Violence Against Women recent issues

Guest Editor's Introduction

Brush, L. D. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:25:55 PST

A Battered Women's Movement Perspective of Coercive Control

Arnold, G. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:25:55 PST

In Coercive Control, Evan Stark calls on battered women’s activists to reorient their understanding of abusive relationships. Rather than being primarily about physical violence, he maintains, domestic violence is better conceptualized as men’s attempts to destroy women’s autonomy and reinstate patriarchy in intimate relationships. His analysis suggests important changes to defending battered women in court, modifications to the kinds of support services the movement provides for battered women, and changes in the laws and law enforcement regarding battering. Stark also maintains that, to end coercive control, the battered women’s movement must renew its commitment not only to ensuring the safety of individual women but also to attaining the feminist goal of substantive freedom and equality for women in both public and private life. I contend that Stark’s reframing of woman abuse is useful for battered women’s advocates and may, in some cases but not in others, lead to more effective practices in battered women’s programs. At the same time, it is likely to complicate activists’ efforts to mobilize public opinion, resources, and public policy to address the problem of woman abuse.

Gendering Coercive Control

Anderson, K. L. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:25:55 PST

This article examines the theory of gender presented in Stark’s Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. Stark suggests that gender is a form of structural inequality that makes women more vulnerable than men to the strategies of coercive control. However, Stark assumes rather than demonstrates that gendered structural inequality increases women’s vulnerability. In this article, the author applies the multilevel theory of gender as identity, interaction, and social structure to document the multiple ways coercive control is gendered. The author argues that, to understand the gender dynamics of coercive control, researchers must examine the interactions across levels of gender. The author concludes with an assessment of the prospects and pitfalls of applying the concept of coercive control to renew the feminist social movement to end domestic violence.

The Paradox of Progress: Translating Evan Stark's Coercive Control Into Legal Doctrine for Abused Women

Hanna, C. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:25:55 PST

This article examines Evan Stark’s model of coercive control and what this paradigm shift might mean for the law. Coercive control can help redefine both criminal offenses involving domestic violence and defenses available to women who kill their abusers. This redefinition would shift the law away from incident-based violence and toward a more comprehensive and accurate paradigm that accounts for the deprivation of a woman’s autonomy within the context of an abusive relationship. Such a change would likely provide more effective state intervention into what were once considered private relationships. Yet, this approach may also have some unintended consequences, including refocusing the law on a victim’s mental state and complicity in her own abuse rather than on the harm caused by abusive men. Thus, although the law should more fully account for coercive control, lawyers must be cautiously optimistic in implementing Stark’s proposed reforms.

Reframing Violence Against Women as a Human Rights Violation: Evan Stark's Coercive Control

Libal, K., Parekh, S. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:25:55 PST

Evan Stark claims that partner-perpetrated physical abuse and other forms of violence against women ought to be understood as a human rights violation. The authors engage Stark’s rhetorically powerful political and analytical innovation by outlining one theoretical and one practical challenge to shifting the paradigm that researchers, advocates, and policy makers use to describe, explain, and remedy the harms of coercive control from misdemeanor assault to human rights violation. The theoretical challenge involves overcoming the public/ private dichotomy that underpins liberal conceptions of human rights.The practical challenge involves using the human rights framework in the United States, given public indifference to human rights rhetoric or law, reluctance of U.S. policy makers to submit to scrutiny or justice-oriented processes under international law on issues of human rights and especially war crimes, and the consequent U.S. legacy of refusal to participate meaningfully in the international human rights process. The authors conclude that employing a human rights framework holds potential in the United States, but the paradigm shift Stark advocates will not materialize without widespread mobilization of interest in and understanding of human rights among domestic violence advocates and the society in general.

How to Tell a New Story About Battering

Polletta, F. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:25:55 PST

As Evan Stark observes, getting domestic violence against women recognized as coercive control will require a major effort of storytelling. Women’s accounts of subjugation have to be narrated in a way that is both true to their experiences and capable of eliciting public understanding, sympathy, and action. This essay draws on an interdisciplinary literature on narrative to show why doing that poses such a formidable challenge. In lieu of the tragic form that has dominated battered women’s storytelling, and in lieu of the quest and mystery forms that appear in Stark’s own accounts, this article argues for using a rebirth story line.This genre, which has affinities with the fairytales Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, seems an unlikely vehicle for asserting battered women’s combination of victimization and agency. Drawing on the stories told by battered women as part of a successful reform effort, however, this article shows how women have used the form effectively.

