Rural Women's Strategic Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

Rural and Urban/Suburban Victim Professionals' Perceptions of Gender-Based Violence, Victim Challenges, and Safety Advice During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study surveyed a national sample of victim service professionals (N  =  222) and compared rural versus urban/suburban participants' perceptions of a variety of issues, such as the impact of the pandemic on gender-based violence victimization and safety advice for isolated victims. Increased interference with victim employment and the abuser monitoring of online activities were reported by participants across all communities. However, urban/suburban participants rated the magnitude of all victim challenges as greater, while more rural participants noted child abuse as a particular problem in their communities. The results highlight the importance of community context for improving coordinated responses to gender-based violence (n  =  101).

Understanding Formal Responses to Intimate Partner Violence and Women's Resistance Processes: A Scoping Review

Intimate partner violence (IPV) literature addresses the ways in which women oppose violent male partners through acts of "everyday resistance." There is a limited understanding, however, of the relationship between women's resistance and their formal help-seeking in the context of IPV. Our scoping review, which includes 74 articles published in English-language journals between 1994 and 2017, attempts to help fill this gap by developing systematic knowledge regarding the following research questions: (1) How are formal institutional responses discussed within the literature on resistance to IPV? (2) How does institutional help-seeking facilitate or obstruct IPV survivors' personal efforts to resist violence? We find that institutions and organizations succeed in facilitating resistance processes when they counter victim-blaming ideas and provide IPV survivors with shared community and a sense of control over their futures. However, they fall short in terms of helping survivors by expecting survivors to adhere to a rigid narrative about appropriate responses to violence, devoting insufficient attention to individual-level factors impacting survivors' vulnerability and ability to access help, and replicating abuse dynamics when interacting with survivors. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

Understanding Women's Resistance to Intimate Partner Violence: A Scoping Review

Scholars widely acknowledge that women oppose male violence and control in intimate relationships. Yet there is limited comprehensive knowledge of how resistance features in intimate partner violence (IPV) research across the social sciences. Our scoping review helps fill this gap, analyzing and synthesizing 74 research articles published in English-language scholarly journals between 1994 and 2017. Our review is guided by the following questions: (1) How is research on IPV and resistance designed and executed? (2) How do IPV researchers define the term resistance? (3) What specific types of resistance do IPV researchers discuss in their work? (4) What policy and practice implications are provided by current literature on women's resistance to IPV? We find that scholarship on resistance to IPV is varied, spanning 10 scholarly disciplines with research samples drawn from 19 countries. Studies overwhelmingly used qualitative data, gathered through a range of techniques. The 42 articles that explicitly or implicitly defined resistance either conceptualized the term in the context of power relations, defined it as a form of agency, or understood resistance as a mechanism of physical, economic, and existential survival. Articles also identify several subtypes of resistance strategies including avoidance, help-seeking, active opposition, violent action, and leaving a violent relationship. In terms of practice and policy, articles identify several ways in which institutions fail to meet women's needs, and recommend training so providers and legal personnel may better assist IPV victims.

Understanding the Body and Embodiment in the Context of Women's Resistance to Intimate Partner Violence: A Scoping Review

Scholars acknowledge that women oppose male intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet there is limited comprehensive knowledge regarding how women's bodies and embodiment, that is, their physical and emotional practices and the cultural and social systems that influence them, figure in this process. Our scoping review helps fill this gap by analyzing and synthesizing 74 research articles published in English-language scholarly journals between 1994 and 2017 to address three research questions: (1) How does existing IPV research conceptualize resistance? (2) To what extent do the body and embodiment appear in this research? and (3) What common themes emerge from investigation of the role of embodiment and the body in the context of IPV? The articles identify several subtypes of resistance strategies including avoidance, help-seeking, violent action, and leaving a violent relationship. The reviewed research also regularly describes women's physical and emotional states in the context of IPV. Only a small number of these texts, however, define or conceptualize embodiment. Our analysis of the manner in which the body figures in women's resistance to IPV yielded four themes: (1) the active body, (2) the injured/constrained body, (3) the interactive body, and (4) the transformative body. We conclude with a discussion of policy and practice implications, such as the need to increase awareness about how institutions enforce embodied norms among victims and use the body to assign blame and/or proffer assistance in the context of IPV.

