Ch. 4: Intimate Partner AbuseHistorical overview of IPA:Battered Women’s Movement- 1970’s1871- Alabama & Massachusetts became the first states to take away the legal right of men to beat their wivesPolice began to receive training about domestic violence calls for serviceMost departments had a no-arrest policy toward domestic violenceOfficers functioned in a peace-making role not an agent of justiceLed to systematic changes in how the police and courts handled cases of domestic violenceMinneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (Sherman & Berk 1984)When an arrest was made in a misdemeanor domestic violence incident:Recidivism rates were lower compared to cases in which police counseled the aggressorStudy was replicated but the results were not the same; arresting the offender led to increases in violenceFederal grant funded study that tested police response to domestic violenceWhich treatment works best?Arrest (most effective)Counseling both parties (lower recidivism rate)Sending assailants away from home for several hours to try and diffuse the situation1994- Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as part of the federal Crime Victims ActProvided funding for battered women’s shelters and outreach education, as well as funding for domestic violence training for police and court personnelProvided opportunity for victims to sue for civil damages as a result of violent acts perpetrated against them1995- Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) created within the Department of Justice (DOJ)Today: charged with administering grant programs aimed at research and community programming toward eradicating intimate domestic and intimate partner abuse in our communitiesDifferences in the definition of IPA:Several terms have been used to identify acts of violence however they are narrow in scopeWife BatteringThis term fails to identify cases of violence outside of marriage, such as relationships between cohabitating people, dating violence, those previously married to their battererOften denies victims legal protections or servicesDomestic ViolenceThis term combines the crime of woman battering with other contexts of abuse found within a home environment, such as abuse of child or grandparentsIntimate Partner AbuseCaptures any form of abuse between individuals who currently or previously had an intimate relationshipDifferences in definitions-all measure harm in various ways and may impact researchIPA and intimate partner violence=interchangeableMoving toward the term IPACannot necessarily do a standard comparison across all different agencies, but can look within groups to find trends over timeInclusiveness of all behaviorsCenters for Disease Control (CDC)IPA= physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouseNational Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS)IPA= includes cases of rape/sexual assault, physical assault, and stalking behaviorsBureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)IPA= includes homicides and robberies involving intimatesIncludes aggravated assaultFour Categories of IPA:Women, Sex and the Law (Tong 1984)Physical AbuseSlapping, hitting, stabbing, any type of non-sexual violenceSexual AbuseForced sexual activity with violence/threat of violencePsychological AbuseControl victims daily activitiesIntentionally emotionally hurting partner’s self-esteemWomen say that this is the most damaging type of abuseDestruction of property and petsBatterer indirectly assaults victim, sending a message to victim that they are/could be brokenCommonality among the 4 categories:To harm the victimTo control and dominate the victimThis type of abuse occurs in an intimate relationshipIntimate Partner Abuse Trends:In the majority of cases, men are the aggressor and women the victim (85%)1.3 million women physically victimized each year (CDC 2003)Survey of adults 18-28 found that half of all partner violence was reciprocal(CDC 2007)In a review of state laws across the US: (Klein 2004; Smith & Farole 2009)Most crimes of domestic violence are considered a misdemeanor offense, even for repeat offendersMost of the time prosecutors charge offenders with the crime of simple assault (in 77.9% of cases)One of the most common forms is emotional/battering abuseCalling partner derogatory names, prevent them from working or attending school, limit access to family and friendsVictim is robbed of self-esteem and self-confidence1/3 of youth experience dating violence during adolescence68-87% of incidents involving intimate partner abuse occur while children are presentChildren in a home of violence tend to suffer negative mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety), higher rates of aggressive behavior, continue violence in adulthoodTreatment Services for IPA:Couples counseling in cases where violence is reciprocalMixed resultsHelp find other ways of dealing with conflict other than violenceServices for Female Victims: Women’s SheltersState and federal fundingFamily sheltersServices for Female Abusers: few intervention programs accept womenAccording to statistics, women tend to be the victims; may be provoked to be the aggressorThis is problematic for those women actually trying to get helpServices for Male Victims: Most shelters do not admit malesNot much support for male victimsNot getting the help services they need because no infrastructure existsMen’s reluctance to report:Because of backlashChallenging one’s manhoodPerceived reaction from othersServices for Male Abusers: required to attend Batterer’s intervention programRestraining Orders/Orders of ProtectionDomestic protection orders: available in every jurisdiction in the U.S.Designed to provide the victim the opportunity to separate herself from her abuser and generally prohibit the perpetrator from contacting the victimAs a legal document, violations are subject to sanctions by the judiciaryFearful/apprehension of person can be reason for court to give restraining orderFound to reduce violence, however ineffective for preventing future violenceTemporary restraining order: issued by police officer when they are called to a domestic violence incident and an arrest is madeExpire in a few days or at time of first court appearanceThose who apply for protective orders usually do so after a long history of violence and abuseLaws in all 50 states require that domestic violence cases be required to surrender their guns to the policeMandatory ArrestIntent to stop domestic violence by deterring offendersClarified roles of