Showing papers in "Violence Against Women in 2010"
TL;DR: High levels of aggression in pornography in both verbal and physical forms are found, with perpetrators of aggression usually male, whereas targets of aggression were overwhelmingly female.
Abstract: This current study analyzes the content of popular pornographic videos, with the objectives of updating depictions of aggression, degradation, and sexual practices and comparing the study's results to previous content analysis studies. Findings indicate high levels of aggression in pornography in both verbal and physical forms. Of the 304 scenes analyzed, 88.2% contained physical aggression, principally spanking, gagging, and slapping, while 48.7% of scenes contained verbal aggression, primarily name-calling. Perpetrators of aggression were usually male, whereas targets of aggression were overwhelmingly female. Targets most often showed pleasure or responded neutrally to the aggression.
391 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that the prevalence of false allegations is between 2% and 10%, taken in the context of an examination of previous research.
Abstract: One of the most controversial disputes affecting the discourse related to violence against women is the dispute about the frequency of false allegations of sexual assault In an effort to add clarity to the discourse, published research on false allegations is critiqued, and the results of a new study described All cases (N = 136) of sexual assault reported to a major Northeastern university over a 10-year period are analyzed to determine the percentage of false allegations Of the 136 cases of sexual assault reported over the 10-year period, 8 (59%) are coded as false allegations These results, taken in the context of an examination of previous research, indicate that the prevalence of false allegations is between 2% and 10%
236 citations
TL;DR: There is continuing discord as to the basic frameworks used across studies and programs for understanding and addressing IPV, including dating violence, as a public health issue, particularly regarding the gendered basis of the problem.
Abstract: A multitude of quantitative and qualitative research studies as well as volumes of health and criminal justice data from across the globe clearly demonstrate that male intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and girls is an issue of tremendous public health and human rights significance worldwide (i.e., the health and freedom of girls and women are affected at the population level; Amnesty International, 2004; Garcia-Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise, & Watts, 2006; Rand, 2008; World Health Organization [WHO], 2003). However, there is continuing discord as to the basic frameworks used across studies and programs for understanding and addressing IPV, including dating violence, as a public health issue, particularly regarding the gendered basis of the problem (Reed, 2008; Swan & Snow, 2006). Multiple recent U.S. public health studies have discussed “mutual aggression” or “female perpetration” of IPV (e.g., Carney, Buttell, & Dutton, 2006; Romans, Forte, Cohen, Du Mont, & Hyman, 2007; Straus, 2007; Straus & Ramirez, 2007; Whitaker, Haileyesus, Swahn, & Saltzman, 2007), disregarding the gender-based framework at the
145 citations
TL;DR: Results suggested that the overwhelming majority of survivors found the interview to be a helpful, supportive, and insightful experience and revealed that the feminist interviewing principles were noticed and appreciated by the participants and contributed to their overall positive participation outcomes.
Abstract: The purpose of this project was to conduct a qualitative study of how participating in in-depth interviews impacted rape survivors. These interviews contained both open-ended, free response section and closed-ended, standardized assessments. The implementation of the interviews was informed by principles of feminist interviewing, which emphasized reducing hierarchy between the interviewer and interviewee, providing information and resources, and creating an emotionally supportive and compassionate setting. Narrative data were analyzed from rape survivors (N = 92) regarding how they were affected by participating in these interviews. Results suggested that the overwhelming majority of survivors found the interview to be a helpful, supportive, and insightful experience. Additional analyses revealed that the feminist interviewing principles were noticed and appreciated by the participants and contributed to their overall positive participation outcomes.
143 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that to properly protect children, it is crucial that child protection workers have a clear understanding of the dynamics of and issues related to domestic violence.
Abstract: This article explores the relationship between understandings of domestic violence and the child protection response drawing on material gathered in focus groups with workers who support mothers dealing with both domestic violence and child protection issues. The interviewees expressed concern that the dynamics of domestic violence are often misunderstood and inappropriately responded to by child protection workers. This article critically examines the interviewees' concerns and concludes that to properly protect children, it is crucial that child protection workers have a clear understanding of the dynamics of and issues related to domestic violence.
140 citations
TL;DR: A new integrated six-stage model that is comprehensive in scope and sensitive to women’s attempts to exit prostitution is offered as a foundation for continued research on the process of women leaving the streets.