Professionals' Perception of the Needs of Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A Vignette Study

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has a high prevalence and serious consequences for the wellbeing of the victims. The impact of partner violence and the behavior of female victims continue to be poorly understood. Recently, a number of reviews have enhanced the understanding of the needs of female victims of IPV. These reviews improve the evidence base relating to IPV needs assessment and can enhance effectiveness of service provision. The aim of the current study is to review the currency of the knowledge used by social workers working with victims of IPV. We used a qualitative design in which 23 social workers from 10 IPV teams were asked to react to vignettes. Participants were asked what they perceived to be essential for understanding the women's needs and determining an accurate treatment and guidance plan. Data were analyzed using open coding, followed by thematic analysis. Results indicate that in health services planning for battered women, service providers ask about the right domains, including: the characteristics of the relationship, social context, nature and pattern of abuse, characteristics of the female client, and-although to in a lesser degree-characteristics of the partner. Unfortunately, the sub themes within these domains are only partially considered, and sometimes superficially considered. Some topics that were not determined in the literature as relevant needs factors were seen as important by social workers, or assessed too soon, including the stay or leave question. These findings underline the realistic risk that staff members miss the actual reasons women stay with their partners or make certain choices in their help-seeking behavior. Incorrect needs assessments enhance the risk of female victims feeling unheard, and ineffective service provision, leading to care avoidance and low compliance with the services provided.

Factors Associated with Coping Behaviors of Abused Women: Findings from the 2016 Domestic Violence Survey

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important public health problem. In Korea, limited studies have systematically investigated the coping strategies used by female IPV victims. Purpose: We identified the factors associated with abused women’s coping behaviors in South Korea. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study comprises secondary data analysis using the 2016 Domestic Violence Survey; we examined women who experienced domestic violence (DV) in the last year: September to December 2016 (N = 309). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted using an ecological model. Results: Over 50% responded they “did nothing”, while others “escaped the scene of violence or ran outside” and “became reciprocally violent” as coping behaviors sequentially. Compared to the women who “did nothing”, women who experienced feelings of intimidation or fear due to DV, were sexually abused, and suffered physical injury were 5.44, 3.22, and 3.02 times, respectively, more likely to escape from the scene than those who did not. Most showed passive coping behaviors. Relationship level factors, such as type of DV and physical injury, were significantly associated with the type of coping behavior. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize that multi-level comprehensive health programs are required, especially for women coping passively, to prevent and respond to DV.

Help-Seeking Experiences of Immigrant Domestic Violence Survivors in Australia: A Snapshot of Muslim Survivors

There has been significant research on women's experiences of domestic violence (DV) as well as on the women's help-seeking behaviors when living with partner abuse. Most of the Australian literature has focused on nonimmigrant women. We know that help seeking can include informal sources such as family, friends, religious leaders, and colleagues or formal assistance from police, doctors, social workers, counselors, and DV agencies. The current study aims to contribute to the literature on help seeking by looking at what has been found concerning immigrant DV survivors and complementing that with interview material from a sample of 14 Muslim immigrant DV survivors in New South Wales. First, we look at barriers that these women may encounter in seeking help and the non-help-seeking strategies they may employ. We then see what may trigger seeking help (including before and after leaving the abusers). Next, we look at how the two types of help seeking are used to better understand the positives and negatives of these pathways. This article ends with some suggestions for developing more appropriate and targeted strategies to assist abused immigrant DV survivors and their children.

