how to write a research paper on domestic violence

153 Domestic Violence Topics & Essay Examples

A domestic violence essay can deal with society, gender, family, and youth. To help you decide which aspect to research, our team provided this list of 153 topics .

📑 Aspects to Cover in a Domestic Violence Essay

🏆 best domestic violence titles & essay examples, ⭐ interesting domestic violence topics for an essay, 🎓 good research topics about domestic violence, ❓ research questions on domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a significant problem and one of the acute topics of today’s society. It affects people of all genders and sexualities.

Domestic violence involves many types of abuse, including sexual and emotional one. Essays on domestic violence can enhance students’ awareness of the issue and its causes. Our tips will be useful for those wanting to write outstanding domestic violence essays.

Start with choosing a topic for your paper. Here are some examples of domestic violence essay titles:

• Causes of domestic violence and the ways to eliminate them
• The consequences of domestic violence
• The importance of public domestic violence speech
• Ways to reduce domestic violence
• The prevalence of domestic violence in the United States (or other countries)
• The link between domestic violence and mental health problems among children

Now that you have selected one of the titles for your essay, you can start working on the paper. We have prepared some tips on the aspects you should cover in your work:

• Start with researching the issue you have selected. Analyze its causes, consequences, and effects. Remember that you should include some of the findings in the paper using in-text citations.
• Develop a domestic violence essay outline. The structure of your paper will depend on the problem you have selected. In general, there should be an introductory and a concluding paragraph, as well as three (or more) body paragraphs. Hint: Keep in mind the purpose of your essay while developing its structure.
• Present your domestic violence essay thesis clearly. The last sentence of your introductory paragraph should be the thesis statement. Here are some examples of a thesis statement:

Domestic violence has a crucial impact on children’s mental health. / Domestic violence affects women more than men.

• Present a definition of domestic violence. What actions does the term involve? Include several possible perspectives on domestic violence.
• Discuss the victims of domestic violence and the impact it has on them too. Provide statistical data, if possible.
• Help your audience to understand the issue better by discussing the consequences of domestic violence, even if it is not the primary purpose of your paper. The essay should show why it is necessary to eliminate this problem.
• You can include some relevant quotes on domestic violence to make your arguments more persuasive. Remember to use citations from relevant sources only. Such sources include peer-reviewed articles and scholarly publications. If you are not sure whether you can use a piece of literature, consult your professor to avoid possible mistakes.
• Support your claims with evidence. Ask your professor in advance about the sources you can use in your paper. Avoid utilizing Wikipedia, as this website is not reliable.
• Stick to a formal language. Although you may want to criticize domestic violence, do not use offensive terms. Your paper should look professional.
• Pay attention to the type of paper you should write. If it is an argumentative essay, discuss opposing views on domestic violence and prove that they are unreliable.
• Remember that you should include a domestic violence essay conclusion in your paper too. This section of the paper should present your main ideas and findings. Remember not to present any new information or citations in the concluding paragraph.

There are some free samples we have prepared for you, too. Check them out!

