INTIMATE PARTNER ABUSE AND STALKING

PHASE 2 (Walker's Cycle Theory of Violence)

"Acute abuse incident": Major abuse occurs. This is the briefest of the 3 stages. If police are notified (this only happened 10% of the time in Walker's study), it will be during this phas

PHASE 1 (Walker's Cycle Theory of Violence)

"Tension building" or the "calm before the storm" phase: victims feel a mounting pressure that an abusive episode is imminent.

PHASE 3 (Walker's Cycle Theory of Violence)

"The Honeymoon Phase" or the kindness and forgiveness phase: the offender begs for forgiveness, promises to change, promises to quit drinking, etc. This stage is longer than phase 2, but shorter than phase 1.

IPA & Stalking Victims

Anyone can be a victim of IPA and/or stalking.

But, some women do stay. Why?

1. Fear/shame 2. Lack of financial security 3. Lack of social support 4. Denial of abuse 5. Fear of retaliation from abuser 6. Victim blaming

What factors influence the likelihood of a woman killing her abuser?

1. Women who's abuser also physically or sexually abused their children. 2. Women who perceived their danger to be more immediate (because the violence increased in frequency and/or severity). 3. Women who have received death threats or have been threatened with a weapon by the abuser. In the 1970's, Battered Women's Syndrome started to be used as a defense in U.S. courts.

Studies have found some factors that can contribute to victimization:

1. Women with less education or who are unemployed are more at risk 2. Immigrant women 3. Childhoodvictimization 4. Race/ethnicity (Native Americans face the highest risk of stalking) 5. Physical/mental disability

IPA as a Social Problem

1920's: After several pleas from activists, the U.S. finally outlaws wife battering in all states 1970's - Today: There is much greater recognition that battering occurs. Pro- arrest laws have been implemented, which requires the arrest of the batterer. However, these laws were often geared ONLY toward the "pure victim" - a battered woman who: 1. Was not violent unless in self defense 2. Experienced extreme physical violence followed by emotional abuse 3. Suffers abuse in a pattern that won't stop without an intervention 4. Is terrified of the abuse Those battered women who did not fit the "pure victim" model were treated badly by the police.

Who are the stalkers?

Again, it is highly gendered. NVAW survey studies found that women made up 78% of stalking victims and men made up 87% of stalking offenders! IPA and stalking occur in both same-sex and heterosexual intimate relationships. Stalking victims are stalked by intimate partners while the relationship in intact, but it typically begins when the victims leaves the relationship.

The Frequency of IPA

Determining the prevalence and incidence rates of IPA is challenging, but it is thought to be more frequent than what is reported. An NCVS 12 year study found that 89% of IPA victims were women. Another NCVS study found that 85% of IPA victims were women, and over a 6 year period, 22% of the violent crimes against women and 3% of the violent crimes against men were by intimate partners. According to UCR, 20% of violence experienced by women and 2% by men is from IPA. In terms of prevalence risk, researchers forecast that roughly half of all women will experience IPA from a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lifetimes. Women & girls ages 16-24 are at highest risk.

Intimate Partner Abuse

Intimate partners refer to people in a romantic relationship (spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends). It also includes people who have only been on one date (if it resulted in abuse or stalking). This is different from Domestic Violence because domestic violence includes child abuse, sibling abuse, and elder abuse It should also be distinguished from spousal abuse because that would ignore the abuse of couples who are not married. It's important to remember that IPA is not necessarily violent. According to Belknap, IPA is defined "as a serious form of victimization by a previous, current, or dating partner, lover, or spouse," (p.388).

Killing Abusive Partners in Self-Defense

Men are more likely to kill their women partners than women are to kill their men partners (even in self-defense). 40-50% of femicides (killings of females) in the U.S. are intimate partner homicides. When women do kill, they are likely to kill current or former intimate partners.

Stalking Frequency cont...

Most stalking victims know their stalkers Stalkers are typically not strangers - 10% of victims were stalked by strangers Women are far more likely to be stalked by intimate partners Women also reported significantly higher levels of fear than men

Categories of IPA

Nonsexual Physical IPA Sexual Abuse, and Psychological/Emotional IPA Abusers will use a number of tactics on their victims

Walker's Cycle Theory of Violence

Psychologist Lenore Walker developed the "Cycle of Violence" Theory and identifies 3 phases in a continuous cycle of IPA

Stalking as a social problem

Stalking is a much more recent emergence. It wasn't until the 1980's and 1990's that it gained recognition as a social problem. t gained widespread recognition because of "celebrity" stalkers (examples: Ronald Reagan, Jodi Foster) However, there is overwhelming evidence that "regular" people are at risk of being stalking victims and stalking has ALWAYS been a problem. The majority of stalking occurs in the context of intimate partner relationships. California was the 1st state to pass an anti-stalking law in 1990 - this happened because of 5 murdered stalking victims in less than a year! By 1995, all states had passed anti-stalking laws.