Abstract: Exiting street-level prostitution is a complex, convoluted process. Few studies have described this process within any formal conceptual framework. This article reviews two general models and two prostitution-specific models and their applicability to the exiting process. Barriers encountered as women attempt to leave the streets are identified. Based on the four models, the barriers, the prostitution literature, and the authors’ experience with prostituted women, a new integrated six-stage model that is comprehensive in scope and sensitive to women’s attempts to exit prostitution is offered as a foundation for continued research on the process of women leaving the streets.
134 citations
TL;DR: Overall, results suggested that there was similarity in reporting decisions between rapes and physical assaults in terms of main effects, however, interactions suggested that age, marital status, and physical force each influenced reporting differently by assault type.
Abstract: Previous research has assumed that rape reporting is unique, but no study has systematically tested this assumption. The present study used a probability sample of female victims from the National Violence Against Women Survey to compare factors affecting rape and physical assault reporting using multinomial logit regression. Overall, results suggested that there was similarity in reporting decisions between rapes and physical assaults in terms of main effects. However, interactions suggested that age, marital status, and physical force each influenced reporting differently by assault type. Implications of these results are discussed and directions for future research are offered.
129 citations
TL;DR: This article presents a qualitative study of violence against women in post-tsunami Sri Lanka, examining the types of violence occurring throughout the disaster’s emergency and later phases, and whether overall levels of violence increased.
Abstract: This article presents a qualitative study of violence against women in post-tsunami Sri Lanka. It examines the types of violence occurring throughout the disaster's emergency and later phases, and whether overall levels of violence increased. Explanatory factors and responses by different humanitarian actors are analyzed and recommendations made for future disaster management. It is argued that violence against women during natural disasters must be understood within the context of the violence against women that prevails in societies at "normal" times, which is exacerbated by disaster. Response therefore necessitates addressing both the social inequalities underlying women's vulnerability to violence and specific factors that "trigger" violence during disaster.
121 citations
TL;DR: The use of alcohol before and during assaultive behavior combined with the use of violence symbolized dominance and control in situations where markers of masculinity were largely absent in instances of both intimate partner violence and stranger violence.
Abstract: This article examines the relationship between violence, masculinity, and alcohol use among heterosexual, economically disadvantaged, and primarily Black men officially identified as batterers. Violence occurred against intimates and strangers. Alcohol use coupled with violence against intimates and violence against others (e.g., strangers) appeared to be used for masculinity construction. The use of alcohol before and during assaultive behavior combined with the use of violence symbolized dominance and control. This occurred in situations where markers of masculinity were largely absent (e.g., steady employment) in instances of both intimate partner violence and stranger violence.
109 citations
TL;DR: Women’s accounts of negotiating coercion and control are examined, using data collected from oral history narrative interviews with women who have experienced domestic violence, as well as incidents of abuse recounted to the author while working with abused women.
Abstract: This article considers how survivors of domestic violence negotiate the unreality of the world of the perpetrator to survive and the impact this has on their psychological well-being. Utilizing recent debates about coercive control and a reframing of domestic violence as a liberty crime, this article examines women's accounts of negotiating coercion and control. It presents data collected from oral history narrative interviews with women who have experienced domestic violence, as well as incidents of abuse recounted to the author while working with abused women, and reanalyzes those accounts in light of the theory of coercive control.
107 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that if institutional practices are embedded in a feminist tradition, they can provide a more sustainable framework for challenging sexual and domestic violence.
Abstract: This article draws on narratives of volunteers working with women who have experienced violence. It explores how institutional discourses nurture a culture of blame and responsibility. Using qualitative data, it examines the ways in which women victims are seen as complicit in their own victimization. An indirect consequence of the blame/responsibility dichotomy is that victims are depicted as deserving their fate. There is, therefore, a culture of resignation in which violence is normalized. It proposes that if institutional practices are embedded in a feminist tradition, they can provide a more sustainable framework for challenging sexual and domestic violence.
TL;DR: Findings suggest that men’s engagement is a process that occurs over time, that happens largely through existing social networks, and that is influenced by exposure to sensitizing experiences, tangible involvement opportunities and specific types of meaning making related to violence.
Abstract: Despite growing male participation in ending violence against women, little is known about the factors that precipitate men’s engagement as antiviolence “allies.” This study presents findings from a qualitative analysis of interviews with 27 men who recently initiated involvement in an organization or event dedicated to ending sexual or domestic violence. Findings suggest that men’s engagement is a process that occurs over time, that happens largely through existing social networks, and that is influenced by exposure to sensitizing experiences, tangible involvement opportunities and specific types of meaning making related to violence. Implications for models of ally development and for efforts to engage men in antiviolence work are discussed.