• Domestic Violence and Conflict Theory in Society The Conflict Theory explains remarkable events in history and the changing patterns of race and gender relations and also emphasizes the struggles to explain the impact of technological development on society and the changes to […]
• Break the Silence: Domestic Violence Case The campaign in question aimed to instruct victims of domestic violence on how to cope with the problem and where to address to get assistance.
• Domestic Violence against Women Domestic violence against women refers to “any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, and mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts as […]
• Domestic Violence and Honor Killing Analysis Justice and gender equality are important aspects of the totality of mankind that measure social and economic development in the world. The cultural justification is to maintain the dignity and seniority framework of the family.
• Behind Closed Doors: Domestic Violence The term “domestic violence” is used to denote the physical or emotional abuse that occurs in the homes. Therefore, it has contributed to the spread of domestic violence in the country.
• Annotated Bibliography on Domestic Violence Against Women They evaluate 134 studies from various countries that provide enough evidence of the prevalence of domestic violence against women and the adverse effects the vice has had for a decade.
• Supporting Female Victims of Domestic Violence and Abuse: NGO Establishment The presence of such a model continues to transform lives and make it easier for more women to support and provide basic education to their children.
• Domestic Violence: Reason, Forms and Measures The main aim of this paper is to determine the reason behind the rapid increase of domestic violence, forms of domestic violence and measures that should be taken to reduce its effects.
• Effects of Domestic Violence on Children’s Social and Emotional Development In the case of wife-husband violence, always, one parent will be the offender and the other one the victim; in an ideal situation, a child needs the love of a both parents. When brought up […]
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence In addition, NCADV hopes to make the public know that the symbol of the purple ribbon represents the mission of the organization, which is to bring peace to all American households.
• Guilty until Proven Otherwise: Domestic Violence Cases The presumption of the guilt of a man in domestic violence cases is further proven by the decision of the court in which the man is required to post a bond despite the fact that […]
• Domestic Violence Ethical Dilemmas in Criminal Justice Various ethical issues such as the code of silence, the mental status of the offender, and limited evidence play a vital role in challenging the discretion of police officers in arresting the DV perpetrators.
• Ambivalence on Part of the Police in Response to Domestic Violence The police have been accused of ambivalence by their dismissive attitudes and through sexism and empathy towards perpetrators of violence against women.
• Domestic Violence: Qualitative & Quantitative Research This research seeks to determine the impacts of domestic violence orders in reducing the escalating cases of family brutality in most households. N1: There is a significant relationship between domestic violence orders and the occurrence […]
• Domestic Violence and Repeat Victimisation Theory Domestic violence is a crime which often happens because of a bad relationship between a man and woman and usually continues to be repeated until one of the parties leaves the relationship; hence victims of […]
• What Causes Domestic Violence? Domestic abuse, which is also known as domestic violence, is a dominance of one family member over another or the other. As a result, the probability of them becoming abusers later in life is considerably […]
• Affordable, Effective Legal Assistance for Victims of Domestic Violence Legal assistance significantly increases the chances for domestic abuse victims to obtain restraining orders, divorce, and custody of their children. Helping victims of domestic violence with inexpensive legal aid is a critical step in assisting […]
• Domestic Violence: Far-Right Conspiracy Theory in Australia’s Culture Wars The phenomenon of violence is directly related to the violation of human rights and requires legal punishment for the perpetrators and support for the victims.
• Domestic Violence and Black Women’s Experiences Overall, the story’s exploration of the reality of life for an African American married woman in a patriarchal society, and the challenges faced by black women, is relevant to the broader reality of domestic violence […]
• Domestic Violence: Criminal Justice In addition, the usage of illegal substances such as bhang, cocaine, and other drugs contributes to the increasing DV in society.
• Witnessed Domestic Violence and Juvenile Detention Research The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between witnessed domestic violence and juvenile detention. Research has pointed to a relationship between witnessed violence and juvenile delinquency, and this study holds that […]
• Domestic Violence Against Women in Melbourne Thus, it is possible to introduce the hypothesis that unemployment and related financial struggles determined by pandemic restrictions lead to increased rates of domestic violence against women in Melbourne.