Stalking

The 1st national study on stalking defined it as "a course of conduct directed at a specific person that involves repeated visual or physical proximity, nonconsensual communication, or verbal, written, or implied threats, or a combination thereof, that would cause a reasonable person fear." In other words, a stalker is someone who persistently pursues someone against their will causing fear and terror in that person.

Cycle of Violence cont...

The ending of phase 3 signals the beginning of phase 1 (and the cycle repeats itself again and again). Although Walker's theory seems applicable to some domestic violence or IPA situations, more research is needed. Not all IPA is carried out by these three phases and it does not account for some victim's experiences.

Victims report many obstacles in the courts:

The process is confusing The process is frustrating Fear of the abuser and that the court won't protect them Conflict they feel about turning the abuser in

Who are the abusers?

The stereotypes of an abuser-unemployed, alcoholic, lower-class,mentally, ill psychologically disturbed.

People always wonder "why would a women stay in a relationship like that?"

This is Victim Blaming! The focus should not be on why victims stay, but rather why abusers abuse.

Stalking Frequency/Rates

This is also a highly gendered behavior: The National Violence Against Women (NVAW) survey found: 1. 78% of victims - female; 22% - men 2. 87% of stalkers - men; 13% - female 3. Women were 8 times more likely as men to report stalking by former intimate partners 4. 94% of women's stalkers are men and 60% of men's stalkers are men!

Stalking Tactics

Traditional Stalking tactics include: 1. Following the victim 2. Walking/driving by victim's house/workplace 3. Damaging victim's property 4. Sending unwanted gifts, letters, mail, cards 5. Watching the victim 6. Making unwanted phone calls Today, stalking has gotten worse and changed because of technology

Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA) Tactics

Various types of tactics have been identified The 3 commonalities among IPA tactics (or requirements for behavior to be considered IPA) are: 1. It must occur between people in a current or former intimate relationship 2. It results in harm to the victim 3. The tactic involves aspects of domination and control

"The Rule of Thumb"

a rule in early British Common Law that allowed husbands to beat their wives as long as the rod they used to do it weren't larger than the thickness of their thumbs!

Risk factors of becoming a stalker

are similar to those of Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA), but there is a HIGHER chance of mental illness in stalkers. The most common motivations are: 1. Retaliation 2. Anger 3. Spite 4. Control 5. Mental Illness

Some of the risk factors for becoming an abuser

being male, violence prone, having sexist views of women, being controlling, being exceptionally jealous, alcohol and/or drugs (this is not a direct risk factor, but it may increase injury of abuse).

Intergenerational Transmission of Violence

does violence beget violence? this theory claims that children who witness IPA learn that violence is an acceptable method to resolve conflict. It is a learned behavior passed down from generation to generation. This theory has received a lot of criticism. A cycle of violence that is passed down to dependents.

Female Abusers

here is some evidence that females abuse male spouses/boyfriends, but this is thought to occur at more minor levels (slapping, hitting). The more severe abuse occurs when the male is the abuser (punching, kicking). Although the Conflict Tactic Scale is biased, it is one way to measure female on male battering.

These are a legal intervention

if one person is a threat to another, he/she is ordered to have zero contact with the person and usually has to stay a certain distance away from that individual.

Cyberstalking tactics

include texts, e-mails, and GPS tracking of victims! Stalkers or threats from stalkers should NEVER be taken lightly - they often result in violence.

Sexual Abuse

includes a sexual nature to IPA, like oral, anal, or vaginal rape or even beatings of the breasts or genitals.

IPA, Stalking, & the Police (1960s)

police training in IPA was rare and there existed few policies on how police should respond to these calls

IPA, Stalking, & the Police 1970s & 1980s

the Pro-Arrest Domestic Violence Policies emerged

Pregnancy IPA

the abuse starts, continues, and worsens when the victim is pregnant. This is done to further control the woman and out of fear that the child is not theirs (JEALOUSY!)

The Pro-Arrest Domestic Violence Policies emerged

this included shelters for battered women and rape-crisis centers. When police respond to an IPA call, an arrest should be made unless there is a clear reason why an arrest could be counter-productive.

Psychological/Emotional IPA

this is extremely harmful - many survivors claim it is the most damaging type of IPA. This type can manifest itself in many different ways including child abuse, destruction or property/pets, threats, social isolation, and verbal humiliation.

Nonsexual Physical IPA

this is what most people think of is associated with IPA; the "battered woman." Tactics include slapping, hitting, punching, kicking, shoving, etc.

IPA, Stalking, & the Police (In the 1960)

training taught police to treat IPA as a breach of public peace - this did NOT deter IPA at all.