TL;DR: In this qualitative study with women who have left abusive heterosexual relationships, the informants labeling themselves stupid is investigated and it is proposed that feeling— and labeling oneself—stupid is an expression of gendered shame or, more explicitly, of battered shame.
Abstract: In this qualitative study with women who have left abusive heterosexual relationships, the informants labeling themselves stupid is investigated. Several different meanings ascribed to stupidity were found, with feeling stupid for allowing oneself to be mistreated and for staying in the abusive relationship as main themes. Four frames for interpreting the findings are presented: abusive relationship dynamics, gendered shame, the gender-equality-oriented Nordic context, and leaving processes. It is proposed that feeling— and labeling oneself—stupid is an expression of gendered shame or, more explicitly, of battered shame.
TL;DR: Findings from two European studies on attrition in reported rape cases are drawn on to highlight both the mechanisms and processes which create the category of false allegations, especially the opaque “no crime/unfounded” designations.
Abstract: The issue of false allegations in rape cases cannot be understood without reference to the ways in which rape law and its interpretation has historically problematized "the words of a woman" when what they were speaking about was sexual violation. Whilst the letter of the law has been reformed in many countries, legacies remain sedimented into institutional cultures and practices, creating a risk of over-identification of false allegations by police and prosecutors. Findings from two European studies on attrition in reported rape cases are drawn on to highlight both the mechanisms and processes which create the category of false allegations, especially the opaque "no crime/unfounded" designations and that CJS personnel believe the rates to be considerably higher than their own data. The article concludes by raising the possibility of internationally agreed standards for designating a rape report "false."
TL;DR: Assessment of the course of perinatal depression among 210 Latinas who were and were not affected by intimate partner violence and identified associated psychosocial factors found mastery and social support were associated with lower depression, whereas history of IPV, perceived stress, and avoidant coping behaviors wereassociated with higher depression.
Abstract: This study assessed the course of perinatal depression among 210 Latinas who were and were not affected by intimate partner violence (IPV) and identified associated psychosocial factors. Peak depression prevalence occurred prenatally among 45.7% of IPV-exposed and 24.6% of non-IPV-exposed Latinas. At each assessment, depression was significantly higher for IPV-exposed compared to non-IPV-exposed mothers. Mastery and social support were associated with lower depression, whereas history of IPV, perceived stress, and avoidant coping behaviors were associated with higher depression. Findings support recommendations for routine depression and IPV screening of Latinas in perinatal clinical settings.
TL;DR: This article identifies and critiques presumptions about gender and violence that continue to frame and inform the processes of policy formation and implementation on domestic violence, and deconstructs the agendered nature of policy as gendered, multilevel individual and collective action.
Abstract: This article identifies and critiques presumptions about gender and violence that continue to frame and inform the processes of policy formation and implementation on domestic violence. It also deconstructs the agendered nature of policy as gendered, multilevel individual and collective action. Drawing on comparative illustrative material from Finland and Scotland, we discuss how national policies and discourses emphasize physical forms of violence, place the onus on the agency of women, and encourage a narrow conceptualization of violence in relationships. The two countries do this in somewhat comparable, though different ways operating within distinct national gender contexts.The complex interweaving of masculinities, violence, and cultures, although recognized in many debates, is seemingly marginalized from dominant discourses, policy, and legal processes. Despite growth in critical studies on men, there is little attempt made to problematize the gendered nature of violence. Rather, policy and service outcomes reflect processes through which individualized and masculine discourses frame ideas, discourses, and policy work. Women experiencing violence are constructed as victims and potential survivors of violence, although the social and gendered hierarchies evident in policies and services result in longer-term inequities and suffering for women and their dependents.
TL;DR: Evaluated social norms approaches to interventions with male perpetrators of intimate partner violence indicated that IPV perpetrators consistently overestimated the percentage of men who engaged in IPV and that their estimates were associated with violence toward their partner over the past 90 days.
Abstract: This research was designed to evaluate the applicability of social norms approaches to interventions with male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants included 124 nonadjudicated IPV perpetrating men recruited from the general population who completed assessment of their own IPV behaviors via telephone interviews and estimated the prevalence of behaviors in other men. Results indicated that IPV perpetrators consistently overestimated the percentage of men who engaged in IPV and that their estimates were associated with violence toward their partner over the past 90 days. Findings provide preliminary support for incorporating social norms approaches into clinical applications.
