Morton, M., Samardzic, T., Cross, P., Johnstone, S., Vesely, L., & Choubak, M. (2021). The degendering of male perpetrated intimate partner violence against female partners in Ontario family law courts. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 43(1), 104-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2021.1917711
Abstract n this paper, we conducted a critical community-engaged Ontario family law case review of 46 cases from 2019 where intimate partner violence was identified. We explored the extent to which judges identified and addressed intimate partner violence and whether the gender of judges impacted on trial outcomes and judges’ parental assessments. We found that judges de-gendered the language of violence, which impacted trial outcomes (e.g., more rulings of unsupervised access for fathers despite them having been violent) and a mutualisation of responsibility by referring to the violence as ‘conflict.’ We also found that male judges were more likely to negatively assess the mothers as both parents and witnesses. We call for more research that explores whether the changes to the Canadian federal Divorce Act (which includes ‘family violence’) will have an impact on the manner in which intimate partner violence is identified and/or referred to by family law judges, and if and how this influences the weighting of salient outcomes in Ontario family court cases. Request a full-copy of the article here: The degendering of male perpetrated intimate partner violence Against female partners in Ontario family law courts | Request PDF (researchgate.net)
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Dragiewicz, M., Woodlock, D., Salter, M., & Harris, B. (2021). "What's mum's password?": Australian mothers' perceptions of children's involvement in technology-facilitated coercive control. Journal of Family Violence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00283-4
Abstract This is the first article to analyze children’s involvement in technology-facilitated coercive control in Australia. The primary research question was ‘‘How do mothers describe their children’s involvement in technology-facilitated coercive control?”. This article is based on incidental findings from a larger study on Australian women’s experiences of technology-facilitated abuse in the context of domestic violence. Although children were not the focus of the study, semi-structured interviews with twelve mothers yielded discussion of children’s involvement in the abuse. We used thematic analysis to identify key dynamics and contexts of this abuse. We found that mothers and their children are co-victims of coercive control. Mothers interviewed for the study reported that children were involved in technology-facilitated coercive control directly and indirectly. This study bridges the gap between the extant research on children and coercive control and technology-facilitated abuse by highlighting the ways children are involved in technology-facilitated coercive control. The social and legal contexts of co-parenting with abusive fathers exposed mothers and children to ongoing post-separation abuse, extending abusive fathers’ absent presence in the lives of children Request a copy of the full article here: (PDF) “What’s Mum’s Password?”: Australian Mothers’ Perceptions of Children’s Involvement in Technology-Facilitated Coercive Control (researchgate.net) Post-Separation Contact and Domestic Violence: our 7-Point Plan for Safe[r] Contact for Children10/11/2021 James-Hanman, D., & Holt, S. (2021). Post-separation contact and domestic violence: Our 7-point plan for safe[r] contact for children. Journal of Family Violence, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00256-7
Abstract The impact of living with domestic violence and abuse has been recognised in policy and law in many jurisdictions as reaching the threshold of ‘significant harm’, with children’s exposure included in definitions of abuse and neglect that require mandatory reporting, alongside an emerging recognition of coercive control as central to both the perpetration of domestic violence and abuse, and how children experience it. Far from separation providing an end to this exposure, over two decades of research on child contact arrangements highlights how it can provide legitimate opportunities for abuse to continue. While the empirical evidence demonstrates that using violence against a partner impacts on men’s ability to parent their children pre-separation, and a burgeoning knowledge base and improved professional acumen appreciates the risk to children and mothers of ongoing and escalating abuse post-separation, the international practice of the presumption of contact continues to trump this empirical evidence in the overwhelming majority of cases. This not only fails to consider the risk that domestic violence and abuse poses to child safety, but serves further to marginalise children’s safety. Motivated by our collective experience across the domains of research, policy and practice, this commentary poses some difficult questions, challenging a conversation about both the risks and benefits of contact in the context of a history of domestic violence and abuse. In no particular order, this paper outlines our seven point plan, which, based on the evidence, we believe could make a significant difference to safe(r) post-separation contact for children To download a copy of the full article: www.researchgate.net/publication/349425541_Post-Separation_Contact_and_Domestic_Violence_our_7-Point_Plan_for_Safer_Contact_for_Children Heward-Belle, S. (2017). Exploiting the 'good mother' as a tactic of coercive control: Domestically violent men's assaults on women as mothers. Affilia: Journal of women and Social Work, 32(3), 374-389. DOI: 10.1177/0886109917706935