Rethinking Coercive Control

Stark, E. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:25:55 PST

The critical appraisals of Coercive Control focus largely on what my analysis implies for intervention, a matter to which the book devotes only limited space. In this reply, I reiterate core concepts in the book and acknowledge that much more work is needed to translate the realities of coercive control into practical legal and advocacy strategies. I review how coercive control differs from partner assaults and so why it merits a distinct response; the extent to which coercive control targets gender identity; the wisdom of complementing the focus on violence with an emphasis on male domination, sexual inequality and personal liberty; what this implies for shelters and the law; why sexual inequality differentiates coercive control from female partner abuse of men; how sexual equality can be both cause and antidote for coercive control; why I think an affirmative concept of freedom is essential to grasp the human rights violations inflicted by coercive control; and what it means to "story" coercive control by integrating women into the larger liberty narrative on which our national identity rests.

Editor's Introduction

Renzetti, C. M. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

Pink or Blue ... Black and Blue? Examining Pregnancy as a Predictor of Intimate Partner Violence and Femicide

Taylor, R., Nabors, E. L. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

This study explores the effect of pregnancy on women’s risk of IPV victimization. Previous studies have produced conflicting findings and have been limited by comparing only two categories of IPV. The current study included analyses of the effect of pregnancy on three statuses of IPV: no abuse, nonlethal abuse, and lethal abuse. The data used for this project are taken from the first phase of the Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study (CWHRS). Findings suggest that both nonlethal and lethal abuse statuses differ significantly from no abuse in that women’s risk of IPV victimization may decrease during pregnancy.

Spiritual Abuse: An Additional Dimension of Abuse Experienced by Abused Haredi (Ultraorthodox) Jewish Wives

Dehan, N., Levi, Z. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

This article aims to conceptualize spiritual abuse as an additional dimension to physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse. Growing out of an interpretivist participatory action research study in a therapeutic Haredi (Jewish ultraorthodox) group of eight abused women, spiritual abuse has been defined as any attempt to impair the woman’s spiritual life, spiritual self, or spiritual well-being, with three levels of intensity: (a) belittling her spiritual worth, beliefs, or deeds; (b) preventing her from performing spiritual acts; and (c) causing her to transgress spiritual obligations or prohibitions. The concept and its typology are illustrated by means of examples from the women’s abusive experiences and may be of theoretical and therapeutic worldwide relevance.

Intimate Partner Violence and Social Isolation Across the Rural/Urban Divide

Lanier, C., Maume, M. O. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive social problem that affects victims, families, and communities. Beginning with the acknowledgment of this phenomenon as a social problem, investigations have attempted to answer questions regarding the extent, prevalence, and the possible contributing social and psychological factors that influence this behavior. This study proposes an approach to the problem of IPV based on a unifying concept: social isolation. The authors argue that the utility of the concept of social isolation lies in its ability to encapsulate critical social-structural and social-psychological correlates of IPV. The main objective of the study is to examine the extent to which the role of social isolation in predicting IPV varies by urban/rural context. Measures of key variables were obtained from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households and the 1990 census. Results of multivariate analyses indicate that only some measures of social support (isolation) are statistically significant and only for families within rural (nonmetropolitan) counties.

Sexual Assault and Current Mental Health: The Role of Help-Seeking and Police Response

Kaukinen, C., DeMaris, A. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

We examine the extent to which seeking help from social service agencies, family and friends, reporting to the police, or responses by the police might buffer or exacerbate the impact of sexual assault on mental health outcomes among sexual assault victims.The trend in many cases was for help-seeking and police response to exacerbate the impact of sexual assault victimization. With respect to depression, we found that the association of rape penetration was greater among those seeking help from social services and those reporting their victimization to the police. Although arresting the offender appears to be associated with higher levels of depression, it actually results in a lower probability of heavy episodic drinking.

Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Domestic Violence Advocates: Workplace Risk and Protective Factors

Slattery, S. M., Goodman, L. A. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

This study identified workplace factors associated with secondary traumatic stress (STS) in a sample of 148 domestic violence advocates working in diverse settings. Findings indicate that coworker support and quality clinical supervision are critical to emotional well-being and that an environment in which there is shared power—that is, respect for diversity, mutuality, and consensual decision making—provides better protection for advocates than more traditional, hierarchical organizational models. Furthermore, shared power emerged as the only workplace variable to significantly predict STS above and beyond individual factors. The discussion includes implications for practice and policy as well as directions for future research.

Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Parenting Stress: Assessing the Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms

Renner, L. M. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

Guided by the spillover hypothesis and process model of parenting, this study examined relationships between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and parenting characteristics among a sample of 1,153 lower-income women. Hierarchical regression was used to investigate a mediational model examining women’s self-reports of physical and psychological IPV, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress. Results suggest that depressive symptoms partially mediate the link between a mother’s psychological IPV victimization and later self-reported parenting stress. Findings from this study highlight the importance of including maternal psychopathology and other stress and support variables when assessing parenting outcomes among women with histories of IPV.