• Domestic Violence and Its Main Signs In general, the providers should be able to identify the markers of abuse by paying closer attention to the people they serve, treat, teach, or work with.
• Intersectionality in Domestic Violence Another way an organization that serves racial minorities may address the unique needs of domestic violence victims is to offer additional educational and consultancy activities for women of color.
• Domestic Violence and Primordial Prevention In addition, the promotion of social norms against violence and increased penalties for domestic and sexual abuse need to be supported at the legislative level.
• Healthcare Testing of a Domestic Violence Victim Accordingly, the negative aspects of this exam include difficulties in identifying and predicting the further outcome of events and the course of side effects.
• Financial Insecurity: Impact on Domestic Violence Therefore, this problem is global and widespread, and it would be wrong to assume that spousal abuse only exists when couples are poor.
• Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, or Elder Abuse In every health facility, a nurse who notices the signs of abuse and domestic violence must report them to the relevant authorities.
• Educational Services for Children in Domestic Violence Shelters In order to meet the objectives of the research, Chanmugam et al.needed to reach out to the representatives of emergency domestic violence shelters located in the state of Texas well-aware of the shelters’ and schools’ […]
• The Domestic Violence Arrest Laws According to the National Institute of Justice, mandatory arrest laws are the most prevalent in US states, indicating a widespread agreement on their effectiveness.
• Environmental Scan for Hart City Domestic Violence Resource Center In particular, it identifies the target population, outlines the key resources, and provides an overview of data sources for assessing key factors and trends that may affect the Resource Center in the future.
• Domestic Violence Investigation Procedure If they claim guilty, the case is proceeded to the hearing to estimate the sentencing based on the defendant’s criminal record and the scope of assault. The issue of domestic abuse in households is terrifyingly […]
• Educational Group Session on Domestic Violence This will be the first counseling activity where the counselor assists the women to appreciate the concepts of domestic violence and the ways of identifying the various kinds of violence.
• Domestic Violence and COVID-19: Literature Review The “stay safe, stay at home” mantra used by the governments and public health organizations was the opposite of safety for the victims of domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence and COVID-19 in the United States Anurudran et al.argue that the new measures taken to fight COVID-19 infections heightened the risk of domestic abuse. The pandemic paradox: The consequences of COVID 19 on domestic violence.
• Rachel Louise Snyder’s Research on Domestic Violence Language and framing play a significant role in manipulating people’s understanding of domestic violence and the nature of the problem. However, it is challenging to gather precise data on the affected people and keep track […]
• Domestic Violence Prevention and Restraining Order Since upon the expiry of a restraining order, a victim can file a renewal petition the current task is to determine whether the original DVRO of our client has expired, the burden of obtaining a […]
• Alcoholism, Domestic Violence and Drug Abuse Kaur and Ajinkya researched to investigate the “psychological impact of adult alcoholism on spouses and children”. The work of Kaur and Ajinkya, reveals a link between chronic alcoholism and emotional problems on the spouse and […]
• Domestic Violence Counselling Program Evaluation The evaluation will be based upon the mission of the program and the objectives it states for the participants. The counselors arrange treatment for both sides of the conflict: the victims and offenders, and special […]
• Domestic Violence and Suicide Risk Hence, considering these facts, it is necessary to put the notion of suicide risk in perspective when related to the issue of domestic violence.
• The Roles of Domestic Violence Advocates Domestic conflict advocates assist victims in getting the help needed to cope and move forward. Moreover, these advocates help the survivors in communicating to employers, family members, and lawyers.
• Domestic Violence and Home Visit Intervention As the study concludes, despite the increase in general awareness concerning domestic violence cases, it is still a significant threat to the victims and their children.
• Domestic Violence: How Is It Adressed? At this stage, when the family members of the battered women do this to them, it becomes the responsibility of the people to do something about this.
• Victimology and Domestic Violence In this situation there are many victims; Anne is a victim of domestic violence and the children are also victims of the same as well as the tragic death of their father.
• Domestic Violence Among Police Officers The objective of this research is to establish the level of domestic violence among police officers and relative the behavior to stress, divorce, police subculture, and child mistreatment.
