violence Victims: A Cross-National Analysis in Developing Nations | Request PDF (researchgate.net) Faller, Y. N., Wuerch, M. A., Rucklos Hampton, M., Barton, S., Fraehlich, C., Jushka, D., Milford, K., Moffitt, P., & Ursel, J. (2021). A web of disheartenment with hope on the horizon: Intimate partner violence in rural and Northern communities. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(9-10), 4058-4083. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518789141
Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) has become a worldwide epidemic, yet little is known about the experiences of women survivors living in rural and Northern Canadian communities. Existing statistics suggest that women living in rural areas of the Canadian Prairie Provinces and Northwest Territories (NWT) are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing IPV. To better understand the experiences of IPV in these regions, qualitative interviews were conducted with service providers, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Victims Services, Shelter Services, counselors, and others (e.g., physicians). In total, 122 participants were interviewed. These interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach where the data/results were transformed into a pictorial matrix that documents the struggles that service providers endure. The matrix/results highlight how social issues, such as isolation and poverty, contribute to social oppressions, such as lack of resources, transportation, and/or services. As service providers struggle against these forces, they begin to develop feelings of disheartenment. Yet, they continue to fight because there are opposing forces, such as Emergency Intervention Orders, police transportation, and Victim Services, that demonstrate how societal response is improving the lives and increasing safety in rural and Northern communities. Ultimately, the results suggest that to reduce the incidences of IPV, we must go beyond the violent acts and deal with the social contexts in which IPV resides. Request the full article here: A Web of Disheartenment With Hope on the Horizon: Intimate Partner Violence in Rural and Northern Communities | Request PDF (researchgate.net) Birnbaum, R., & Saini, M. (2015). A qualitative synthesis of children's experiences of shared care post divorce. The International Journal of Children's Rights, 23(1), 109-132. DOI: 10.1163/15718182-02301005
Abstract Objectives: Children’s views and experiences of shared care arrangements post separation were explored to provide their voices to the ongoing discussions of shared parenting. Methods: Qualitative synthesis included a systematic and transparent method for retrieval, screening, and analysing qualitative studies. The inclusion criteria accepted studies that were: qualitative in design; included children as participants in shared care parenting time post-separation. Results: Ten qualitative studies in six different countries with 466 children and young adults were included in the final analysis. Children’s experiences of shared care parenting post separation were mixed and varied depending on contextual factors related to their relationship with both parents, as well the quality of these relationships and the flexibility/rigidity of the parenting arrangement. Implications: Hearing from children and young adults directly helps to move the shared care debate away from binary arguments about sole versus shared care based on parents’ rights and advocacy views. Read the full article here: (PDF) A Qualitative Synthesis of Children’s Experiences of Shared Care Post Divorce (researchgate.net) |
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