Retraction: Promoting the Safe and Strategic Use of Technology for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: Evaluation of the Technology Safety Project

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

This article has been withdrawn because it is a redundant publication of an article that was published in the Journal of Family Violence, Issue 1, Volume 24. January 2009, DOI: 10.1007/s10896-008-9207-2. The article went through peer review for publication in Violence Against Women without the journal_s knowledge that a similar article was submitted to the Journal of Family Violence.

Book Review: Jan Jordan. Serial Survivors: Women's Narratives of Surviving Rape. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press, 2008. 246pp. $35.00 ISBN 9781862876798

Reed Rickards, C. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:39 PDT

Editor's Introduction

Renzetti, C. M. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:30 PDT

Manifestations of Power and Control: Training as the Catalyst for Scandal at the United States Air Force Academy

Callahan, J. L. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:30 PDT

This article explores the role of training practices at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in perpetuating power and control issues and the potential consequences of those practices. This article also includes an overview of the training practices at the USAFA, issues of power and control manifested in the training process, and gendered reactions to the loss of personal control experienced during the initial socialization training.The author argues that cadet responses to control deprivation may have resulted in the (alleged) sexual assaults by male cadets and the eating disorders manifested by female cadets, both of which ultimately represent violence against women. The article concludes with implications for research and practice, including a call for recognizing the strategic role of training in forming organizational culture.

Gendered War and Gendered Peace: Truth Commissions and Postconflict Gender Violence: Lessons From South Africa

Borer, T. A. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:30 PDT

That war is profoundly gendered has long been recognized by feminist international relations scholars. What is less recognized is that the postwar period is equally gendered. Currently undertheorized is how truth-seeking exercises in the aftermath of conflict should respond to this fact. What happens to women victims of war violence? The difficulties of foregrounding gendered wartime violence in truth telling are illustrated by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The article explores some consequences of the failure to uncover gendered truth, including its impact on the government’s reparations policy, and continued "peacetime" violence perpetrated against women in South Africa.

Acculturation and Conflict in Mexican Immigrants' Intimate Partnerships: The Role of Women's Labor Force Participation

Grzywacz, J. G., Rao, P., Gentry, A., Marin, A., Arcury, T. A. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:30 PDT

This study explores women’s workforce participation as a potential agent for acculturation, and how it shapes conflict dynamics within intimate partnerships among Mexican immigrants. Analysis of in-depth interview data from 20 immigrant Mexican women and men believed to be in violent relationships indicated that women’s employment following migration created several sources of intracouple conflict by challenging gender-based norms and behaviors surrounding the division of household labor, financial decision making, and how women and men interact within intimate relationships. Immigrant Latino women tended to embrace an assimilation strategy for acculturation, whereas immigrant Latino men embrace a separation strategy.

Psychometric Properties of a New Scale to Assess Family Violence in Older African American Women: The Family Violence Against Older Women (FVOW) Scale

Paranjape, A., Rodriguez, M., Gaughan, J., Kaslow, N. J. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:30 PDT

Absence of a conceptually grounded, comprehensive measure for family violence in older women has hindered attempts to define the extent of the problem and its effects on older women’s health. This article reports the development and psychometrics of the Family Violence in Older African American Women Scale, a comprehensive scale to measure family violence in older women. The scale demonstrates two distinct factors: (a) "Abuse" and (b) "Caregiving Failure," which measure abusive behaviors in the context of a family relationship and caring for older women, respectively. Implications for the use of this scale in research and practice settings are discussed.

The Victim-Informed Prosecution Project: A Quasi-Experimental Test of a Collaborative Model for Cases of Intimate Partner Violence

Cattaneo, L. B., Goodman, L. A., Epstein, D., Kohn, L. S., Zanville, H. A. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:31 PDT

The Victim-Informed Prosecution Project (VIP) was designed to amplify the voice of the victim in the prosecution of a battering current or ex-partner through collaboration between the prosecution and victim-centered agencies.This article describes the rationale for and design and implementation of VIP and then explores whether it increased perceived voice.While some VIP services (advocacy and civil protection order representation) were associated with increased perceived voice, the program as a whole was associated with it only in the context of greater contact with prosecutors, when cases were more likely to be felonies.We make specific recommendations for applying this model.

Violence Against Women and the U.S. Supreme Court: Recent Challenges and Opportunities for Advocates and Practitioners

Rutkow, L., Vernick, J. S., Webster, D. W., Lennig, D. J. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:31 PDT

The U.S. Supreme Court has frequently grappled with violence against women, with three major cases decided since 2000. Although the law can be a powerful tool to minimize the risk of violence against women, it can also be an obstacle to interventions. As legislators, prosecutors, and advocates implement legal interventions to respond to violence against women, the Supreme Court has increasingly been called on to interpret these laws and assess their constitutionality. This legal note examines recent Supreme Court jurisprudence that addresses interventions to prevent violence against women and explain how practitioners can tailor interventions to respond to these decisions.