• “The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment” by Sherman and Berk The experiment conducted by the authors throws light on the three stages of the research circle. This is one of the arguments that can be advanced.
• Domestic Violence and Diversion Strategies of Drug Offenders in Australian The article is very informative since outlines a couple of the reasons behind the rampant increase in cases of negligence and lack of concern, especially from the government.
• An Investigation on Domestic Violence This particular experiment aimed to evaluate the nature of relationship and the magnitude of domestic violence meted on either of the partners.
• Educational Program on Domestic Violence The reason why I have chosen this as the topic for my educational program is that victims of domestic violence often feel that they do not have any rights and hence are compelled to live […]
• Family and Domestic Violence: Enhancing Protective Factors Current partner Previous partner Percentage of children When children are exposed to violence, they encounter numerous difficulties in their various levels of development.
• Domestic Violence and Women in Abusive Relationships Despite the fact the author of the article discusses a controversial problem of domestic violence against women based on the data from recent researches and focusing on such causes for violence as the problematic economic […]
• Parenting in Battered Women: The Effects of Domestic Violence In this study, ‘Parenting in Battered Women: The Effects of Domestic Violence on Women and their Children,’ Alytia A. It is commendable that at this stage in stating the problem the journalists seek to conclude […]
• Domestic Violence Types and Causes This is acknowledged by the law in most countries of the world as one of the most brutal symbols of inequality.
• Alcohol and Domestic Violence in Day-To-Day Social Life My paper will have a comprehensive literature review that will seek to analyze the above topic in order to assist the reader understand the alcohol contributions in the domestic and social violence in our society.
• Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America The abusive spouse wants to feel powerful and in control of the family so he, usually the abusive spouse is the man, beats his wife and children to assert his superiority.
• Domestic or Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Purpose of the study: The safety promoting behavior of the abused women is to be increased using a telephone intervention. They were allocated to either of the groups by virtue of the week of enrolment […]
• Federal and State Legislative Action on Domestic Violence In 2004, the state of New York decided to look into some of the ways of preventing this form of domestic violence by forming an Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence in 2005, employers […]
• Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence: Comprehensive Discussion Substance abuse refers to the misuse of a drug or any other chemical resulting in its dependence, leading to harmful mental and physical effects to the individual and the wellbeing of the society.
• Environmental Trends and Conditions: Domestic Violence in the Workplace Despite the fact that on average the literacy rate and the rate of civilization in the world have been increasing in the past few decades, the statistics for domestic violence have been increasing on an […]
• Domestic Violence in the Organizations Despite the fact that on average the literacy rate and the rate of civilization in the world has been increasing in the past few decades, the statistics for domestic violence have been increasing on an […]
• Facts About Domestic Violence All aspects of the society – which starts from the smallest unit, that is the family, to the church and even to the government sectors are all keen on finding solutions on how to eliminate, […]
• Domestic Violence in Marriage and Family While there are enormous reports of intimate partner homicides, murders, rapes, and assaults, it is important to note that victims of all this violence find it very difficult to explain the matter and incidents to […]
• One-Group Posttest-Only Design in the Context of Domestic Violence Problem This application must unveil the risks and their solutions by researching the variables and the threats to the validity of the research.
• Help-Seeking Amongst Women Survivors of Domestic Violence First, the article explains the necessity of the research conduction, which includes the relevance of the abuse problem and the drawbacks of solving and studying it.
• Domestic Violence as a Social Issue It is one of the main factors which stimulate the study’s conduction, and among the rest, one can also mention the number of unexplored violence questions yet to be answered.
• Reflections on Domestic Violence in the Case of Dr. Mile Crawford Nevertheless, the only way out of this situation is to escape and seek help from the legal system. From a personal standpoint, to help her would be the right thing to do.
• Gender Studies: Combating Domestic Violence The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed description of domestic violence, as well as the development of an action plan that can help in this situation.
• Domestic Violence Perpetration and Its Predictors The implementation of sound research can help in addressing the problem and decreasing the incidence of domestic violence, which will contribute to the development of American society.
