Locked Down with the Perpetrator: The Hidden Impacts of COVID-19 on Domestic and Family Violence in Australia

Prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, domestic and family violence (DFV) had been recognised globally as an epidemic in its own right. Further, research has established that during times of crisis and/or after disasters, rates of DFV can escalate. The COVID-19 pandemic has been no exception, with emerging research from around the world confirming that the public health measures and social effects associated with COVID-19 have increased the frequency and severity of DFV in various countries. In contributing to this evolving body of literature, this paper reports on the findings of a national research project that examined the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on DFV in Australia. This nationwide survey of service providers indicates the public health responses to COVID-19 such as lockdowns and travel restrictions, while necessary to stem the pandemic, have had profound effects on increasing women’s risk and vulnerability to domestic violence, while at the same time making it more difficult for women to leave violent relationships and access support. However, this vulnerability is not evenly distributed. The pandemic pushed marginalised voices further underground, with many unable to seek help, locked down with their abuser. Our survey sought to amplify the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities; Indigenous communities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, + (LGBTIQ+) communities; women locked down with school-age children; those already in violent relationships; and those whose first experience of domestic violence coincided with the onset of the pandemic. For logistical and ethical reasons, we could only access their voices through the responses from the domestic violence sector.

Evidence of Gender Violence Negative Impact on Health as a Lever to Change Adolescents’ Attitudes and Preferences towards Dominant Traditional Masculinities

Women and girls experience gender violence from a young age. Scientific research has presented evidence of the negative impact of toxic relationships and toxic stress on physical and psychological health. However, less is known on how this evidence can have a preventive effect. Knowing these impacts can be important for women and girls to decide the type of affective-sexual relationships they want to have, and even transform their attraction towards different types of masculinity. This study presents results from the MEMO4LOVE project. Researchers use mixed-methods approaches, including a questionnaire (n = 141) to study adolescents’ peer groups’ interactions that promoted healthy or toxic affective-sexual relationships, and five communicative focus groups with boys and girls to analyze how these interactions can be transformed by sharing scientific knowledge on the effects of violent relationships with adolescents. The results showed the impact of sharing with adolescents the evidence of the adverse effects of toxic relationships with violent masculinities on health. The peer group’s transformation occurred: non-violent boys gained self-confidence, and girls redirected or reinforced their attraction to non-violent boys. These results suggest the potential positive effects of knowing the impacts of toxic relationships on girls’ health.

The Consequences of Disdainful Hook-Ups for Later Egalitarian Relationships of Girls

Introduction: There is extensive research about the consequences that toxic relationships with dominant masculinities have on different areas of women’s lives, including how they can influence future relationships they establish. Some of these women reproduce toxic relationships with dominant masculinities in their following relationships, and some women start to establish sexual-affective relationships with non-dominant masculinity models. However, less is known about the specific consequences in non-dominant masculinities who establish relationships with women who have not overcome the false memory of excitement regarding their toxic relationships. Methodology: In order to shed light on the consequences for non-dominant masculinities, eight communicative interviews were conducted with four women and four men. Results: The main findings indicate that those female participants who have kept an exciting memory of toxic relationships, when in an equal relationship, have attitudes of disdain towards non-dominant masculinities. They may ridicule them, not value their personal or intellectual abilities, talk down to them, and even negatively value their sexual aptitudes. Discussion: The application of the previous literature to our results leads to establishing the work on memories of relationships that have led to socialization in violent relationships as a preventive approach. Conclusion: The previously mentioned attitudes could generate health problems for non-dominant masculinities engaged in these relationships.

Proving non-fatal strangulation in family violence cases: A case study on the criminalisation of family violence

Non-fatal strangulation is recognised as a common form of coercive control in violent relationships. Overwhelmingly it is perpetrated by men against women. It is dangerous both because of the immediate and serious injuries it can cause, and the risk of future violence associated with it. A discrete offence of non-fatal strangulation has been introduced in many countries. Queensland, Australia introduced a discrete non-fatal strangulation offence in 2016. While the offence is charged often, around half the non-fatal strangulation charges laid by police do not proceed. We spoke to prosecution and defence lawyers to better understand the evidential obstacles to successful prosecution. We found that the prosecution of the offence faces challenges common to family violence offences more broadly, despite it being a discrete physical act. Specifically, we found that the willingness of the victim to testify and the perception of the victim's credibility were key to successful prosecution.

The Model of Systemic Relational Violence: Conceptualizing IPV as a Method of Continual and Enforced Domination

This paper provides a theoretical and historical background of explanatory and descriptive models of domestic, family, and interpersonal violence and introduces a new model that seeks to correct aspects of those models that have been heavily critiqued. The Model of Systemic Relational Violence reconceptualizes violent relationships with coercive control and emotional and psychological violence at the core and more traditional event-based markers of relationship violence as peripheral enforcement tactics in a more extensive system of interpersonal domination. This new model is built on the insights and perspectives of survivors of relational violence and the service providers who support them. It has been developed to be applied in a variety of diverse relationships and contexts.

Coping styles, dysfunctional schemes and psychopathological symptoms related to emotional dependence on the aggressor partner

Coping styles, dysfunctional schemes and psychopathological symptoms could be factors of vulnerability that increase the probability that a person develops emotional dependence on an aggressive partner. Delimiting the risk factors is fundamental for its prevention and treatment. Consequently, the main objectives of the present study were to analyze the relationship between the above-mentioned factors, as well as the mediating role of the first three in the relationship between emotional dependence and received violence. The sample was made up of 657 women from the clinical and general population, with ages ranging from 18 to 66 years of age (M= 23.38, SD= 8.24). The results reflected the predominance of inadequate coping styles, such as desiderative thinking, social isolation and self-critical, psychopathological symptoms of depression, anxiety, interpersonal sensibility, obsession-compulsion and paranoid ideation, as well as abandonment and subjugation schemes. These factors also explained part of the relationship between emotional dependence and staying in violent relationships.

The Process and Conditionality of Separation

This chapter considers women’s dynamic experiences of leaving violent relationships in the shadow of static legal understandings of separation and the ongoing dangers women face when they engage with legal systems and processes. When women are trying to separate, sometimes law is the one thing that keeps bringing them back into contact with their abuser. This chapter highlights women’s experiences of separation as a process and journey rather than a single moment in time. Drawing on the experiences of some of the women in the study, two areas of law where separation underpins the legal response are highlighted: the migration and visa system and the family law system.

HISTÓRIAS DE VERGONHA, AMOR E DOR

Resumo A partir da história de vida de três mulheres vítimas de violência conjugal em Montes Claros (MG), procuro compreender, neste artigo, os motivos que impedem essas e outras mulheres de romperem relações violentas e denunciarem seus agressores. Busco pensar esses motivos, especialmente, no processo de subjetivação feminina. Entre as explicações que emergem das narrativas estão o medo, a preocupação com filhos, a ideologia do casamento indissolúvel, a falta de apoio da família e aspectos relacionados à religiosidade e aos afetos. Palavras-chave: Mulheres. Violência de Gênero. Violência Conjugal. Subjetividade. Abstract Based on the life story of three women victims of conjugal violence in Montes Claros (MG), I try to understand in this article the reasons that prevent these and other women from breaking violent relationships and denouncing their aggressors. I seek to think these reasons, especially in the process of female subjectification. Among the explanations that emerge from the narratives are fear, concern for children, the ideology of indissoluble marriage, the lack of family support and aspects related to religiosity and affections. Keywords: Women. Gender Violence. Conjugal Violence. Subjectivity.