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)
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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) Finfgeld-Connett, D. (2015). Intimate partner violence and its resolution among African American Women. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 1-8. DOI: 10.1177/2333393614565182
Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem that is difficult to overcome within African American communities. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative systematic review was to synthesize isolated qualitative findings relating to IPV among African American women to make them more meaningful and generalizable. A framework of IPV among African American women resulted from this work, and key elements include the following: ubiquitous and perpetual oppression and abuse contribute to the emergence of IPV, and personal and interpersonal forms of inspiration and support are generally inadequate to prevent or resolve it. Moreover, ambivalence of others, fear, mental health problems, and negative perceptions of helping services are barriers to change. Resolution of IPV is an emergent process that is enhanced by holistic Afrocentric services. Outcomes are safety with strings attached and personal growth for mothers and children. Research hypotheses are inferred from this framework along with implications for clinical practice. Obtain a full-copy of the journal article here: (PDF) Intimate Partner Violence and Its Resolution Among African American Women (researchgate.net) Koshan, J., Mosher, J., & Wiegers, W. (2020). COVID-19, the shadow pandemic, and access to justice for survivors of domestic violence. Osgood Hall Law Journal, Osgood Legal Studies Research Paper.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has co-existed alongside a far less visible “shadow pandemic” of violence against women, with COVID-19 impacting the number and complexity of domestic violence cases and enabling new tactics for coercive control. This article provides a preliminary assessment of the extent to which Canada’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have prioritized the safety of women and children, with a focus on the courts and women’s access to justice. We examine court directives and judicial decisions triaging which cases would be heard as “urgent,” as well as courts’ decisions on the merits in cases involving domestic violence and COVID-19, spanning the areas of family, child welfare, criminal law, and civil protection orders. In the sixty-seven reported decisions in our sample, we find very little awareness overall of the heightened risks for survivors during COVID-19, in keeping with the pre-pandemic tendency of decision makers to focus on incident-based physical violence instead of patterns of coercive control. Our analysis also suggests that survivors’ ability to prove domestic violence and secure court orders that would help to ensure their safety was hampered not only by procedural complexity but also by the reduced availability of a range of services—health, counselling, housing, and supervised access centres, for example— as a result of COVID-19. The cases further reveal significant differences in judicial interpretation of the risks of COVID-19 relative to the risks of domestic violence, often depending on the area of law in question. This again aligns with observations of the judicial treatment of domestic violence prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with different and sometimes conflicting norms and assumptions prevailing in different legal contexts. We conclude that despite some positive government responses and judicial decisions, COVID-19 has further exposed many of the gaps in knowledge about domestic violence and in the supports and resources necessary to make women and children safe that long pre-dated COVID19. In addressing the ongoing pandemic of violence against women, we offer some suggestions of measures to improve access to justice during this and future disasters. Obtain the full report here: COVID-19, the Shadow Pandemic, and Access to Justice for Survivors of Domestic Violence by Jennifer Koshan, Janet Eaton Mosher, Wanda Anne Wiegers :: SSRN Woodlock, D., McKenzie, M., Western, D., & Harris, B. (2020). Technology as a weapon in domestic violence: Responding to digital coercive control. Australian Social Work, 73(3), 368-380.
Abstract Technology-facilitated domestic violence is an emerging issue for social workers and other service providers. The concept of Digital Coercive Control (DCC) is introduced to highlight the particular nature and impacts of technology-facilitated abuse in the context of domestic violence. While practitioners have become more adept at working with women experiencing DCC, there is still little known about its dynamics and whether this violence requires a change in current service responses. This article explores findings from survey research conducted with 546 Australian domestic violence practitioners about the ways perpetrators use technology as part of their abuse tactics. The findings demonstrate that DV practitioners believe perpetrator use of technology is extensive and has significant impacts on the safety of clients. A major dilemma faced by practitioners is how to promote and facilitate client safety from DCC while still enabling safe use of technology so clients can remain connected to family, friends, and community. IMPLICATIONS
Trudell, A.L. & Whitmore, E. (2020). Pandemic meets Pandemic: Understanding the Impacts of COVID19 on Gender-Based Violence Services and Survivors in Canada. Ottawa & London, ON: Ending Violence Association of Canada & Anova.
