Domestic Violence Exam Three (Chapters 8-11)
What kind of relationship is there between indicators of economic distress and IPV?
Strong
What are victims that do not leave their abuser labeled/viewed as?
Stupid, masochistic, or "codependent"
What did studies find about women living in financially disadvantaged neighborhoods?
That IPV victimization was widespread among members of the women's social networks
What is important to consider when looking at victimization rates?
The intersection of race/ethnicity and social class inequality (poverty rates of Native Americans and Alaskan Natives)
What do some argue about women's cultural background and their risk for IPV?
The stereotypes of gender relations among specific ethnic groups. Women with certain cultural backgrounds passively accept male dominance and control because they come from societies in which patriarchal gender relations are valued and enforced
What do most studies that compare in regard to race/ethnicity?
They compare one or two racial or ethnic minority groups with whites
What gender's victimization is usually more severe compared to the other gender?
Women's
What gender is more likely to live in poverty?
Women, because on average they have lower incomes on average than men
What gender is more likely to be injured by an intimate partner?
Women. Their injuries are also more serious and more likely to require medical treatment or hospitalization
What amount of women, as compared to men are victims of severe physical IPV?
- 1 in 4 women - 1 in 7 men
What percent of men and women are physically and/or sexually assaulted by an intimate partner each year?
- 8-12% of men - 12-25% of women
What does labeling victims culpable for the abuse because they remain in the relationship do?
- Absolves batterers responsibility for their crimes - Ignores the many barriers the victims face if they try to leave
What costs are underestimated when calculating cost of IPV?
- Doesn't include all medical expenses associated with IPV - Doesn't include costs of social services or criminal justice interventions associated with IPV
What are the differences between general community samples and clinical or criminal justice system samples in IPV surveys?
- General Community ~ Often show very small differences in victimization rates between women and men - Clinical/Criminal Justice System ~ Result in significantly higher victimization rates for women and men
What negative mental outcomes are associated with IPV?
- High rates of depression - Diagnoses of PTSD - Higher rates of suicidal ideation - Higher suicide attempts - high anxiety
What negative physical outcomes is IPV associated with?
- Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS) and other gastrointestinal disorders - Arthritis - Chronic fatigue syndrome - Elevated risk for hypertension - Elevated risk for diabetes - Elevated risk for high cholesterol - Elevated risk for heart disease - Unwanted pregnancies - Miscarriages - Chronic pelvic or abdominal pain - Menstrual irregularity - HIV - STIs Especially in women
What shelters are there for underserved groups?
- Lesbians - Immigrant women - Women with substance use problems
Why are immigrants and refugees, especially women, at elevated risk of IPV victimization?
- Men often immigrate first and then their female partners follow, which means the women have lower immigration standing than their male partners - The men are the wive's sponsors which gives them control over their wives' ability to remain in the United States - Affords men tremendous control over their wives and many actually facilitate IPV - Lack of English language skills, social isolation, economic dependence, and lack of familiarity with or mistrust of the police and legal system also increase the vulnerability of immigrant women to IPV victimization ~ these factors make it hard for victims to get help
Why does the military have elevated risk for IPV?
- Military has a high concentration of young people from lower socioeconomic groups whose partners also share similar demographic characteristics - Heavy alcohol use by the military - Hyper-masculine environment - Stress associated with frequent relocations and deployment - Exposure to and participation in combat and experiences of war-related trauma
What surveys try to estimate IPV?
- National Family Violence Survey - National Violence Against Women Survey - National Intimate and Partner and Sexual Violence Survey
What unhealthy behaviors have been linked to IPV victimization?
- Smoking - Substance abuse - Drug use
What are the states differences in IPV 'laws'?
- Some states don't have laws specifically prohibiting IPV, but instead subsume IPV (or domestic violence) under general assault, aggravated assault, and battery laws) - In other states, individuals may be charged with misdemeanor or felony domestic violence, spending on the severity of the assault and the nature of the relationship between the individuals involved.
What are the barriers of a victim trying to leave a relationship according to Buel?
- Victim believes the abuser's threats to kill her and her children if she leaves - Victim is afraid of losing custody of the children if she leaves - The victim realizes that she is unable to provide for her children without the abuser's income - Victim feels guilty and responsible for the abuse - Victim is socially isolated Victim feels embarrassed and ashamed
What percent of male victims of IPV report experiencing two or more types of abuse?
10%
How much more likely were men with a SMI to be victimized than men in the general population?
10x
How much more likely were women with a Severe Mental Illness (SMI) to be victimized than women in the general population?
16x
Whan was IPV recognized as a social problem in the United States?
1970s
When did victim advocacy groups start to raise public awareness about the severity of IPV in the United States?
