Case 14: Qimaavik Women’s Shelter

The extent of developmental delays and behavioral dysfunction in 47 children living in a Florida battered women’s shelter was determined by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and the Connors Parent and Teacher Rating Scales. The extent of developmental delays and behavioral dysfunction in these child witnesses to family violence was then compared to the prevalence of such delays and dysfunction in normative comparison children. The children of the battered mothers were found to have significantly greater developmental delays and behavioral dysfunction than found in the comparison normative children. There were no differences between sexes or age groups.

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Why Don’t They Just Call the Cops?: Reasons for Differential Police Contact Among Women with Abusive Partners

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.13.4.333 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 333-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Ruth E. Fleury ◽

Cris M. Sullivan ◽

Deborah I. Bybee ◽

William S. Davidson

Keyword(s):

Domestic Violence ◽

Battered Women ◽

Negative Experience ◽

Women's Shelter ◽

Police Contact ◽

Police Contacts ◽

Battered Women's Shelter ◽

Study Participants ◽

Practical Implications ◽

A Current

Incidents of domestic violence are frequently not reported to police (e.g., Johnson, 1990; Langan & Innes, 1986; Roy, 1977), and people commonly assume that women’s reasons for not calling about violence by a current or former partner are intrapersonal (e.g., shame, embarrassment, love). However, few researchers have asked battered women themselves about the frequency of their police contacts and their reasons for not calling the police. In this study, participants were recruited from a battered women’s shelter and asked about their experiences with the police over the prior 6 months. Two thirds of the sample had had contact with the police during that time, but most did not have as much contact with the police as they had needed. Women gave multiple reasons for not calling the police; these reasons frequently included situational barriers, such as being physically prevented from using the telephone and/or being threatened with more violence. Only 3% of the sample reported that shame, embarrassment, or love were their sole reasons for not calling the police. Underreporting was related to previous (negative) experience with the police, as well as to the level of violence experienced. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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Battered Women and Their Animal Companions: Symbolic Interaction Between Human and Nonhuman Animals

Society and Animals ◽

10.1163/156853000x00084 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 99-127

Author(s):

Clifton P. Flynnl

Keyword(s):

Battered Women ◽

Symbolic Interaction ◽

Companion Animals ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Women's Shelter ◽

Nonhuman Animals ◽

Battered Women's Shelter ◽

Animal Interaction ◽

The Relationship

AbstractOnly recently have sociologists considered the role of nonhuman animals in human society.The few studies undertaken of battered women and their animal companions have revealed high rates of animal abuse co-existing with domestic violence.This study examines several aspects of the relationship between humans and animals in violent homes.The study explored the role of companion animals in the abusive relationship through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with clients at a battered women's shelter. In particular, the study focused on the use of companion animals by women's violent partners to control, hurt, and intimidate the women; the responses of the animals to the women's victimization; and the role of pets as human surrogates and the resulting symbolic interaction between human and nonhuman family members. The significance of the findings for family violence research and application are discussed, as well as the broader implications for sociological investigation of human-animal interaction.

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Methodological Impression Management in Ethnographic Research

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography ◽

10.1177/0891241617744861 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 47 (6) ◽

pp. 807-833 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Amanda M. Gengler ◽

Matthew B. Ezzell

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Substance Abuse Treatment ◽

Impression Management ◽

Research Process ◽

Ethnographic Research ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Substance Abuse Treatment Program ◽

Women's Shelter ◽

Complex Settings ◽

Abuse Treatment

In this article, we contend that turning a sharp dramaturgical lens on the dynamics of fieldwork clarifies a number of longstanding ethical challenges in ethnography—challenges that have shifted and deepened in the new technological landscape in which ethnographers work. We encourage fieldworkers to adopt an intentional approach to what we call methodological impression management to navigate the research process more strategically. Drawing on our experiences conducting fieldwork in settings where some of our research participants had power over others (a women’s shelter and a substance abuse treatment program), we delineate the strategies we found useful for successful methodological impression management in complex settings and point to the dramaturgical underpinnings of their effectiveness. By bringing dramaturgical theory into direct conversation with the literature on ethnographic methods, we hope to illuminate a path through which ethnographers might make more deliberative methodological decisions and thoughtfully balance ethical responsibilities to their participants with their commitment to analytic rigor.

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