Intimate Partner Abuse: Forms, Victimization, and Theories

1. DR BABCOCK Intimate Partner Abuse Chapter Seven

2. Introduction • Intimate partner violence or domestic violence is violence committed by current or former spouse, opposite-sex or same sex cohabiting partner, date, or boyfriend or girlfriend • Intimate partner violence and abuse take many forms and is often repeated

3. Different Forms of Abuse • Physical abuse • Sexual abuse • Emotional abuse, and • Economic abuse

4. Physical Abuse • Behaviors may include: • Punching • shoving • slapping • biting • kicking • using a weapon against a partner • throwing items • Pulling hair, and restraining partner

5. Sexual Abuse • Sexual violence may include: • forcing a partner to perform sexual acts, • telling partner she asked for the abuse, (in sadomasochism), and • Rape • Sexual violence is pervasive in advertising…

6. Emotional & Psychological abuse • May include: • verbal abuse, name-calling • criticizing • playing mind games • humiliating the partner • reinforcing internalized homophobia

7. Economic Abuse • Economic control creates financial dependency It may include: • keeping the partner from getting a job, • getting the partner fired from a job, • making the partner ask for money, and • taking the money that he or she has earned

8. The Battered Women’s Movement • Major victories accomplished: • Victims identified • Heightened victim awareness • Intervention strategies • Protection and prevention • Batterer’s programs • Increased awareness of violence against lesbian and gay partners and males • Violence in dating relationships

9. Health and Safety Issues • Homelessness • Injury and Trauma • Quality of Life Issues • Hotline and shelters

10. Violence Against Women • Women are most frequent victims of intimate partner violence • One woman is victimized by an intimate partner every 1.3 minutes • She comes from every walk of life, age, race, ethnicity, and social class

11. Women and Violence • African American Women • American Indian and Alaska Native Women • Asian Women • Caucasian Women • Disabled Women • Hispanic/Latina Women

12. The Military and Violence against Women • Primarily the civilian spouse of active duty personnel • About 62% of abusers are on active military duty • More than 18,000 incidents reported to the Department of Defense’s family advocacy program in 2001 • Intimate violence handled on two separate tracks: • the military justice system • the family advocacy system

13. Violence Against Men • Men are also victimized • Stigma of being a male and the fear of not being believed are the reasons less likely to report and seek services • One man is victimized every 6 7 minutes by an intimate partner • Full extent of violence toward men not known • Some men do experience significant injury

14. Male Victims • Four factors leading to husband abuse • Ineffective communication between spouses • Struggle over control and power in the relationship or perception of lesser power • Husband abuse is evidenced as a form of social disorganization • The decision to injure partner is made with the knowledge that the apprehension or social censure is slim

15. Socialization factors that make it difficult for men to achieve recovery • Treatment • Minimization • Shame • Masculine identity • Male intimacy • Sexual identity • Power and control dynamics • Externalization • Compulsive behaviors

16. Theories of Intimate Partner Violence • Cycle of Violence Theory by Lenore Walker, The Battered Woman • Phase I: Tension Building • Phase II: Acute Battering • Phase III: Honeymoon

17. Feminist Sociopolitical Theory • Intimate partner violence considered endemic to culture influenced by patriarchal social structure • Social system that recognizes the complete dominance of men over women • Patriarchy recognized as the most common and enduring social system

18. Individual-Based Theories • Ascribe family violence to psychological problems such as personality disorders, the batterer’s childhood experiences, or biological disposition • Studies in recent years have refuted thesis, less than 10 percent of abusive parents were found to be emotionally maladjusted • Multiple factor theories are sought to determine the cause of abuse and neglect

19. Social-Psychological Model • An integrated theory that brings together three approaches to crime causation: • Social learning: learned through direct instruction, modeling, and reinforcement • Unequal power relations: abusive behavior will be tolerated, born through feminist contribution • Personal choice theory: acts out the violence instead of using alternative methods of conflict resolution

20. Sexual Offenses • Marital Rape: a prevalent form of sexual abuse – unwanted intercourse, or penetration obtained by force, threat of force • Most states did not consider a crime till 1970’s • In 1993, a crime in all 50 states • One in every seven married • Punishment prescribed is often lighter than for other types of rape

21. Date Rape • Includes unwanted intercourse, oral sex, anal sex, or other sexual contact through the use of force or threat of force by casual or intimating dating partners • Social term used to describe, not a specific crime called “date rape” • Common experience among young adult women • One in five women have experience forced sex in their lifetime

22. Dating Violence Victims • Younger individuals are at risk for this form of violence • Violence that occurs in a dating or courtship relationship • Includes sexual assaults, rape, physical assault and battery, and verbal and emotional abuse • Dating couples more likely to be violent than married couples • High rates found among university students • A range of 1 5 to 20 percent of students reported inflicting injury on partner

23. Factors Contributing to Assaulting Partners • Anger management • Antisocial personality • Conflict with partner • Communication problems • Criminal history • Dominance • Jealousy • Negative attributions about the partner • Neglect history • Sexual abuse history • Stressful conditions • Violence approval

24. Why Do Intimate Partner Violence Victims Stay? • The fact is women do leave their abusers • On average, women leave and return to an abusive partner five times before permanently leaving the relationship • Reasons for staying are complex • Battered women experience shame, embarrassment, isolation • There are many reasons why a victim may not leave: • fear, lack of support, difficulties of single parenting, reduced financial circumstances, lacking a safety plan, isolation, rationalization, etc