1970s-1980s. A common claim being that victims are found among all sociodemographic groups
When did Congress pass the Violence Against Women Act and what was it for?
1994, Components intended to reduce IPV, as well as other forms of violence that disproportionately affect women, largely through criminal justice remedies, such as increasing perpetrator accountability. Made certain behaviors, such as crossing state lines to commit IPV a federal crime with serious penalties.
What was the percent of IPV rate for couples that has subjective feelings of low financial strain?
2.7%
What services to shelters provide?
24-hour hotlines, counseling, support groups, transitional housing programs, financial education, employment training and assistance, legal advocacy, and programs specifically designed for children
What percent of female victims of IPV report experiencing two or more types of abuse?
33%
How much more likely are households in the lowest annual income category than households in the highest annual income category to experience IPV?
5x more likely
What percent of victims that called crisis hotlines or went to emergency rooms or shelters had left their abusive partners multiple times. but gave financial despair as the primary reason for having returned?
85%
What was the percent of IPV rate for couples that had subjective feelings of high financial strain?
9.5%
What do abusers threaten their partners with in addition to threatening to take custody of children?
Abusive partners often threaten victims with custody litigation, and research indicates the threats are not idle. Even in cases involving IPV, the majority of fathers who request some form of custody are granted it by the courts
What is the IPV victimization rate of African Americans compared to white with moderate and low incomes?
African Americans had higher rates of IPV than whites
What is fatalism?
An attitude of resignation with regard to future events that are thought to be inevitable and uncontrollable
What is coercive control?
An ongoing pattern of domination, in which the abusive partner uses intimidation, isolation, and similar tactics erode the freedom of the victim
How might gay men try to control their partners?
Blackmail them about being HIV+
What does most research about race/ethni city in IPV victimization assume about both partners in the couple?
Both partners are the same race or ethnicity
What is the most pervasive type of IPV?
Coercive control
What type of IPV usually isn't counted in IPV prevalence studies?
Coercive control
What type of IPV usually occurs first?
Coercive control
What happens to the healthcare costs for women who have experienced IPV after the abuse has stopped?
Costs remain high. Victims average more annual health care visits, more hospital and emergency room visits, and more mental health and substance use treatment services
What is interstate domestic violence?
Crossing state lines to commit IPV
What is empowerment counseling?
Designed to help victims gain or restore their senses of personal power and control, which are severely diminished by repeated abuse
What happened to the differences in IPV rates between African Americans and whites when they held annual household income constant?
Disappeared
What is the IPV victimization rate of African Americans compared to whites with hight incomes?
Do not differ significantly
What has been strongly correlated to IPV perpetration by military men?
Exposure to and participation in combat and experiences of war-related trauma
Wha factors motivate women to return to abusive partners?
Financial instability, threat or actual experience of poverty and economic dependence on an intimate partner, in addition to the negative mental health impacts of IPV. These increase their chances of victimization
What do economic empowerment and advocacy programs teach?
Financial literacy (the knowledge and skills necessary to make sound financial decisions and acquire resources), and foster both economic self-efficacy (confidence in one's ability to achieve financial security), and economic self-sufficiency (ability to independently meet one's daily needs)
What are informal help providers?
Friends and family of an IPV victim who provide material and emotional assistance
What do studies that that restrict the definition of IPV do?
Have serious negative consequences for victims
What type of interracial couples have high rates of IPV?
Heterosexual couples where the male partners were blacks and the female partners were white
What type of interracial couples have low rates of IPV?
Heterosexual couples where the male partners were white and the female partners were back
Neighborhoods with high concentrations of what have higher rates of IPV as well as other types of violent crime?
High concentrations of male unemployment and high concentration of poverty
What do studies that use broader more inclusive terms produce results wise?
Higher estimates of victimization
What is Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)?
Includes any threatened or completed acts of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse committed by a spouse, ex-spouse, or current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.
What does previous mental health illness do to the risk of victimization?
Increases the risk of IPV victimization
What do most shelters and nonresidential victim service programs offer to IPV victims?
Individual and group counseling; Therapeutic practices, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation and relaxation therapies, therapeutic horticulture, and art therapy, may also be used alone or in conjunction with empowerment counseling, depending on victims' individual needs
What are formal help providers?
Institutions and agencies whose official role is to provide assistance to IPV victims
What is a common reason victims give for not leaving an abusive partner?
Lack of safe, viable alternative
What is a major IPV victimization risk factor neighborhood-wise?
Living in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood is a major risk factor for IPV victimization
What can the experience of IPV do to a victim financially?
