Deconstructing the “Power and Control Motive”: Moving Beyond a Unidimensional View of Power in Domestic Violence Theory

Partner Abuse ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelly M. Wagers
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Social Recognition ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Power Motive ◽  
Court Mandated ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
And Control ◽  
Sense Of Power

Despite the increased social recognition, law and policy changes within the criminal justice system, and the widespread use of court mandated batterer intervention programs (BIPs) domestic violence continues to be a persistent problem. The lack of significant decline in incidence rates along with a growing body of empirical evidence that indicates BIPs are, at best, only moderately effective raises serious concern. Effective policies and programs should be based on empirically tested theory. The assertion “the batterer’s motive is power and control” has become fundamental to many of the currently used BIPs and accepted mainstream theoretical explanations regarding domestic violence. However, the domestic violence literature has not yet advanced any specific conceptualizations of power, it has not produced a theoretical model of power that articulates why or how power specifically acts as a motive for a batterer, nor has it empirically tested this fundamental assertion. The main goal of this article is to take a step toward addressing this gap and advance our current understanding of an individual’s sense of power and control as a motive for using violence against an intimate partner. Specifically, it will review the pertinent literature regarding power and domestic violence, propose a new theoretical construct calledinternal power, and discuss internal power’s application to understanding a batterer’s “power motive.”

Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-81
Author(s):  
Karen A. Callaghan
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
And Control

PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A PRACTICAL DIMENSION

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iryna Litvinova ◽  
◽  
Olesia Dubovych ◽  
Liubov Sheptytska ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
State Register ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Social Difficulties ◽  
And Control ◽  
Social Support Systems

The article is devoted to the study of practical aspects of protection of victims of domestic violence in Ukraine. Domestic violence is understood as a pattern of behavior between people in any relationship that is used to gain or retain power and control over the person with whom they are in a personal relationship. Victims of domestic violence can be members of a couple, as well as a child or other relative or any other family member. The COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to have a significant impact on the spread of the threat of domestic violence. Isolation can identify or exacerbate vulnerabilities due to the lack of established social support systems, reduced economic well-being of families, and psychological and social difficulties. In general, pandemic restrictions have made life difficult for victims of domestic violence. A systematic analysis of guarantees for the protection of victims of domestic violence made it possible to identify the following positive reforms: strengthening regulation; intensification of public authorities' functioning in the field of combating and preventing domestic violence; strengthening of methodological, explanatory and informational activities, which has a dual focus: the legal awareness of victims is intensified and the professionalism of specialized bodies is increased; coordination of system coordination of public and state sphere in the researched sphere. However, the analysis of statistical reports, court decisions, monitoring of public organizations, scientific works of experts indicate that there are a number of problems in the field of protection of victims of domestic violence, so the authors propose a set of measures to help solve the problem. These include: ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention); measures to increase the level of legal awareness and legal culture; the need to improve the skills of police officers in the preparation of administrative materials; changes in established case law on the elimination of ineffective penalties; implementation of positive practice of foreign countries on the implementation of re-education programs for offenders by court decision; maintaining the Unified State Register of Cases of Domestic Violence.

Associations Between Attachment Insecurities and Psychological Violence in a Sample of Court-Mandated Batterers

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 910-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sonkin ◽  
Regardt J. Ferreira ◽  
John Hamel ◽  
Fred Buttell ◽  
María T. Frias
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Relationship Functioning ◽  
Psychological Violence ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Court Mandated ◽  
Space Data ◽  
And Control ◽  
Poor Relationship

