Intimate Partner Violence, Animal Maltreatment, and Concern for Animal Safekeeping: A Survey of Survivors Who Owned Pets and Livestock

An online survey was completed by victims/survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), living in both urban and rural areas, who owned pets and/or livestock. The majority of the sample had not received services from domestic violence shelters and services. Quantitative and qualitative data regarding barriers to accessing support and escaping IPV are presented for both pet and livestock owners. Using validated measures of IPV and animal abuse, differences in experiences of IPV are described for victims who had experienced their partners mistreat their animals and those who had not. Recommendations are offered for training, legislation, and pet-friendly domestic violence shelters and rental housing.

Exploring the use of Hotels as Alternative Housing by Domestic Violence Shelters During COVID-19

Domestic violence shelters present a unique context within the congregate living sector in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelters supporting women during the pandemic had to change service delivery models to include housing women in hotels to adhere to government restrictions and ensure women, and their children, were not homeless. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of hotel use as alternative housing for women experiencing domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada. We used interpretive description methodology, including in-depth interviews with 8 women using shelter services, 26 shelter workers and 5 focus groups with 24 executive directors of women’s shelters and other organizations who serve women who have experienced domestic violence. We identified and explored three main tensions in housing women at hotels compared to shelters: 1) autonomy/independence versus support, 2) a better option, the only option, and/or a safety concern, and 3) adequacy of hotels as housing. Drawbacks and benefits of the use of hotels as housing for women in the context of domestic violence are explored and recommendations are highlighted.

Women’s Reproductive Coercion and Pregnancy Avoidance: Associations With Homicide Risk, Sexual Violence, and Religious Abuse

This survey study explores patterns of reproductive coercion (RC) and pregnancy avoidance (PA) among women recruited from domestic violence shelters in the southwestern United States ( N = 661). Two logistic regression models assessed the demographic, relationships, and violence characteristics associated with RC and PA. Younger, African American, and Hispanic women were more likely to experience RC. Homicide risk, sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), and religious abuse were associated with RC, and RC and homicide risk were associated with PA. We discuss implications of the associations between RC and PA and their links to religious abuse, sexual IPV, and homicide risk.

Empowering Through Psychodrama: A Qualitative Study at Domestic Violence Shelters

Psychodrama is a therapeutic method in which the stage is used to enact and reenact life events with the aim of instilling, among other positive changes, hope and empowerment in a wide range of populations suffering from psychological duress. The therapeutic process in psychodrama moves away from the classic treatment of the individual in isolation to treatment of the individual in the context of a group. In domestic violence situations, in which abusive men seek to socially isolate their victims from family and friends, the social support that psychodrama provides can positively influence the psychological health and well-being of the participants. This qualitative study examines the manner in which psychodramatic treatment can empower abused women residing in domestic violence shelters and help them regain control of their lives. An action research study of domestic violence survivors living in a women's shelter in Israel, over a 12-month period, demonstrates the role of psychodrama therapy in promoting the reduction of anxiety, stress, guilt, and self-blame, while reinforcing perceptions of self-worth and confidence. These findings contribute to our understanding of the potential of psychodrama in helping reshape life roles and reframe experiences within a creative process, with the aim of facilitating a transition from powerlessness to powerfulness among vulnerable populations.

Firearm-related Abuse and Protective Order Requests Among Intimate Partner Violence Victims

Firearms play a critical role in the murder of intimate partner violence (IPV) victims and there is evidence that laws prohibiting protective order (PO) respondents from possessing a firearm reduce IPV fatalities. However, little research has compared specific abuse tactics involving firearms among victims who have and have not sought a PO against an abuser. This study investigates IPV victims’ experiences with a range of firearm-related abuse tactics across victim race/ethnicity, in addition to the relationship between firearm IPV and PO requests, above and beyond IPV not involving firearms. Questionnaires were administered to 215 female victims recruited from six domestic violence shelters in Texas. Over one-half of victims who sought a PO were threatened to be shot by their abuser and victims who experienced high levels of firearm abuse incurred a 302% increase in the odds of requesting a PO. There were no significant differences between White, Black, and Hispanic victims regarding firearm IPV tactics. The results shed light on the magnitude of risk IPV victims can experience when seeking a PO against an abusive partner.

From Isolation to Connection: The Practices and Promise of Open Domestic Violence Shelters

Antidomestic violence advocates have begun to question two essential policies that have long defined domestic violence shelters—strict secrecy regarding shelter location and prohibitions on shelter access to all except staff and residents—both of which serve to increase survivors’ social isolation and entail coercive rules that resonate painfully with broader oppressive dynamics. In response a growing number of communities have begun experimenting with open shelters, which break from tradition by making their locations public, and allowing visitors. Although this innovation is a sharp departure from tradition, virtually no research exists to explore its philosophical underpinnings, benefits, and challenges. This study addresses this gap. Study Questions: We used a qualitative descriptive approach to explore the experiences and perspectives of open shelter directors. Participants included 14 open shelter directors from 11 states. We conducted semistructured phone interviews with each participant, focusing on their shelter’s (a) nature and history; (b) rationale; (c) policies and programs related to secrecy and openness; (d) benefits and challenges; (e) effects on specific survivor subgroups; and (f) practices used to build or strengthen survivors’ relationships. Open shelters: (a) promote physical safety using a broad array of measures; (b) adopt a range of policies that promote varying degrees of location disclosure and visitor accessibility; (c) face challenges, such as the need to gain buy-in from multiple constituents; and (d) Improve survivor outcomes, including decreased shame; improved advocacy relationships; increased access to services and community involvement in shelter life; and deepened relationships with network members; in turn increasing prospects for physical and psychological well-being long after survivors’ shelter stays are over. Findings suggest a new path for shelters interested in promoting survivor safety and healing in the context of a web of meaningful relationships.

Protocols and Practices in Emergency Evacuation of Women Fleeing Abuse

Over the past several years three major events causing community disasters, two wildfires and a flood, have occurred in the province of Alberta, Canada. When these large-scale events occurred all community residents were asked to follow provincial emergency evacuation procedures, which included a move to an evacuation centre. In some cases, women and their children who were living at domestic violence shelters may have been unsafe since they might encounter the partner they fled at the evacuation site. These researchers encountered such a situation on our campus which is one evacuation centre. In this project, we gathered information from both shelter staff and emergency evacuation personnel about how such circumstances were managed and inquired about future best practices for evacuating women with or without children who are fleeing domestic violence. Interviewees shared insights to inform disaster management and shelter protocols.