TL;DR: Women who experience intimate partner violence often experience birth control sabotage, forced sex, and partner’s unwillingness to use condoms, but also report strategies to counteract these actions, particularly againstBirth control sabotage and attempts to force them to abort or continue a pregnancy.
Abstract: Women who experience intimate partner violence often experience birth control sabotage, forced sex, and partner's unwillingness to use condoms. We interviewed 53 women at four domestic violence shelters. Participants reported that their abusive partners frequently refused to use condoms, impeded them from accessing health care, and subjected them to birth control sabotage, infidelity, and forced sex. However, women also reported strategies to counteract these actions, particularly against birth control sabotage and attempts to force them to abort or continue a pregnancy. Domestic violence counselors can focus on these successful strategies to validate coping skills and build self-esteem.
TL;DR: The authors provides an overview of the impact of the fathers' rights movement on men's violence against women, focusing on the role of fathers in changing family law, particularly through moves toward a presumption of children's joint residence.
Abstract: Feminism’s achievements regarding violence against women are a key target for the fathers’ rights movement. This article provides an overview of the impact of the fathers’ rights movement on men’s violence against women. It documents the ways in which fathers’ rights groups in Australia have influenced changes in family law, which privilege parental contact over safety, particularly through moves toward a presumption of children’s joint residence. They have attempted to discredit female victims of violence, to wind back the legal protections available to victims and the sanctions imposed on perpetrators, and to undermine services for the victims of men’s violence.
TL;DR: The study findings showed that experiences, characteristics, and risks of adult women who trade sex in Minneapolis, MN can be useful in shaping prevention of prostitution and methods to be used for its intervention.
Abstract: The authors analyzed experiences, characteristics, and risks of adult women who trade sex in Minneapolis, MN (n = 117), and found significant differences between women who first traded sex as a juvenile compared with those who first traded sex as an adult. Adult starters were 3.44 times more likely to use drugs prior to their first sex trade. They were also more likely to hav e children. Juvenile starters were more likely to trade sex prior to their first instance of drug use and they had worse outcomes in most other domains that were measured. The study findings showed that they can be useful in shaping prevention of prostitution and methods to be used for its intervention.
TL;DR: All women, but Pacific and Asian women in particular, would benefit from interventions that reinforce women’s acceptance of seeking and utilizing outside intervention in cases of partner maltreatment.
Abstract: This study documents the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) for four ethnic groups and explores ethnic-specific differences and similarities in women's attitudes. Data are from a cross-sectional survey of 2,674 ever-partnered women aged 18 to 64 years. High rates of IPV among all ethnic groups reinforce the need to retain and expand current prevention and intervention efforts. Violence was not regarded as normative for any ethnic group. All women, but Pacific and Asian women in particular, would benefit from interventions that reinforce women's acceptance of seeking and utilizing outside intervention in cases of partner maltreatment.
TL;DR: Results of path analyses showed that psychological and sexual IPV victimization were related to positive social reactions, whereas physical, psychological, andSexual IPV Victimization was related to negative social reactions.
Abstract: This study examines whether differing types of victimization and coping strategies influence the type of social reactions experienced by 173 current victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Results of path analyses showed that psychological and sexual IPV victimization were related to positive social reactions, whereas physical, psychological, and sexual IPV victimization were related to negative social reactions. Indirect relationships between victimization and social reactions differed by types of coping strategies (social support, problem solving, and avoidance) examined. Implications are discussed regarding the development of interventions with women's support networks and the augmentation of services to help victims modify their coping strategies.
TL;DR: The author argues that trials contribute to the impossibility of bearing witness through both the appropriation of trauma and the failure of law to accommodate traumatic experiences.
Abstract: Testimonies of wartime sexual violence contribute to the recognition of rape as a serious human rights violation. Although acknowledgement and justice are imperative to ending silence and impunity, this article critiques some commonly held therapeutic assumptions about disclosure through examining the way so-called “unspeakable” events are communicated through legal discourse. In this article, the author explores the inherent limitations of language for bearing witness to wartime rape, specifically focusing on international war crimes tribunals. The author argues that trials contribute to the impossibility of bearing witness through both the appropriation of trauma and the failure of law to accommodate traumatic experiences.