We conducted a survey-based study looking at the associations among attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance), relationship functioning, and psychological domestic violence. We looked at three relationship functioning variables (i.e., anger management, communication, and conflict resolution) and three domestic psychological violence variables (i.e., derogation and control, jealous-hypervigilance, and threats-control of space). Data were collected from 76 male and 21 female court-mandated batterers. Participants completed the self-report measures of attachment insecurities, relationship functioning, and psychological domestic violence-related variables. Overall, attachment insecurities were negatively associated with relationship functioning and positively associated with psychological domestic violence outcomes. Among the whole sample, attachment anxiety correlated positively with derogation and control and with jealous-hypervigilance. There were also differential attachment associations by gender. Attachment anxiety correlated positively with threats of controlling space only among men, and with derogation and control and jealous-hypervigilance only among women. Finally, avoidance correlated negatively with communication only among women. Overall, this pattern of results is consistent with predictions derived from attachment theory: attachment insecurities are associated with poor relationship functioning and high rates of domestic violence.

Family Mediation in Child Custody Cases and the Concealment of Domestic Violence

Affilia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariachiara Feresin ◽  
Natalina Folla ◽  
Simon Lapierre ◽  
Patrizia Romito
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Child Custody ◽  
Family Mediation ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Parental Couple ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
And Control

While mediation is commonly used in custody negotiation, there is no consensus regarding its applicability in domestic violence cases. The aim of this qualitative study in Italy was to explore the role of family mediation in the management of child custody in cases involving domestic violence. Semistructured interviews were conducted with lawyers ( N = 5), social workers ( N = 15), and abused women who had separated from their children’s fathers ( N = 13). Legal documents were also analyzed. The results showed that violence against women and children had often been concealed during mediation, as the professionals involved had failed to detect domestic violence or had labeled it as conflicts. Moreover, the “parental couple” had been dissociated from the “marital couple,” and the responsibility for the abuse had been attributed to both parents. As a result, women and children had been blamed and had experienced secondary victimization, while the perpetrators’ patterns of power and control had continued. The results also revealed that those professionals had not known about and had not applied the Istanbul Convention, which provides guidelines to ensure women’s and children’s safety. Recommendations highlight the need to account for the complexity of domestic violence cases, to hold perpetrators responsible for the abuse, and to support the victims.

scholarly journals Practices of Domestic Violence in Pakistan: An Islamic Perspective

rahatulquloob ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Zainab Sadiq ◽  
Dr. Abu Sufyan Qazi Furqan Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Back Ground ◽  
Dangerous Place ◽  
Honour Killing ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
And Control

Violence against women is an important global phenomenon. In Pakistan like other developing countries, women particularly become target of domestic violence. Frequent media reports of violence perpetrated against Pakistani women creates an image of the country as a dangerous place for women to live in. Even though Islam is the official religion of the country, its provisions of justice and equality to protect Muslim women from the domestic tyranny remain ineffective. The prime reason behind this prevalence of violence in the country is the influence of patriarchal norms over the domestic and socio-legal structure of the Pakistani society. Consequently, patriarchal abusive power and control over the lives of women result in the prevalence of varied practices and forms of female domestic violence in the country. However, majority of these victims live in the rural areas of the country where lack of education and resources facilitates the rule of oppre-ssive patriarchal norms and values remotely distant from the teachings of Islam. Among the most popular forms of domestic violence practiced there, honour killing and Vani/ Swara are on the higher scale faced by the females. Honour killing is a form of murder which is committed in order to restore the lost dignity of the aggrieved family. Whereas, Vani/Sarawa is a kind of forced marriage where a female member of the accused family is given to the victim party in order to settle the disputes. Considering the Islamic justifications offered by some Muslim scholars in defense of these two types of violence, the present study challenges the misinterpretation of Quranic verses and Hadith to legitimatize these anti-Islamic practices devised to oppress women. This is done by examining the issue of Honour Killing and Vani (Sawara) through their meaning and historical back ground in the country. Concluding this paper clarifies that Islam condemns killing of mankind and forbids female victimization and the assumed notion of Honor killing and Vani.

scholarly journals Coping strategies used in domestic violence

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-272
Author(s):  
Shilpa Rathore ◽  
Sneha Jain
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Research Finding ◽  
Intimate Relationship ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
The World ◽  
Age Range ◽  
And Control