Continuity and change: Violations of private patriarchal practices and domestic violence against rural wives in China

We investigated how violations of private patriarchal practices affect physical, psychological, and sexual violence against rural wives. The sample was drawn from nationally representative data from the third wave survey on the Social Status of Women in China. We found that (1) women making a similar income or more than their husbands were more likely to experience psychological and physical violence, respectively; (2) the wife's migration experience increased her risk of psychological and sexual violence; (3) husband doing more housework decreased the odds of psychological violence, and equal distribution of housework reduced the likelihood of physical and psychological violence; (4) infertility or having given birth to only daughters was not associated with any form of violence; and (5) equal marital power decreased the wife's likelihood to suffer three forms of violence. A balanced conjugal power structure may effectively prevent domestic violence against wives in societies with traditional and modern influences.

Social Integration and Domestic Violence Support in an Indigenous Community: Women's Recommendations of Formal Versus Informal Sources of Support

Throughout North America, indigenous women experience higher rates of intimate partner violence and sexual violence than any other ethnic group, and so it is of particular importance to understand sources of support for Native American women. In this article, we use social network analysis to study the relationship between social integration and women's access to domestic violence support by examining the recommendations they would give to another woman in need. We ask two main questions: First, are less integrated women more likely to make no recommendation at all when compared with more socially integrated women? Second, are less integrated women more likely than more integrated women to nominate a formal source of support rather than an informal one? We use network data collected from interviews with 158 Canadian women residing in an indigenous community to measure their access to support. We find that, in general, less integrated women are less likely to make a recommendation than more integrated women. However, when they do make a recommendation, less integrated women are more likely to recommend a formal source of support than women who are more integrated. These results add to our understanding of how access to two types of domestic violence support is embedded in the larger set of social relations of an indigenous community.

Modelling collective action to change social norms around domestic violence: social dilemmas and the role of altruism

Interventions promoting collective action have been used to prevent domestic violence in a range of settings, but their mechanisms of operation remain unclear. We formalise and combine feminist theoretical approaches to domestic violence into a game-theoretic model of women's collective action to change gendered social norms and outcomes. We show that social norms create a social dilemma in which it is individually rational for women to abstain from action to prevent domestic violence among neighbours, but all women suffer negative consequences if none take action. Promoting altruism among women can overcome the social dilemma. Discouraging women from tolerating domestic violence, imposing additional external punishment on men for perpetrating violence, or lowering costs to women of taking action against violence may not work or even backfire. We invite researchers on community mobilisation to use our framework to frame their understandings of collective action to prevent domestic violence.

Challenges in Risk Assessment with Rural Domestic Violence Victims: Implications for Practice

Through interviews the present study examined the perspectives of service providers (n = 14) in the violence against women (VAW) sector regarding risk factors and challenges in assessing risk for women experiencing domestic violence (DV) in rural locations. The present study also examined what promising practices VAW service providers are utilizing when working with women experiencing DV in rural locations. Interviews were coded and analyzed in a qualitative analysis computer program. Analysis indicated several risk factors including the location (i.e., geographic isolation, lack of transportation, and lack of community resources) and cultural factors (i.e., accepted and more available use of firearms, poverty, and no privacy/anonymity). Moreover, analyses indicated several challenges for VAW service providers assessing risk including barriers at the systemic (i.e., lack of agreement between services), organizational (i.e., lack of collaboration and risk assessment being underutilized/valued), and individual client (i.e., complexity of issues) level. However, participants outlined promising practices being implemented for rural locations such as interagency collaboration, public education, professional education, and outreach programs. The findings support other research in the field that highlight the increased vulnerability of women experiencing DV in rural locations and the added barriers and complexities in assessing risk for rural populations. Implications for future research and practice include further examination of the identified promising practices, a continued focus on collaborative approaches and innovative ways to prevent and manage risk in a rural context.

Maternal and Child Health nurse's preparedness to respond to women and children experiencing intimate partner violence: A cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence victims regularly seek health care and support. Health care providers need to understand the complexities of partner violence and how to safely respond to clients. Policy guiding nurse identification and responses exist, yet practices and education are lagging. Maternal and Child Health nurses are required to address intimate partner violence, yet their knowledge and preparedness to undertake this work is under-explored. The most effective methods of provider training are unknown.

