Domestic Violence
Chapter 6
Defining Domestic Violence

“Threatening behaviour, violence, or
abuse (psychological, physical, sexual,
financial or emotional) between adults who
are or have been intimate partners or are
family members, regardless of gender or
sexuality”
Domestic Violence
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OLD
Umbrella term: Spousal violence; intimate partner
violence; domestic abuse; wife abuse; spouse
battering; family violence
Abuse can include:
 Physical
 Sexual
 Emotional
 Financial, economic
Family Violence
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Nature of domestic violence
 Adolescent-to-parent; parent to child
 Sibling-to-sibling
 Spouse-to-spouse
Prevalence
 Depends on definition & measurement:
Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS)
 Victimization survey findings
The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS)

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Most commonly used scale to measure domestic
violence (1979)
1st reliable & valid scale for measuring family
violence (verbal aggression & physical violence
on a continuum)
 Females engage in minor physical violence

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Males engage in more serious physical
violence
Criticisms - Incidence rates sometimes
generalized from small & unrepresentative samples
Extent of Family Violence

A pressing social issue
 1993
telephone survey of 12,300 Canadian women
indicated 29% had been subjected to violence (Stats
Can 1988)
 More than 14,000 women & children admitted to
women’s shelters in BC between April 1, 1999 and
March 31, 2000 (Stats Can, 2001)
 (2002) est. 55,000 women & 45,000 children (under
10) admitted to shelters; 12% returned to spouse
Statistics Canada Violence
Against Women Survey (1999)

Used modified CTS to measure physical,
psychological, and sexual violence in
intimate relationships
 Both men and women experience
violence
 Women experience more severe forms
 Violence against women more likely
reported to police
Types of Relationship Violence
Experienced (Statistics Canada, 2006a)
Domestic Violence

2006 police-reported data:
38,000 incidents/ 15% violent incidents
o 83% of victims female; 17% male
o Common assault most frequently reported
o Charges laid by police in ¾ of all policereported incidents
o
Criminal Justice Response

Reasons for not reporting??

Mandatory charging policies give police
authority to lay charges against an assault
suspect
What characterizes an Abuser?
Heterogeneous group
 Generally violent men (assaultive both
inside & outside the home)
 Widely accepted that power needs drives
much offending
 Classifications from text

 Subtypes
of batterers
Risk Factors & Domestic Violence

Psychological characteristics
 More
angry (overcontrolled?)
 Emotional dependence (Jekyll & Hyde type?)
 Insecure
 Low self-esteem
 APD, narcissism
 Anxiety, depression, mood disorders, PTSD
Theoretical Perspectives

One’s perspective influences answers
 Issue:
perpetrator’s misuse of power, control
& authority
 Complexity
of studying
Theoretical Perspectives

Biological theories:
 Biological
influences may predispose
 Genes may predispose but do not
determine behaviour
 Neuropathology, head injury, hormones,
neurotransmitters
Theoretical Perspectives

Psychological theories:
 Why
some do and others don’t
 Factors in the individual that lead to an
inclination to commit a violent crime
 Social learning, psychopathology, impulsecontrol problems, low self-esteem, attitudes,
personality, attachment…………………….
 Zimbardo, Milgram studies
Theoretical Perspectives

Social learning theory
 Aggression
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Past learning experiences

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Observing or experiencing aggression
Own aggression refined through reinforcement
 Importance

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of models
Family members, subculture, mass media
 Cognitive

is acquired
factors especially important
Cognitive scripts
Attributions
Theoretical Perspectives

Feminist theory
 Gendered
nature of both deviance & control
 Patriarchal society (broad set of cultural beliefs and
values that support male dominance of woman)

Sociological theories: Systems theory
 Family
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interaction patterns
Interpersonal conflict violence (pushing, shoving)
Non-systematic abuse (kicking, hitting, throwing objects)
Systematic abuse (beating, choking, knives, guns)
 Roles,
relationships, & feedback mechanisms
 Social stress & disorganization (conflictual families)
Theoretical Explanations of
Family Violence
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Theories underdeveloped
Reciprocal interactionism of family dynamics
critical
Cessation of family violence
 Official
response & community support important
 Male-dominating tradition often seen at root of family
violence
 Efforts to change abuser’s attitudinal system
Etiology (causes)
Violence doesn’t necessarily beget
violence
 Adult offenders often claim abuse as
children
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 No

strong documentation
Cuts across socioeconomic, religious,
racial, ethnic lines
Etiology continued
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Alcohol and other drugs
alcohol & drug use exacerbator; not cause
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Male’s perceived loss of power

Is family violence different from general
violence?

Need to understand interactional dynamics
Risk Factors and Domestic
Violence

Correlational only
 Wife
working & husband not working
 Violence in family of origin
 Fear of abandonment
 Youth
 Lower SES
 Unemployment
 Prior arrest for violent crime
 Substance abuse
Risk Assessment

Instruments
 SARA
 Designed
to assess risk of re-offending in CJS
Interventions
Projects, programs, policies & practices
 Safe houses for victims
 Police practices
 CBT
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Predictors of Partner Violence

Interactional; arise from relationship
processes such as:
 Marital
conflict
 Customary modes of expressing aggression
 Stresses induced by work
Wife-to-Husband Violence
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More common than you think
Different reasons for violence against spouses
Battered women who kill are more likely to
believe lives in danger
Psychological Effects of Domestic
Violence on Children
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Risk factors must be considered
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Age, nature of violence
Overall, more behavioural and emotional problems
(aggression)
Both externalized and internalized behaviours
Numerous research studies demonstrating negative
effects
Affect on children’s own cognitive structures & attitudes
is critical
Effects of Violence on Children
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Feelings of fear, anger, depression, anxious, grief,
shame, despair & distrust, aggression
Sense of powerlessness
Physical reactions: stomach cramps, headaches,
sleeping/eating disorders; bed-wetting
Slowed developmental capacities (difficulties in school)
Substance abuse
Learning that violence is a legitimate means
for obtaining control of a situation or for
resolving conflict
Stalking and Domestic Violence

Stalking – new form of criminal deviance
 Common;
associated with gendered abuse & violence
 1996 – 80% of 4,450 victims women; 88% of stalkers
were men
 “willful, repeated and malicious following, harassing or
threatening of another person”
 Mostly, prior intimate relationships

Broad range of behaviours
 Threats,
spying, following, vandalized property,
threatening to kill or killed pets
Stalking Behaviour

Stalking victimization is reported by 4% of
Canadian women and 2% of men
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(Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2005)
Targeted harassment is concerning:
 Stalking
behaviour is a persistent and threatening
form of violence that can severely affect the mental
health of victims and those close to them
 Estimated that 25 – 30% of stalking involves violence
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