Domestic violence is serious problem all around the world. Domestic violence is as old as the society is. It is used to establish power and control over a partner in an intimate relationship through a pattern of coercive behaviour in terms of physical, verbal, sexual, emotional, or economic within our homes. It may be frequent or infrequent, severe or subtle. Present study was carried out in order to find out the of coping strategies used by women in Domestic Violence. The sample was comprised with 240 women in age range of 24-40 years were selected from district Udaipur (Rajasthan). Coping Strategies of domestic violence scale was developed to see the strategies which were selected at the time of violence. Tool was standardized by the investigator through calculated validity and reliability. The data obtained were formulated in the light of objectives set for the present investigation. Percentage was calculated for each part. The research finding also indicates that women were less coping strategies.

Conceptualization of Domestic Violence Prevention Utilizing the Institutional Power and Control Wheel

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda M. Cummings ◽  
Krithika Malhotra ◽  
Rosa M. Gonzalez-Guarda ◽  
Maria M. Becerra ◽  
Ivon Mesa
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Violence Prevention ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Control Wheel ◽  
Domestic Violence Prevention ◽  
And Control

Crashing bodies: towards an intersectional assemblage theory of domestic violence

2021 ◽  
pp. 146470012110147
Author(s):  
Paddy Farr
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Combined Approach ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Assemblage Theory ◽  
Abusive Behavior ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Concrete Experience ◽  
And Control

Domestic violence is commonly defined as violence ‘as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner’. This definition attempts to formulate domestic violence in universal and neutral terms that can be applied to any identity. However, in its attempted neutrality, this definition erases concrete experience at the intersections of identity leading to material processes against the bodies of LGBTQIA/BIPOC. Through a Deleuzo-Guattarian reading of Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, Jasbir Puar finds a mode of theorising domestic violence through a combined approach to assemblage theory and intersectionality wherein concepts of identity and process provide conflicting and yet inseparable aspects of critical theory. Through developing an intersectional-assemblage theory to reformulate domestic violence as a central concept in understanding the workings of power and process, the nodes and switch points of oppression can be targeted through anti-violence abolitionist praxis.

Domestic violence and bullying: features of qualification and efficiency of liability

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-192
Author(s):  
Roman Myronyuk ◽  
Mykola Repan
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
Physical Pain ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Control

The article examines the problems of distinguishing bullying from domestic violence, highlights a number of similar features of these acts - physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence and the distinctive features - the place of commission, the range of subjects, methods of commission. A comparative description of the legal features of domestic violence and bullying, identified their features, in the presence of which the identification of these illegal acts, which is important for their quali-?ication in practice in order to identify and apply the most effective measures of legal responsibility for their commission. Such obligatory signs of domestic violence as: violence is always carried out with the previous intention, ie intentionally are allocated; the act of the offender must be illegal, ie contrary to the laws of Ukraine; actions prevent effective self-defense; actions violate the rights and freedoms of the individual; violent actions cause harm (physical, moral, psychological, material) to another person; Victims of domestic violence can be both family members and other persons who are related by common life, have mutual rights and responsibilities, provided they live together; systematic (repeatability) of the act (for criminal proceedings). Distinctive signs of bullying are found out: systematicity (repeatability) of action; presence of the parties - the offender (buller), the victim (victim of bullying), observers (if any); violence is always carried out with intent, ie intentionally; actions or omissions of the offender, the consequence of which is harm; the actions of the offender violate the rights and freedoms of the individual. The common features of domestic violence and bullying are identified: power and control over the victim; intent to harm, ie the offender intentionally inflicts emotional or physical pain on the victim; the threat of further aggression, ie the offender and the victim understand that this is not the first and not the last case of bullying. The common features of domestic violence and bullying are identified: power and control over the victim; intent to harm, ie the offender intentionally inflicts emotional or physical pain on the victim; the threat of further aggression, ie the offender and the victim understand that this is not the first and not the last case of bullying.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document