OBJECTIVES

1) To assess the level of Maternal and Child Health nurse intimate partner violence training and nurse preparedness to address partner violence and 2) compare group differences in preparedness by nurse location, role and level of training.

DESIGN

A cross sectional research design.

PARTICIPANTS

Australian community based Maternal and Child Health nursing workforce.

METHODS

Online survey conducted in June 2018. Survey questions explored nurse characteristics, knowledge and 'preparedness' to complete intimate partner violence work and previous violence training. Descriptive analysis involved reporting proportions within categories. Proportional group differences were analysed using Chi square test of independence. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

Survey response rate was 65% (735/1125). Nurses feel well prepared to complete intimate partner violence practices, although differences were seen across groups. Rural nurses feel less prepared than metropolitan colleagues, especially conducting safety assessments and documentation. Nurse co-ordinators are the most prepared. A dose response relationship is seen between training and preparedness: nurses with greater (>10 h) and more recent training (within 5 years) report being more prepared for intimate partner violence work.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater systems supports are needed for sustainable nurse intimate partner violence work. In particular, opportunities are needed for rural nurse training, delivered locally and tailored to rural needs and context. Nurse co-ordinators are key leaders to achieving sustained nurse intimate partner violence practices.

Actions Taken by Women in Response to Intimate Partner Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Status at 1-Year Follow-Up

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive public health issue with significant physical and mental health sequelae. A longer duration and greater severity of abuse are associated with adverse health outcomes and increased risk of revictimization. Current research has identified a variety of strategies used by women in response to abuse, but has not established whether the use of these strategies is associated with decreased IPV over time. For this study, we analyzed the associations between the use of specific actions in response to abuse-placating, resistance, informal or formal network help-seeking, safety planning, and substance use-and IPV victimization at the 1-year follow-up.

METHODS

Ninety-five women with past-year IPV at baseline participated in a 1-year follow-up survey measuring their use of specific actions in response to IPV and subsequent IPV status. IPV victimization at the 1-year follow-up was analyzed as a function of types of actions taken and sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

Among women with past-year IPV at baseline (N = 95), 53% reported no further IPV victimization at the 1-year follow-up. In bivariate analysis, social support was associated with decreased risk of IPV victimization (odds ratio, 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18-0.99). In multivariable analyses, high use of placating (adjusted odds ratio, 9.40; 95% CI, 2.53-34.9), formal network help-seeking (adjusted odds ratio, 7.26; 95% CI, 1.97-26.74), and safety planning (adjusted odds ratio, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.02-8.69) strategies were associated with an increased risk of IPV victimization at the 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrate that IPV exposure can change over time and that the use of specific actions in response to IPV can be indicators of risk of subsequent victimization. Abuse severity is an important potential confounder of action efficacy.

Beaten Into Submissiveness? An Investigation Into the Protective Strategies Used by Survivors of Domestic Abuse

The aim of the study was to identify the prevalence and perceived helpfulness of a variety of protective strategies that were used by female survivors of domestic abuse and to explore factors that may have influenced strategy usage. Forty participants were recruited from a voluntary sector domestic abuse service, commissioned by an outer London local authority in the United Kingdom, in early 2014. The measurement tools used were the Intimate Partner Violence Strategies Index (IPVSI) and the Coordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA) Domestic Abuse, Stalking and "Honour"-Based Violence (DASH) Risk Assessment Checklist. The average age was 33 years (SD = 7.9, range = 20-57); half reported to be of Asian ethnicity, 37.5% White, and 12.5% Black or Mixed ethnicity. The average DASH score was 9.8 (SD = 13.2, range = 0-18), and an average of 18 (SD = 6.7, range = 1-29) protective strategies were utilized by each participant. All of the most commonly used strategies were from the placating category. Although safety planning strategies were rated as the most helpful by all participants, placating strategies were also rated as helpful by two thirds of participants. Stepwise multiple regression showed that placating was the only significant predictor of DASH score (β = .375, p < .05) and accounted for 14% of the variance of DASH score. Findings showed that women utilized a diverse range of protective strategies with placating strategies being most intensely used and rated as helpful. However, placating strategy usage could be a risk factor as opposed to a protective factor. This study has also demonstrated that greater placating strategies were used by White than South Asian women, and women who were employed used more formal strategies. This research has extended the knowledge base of protective strategies that professionals can draw from to underpin decisions and interventions when working with domestic abuse survivors.

