scholarly journals The Impact of Mandatory Reporting Laws on Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Intersectionality, Help-Seeking and the Need for Change

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Lippy ◽  
Selima N. Jumarali ◽  
Nkiru A. Nnawulezi ◽  
Emma Peyton Williams ◽  
Connie Burk
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Reporting Laws ◽  
The Impact

AbstractResearch illustrates the importance of help-seeking for intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. However, mandatory reporting (MR) laws can affect help-seeking by requiring some sources of support to report survivors to formal systems. This convergent mixed methods study of 2462 survivors surveyed through the National Domestic Violence Hotline explores how MR laws impact survivors’ help-seeking, the outcomes of their help-seeking, and whether their race, gender, and/or sexual orientation influenced their experiences. Findings indicated that MR laws reduce help-seeking for over a third of survivors, provider warnings about MR often reduce survivors’ ability to receive the support they seek, and reports when triggered make the situation worse for most survivors. Significant differences emerged by gender identity and race/ethnicity, emphasizing unique contexts for trans and gender non-conforming survivors and survivors of color. We provide policy and practice implications given these unintended harms of MR laws for IPV survivors.

Barriers to Help Seeking for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 585-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna M. Calton ◽  
Lauren Bennett Cattaneo ◽  
Kris T. Gebhard
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
And Gender

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive and devastating social problem that is estimated to occur in one of every four opposite-sex relationships and at least one of every five same-sex romantic relationships. These estimates may not represent violence against those who identify as transgender or genderqueer, and very little comprehensive research has been conducted on IPV within these populations. One statewide study on IPV found rates of IPV were as high as one of every two transgender individuals. In order to cope with the effects of abuse or leave an abusive partner, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer (LGBTQ) IPV survivors seek support from others. However, LGBTQ IPV survivors may experience unique difficulties related to their sexual orientation and gender identity when seeking assistance. This article reviews the literature on LGBTQ IPV and suggests three major barriers to help-seeking exist for LGBTQ IPV survivors: a limited understanding of the problem of LGBTQ IPV, stigma, and systemic inequities. The significance and consequences of each barrier are discussed, and suggestions for future research, policy, and practice are provided.

scholarly journals Migrant Women’s Help-Seeking Decisions and Use of Support Resources for Intimate Partner Violence in China

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122110001
Author(s):  
Ran Hu ◽  
Jia Xue ◽  
Xiying Wang
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Poisson Model ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sources Of Support

In China, women who domestically relocate from rural or less developed regions to major cities are at a higher risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) than their non-migrant counterparts. Few studies have focused on Chinese domestic migrant women’s help-seeking for IPV and their use of different sources of support. The present study aimed to identify factors that influence migrant women’s help-seeking decisions. In addition, we also examined factors that contribute to migrant women’s use of diverse sources of support for IPV. A sample of 280 migrant women victimized by IPV in the past year at the time of the survey was drawn from a larger cross-sectional study conducted in four major urban cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Using a multinomial logistic regression model and a zero-inflated Poisson model, we found that factors influencing migrant women’s help-seeking decisions and their use of diverse sources of support included socioeconomic factors, IPV type, relationship-related factors, knowledge of China’s first anti-Domestic Violence Law, and perception of the effectiveness of current policies. We discuss implications for future research and interventions.

scholarly journals Social support needs and help seeking behaviours among Spanish-speaking Canadian immigrant women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Cerdena D’Unian
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Immigrant Women ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
Sources Of Support

There is considerable research about women who have experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the Canadian literature. However, most of these studies have focused on IPV among Canadian-born women. Immigrant women who make the decision to seek help for IPV have received less attention in the research-based literature in Canada. This qualitative study examined the IPV experiences of 10 Spanish-speaking immigrant women in Canada, all from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The main focus was to examine the intersectionality between social support and help seeking behaviours for IPV. Results indicated that Spanish-speaking immigrants in Canada utilized both formal and informal sources of support for IPV. The importance of continuous support as a factor preventing women from returning to an abusive relationship was consistently reported by participants. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are further discussed in this manuscript.

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

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483802096734
Author(s):  
Meg Osborn ◽  
Valli Rajah
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
English Language ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Institutional Responses ◽  
Everyday Resistance

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.

Chinese Male Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Three-Pillar Approach to Analyze Men's Delayed Help-Seeking Decisions

2020 ◽  
pp. VV-D-19-00129
Author(s):  
Wai Hung Wallace Tsang ◽  
T. M. Simon Chan ◽  
Monit Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Male Survivors ◽  
Personal Strengths ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Chinese Male

Intimate partner violence (IPV) literature has addressed differential socialization for designing interventions, mainly helping female victims and male perpetrators. From a gender-specific perspective, this study examines the abused men's postponed decisions to disclose victimization or seek help. Through individual interviews, 10 Chinese male IPV survivors in Hong Kong described their help-seeking journey. A three-pillar approach is applied to guide the analysis in terms of psychological factors, cultural barriers, and decisional challenges when men are seeking help. Results reveal negative influences bearing on male survivors' help-seeking behaviors and support how men can rebuild positive personal strengths after experiencing the impact of abuse on oneself and the family. Service providers must identify barriers of delayed help-seeking decisions and treat IPV survivors with respect and acceptance to facilitate abuse disclosure.

Status Compatibility and Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Female Intimate Partner Violence Victims

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Elizabeth Kaukinen ◽  
Silke Meyer ◽  
Caroline Akers
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Economic Variables ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
The Impact

Given the far-reaching social, personal, and economic costs of crime and violence, as well as the lasting health effects, understanding how women respond to domestic violence and the types of help sought are critical in addressing intimate partner violence. We use a nationally representative dataset (Canadian General Social Survey, Personal Risk, 1999) to examine the help-seeking behaviors of female intimate partner violence victims ( N = 250). Although victims of violent crime often do not call the police, many victims, particularly women who have been battered by their partner rely on family, friends, social service, and mental health interventions in dealing with the consequences of violent crime. We examine the role of income, education, and employment status in shaping women’s decisions to seek help, and we treat these economic variables as symbolic and relative statuses as compared to male partners. Although family violence researchers have conceptualized the association between economic variables and the dynamics of intimate partner violence with respect to the structural dimensions of sociodemographic factors, feminist researchers connect economic power to family dynamics. Drawing on these literatures, we tap the power in marital and cohabiting relationships, rather than treating these variables as simply socioeconomic resources. Controlling for other relevant variables we estimate a series of multivariate models to examine the relationship between status compatibilities and help-seeking from both formal and informal sources. We find that status incompatibilities between partners that favor women increase the likelihood of seeking support in dealing with the impact of violence.

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

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802199594
Author(s):  
Valli Rajah ◽  
Meg Osborn
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
English Language ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
The Body ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Policy And Practice

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.

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