THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Course Numbers: SW 360K (undergraduate) SW 387R.9 (graduate) WS 345 (Women’s Studies) Semester: Fall, 1999 Time: Mondays: 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Place: Social Work Building 2.130 Course Description Faculty: Fran Danis, LMSW-AP Office Number: SSW 3.208C Office Phone: 471-8267 E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: Mondays 4-6 p.m. & By appointment This course will survey theories regarding the causation of domestic violence, the history of the contemporary battered women’s movement, international, national, state, and local policy issues, prevention and intervention practice models, as well as administrative, community practice, and research issues in the field. Specific topics to be addressed include: the bio-psycho-social needs of battered women, legal and criminal justice issues, types of domestic violence including physical, emotional, sexual, economic, and the use of children as a weapon, batterers treatment programs, school-based prevention programs targeting children and teens, and services to special populations including women of color, lesbians and gays, persons with disabilities, older women and women who are recent immigrants. As social workers and other human services workers may encounter families experiencing domestic violence in a variety of settings, this course provides an overview of contemporary issues in domestic violence, designed to empower future social work practitioners with the conceptual frameworks and knowledge base necessary for effective intervention. Course Objectives Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: • Use a variety of theoretical perspectives to understand domestic violence and its relationship to other forms of violence against women (harassment, stalking, sexual assault, homicide) and family violence (child, elder, sibling abuse). • Understand the psychological, social, physical, legal, and financial consequences of domestic violence on battered women, their children, batterers, the community, and society as a whole. • Identify relevant social policies and its intended and unintended consequences for battered women and their families. • Assess and identify appropriate individual, group, family, agency, community and societal interventions. • Identify the complex social service delivery system that has developed around services for families that are experiencing domestic violence • Understand the different issues and service delivery strategies with regards to providing services to battered women of color, lesbian and gays, older women, and women with disabilities • Identify the ethical dilemma social workers and other health and human service providers face when addressing the needs of families experiencing domestic violence. In particular, the issues of social control, self-determination, and confidentiality will be examined. Course Structure and Teaching Methods Classes will consist of lectures, discussions, guest speakers, videos, experiential exercises, and possible field trips. Students are expected to attend class and to participate fully in discussions. It is hoped that the class will work toward an atmosphere of trust, respect, and confidentiality. Disagreements will be considered opportunities for learning.Required and Recommended Texts The required text for the course is: • Wilson, K.J. (1997) When Violence Begins at Home , Alameda:: Hunter House Inc. Publishers *In addition to the required text, supplemental required readings will be on reserve in the School of Social Work Learning Resource center. Supplemental readings will be assigned to each student on a rotating basis. Students will be responsible for presenting a 1-2-page summary of the reading assignment in class. These presentations are not graded however; failure to present assigned readings may lower class participation portion of the overall grade. The following texts are high recommended: • Gondolf, E.W. (1998) Assessing woman battering in mental health services. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. • Roberts, A.R. (Ed.) 1996 Helping battered women: New perspectives and remedies, New York: Oxford University Press. • Roberts, A.R. (Ed.) 1998 Battered women and their families: Intervention strategies and treatment programs (second edition) New York: Springer Publishing Company. • Stout, K.D. & McPhail, B. (1998) Confronting sexism and violence against women: A challenge for social work. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. Course Requirements Course requirements consist of one mid-term paper, one final project, one individualized safety plan, and class participation. Class participation is expected and class attendance and participation will determine 10% of your final grade. Two or more unexcused absences will lower your final grade. Midterm paper : For the mid-term paper, students will be expected to select a topic related to course content and write a ten page paper that summarizes at least 5 journal articles or book chapters in this area. The paper must address the following questions: 1) what do these articles add to our knowledge about domestic violence and 2) what direct service interventions or further research would you suggest based on these articles. The mid-term paper is worth 25% of the total grade and is due on October 18, 1999. Two points may be subtracted per day for late assignments. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4th ed., 1994, is the style manual to be used by all students for this paper. The manual is available in the Learning Resource Center (SSW 1.218). A handout on this style manual with particular attention to appropriate referencing will be addressed in class. Individualized Safety Plan : Each student is expected to develop a safety plan for one other person. This requires students to interview with a woman of their choice (a friend, neighbor, member of their own family, class member) and create an individualized safety plan for that person. A format for safety plans will be distributed in class. The completed plan should respect the confidentiality of the person for whom it is developed. Students should also include a one to two page summary of the process of developing the safety plan, the issues it brought up, and the feelings attached to the exercise by both the student and their safety plan recipient. A handout with the criteria for grading and