Ch 4 Intimate Partner Abuse Historical overview of IPA Battered Women s Movement 1970 s o 1871 Alabama Massachusetts became the first states to take away the legal right of men to beat their wives Police began to receive training about domestic violence calls for service o o Most departments had a no arrest policy toward domestic violence o Officers functioned in a peace making role not an agent of justice o Led to systematic changes in how the police and courts handled cases of domestic violence Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment Sherman Berk 1984 o o When an arrest was made in a misdemeanor domestic violence incident Recidivism rates were lower compared to cases in which police counseled the aggressor Study was replicated but the results were not the same arresting the offender led to increases in violence Federal grant funded study that tested police response to domestic violence o o Which 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 situation 1994 Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act VAWA as part of the federal Crime Victims Act o Provided funding for battered women s shelters and outreach education as well as funding for domestic violence training for police and court personnel Differences in the definition of IPA o Wife Battering o Provided opportunity for victims to sue for civil damages as a result of violent acts perpetrated against them 1995 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 communities o Several terms have been used to identify acts of violence however they are narrow in scope This term fails to identify cases of violence outside of marriage such as relationships between cohabitating people dating violence those previously married to their batterer Often denies victims legal protections or services o Domestic Violence o Intimate Partner Abuse This term combines the crime of woman battering with other contexts of abuse found within a home environment such as abuse of child or grandparents Captures any form of abuse between individuals who currently or previously had an intimate relationship o Moving toward the term IPA Differences in definitions all measure harm in various ways and may impact research IPA and intimate partner violence interchangeable Cannot necessarily do a standard comparison across all different agencies but can look within groups to find trends over time Centers for Disease Control CDC Inclusiveness of all behaviors IPA physical sexual or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse IPA includes cases of rape sexual assault physical assault and stalking behaviors National Violence Against Women Survey NVAWS o o o Bureau of Justice Statistics BJS Four Categories of IPA o o IPA includes homicides and robberies involving intimates Includes aggravated assault Women Sex and the Law Tong 1984 o o o o o o o o Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse Psychological Abuse Slapping hitting stabbing any type of non sexual violence Forced sexual activity with violence threat of violence Control victims daily activities Intentionally emotionally hurting partner s self esteem Destruction of property and pets Women say that this is the most damaging type of abuse Batterer indirectly assaults victim sending a message to victim that they are could be broken To harm the victim To control and dominate the victim This type of abuse occurs in an intimate relationship In the majority of cases men are the aggressor and women the victim 85 Commonality among the 4 categories Intimate Partner Abuse Trends o o o o 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 Most of the time prosecutors charge offenders with the crime of offense even for repeat offenders simple assault in 77 9 of cases Calling partner derogatory names prevent them from working or attending school limit access to family and friends Victim is robbed of self esteem and self confidence 1 3 of youth experience dating violence during adolescence 68 87 of incidents involving intimate partner abuse occur while children are present o One of the most common forms is emotional battering abuse o o Children in a home of violence tend to suffer negative mental health outcomes depression anxiety higher rates of aggressive behavior continue violence in adulthood Couples counseling in cases where violence is reciprocal o Mixed results o Help find other ways of dealing with conflict other than violence Services for Female Victims Women s Shelters o o Services for Female Abusers few intervention programs accept women State and federal funding Family shelters According to statistics women tend to be the victims may be provoked to be the aggressor o Treatment Services for IPA This is problematic for those women actually trying to get help Services for Male Victims Most shelters do not admit males o Not much support for male victims o Not getting the help services they need because no infrastructure exists o Men s reluctance to report Because of backlash Challenging one s manhood Perceived reaction from others Services for Male Abusers required to attend Batterer s intervention program Restraining Orders Orders of Protection o Domestic protection orders available in every jurisdiction in the U S from her abuser and generally prohibit the perpetrator from contacting the victim As a legal document violations are subject to sanctions by the judiciary Designed to provide the victim the opportunity to separate herself o o o o o o Fearful apprehension of person can be reason for court to give restraining order Found to reduce violence however ineffective for preventing future violence Temporary restraining order issued by police officer when they are called to a domestic violence incident and an arrest is made Those who apply for protective orders usually do so after a long history of violence and abuse Laws in all 50 states require that domestic violence cases be required to surrender their guns to the police Intent to stop domestic violence by deterring offenders