TL;DR: This study examined sexual harassment experiences of Mexican immigrant farmworking women employed on California farms to highlight how discrimination shapes women’s experiences and demonstrate the need for institutional policies to protect them.
Abstract: This study examined sexual harassment experiences of Mexican immigrant farmworking women (n = 150) employed on California farms. Of the estimated one million California farmworkers, 78% are Latino, mostly from Mexico, and 28% are women. Unlike gender-segregated worksites of Mexico, women farmworkers in the United States labor alongside men, facilitating harassment from coworkers and supervisors. Simultaneous sexist, racist, and economic discrimination are comparable to converging lanes of automobile traffic (Crenshaw, 2000) that women, standing at the intersections, manage to avoid harm. Findings highlight how discrimination shapes women's experiences and demonstrate the need for institutional policies to protect them.
TL;DR: Most compliant women consented to unwanted sex after learning their partners may coerce them if they refuse, and reports of partner coercive behavior at Time 1 predicted women’s willing consent to unwantedsex at Time 2.
Abstract: Sexual compliance involves willing consent to unwanted sex despite a lack of sexual desire.The authors hypothesized that compliance would be significantly more common among women with sexually coercive partners because compliance allows women to bypass possible coercion. Undergraduate women in heterosexual relationships ( N = 76) responded to self-report measures of partner sexually coercive behavior at baseline and sexual compliance 6 weeks later. As expected, reports of partner coercive behavior at Time 1 predicted women’s willing consent to unwanted sex at Time 2. Most compliant women consented to unwanted sex after learning their partners may coerce them if they refuse.
TL;DR: The narratives of suffering expressed by a group of South Asian immigrant survivors of domestic violence who accessed a mental health clinic in New York City are examined to illustrate how migration and culture interact with the deeply personal experience of suffering caused by domestic and sexual violence.
Abstract: This article examines the narratives of suffering expressed by a group of South Asian immigrant survivors of domestic violence who accessed a mental health clinic in New York City. These accounts illustrate women's own perceptions of their suffering and symptoms and provide a window into the South Asian immigrant community's ideologies and moral domains regarding gender, violence, and sickness, as well as how individuals vary in their endorsement of these ideologies. The women's narratives illustrate how migration and culture interact with the deeply personal experience of suffering caused by domestic and sexual violence.
TL;DR: Gender, patriarchal attitudes, religion, childhood experiences with family violence, and mother's employment status were investigated as predictors of attitudes toward wife beating and gender and attitudes toward women’s roles emerged as the strongest predictor of beliefs about wife beating.
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in understanding the sociocultural contexts and risk factors for domestic violence in the Arab world. This study provides an analysis of the religious, legal, and familial contexts of domestic violence in Lebanon and assesses contemporary attitudes toward women and wife beating in a sample of 206 Lebanese university students. Gender, patriarchal attitudes, religion, childhood experiences with family violence, and mother’s employment status were investigated as predictors of attitudes toward wife beating. Consistent with feminist theories of wife abuse, gender and attitudes toward women’s roles emerged as the strongest predictors of beliefs about wife beating.
TL;DR: Women who received the DVHVI were more satisfied with the police and likely to call them to report a nonphysical domestic dispute in the 12 months following the initial incident than women in the comparison group.
Abstract: The Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) provides advocate/police officer team home visits following a domestic dispute. Women (52 DVHVI and 55 controls) were interviewed at 1, 6, and 12 months following a police reported domestic incident to assess repeat violence, service utilization, and symptoms. Women who received the DVHVI were more satisfied with the police and likely to call them to report a nonphysical domestic dispute in the 12 months following the initial incident than women in the comparison group. DVHVI participants were significantly more likely to use court-based services and seek mental health treatment for their children.
TL;DR: Experiences of Mexican immigrant women filing VAWA self-petitions are investigated, emotional, financial, and logistic barriers in applying are identified, and recommendations for practice research and policy are provided.
Abstract: Undocumented immigrant women who are abused and living in the United States are isolated in a foreign country, in constant fear of deportation, and feel at the mercy of their spouse to gain legal status. To ensure that immigration law does not trap women in abusive relationships, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA, 1994) enabled immigrant women to self-petition for legal status. Qualitative research methods were used in this participatory action research to investigate the experiences of Mexican immigrant women filing VAWA self-petitions. Emotional, financial, and logistic barriers in applying are identified, and recommendations for practice research and policy are provided.