Coercive Control in the Courtroom: the Legal Abuse Scale (LAS)

Intimate Partner Violence Survivors' Perspectives on Coping With Family Court Processes

Although intimate partner violence (IPV)-exposed mothers report distress during family court proceedings, no known research examines what helps them cope. We analyzed qualitative responses from 214 IPV-exposed mothers to the question of who/what helped during family court. Participants described (a) receiving social support, (b) accessing tools and resources, (c) modifying actions, thoughts, and emotions to adapt to a system that is not trauma-informed, (d) being believed/validated, and (e) managing post-separation family life as helpful. Participants also reported (f) barriers to navigating family law proceedings; a few expressed nothing helped. Findings support a trauma-informed, network-oriented approach to supporting family court-involved survivor mothers.

Intimate Partner Violence, Child Custody, and Financial Issues Among Female Suicide Decedents With Known Intimate Partner Problems: National Violent Death Reporting System, 2018

BACKGROUND

Hardships such as custody issues and financial stress may increase suicide risk for individuals experiencing intimate partner problems, particularly intimate partner violence (IPV). The objective of this study was to examine associations among custody issues, financial strain, and IPV among female suicide decedents with known intimate partner problems using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS).

METHODS

NVDRS data from 2018, which comes from 41 U.S. states, was used to examine the nature and frequency of custody and financial strain and IPV among a sample of 1,567 female suicide decedents with known intimate partner problems (e.g., divorce, breakup, argument). Case narratives were used to extract detailed information about these situations.

RESULTS

IPV was documented in 22.14% of cases. Compared with those without documented IPV, cases with documented IPV were more likely to include custody issues (3.44% vs. 6.34%). Controlling for demographic characteristics and mental health, documented child custody issues were associated with greater odds of IPV (odds ratio = 1.80; 95% confidence interval = 1.03-3.16). Financial strain was not statistically significantly associated with child custody issues or IPV among this sample.

CONCLUSIONS

Child custody issues can contribute to suicide among women with known intimate partner problems and are positively associated with IPV. Suicide prevention and intervention efforts should recognize child custody issues as a risk factor, particularly when coupled with IPV. There is also a need to promote policies and services that improve the financial and civil legal circumstances of IPV survivors.

A qualitative study on how intimate partner violence against women changes, escalates, and persists from pre- to postseparation

Research has focused on intimate partner violence (IPV) against women either before or after separation, but little attention has been paid to the changes in and persistence of violent behaviors from one situation to the next. This study contributes to the literature by comparing the changes in types and frequencies of abusive behaviors of women's former husbands. This allows us to understand how mechanisms of power are enacted through IPV both before and after separation. We interviewed 19 women in the Midwestern United States who had experienced IPV by their former husbands and had subsequently divorced them. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings suggest that verbal abuse and using children were the most common forms of IPV both pre- and postseparation. Many preseparation behaviors were replaced by other forms of abuse; for example, physical abuse was not experienced after separation. Some forms of IPV, such as stalking and economic abuse, escalated after separation. This reveals that exerting control over women through nonphysical forms of IPV was more common after separation. In particular, using axial and selective coding approach, our findings present three composite narratives of women's experiences of the changes in, and the escalation and persistence of, the violence they faced. The three composite narratives show how abusive behaviors are situated within patriarchal notions of dominance, power, and control over women and their children. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of healthcare services, advocacy-based victim assistance, school officials, and the courts.

Post-separation abuse: A literature review connecting tactics to harm

Post-separation abuse is a pervasive societal and public health problem. This literature review aims to critically synthesize the evidence on tactics and consequences of post-separation abuse. We examined 48 published articles in the US and Canada from 2011 through May 2022. Post-separation abuse encompasses a broad range of tactics perpetrated by a former intimate partner including patterns of psychological, legal, economic, and mesosystem abuse as well as weaponizing children. Functional consequences include risk of lethality and deprivation of fundamental human needs. Connecting tactics of post-separation abuse to harms experienced by survivors and their children is crucial for future research, policy, and intervention work to promote long-term safety, health, and well-being of children and adult survivors.