Book Review: Mindie Lazarus-Black Everyday Harm: Domestic Violence, Court Rites, and Cultures of Reconciliation. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007. 264 pp. $25.00 ISBN 0252074084

Parson, N. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:31 PDT

Methodological Innovations in Research on Violence Against Women: A Special Issue of Violence Against Women

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:18:31 PDT

Editor's Introduction

Renzetti, C. M. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Development of Measures of Abuse Among Women With Disabilities and the Characteristics of Their Perpetrators

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Three hundred and five women with diverse disabilities completed an anonymous audio computer—assisted self-interview designed to increase women’s awareness of abuse. Data were also collected regarding abuse experienced in the past year and the risk characteristics of their perpetrators. Overall, 68% reported some type of abuse. Preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of questions to assess abuse and perpetrator risk characteristics was found. Latent class analysis revealed four distinct classes of abuse experiences: sexual abuse, physical abuse, multiple forms of abuse, and minimal abuse and three classes of perpetrator risk characteristics: controlling characteristics, noncontrolling characteristics, and minimal risk characteristics.

Commentary on Curry et al.'s Safer and Stronger Program and Suggestions for Future Methodological Research

Fisher, B. S. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Commentary on Development of Measures of Abuse Among Women With Disabilities and the Characteristics of Their Perpetrators

Macy, R. J. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Interpersonal Violence and Women With Disabilities: Analysis of Safety Promoting Behaviors

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Very little information exists related to the interpersonal violence safety promoting behaviors of women with disabilities. Information about women’s use of safety promoting behaviors was gathered from 305 disabled and deaf women who completed an anonymous Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview. Exploratory factor analyses revealed factors related to seeking abuse-related safety information, building abuse-related safety promoting skills, using relationship support, planning for emergencies, taking legal action, and managing safety in personal assistance relationships. Four of these factors demonstrated significant relationships to women’s experience of different forms of abuse and their perpetrator’s characteristics.

Commentary on Powers et al.'s Article: "Interpersonal Violence and Women With Disabilities: An Analysis of Safety Promoting Behaviors"

Grossman, S. F. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Situating Research on Safety Promoting Behaviors Among Disabled and Deaf Victims of Interpersonal Violence

Brownridge, D. A. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Reply to Our Commentators

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Developing Teen Dating Violence Prevention Strategies: Formative Research With Middle School Youth

Noonan, R. K., Charles, D. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Intimate partner violence (IPV) peaks in youth and young adulthood and is associated with multiple adolescent risk behaviors and negative health outcomes. Targeting youth with prevention messages before they start dating may avert teen dating violence and subsequent adult IPV. This article discusses findings from focus groups with middle school youth to determine behaviors and beliefs regarding dating violence. To develop effective prevention messages, participants were asked questions about characteristics of middle school dating relationships, healthy relationships, relationship norms, unhealthy relationships, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, intervening in violent situations, and trusted sources for information about dating violence. The recommendations for prevention efforts include an emphasis on skill building, tailoring efforts for particular subgroups, and identifying innovative ways of reaching youth.

Women's Awareness of and Discomfort With Sexual Assault Cues: Effects of Alcohol Consumption and Relationship Type

Davis, K. C., Stoner, S. A., Norris, J., George, W. H., Masters, N. T. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

Two studies examined the effects of alcohol and relationship type on women’s sexual assault risk perception. Study 1 participants (N = 62) consumed a moderate alcohol dose or nonalcoholic beverage, then rated their awareness of and discomfort with sexual assault risk cues in a hypothetical encounter with a new or established dating partner. Study 2 (N = 351) compared control, placebo, low, and high alcohol dose conditions using a similar scenario. Intoxicated women reported decreased awareness of and discomfort with risk cues. An established relationship decreased discomfort ratings. Findings indicate that alcohol may increase women’s sexual victimization likelihood through reduced sexual assault risk perception.

The Functions of Gender Role Traditionality, Ambivalent Sexism, Injury, and Frequency of Assault on Domestic Violence Perception: A Study Between Japanese and American College Students

Yamawaki, N., Ostenson, J., Brown, C. R. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:01 PDT

This study examined the mediating influence of gender-role traditionality (GRT), ambivalent sexism, and victim injury and frequency of assault on domestic violence (DV) perception differences between Japanese and American college students. As predicted, Japanese tended to minimize, blame, and excuse DV more than did Americans, and these national differences were mediated by GRT. Participants viewed the DV incident more seriously when the victim presented injury or when the incident had occurred frequently. Those high in benevolent and hostile sexism were more likely to minimize DV, whereas those high only in benevolent sexism were more likely to blame the victim.