The Gender Paradigm in Family Court Processes: Re-balancing the Scales of Justice From Biased Social Science

Understanding the Trajectories of Women who use Violence Through an Intersectional Feminist Analysis

This article discusses the results of a collaborative research project aimed at understanding the life trajectories of women who have self-identified as having used violence in a context other than self-defense, which is an understudied topic. Based on semi-structured interviews and aided by an intersectional feminist framework applied to life course theory, we present a qualitative analysis of 26 women's experiences of violence, precarity, and services. The three groups of trajectories are distinguished by level of precarity as determined by the experience of violence in childhood, socioeconomic and family contexts, criminalization, intensity of violence, and whether the women received adequate support. This shows (1) the need for interventions to prevent the reproduction or aggravation of violence suffered and perpetrated; (2) the importance of considering the inter-related factors (gender, class race, etc.) that contribute to the women's precarity; and (3) that these factors must be considered to understand the contexts in which women have come to use violence, without trivializing or excusing it, but rather properly situating it with a view to better preventing and intervening in these situations. Our recommendations are aimed at ensuring that social work practices do not contribute to the enforcement of punitive measures, but support women in pursuing their path.

Levels of Coercive Control Differentiate Between Groups of Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in Colombia

The authors used Johnson's typology of intimate partner violence (IPV) to examine groupings of women experiencing physical violence within their intimate relationships according to coercive control levels. Analyses were conducted using data from the 2010 Colombian Demographic and Health Survey. In particular, the authors used a subsample of 12,237 ever-married (or cohabitating) women between the ages of 14 and 49 years, who reported at least one experience of physical violence. Exploratory and confirmatory cluster analyses demonstrated a good fit for a two-cluster solution based on coercive-control levels. Forty eight percent of women in the sample were classified in the high-control group. Comparisons between currently married and formerly married women evidenced formerly married women reported more physical violence, severe physical violence, physical consequences of violence, and psychological consequences of violence than currently married women. Furthermore, comparisons within the high-control group and the low-control group evidenced that formerly married women displayed higher scores in all six variables than currently married women. Findings from this study contribute to support Johnson's control-based IPV theory and its application in Colombia.

Income, Gender, and Forms of Intimate Partner Violence

Poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage place demands on intimate relationships and provide fertile ground for disagreements and conflicts. It is not known whether poverty also leads to intimate partner violence (IPV). This study investigates the association between income and forms of IPV victimization for both males and females. We also examine whether income inequalities are related to IPV and whether the gender balance of household income contributes to IPV victimization. Data are from a cohort of 2,401 young offspring (60.3% females) who participated at the 30-year follow-up of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy in Brisbane, Australia. Participants completed questionnaires including their income details and the Composite Abuse Scale. Within low-income families, both partners experience higher levels of IPV. Females' income is not independently related to experiencing IPV either for females or males. Females and males experience a higher rate of IPV when the husband earns a low income. When considering partners' relative income, families in which both partners earned a low income experienced higher levels of almost all forms of IPV. Income (im)balance in which females earn more or partners both have higher income was less often associated with the experience OF IPV IPV appears to be mutually experienced in the setting of the poverty. Objective economic hardship and scarcity create a context which facilitates IPV for both partners in a relationship.

The Relation Between Contempt, Anger, and Intimate Partner Violence: A Dyadic Approach

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a persistent problem in our society, and there is strong evidence for the existence of bidirectional violence in heterosexual romantic relationships. Couples' research has long focused on conflict and distressed communication patterns as a source of relationship distress and eventual dissolution. In addition to relationship dissatisfaction, dysfunctional communication also appears to be associated with elevated risk of IPV. In fact, one study found that communication difficulties were one of the most frequently self-reported motivations for committing partner violence in a sample of both males and females arrested for IPV. The current study sought to explore the association between the expression of distressed communication (contempt and anger) during a laboratory conflict discussion and reports of IPV perpetration using a dyadic data analysis method, the Actor Partner Interdependence Model, in a large ethnically diverse sample of heterosexual couples. We found that negative communication in the form of contempt was not only associated with one's own physical assault perpetration, but it was also associated with physical assault perpetration of the other partner. In contrast, anger was only associated with one's own physical assault perpetration. Therefore, our results highlight the potential efficacy of treatments for IPV that target negative communication patterns and affect.

Maternal intimate partner violence victimization and child maltreatment

There is some limited evidence of an association between maternal intimate partner victimization (IPV) and children's experience of maltreatment. Using data from a longitudinal study, we examine whether this relationship is independent of range of potential confounders including socio-economic, familial and psychological factors. Data were taken from the 14 and 30-year follow-ups of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) in Australia. A subsample of 2064 mothers and children (59.0% female) whose data on maternal IPV and child maltreatment was available, were analysed. In families with maternal IPV, two in five children reported being maltreated, compared to one in five children maltreated in families without maternal IPV. Except for sexual maltreatment which was consistently higher in female offspring, there was no gender differences in experiencing different types of maltreatment in families manifesting maternal IPV. Although both males and females were at increased risk of child maltreatment in families where mothers were victimized by their male partners, male children were more likely to be emotionally maltreated. The main associations were substantially independent of measured confounders, except for father's history of mental health problems which attenuated the association of maternal IPV victimization and male offspring's physical abuse. Our findings confirm that there is a robust association between maternal IPV and child maltreatment. Both maternal IPV victimization and child maltreatment co-occur in a household characterized by conflict and violence. Consequences of IPV go beyond the incident and influence all family members. Efforts to reduce child maltreatment may need to address the greater level of IPV associated with the cycle of family violence.