Abstract: This article examines the ways that domestically violent men assault women as mothers and their mothering. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 17 Australian men who had perpetrated domestic violence, this article reports their accounts of using this tactic. This tactic was found to be particularly pernicious and grounded in hegemonic representations of the “good mother.” Domestically violent men deployed this tactic instrumentally to exert power and control over women and children. Raising awareness of private and public assaults on women as mothers and their mothering is a critical step toward countering oppressive constructions of women mothering through domestic violence. Obtain a fully copy of the article here: Exploiting the ‘good mother’ as a tactic of coercive control | Request PDF (researchgate.net) Brinig, M. F., Frederick, L. M., & Drozd, L. M. (2014). Presumptions on joint custody presumptions as applied to domestic violence cases
Abstract Despite the trend toward statutory presumptions in favor of joint legal and physical custody, practitioners increasingly recognize that domestic violence has serious implications for the efficacy and safety of parenting and shared care. This article explores the implications of domestic violence for shared parenting and for the statutory legal and physical custody presumptions and exceptions which are triggered by or are applicable to domestic violence. This article proposes that a better framework for addressing intimate partner violence–related custody cases is one that guides practitioners toward fact-based determinations of the implications of the violence for parenting and co-parenting in individual cases. Key Points for the Family Court Community: • Parents who are coercive controlling abusers frequently exhibit the types of problematic parenting behaviors which make shared parenting unrealistic. • Instead of applying blanket joint custody presumptions, all family court practitioners, including judges, should: (1) be alert to signs that domestic violence may be an issue; (2) understand the nature and context of any abuse; (3) determine the implications, if any, of the abuse for parenting and co-parenting; and (4) account for the violence and its implications in their handling of cases. • Exceptions for domestic violence cases fail to prevent the inappropriate application of joint custody presumptions to many families for whom domestic violence is a significant issue because: (1) abuse is often not detected by the system, (2) victims have problems proving that the abuse occurred, and (3) many practitioners are disinclined to believe that the abuse occurred. Obtain a full copy of the article here: (PDF) Perspectives on Joint Custody Presumptions as Applied to Domestic Violence Cases (researchgate.net) Critelli, F., & Yalim, A. C. (2020). Improving access to domestic violence services for women of immigrant and refugee status: A trauma-informed perspective. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 29(1-3), 95-113. DOI: 10.1080/15313204.2019.1700863
Abstract study is based in a mid-size city in New York State, where the immigrant and refugee population is steadily growing as a result of the U.S. federal resettlement program and secondary migration. These transformations pose challenges to service providers. Women of immigrant and refugee status who experience domestic violence constitute a particularly vulnerable, yet underserved population. This study is based on 25 in-depth interviews with program users and service providers within organizations that serve domestic violence survivors. It examines service needs and paths to help-seeking among these women through an intersectional and trauma-informed lens. Recommendations to improve service delivery and policies for this population are discussed. Request a full copy of the article here: Improving access to domestic violence services for women of immigrant and refugee status: a trauma-informed perspective | Request PDF (researchgate.net) Backes, B. L., Fedina, L., & Holmes, J. L. (2020). The criminal justice system response to intimate partner stalking: A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative research. Journal of Family Violence, 35, 665-678. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-020-00139-3.