• Domestic Violence Funding and Impact on Society The number of domestic violence cases in the US, both reported and unreported, is significant. The recent decision of Trump’s administration to reduce the expenses for domestic violence victims from $480,000,000 to $40,000,000 in the […]
• Domestic Violence and Millennium Development Goals As a result, a review of the potential of MDGs for resolving the issue needs to analyze the contribution of the goals to the resolution of the instances, consequences, and causes of DV.
• Campaign against Domestic Violence: Program Plan In addition, men who used to witness aggressive behavior at home or in the family as children, or learned about it from stories, are two times more disposed to practice violence against their partners than […]
• Domestic Violence and Bullying in Schools It also states the major variables related to bullying in schools. They will confirm that social-economic status, gender, and race can contribute to bullying in schools.
• Domestic Violence Within the US Military In most of the recorded domestic violence cases, females are mostly the victims of the dispute while the males are the aggressors of the violence.
• Domestic Violence and Married Couples’ Issues There are different types and causes of domestic violence, but the desire to take control over relationships is the most common cause.
• Domestic Violence Impact on Child Maltreatment Reporting The present research aims to address both the general population and social workers to examine the overall attitudes to the reporting of child maltreatment.
• Domestic Violence Management and Budget Cuts On the other hand, the allocation of financial resources with the focus on awareness campaigns has also led to a lack of financial support for centres that provide the frontline services to victims of domestic […]
• Domestic Violence and Its Impact on Victims This paper highlights some of the recent cases of the violence, the forms of abuse involved, and their overall impacts on the victims.
• Family and Domestic Violence Legislation in the US In fact, this law is a landmark pointing to the recognition of the concept of domestic violence at the legal level and acknowledging that it is a key problem of the society.
• Domestic Violence and Social Interventions In conclusion, social learning theory supports the idea that children have a high likelihood of learning and simulating domestic violence through experiences at home.
• Domestic Violence Victims’ Right to Sue Authorities Victims of child abuse and domestic violence have the right to seek legal recourse in case of violation of their rights.
• Domestic Violence and Child’s Brain Development The video “First Impressions: Exposure to Violence and a Child’s Developing Brain” answers some questions of the dependence of exposure to domestic violence and the development of brain structures of children. At the beginning of […]
• Local Domestic Violence Victim Resources in Kent The focus of this paper is to document the local domestic violence victim resources found within a community in Kent County, Delaware, and also to discuss the importance of these resources to the community.
• Domestic Violence Activism in Law and Society I also suppose that some of these people may start lifting their voices against the law, paying particular attention to the idea that it is theoretically allowable that the law can punish people for other […]
• Domestic Violence Abuse: Laws in Maryland The Peace and Protective Orders-Burden of Proof regulation in Maryland and the Violence against Women Act are some of the laws that have been created to deal with domestic violence.
• Theories of Domestic Violence It is important to point out that women have received the short end of the stick in regards to domestic violence. A third reason why people commit domestic violence according to the Family Violence Theory […]
• Domestic Violence in Australia: Policy Issue In this paper, DV in Australia will be regarded as a problem that requires policy decision-making, and the related terminology and theory will be used to gain insights into the reasons for the persistence of […]
• Nondiscriminatory Education Against Domestic Violence The recent event that prompted the proposed advocacy is the criticism of a banner that depicts a man as the victim of abuse.
• Domestic Violence in International Criminal Justice The United Nations organization is deeply concerned with the high level of violence experienced by women in the family, the number of women killed, and the latency of sexual violence.
• Project Reset and the Domestic Violence Court The majority of the decisions in courts are aimed to mitigate the effects of the strict criminal justice system of the United States.
• Same-Sex Domestic Violence Problem Domestic violence in gay or lesbian relationships is a serious matter since the rates of domestic violence in such relationships are almost equivalent to domestic violence in heterosexual relationships. There are a number of misconceptions […]
• Domestic, Dating and Sexual Violence Dating violence is the sexual or physical violence in a relationship which includes verbal and emotional violence. The rate of sexual violence in other nations like Japan and Ethiopia, range from 15 to 71 percent.