From the Executive Summary: Understanding the Impacts of COVID-19 on Gender-Based Violence Service Provision is a national survey that was developed collaboratively by the Ending Violence Association of Canada and Anova. The purpose of the survey was to learn about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from service providers and advocates who are working with survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and/or delivering GBV-focused services across Canada. From May 18 to July 20, 2020, 376 staff and volunteers in the GBV sector responded to this survey. They spoke about: • concerns and challenges facing GBV workers and organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic • procedural and policy shifts that were necessary in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of these shifts • impacts on survivors as understood by those who are actively supporting survivors • current and anticipated needs for GBV service provision Read the full report here: endingviolencecanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FINAL.pdf Bruckert, C., & Law, T. (2018). University of Toronto Press
From the introduction: This book endeavours to develop a more holistic understanding of gendered violence by elaborating on the connections between the violence women experience and the historical, social, discursive, and legal contexts in which it unfolds. To that end, an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach employing concepts from diverse theoretical traditions and drawing on a range of disciplines, including criminology, history, sociology, political science, legal studies, economics, critical race studies, and, of course, gender studies, is used. Order a copy of the book here: https://utorontopress.com/ca/women-and-gendered-violence-in-canada-2#:~:text=Women%20and%20Gendered%20Violence%20in%20Canada%3A%20An%20Intersectional,an%20issue%20of%20interpersonal%20violence%20perpetuated%20by%20men. Ahlfs-Dunn, S. M., & Huth-Bocks, A. C. (2014). Infant Mental Health Journal, 35(4), 322-335.
Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on infant regulatory difficulties at 3 months of age and infant socioemotional problems at 12 months of age. Maternal trauma symptoms were explored as potential moderators of these associations. Participants included 120 primarily low-income, ethnically diverse women and their infants. Results revealed that infants whose mothers experienced IPV during pregnancy did not have significantly more regulatory difficulties at 3 months than did infants whose mothers did not experience prenatal IPV. However, infants whose mothers experienced IPV during the first year after birth displayed significantly more socioemotional problems at 12 months, as evidenced by both maternal report and observational data. Furthermore, maternal posttraumatic stress avoidance symptoms served as a moderator of the association between prenatal IPV and infant regulatory difficulties at 3 months whereas maternal posttraumatic stress hyperarousal and reexperiencing symptoms served as moderators of the association between IPV during the first year after birth and infant socioemotional problems at 12 months. The findings highlight the detrimental impact that IPV can have on very young children and the importance of maternal trauma symptoms as a context for understanding the effect of IPV on young children’s functioning. Request the full text here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263808148_Intimate_partner_violence_and_infant_socioemotional_development_The_moderating_effects_of_maternal_trauma_symptomswww.researchgate.net/publication/263808148_Intimate_partner_violence_and_infant_socioemotional_development_The_moderating_effects_of_maternal_trauma_symptoms Sheehy, E., & Boyd, S. B. (2020). Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 42(1), 80-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2020.1701940 Abstract
This paper explores Canadian family law cases involving claims of parental alienation and of family violence from 2014–2018, reporting the data on these claims, their resolution, and their impacts upon custody and access. A close reading of those cases where both alienation and intimate partner violence claims are made reveals troubling patterns in how intimate partner violence is discounted in this context. We suggest that the rise of shared parenting as a dominant norm assists in understanding why alienation has achieved such unquestioned status, and call for greater focus on safety and women’s and children’s voices. Request a full-copy here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339328203_Penalizing_women%27s_fear_intimate_partner_violence_and_parental_alienation_in_Canadian_child_custody_cases A. Gonzalez, H. MacMillan, M. Tanaka, & L. Tonmyr (2020). Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(13-14), 2607-2623. DOI: 10.1177/0886260517705661 Abstract
Children exposed to intimate partner violence (CE-IPV) are at increased risk for later health and social difficulties. To date, studies have primarily focused on CE-IPV as a unitary construct; this may lead to the mistaken assumption that all subtypes of CE-IPV (i.e., exposure to direct, or indirect physical abuse, or exposure to emotional abuse) are equally harmful requiring similar responses from child welfare services. The purpose of this study was to examine child welfare responses by CE-IPV subtype in a large Canadian child welfare sample. Using data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2008 (N = 2, 184), we examined child welfare responses to CE-IPV subtypes or their co-occurrence. Information was obtained from child welfare workers' reports. Cases with co-occurring subtypes of CE-IPV were more likely to be substantiated and involved multiple incidents compared with that with single CE-IPV subtypes. Cases with direct physical CE-IPV and co-occurring CE-IPV were also more likely to remain open and have an application considered or made to child welfare court. Exposure to emotional IPV was the least likely to warrant intervention by welfare services, including referrals to specialized services. These results suggest that within CE-IPV subtypes, there is evidence of different responses (recommendations and service) once a case has been opened by a worker. Future research is needed to examine the effectiveness of the responses and outcomes for children following child welfare interventions. Request the full-text here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316330201_Child_Welfare_Responses_Linked_to_Subtypes_of_Exposure_to_Intimate_Partner_Violence_Evidence_From_the_Canadian_Incidence_Study_of_Reported_Child_Abuse_and_Neglect |
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