May lead victims to entrap themselves in poverty as well as the abusive intimate relationship
What contributes to entrapping IPV into abusive relationships in regard to cultural backgrounds?
Meaning of marriage, the importance of intact families, and fatalism
Do members of the military or civilians have higher levels IPV?
Members of the military
Once IPV occurs is it more or less likely to reoccur?
More likely to reoccur, and it may grow more severe over time
How many IPV victims become homeless after they leave an abusive partner?
More than 1/3 (majority are women with children)
How many battered women's shelters are there in the U.S.?
More than 2,000
What two ethnic/racial groups have consistently high rates of victimization?
Native Americans and Alaskan Natives, highest rates of IPV victimization of any other racial or ethnic group
Do shelters screen for or treat more severe mental health problems?
No
Are victims belief that the abuser's threats to kill her and her children if they leave unfounded?
No, given that lethal risk increases when the victim leaves or tries to leave
Why do victims tend to feel guilty and responsible for the abuse?
Often because the abuser has convinced her that it is her fault. If only she would do something - or not do something - he wouldn't become so angry with her. She may also believe it is her responsibility to maintain family harmony and keep the family intact
What is the cost of intimate partner violence against women in the U.S.?
Over $8.3 billion - Medical expenses - Lost productivity on victims
What has financial strain been associated with?
Poverty
What are transitional housing programs?
Provide battered women and their children with a private, low-cost living space for a set period of time, typically a year or two, so they have time to secure permanent housing and attain greater financial stability
What are economic consequences of IPV?
Reduced income and impoverishment
How can victims be socially isolated?
Restricting the victim's interactions with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers is a common tactic of coercive control used by abusive partners. The victim may feel like she has no one to whom she can turn for help, and such feelings may be exacerbated if family members pressure her to stay with the abuser because they believe divorce is wrong or a "sin" or that it will harm the children
What were the first emergency services were first offered to women?
Rooms offered by private citizens, primarily women opening their homes to other women who needed help
What is heterosexism?
Set of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that privilege heterosexuality and other sexual orientations and relationships
What kind of violence and abuse do same-sex victims of IPV experience as compared to heterosexual victims of IPV?
Similar to
What are financially distressed neighborhoods characterized by?
Social incivilities (public intoxication, drug dealing) and a variety of other types of violent crimes such as assaults because residents of these neighborhoods, unlike those in more financially affluent neighborhoods, have little political power, feel socially isolated, and mistrust one another. Social support networks in such neighborhoods are weak, and members of those networks may themselves be involved in harmful behaviors or relationships
At what level are laws made about IPV?
State
What do trauma-focused counseling programs indicate?
They help improve victims' sense of well-being, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and coping skills, reduce anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms
What group of individuals (financially) have high victimization rates ?
Those with low financial resources, the poorest of the poor
True or false. Women's reports of IPV perpetration against their male partners are as highs (and in some studies, higher than) men's reports of IPV perpetration against their female partners?
True
What are victim advocacy services?
Type of formal help provider specifically designed to provide support and assistance to IPV victims. Health care professionals, the police, and legal system
What is homophobia?
Unreasonable fear of and hostility toward homosexuals
What is homophobic control?
Use of a person's fear of their sexuality being known by others to control that individual's behavior. Unique abuse to same-sex relationships
What other feelings or beliefs come from victim's feelings of embarrassment and shame?
Victim may come from a cultural background that values "family privacy" and discourage family members from "airing their dirty laundry." If the victim id middle class or more affluent, she may believe that IPV only occurs in working class or poor families, and fears the stigma she will incur if the abuse is discovered. She also may not want to tarnish the abusive partner's reputation or cause problems for him at work, in their church, or with relatives and friends
How does IPV become a "normal" part of intimate relationships?
When IPV is common among one's friends and relatives, it becomes incorporated into one's "cognitive landscape"
What is economic (financial) abuse?
When a perpetrator deliberately tries to weaken or destroy their partner's financial solvency
What gender is more likely to be killed by an intimate partner?
Women
What gender is more likely to be sexually assaulted by an intimate partner?
Women
What gender more commonly experiences polyvictimization?
Women
Does substance use increase the risk of IPV victimization?
Yes - Substance use impairs a person's ability to recognize danger cues, employ communication skills that might de-escalate conflict, or act to remove themselves from an unsafe interaction - Partners may frequently be impaired and also because conflicts may arise over procuring and sharing alcohol drugs - Makes it difficult for victim to leave an abusive partner
Are immigrants and refugees at elevated risk of IPV victimization?
Yes, especially women
What is the most consistent demographic risk factor for IPV victimization?
Young age
What is the most vulnerable age group for IPV victimization?
Young women, ages 28-29 years