Utilizing the PEN-3 model to identify socio-cultural factors affecting intimate partner violence against pregnant women in Suburban Hamadan

Intimate partner violence occurs in all settings. In this paper the authors describe socio-cultural factors affecting intimate partner violence against pregnant women in suburban Hamadan.The PEN-3 model was utilized by semi-structured interviews with 18 pregnant women. According to women, cultural perceptions (patience in case of facing violence, faith in fate and normalization of violence), enablers (communication skills, economic status, and availability of legal support), and nurturers (family support and social expectation of obedience to men) were found to be important factors that influence violence.A better understanding of the cultural perceptions can help decision-makers in identifying the cultural appropriateness of interventions.

Exploring Protective Strategies among Rural Women in an Abusive Relationship

The purpose of this study was to explore rural women's accounts of intimate partner violence and the strategies they used to protect themselves from such adversity. Convenience sampling included women currently in an abusive relationship (N = 22), who were receiving mental health services at a rural victim-service provider. Standardized measures indicated, on average, that study participants were symptomatic for depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet exhibited higher resilience than other PTSD populations. Participants used a variety of strategies to halt, escape, or resist violence in their lives. Informal and safety planning strategies were rated as most helpful, though resistance and placating strategies were most commonly used. Formal strategy use among participants was associated with higher levels of resilience and depressive symptoms; while participants' increased use of safety planning and resistance strategies were also related to greater resilience. Implications for rural victim service providers include addressing psychological distress and hardiness for women currently in an abusive relationship, while providing the necessary resources to secure their safety.

Domestic Violence Against Women In Turkey: A Systematic Review And Meta Analysis

AIM

This study was performed to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for domestic violence against women in Turkey.

BACKGROUND

The data about domestic violence against women point out a serious problem all around the world along with including cultural differences.

DESIGN

The prevalence of domestic violence against women was determined through a meta-analysis, and the risk factors were determined through a systematic review. A systematic search of eight electronic databases was conducted. In this study, 34 primary studies that were published between January 2000 and January 2015 were examined.

RESULTS

The highest prevalence belonged to verbal violence followed by physical, emotional, economic, and sexual violence. Despite different questioning methods, it was determined that 22 risk factors were most commonly examined in the studies, and these risk factors were summed up under three separate categories: socio demographical characteristics, well-being related characteristics and marriage related characteristics. It is of further interest that the most commonly examined characteristics were socio demographic characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Just as throughout the world, domestic violence is a common problem in Turkey.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Nurses and midwives should focus not only on women's disorders but also on the difficulties the patient faces in regard to being a family. It presents valid evidence to produce policies on violence prevention.

Intimate partner violence screening and counseling in the health care setting: Perception of provider-based discussions as a strategic response to IPV

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects women worldwide, and is addressable in the health care setting not only via screening, but also through provider-based counseling and referral to legal or social services, as appropriate. We conducted a study in Pennsylvania (USA) examining factors associated with receipt of IPV screening and women's perceptions of counseling discussions as a strategic response. We found that women with past-year IPV were more likely to receive screening (aOR: 2.0, 95%CI: 1.2,3.5) and to consider counseling discussions to be a strategic response to IPV exposure (aOR: 2.7, 95%CI: 1.008,7.2) than women with a more distant history of IPV. Scholars and clinicians may learn that, especially for women with a recent history of IPV, screening may provide a conduit to meaningful counseling discussions and referrals that women view as a helpful strategy in responding to IPV.