A self-report measure of legal and administrative aggression within intimate relationships

Although experts agree that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a multidimensional phenomenon comprised of both physical and non-physical acts, there is no measure of legal and administrative (LA) forms of IPV. LA aggression is when one partner manipulates the legal and other administrative systems to the detriment of his/her partner. Our measure was developed using the qualitative literature on male IPV victims' experiences. We tested the reliability and validity of our LA aggression measure on two samples of men: 611 men who sustained IPV and sought help, and 1,601 men in a population-based sample. Construct validity of the victimization scale was supported through factor analyses, correlations with other forms of IPV victimization, and comparisons of the rates of LA aggression between the two samples; reliability was established through Cronbach's alpha. Evidence for the validity and reliability of the perpetration scale was mixed and therefore needs further analyses and revisions before we can recommend its use in empirical work. There is initial support for the victimization scale as a valid and reliable measure of LA aggression victimization among men, but work is needed using women's victimization's experiences to establish reliability and validity of this measure for women. An LA aggression measure should be developed using LGBTQ victims' experiences, and for couples who are well into the divorce and child custody legal process. Legal personnel and practitioners should be educated on this form of IPV so that they can appropriately work with clients who have been victimized or perpetrate LA aggression.

Conflits entre conjoints ou contrôle des hommes sur les femmes ? L’expérience et le point de vue d’enfants et d’adolescents exposés à la violence conjugale

Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche empirique réalisée avec des enfants et des adolescents qui ont été exposés à la violence conjugale, dans le but de mieux comprendre leur expérience et leur point de vue sur la violence conjugale. Plus particulièrement, cet article s’intéresse à la façon dont ces jeunes définissent la violence conjugale. Privilégiant une méthodologie qualitative et participative, des groupes de discussions ont d’abord été réalisés avec 20 participants, suivis de 46 entrevues individuelles. Les participants étaient des enfants et des adolescents québécois et franco-ontariens qui ont été exposés à la violence conjugale. Dans l’ensemble, les résultats révèlent que, si la définition proposée par les enfants et les adolescents met l’accent sur l’exacerbation des conflits, renforçant ainsi le discours sur la symétrie de la violence conjugale, les expériences vécues mettent plutôt en évidence les inégalités liées au genre ainsi que le pouvoir et le contrôle des hommes sur les femmes.

Mediator’s Assessment of Safety Issues and Concerns (MASIC)

We investigated reliability and validity of the Mediator’s Assessment of Safety Issues and Concerns (MASIC), a screening interview for intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) in family mediation settings. Clients at three family mediation clinics in the United States and Australia ( N = 391) provided reports of the other parent’s IPV/A. Internal consistency of the total screen was excellent. A confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence that the MASIC assesses seven types of IPV/A: psychological abuse, coercive controlling behaviors, threats of severe violence, physical violence, severe physical violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Sex differences on differing types of violence victimization were generally consistent with previous research. Higher levels of victimization predicted self-reported consequences of abuse (e.g., fear, injuries). More abusive parties, as identified by their partners on the MASIC, had more Protective Orders and No Contact Orders and criminal convictions and crimes potentially related to IPV/A. Results provide initial evidence of the reliability and validity of the MASIC but more research is needed.

Intimate terrorism and situational couple violence in general surveys: ex-spouses required

In this article, we argue that past efforts to distinguish among types of intimate partner violence in general survey data have committed a critical error--using data on current spouses to develop operationalizations of intimate terrorism and situational couple violence. We use ex-spouse data from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) to develop new operationalizations. We then demonstrate that NVAWS current spouse data contain little intimate terrorism; we argue that this is likely to be the case for all general surveys. In addition, the ex-spouse data confirm past findings regarding a variety of differences between intimate terrorism and situational couple violence, including those predicted by feminist theories.

What Can We Learn From the Controversy Over the Role of Gender in Partner Violence?

The aim of this article is to reexamine the controversy over gender differences in partner violence perpetration and victimization through the following questions:

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Answers to these questions indicate that the controversy over gender differences in partner violence perpetration and victimization cannot be resolved by empirical means. Moreover, it is suggested that the controversy cannot be resolved at all because of its paradigmatic nature. It stems from differing and competing paradigmatic outlooks, which disagree over the identification, definition, and understanding of partner violence. As such, the controversy cannot be mediated, resolved, or settled. Moreover, it does not have to be resolved, for it provides an opportunity to broaden and deepen our knowledge and understanding of the field.