Abstract Intimate partner stalking (IPS) is a significant public health and public safety issue, yet it remains a largely understudied area especially related to effective practices for victim engagement and response. This study uses systematic review methods to assess the range of criminal justice responses to IPS victimization and the extent to which these responses are successful in promoting survivor safety, well-being, and justice. Multiple scholarly and gray-literature databases were searched to locate studies on criminal justice responses to IPS. Over 336 records were reviewed dating back to 1993 and screened for inclusion in the study, resulting in a final sample size of 22 studies. Findings identify both formal and informal strategies used by the criminal justice system to address IPS. However, pervasive barriers exist including a lack of knowledge and training on stalking, difficulties in investigation and prosecution, and negative perceptions of victims. Successful strategies for mitigating IPS were linked to increased training of law enforcement and prosecution and the granting and enforcement of civil protective orders. Complexity of charging decisions was identified as a challenge for criminal justice entities and methodological and definitional issues make stalking a difficult area to study. Despite numerous barriers in effectively responding to victims of IPS, recommendations for improving responses across the criminal justice system include enhanced training and periodic refreshers across criminal justice entities, coordinated reviews of IPS cases, and better incorporation of the stalker’s criminal history to strategically pursue charges. Obtain a full copy of the article here: (PDF) The Criminal Justice System Response to Intimate Partner Stalking: a Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Research (researchgate.net) Laing, L. (2017). Secondary victimization: Domestic violence survivors navigating the family law system. Violence Against Women, 23(11), 1314-1335. DOI: 10.1177/1077801216659942
Abstract This qualitative study explored the experiences of 22 domestic violence survivors attempting to negotiate safe post-separation parenting arrangements through the Australian family law system. Their allegations of violence put them at odds with a system that values mediated settlements and shared parenting. Skeptical responses, accusations of parental alienation, and pressure to agree to unsafe arrangements exacerbated the effects of post-separation violence. Core themes in the women's narratives of engagement with the family law system-silencing, control, and undermining the mother-child relationship-mirrored domestic violence dynamics, suggesting the concept of secondary victimization as a useful lens for understanding their experiences. Request a copy of the full-text here: Secondary Victimization: Domestic Violence Survivors Navigating the Family Law System | Request PDF (researchgate.net) Khaw, L., Bermea, A. M., Hardesty, J. L., Saunders, D., & Whittaker, A. M. (2021). “The system had choked me too”: Abused mothers’ perceptions of the custody determination process that resulted in negative custody outcomes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(9-10), 4310-4334. DOI: 10.1177/0886260518791226Click
Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem that continues to affect abused mothers after separation from an abusive partner. In addition to the risk of ongoing control and violence by abusers, the custody determination process may present challenges for mothers who end up with negative custody outcomes (e.g., share custody with abusers or lose custody). Using constructivist grounded theory techniques, we conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews with 24 abused mothers with negative custody outcomes to understand how they perceive and make sense of the process as a whole, and how they cope with these outcomes. The custody determination process was reportedly complex and stressful, and most mothers did not anticipate a negative custody outcome. Mothers’ perceptions and experiences followed three phases: “trusting “the system” to protect them and their children, adapting to “the system” in search of positive outcomes, and, once custody decisions were determined, coping with the aftermath of the judicial system process, either by accepting or resisting the outcome. This study echoes previous calls for further training and policies that make the custody determination process less burdensome and harmful for survivors and their children. Request a copy of the full article here: “The System Had Choked Me Too”: Abused Mothers’ Perceptions of the Custody Determination Process That Resulted in Negative Custody Outcomes | Request PDF (researchgate.net) Archer-Kuhn, B., Beltrano, N. B., Hughes, J., Saini, M., & Tam, D. (2021). Recruitment in response to a pandemic. Pivoting a community-based recruitment strategy to facebook for hard-to-reach populations during COVID-19. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2021.1941647
Abstract COVID-19 has required researchers to change methods to better reflect the new realities of social distancing, sheltering in place, and the use of extended quarantines to isolate from the community. The paper illustrates the implications of shifting recruitment strategies midstream with populations that are already normally considered ‘hard-to-reach’. The population in this illustration involves mothers with young children in shared parenting arrangements across three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario) who have experienced domestic violence. Due to public health protocols that required social distancing, strategies typically used to engage vulnerable populations in research, including collaborating with community service providers and face-to-face contact were no longer possible. With limited knowledge and resources, we pivoted our recruitment strategy from the use of posters in agencies to a paid Facebook advertisement strategy. Prior to our social media campaign, our time-intensive recruitment efforts had produced very few responses to our online survey. Our advertisement ran from March 13 to 12 July 2020 and Facebook reported that it ‘reached’ an approximate 42,488 viewers Through Facebook, we discovered a number of support groups for mothers with young children that only exist online. Rather than putting up posters in their settings, community service providers became online recruiters through their ‘tweets’, ‘likes’, and ‘sharing’ of our study. The impact of COVID-19 on our research has taught us about the power of social media as a recruitment strategy. Facebook is a useful tool to enhance research awareness and engagement with hard-to-reach populations even post COVID-19. Request a copy of the full article here: International Journal of Social Research Methodology ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsrm20 Recruitment in response to a pandemic: pivoting a community-based recruitment strategy to facebook for hard-to-reach populations during COVID-19 | Request PDF (researchgate.net) |
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