Politics, Safety, and Officer-Involved Intimate Partner Violence

Author(s):  
Leigh Goodmark

The United States relies heavily on law enforcement to protect people subjected to intimate partner violence. The decision to prioritize law enforcement intervention may seem natural, but it is, in fact a political decision, with consequences along three dimensions. First, prioritizing the law enforcement response has precluded the development of other policies to address intimate partner violence. Second, channeling money into law enforcement helped to facilitate the growth of a hypermasculine, militarized environment where violence against women flourishes. Third, the decision to rely on law enforcement ignores research establishing that police officers are more likely than other groups to commit intimate partner violence. These political decisions have profound consequences for all people subjected to abuse, particularly the partners of police officers.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 987-1007
Author(s):  
Blanca Ramirez ◽  
Devon Thacker Thomas

Utilizing 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Mexican immigrant women in Southern California, we argue that participants employ a bifocal lens to develop perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV). By drawing on existing knowledge from Mexico as reference points, the findings show that participants construct law enforcement as the appropriate intervention in the United States. As a result, they construct new norms for victims on how to address IPV. Ultimately, this research suggests that perceptions of laws and law enforcement as change agents in ending IPV within the United States may create, in fact, a false sense of security in Mexican immigrant women.


Author(s):  
Lorenn Walker ◽  
Cheri Tarutani

Opposition to using restorative justice to address violence against women mainly concerns the fear that women will be re-victimized if they engage with men who endangered them. While law enforcement and criminal justice approaches are necessary to address violence against women, women's choices about when and how to use law enforcement and prosecution to address violence against them, should be respected. Exclusive criminalization of violence against women has not protected many and has further harmed marginalized and Black people. To address intimate partner violence, victims' needs for healing must be met including when the victim-offender overlap applies and an offender is also a victim. Ignoring healing perpetuates violence. Applying restorative justice and its foundational questions, during direct meetings between victims and offenders, or when they meet separately, can address the victim-offender overlap, reduce reliance on punishment, and increase healing.


2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa L. Beeble ◽  
Deborah Bybee ◽  
Cris M. Sullivan

While research has found that millions of children in the United States are exposed to their mothers being battered, and that many are themselves abused as well, little is known about the ways in which children are used by abusers to manipulate or harm their mothers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that perpetrators use children in a variety of ways to control and harm women; however, no studies to date have empirically examined the extent of this occurring. Therefore, the current study examined the extent to which survivors of abuse experienced this, as well as the conditions under which it occurred. Interviews were conducted with 156 women who had experienced recent intimate partner violence. Each of these women had at least one child between the ages of 5 and 12. Most women (88%) reported that their assailants had used their children against them in varying ways. Multiple variables were found to be related to this occurring, including the relationship between the assailant and the children, the extent of physical and emotional abuse used by the abuser against the woman, and the assailant's court-ordered visitation status. Findings point toward the complex situational conditions by which assailants use the children of their partners or ex-partners to continue the abuse, and the need for a great deal more research in this area.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052199745
Author(s):  
Rob Stephenson ◽  
Tanaka M.D. Chavanduka ◽  
Matthew T. Rosso ◽  
Stephen P. Sullivan ◽  
Renée A. Pitter ◽  
...  

Stay at home orders–intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by limiting social contact–have forced people to remain in their homes. The additional stressors created by the need to stay home and socially isolate may act as triggers to intimate partner violence (IPV). In this article, we present data from a recent online cross-sectional survey with gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in the United States to illustrate changes in IPV risks that have occurred during the U.S. COVID-19 epidemic. The Love and Sex in the Time of COVID-19 survey was conducted online from April to May 2020. GBMSM were recruited through paid banner advertisements featured on social networking platforms, recruiting a sample size of 696 GBMSM. Analysis considers changes in victimization and perpetration of IPV during the 3 months prior to the survey (March-May 2020) that represents the first 3 months of lockdown during the COVID-19 epidemic. During the period March-May 2020, 12.6% of participants reported experiencing any IPV with higher rates of emotional IPV (10.3%) than sexual (2.2%) or physical (1.8%) IPV. Of those who reported IPV victimization during lockdown, for almost half this was their first time experience: 5.3% reported the IPV they experienced happened for the first time during the past 3 months (0.8% physical, 2.13% sexual, and 3.3% emotional). Reporting of perpetration of IPV during lockdown was lower: only 6% reported perpetrating any IPV, with perpetration rates of 1.5% for physical, 0.5% for sexual, and 5.3% for emotional IPV. Of those who reported perpetration of IPV during lockdown, very small percentages reported that this was the first time they had perpetrated IPV: 0.9% for any IPV (0.2% physical, 0.2% sexual, and 0.6% emotional). The results illustrate an increased need for IPV resources for GBMSM during these times of increased stress and uncertainty, and the need to find models of resource and service delivery that can work inside of social distancing guidelines while protecting the confidentiality and safety of those who are experiencing IPV.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110438
Author(s):  
Miranda E. Reyes ◽  
Lauren Simpson ◽  
Tami P. Sullivan ◽  
Ateka A. Contractor ◽  
Nicole H. Weiss

Hispanic women in the United States experience disproportionate mental health impacts of intimate partner violence (IPV). Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews guidelines, we synthesized the existing knowledge based on IPV and mental health outcomes among Hispanic women in the United States. In May 2020, we searched five electronic databases (i.e., MEDLINE, PILOTS, PSYCInfo, PSYCArticles, and EMBASE). From the initial 1,180 results, 13 articles met inclusion criteria for this review (written in English, empirical study, focus on the experiences of victimization from an intimate partner, focus on mental health outcomes occurring in the person experiencing IPV, included women who identify as Hispanic, and included participants residing in the United States), representing 4,060 women. Findings highlighted significant positive associations between IPV ( n = 13; 4,060 women) and general mental health outcomes ( n = 4; 759 women) as well as the specific outcomes of depression ( n = 12; 2,661 women), anxiety ( n = 1; 274 women), post-traumatic stress disorder ( n = 3; 515 women), and substance misuse ( n = 2; 1,673 women) among Hispanic women in the United States. Limitations included heterogeneity across Hispanic populations and methodological differences between studies. Key avenues for future research were identified, including the need to examine mental health outcomes understudied in relation to IPV among Hispanic women (e.g., personality, obsessive-compulsive, and eating disorders) and to identify cultural and demographic factors (e.g., nativity status, level of acculturation) that may influence relations between IPV and mental health outcomes among Hispanic women. Such research can inform prevention and intervention efforts aimed at improving mental health among Hispanic women in the Untied States experiencing IPV.


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