• Anger Management Counseling and Treatment of Domestic Violence by the Capital Area Michigan Works These aspects include: the problem that the program intends to solve, the results produced by the program, the activities of the program, and the resources that are used to achieve the overall goal.
• Understanding Women’s Responses to Domestic Violence The author’s research orientation is a mix of interpretive, positivism and critical science – interpretive in informing social workers or practitioners on how to enhance their effectiveness as they deal with cases related to violence […]
• Poverty and Domestic Violence It is based on this that in the next section, I have utilized my educational experience in order to create a method to address the issue of domestic violence from the perspective of a social […]
• Teenage Dating and Domestic Violence That is why it is important to report about the violence to the police and support groups in order to be safe and start a new life.
• Evaluation of the Partnership Against Domestic Violence According to the official mission statement of the organization, PADV is aimed at improving the overall wellbeing of families all over the world and helping those that suffer from domestic violence The organization’s primary goal […]
• Cross-Cultural Aspects of Domestic Violence This is one of the limitations that should be taken account. This is one of the problems that should not be overlooked.
• Domestic Violence in the Lives of Women She gives particular focus on the social and traditional aspects of the community that heavily contribute to the eruption and sustenance of violence against women in households. In the part 1 of the book, Renzetti […]
• Financial Planning and Management for Domestic Violence Victims Acquisition of resources used in criminal justice require financial resources hence the need to manage the same so as to provide the best machines and equipments.
• Violence against Women: Domestic, National, and Global Rape as a weapon for the enemy Majority of cultures in war zones still accept and regard rape to be a weapon of war that an enemy should be punished with.
• Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Development In cases where children are exposed to such violence, then they become emotionally troubled: In the above, case them the dependent variable is children emotions while the independent variable is domestic violence: Emotions = f […]
• Evaluation of Anger Management Counseling and Treatment of Domestic Violence by the Capital Area Michigan Works These aspects include: the problem that the program intends to solve, the results produced by the program, the activities of the program, and the resources that are used to achieve the overall goal.
• Knowledge and Attitudes of Nurses Regarding Domestic Violence and Their Effect on the Identification of Battered Women In conducting this research, the authors sought the consent of the prospective participants where the purpose of the study was explained to participants and confidentiality of information to be collected was reassured.
• Domestic Violence Dangers Mount With Economic, Seasonal Pressures These variables are believed to be able to prompt the family to explore the experiences and meanings of stress and stress management.
• Impact of the Economic Status on Domestic Violence This article investigates the possible factors that may help in explaining the status of women who are homeless and their capacity to experience domestic violence.
• Dominance and “Power Plays” in Relationships to Assist Clients to Leave Domestic Violence According to psychologists, the problem of domestic violence is based on the fact that one partner needs to be in control of the other.
• Social Marketing Campaign on Domestic Violence In this marketing campaign strategy the focus would be centered on violence against women, as a form of domestic violence that is currently experience in many countries across the globe.
• Art Therapy With Women Who Have Suffered Domestic Violence One of the most significant benefits of art therapy is the fact the patients get to understand and interpret their own situations which puts them in a better position to creatively participate in own healing […]
• Collaborative Crisis Intervention at a Domestic Violence Shelter The first visit is meant to collect the information that the professional in domestic violence deem crucial concerning the precipitating incidence and history of violence.
• Domestic Violence Exposure in Colombian Adolescents In this topic, the authors intend to discover the extent of association of drug abuse to domestic violence exposure, violent and prosocial behavior among adolescents.
• Domestic Violence and Its Classification Sexual abuse is the other common form of maltreatment which is on the rise and refers to any circumstance in which force is utilized to get involvement in undesired intimate action. Emotional maltreatment entails inconsistent […]
• Domestic Violence and Social Initiatives in Solving the Problem The absence of the correct social programs at schools and the lack of desire of government and police to pay more attention to the prevention of the problem while it is not too late are […]
• Domestic Violence in the African American Community Previous research has suggested this due to the many causes and effects that are experienced by the members and especially the male members of the African American community.
• Domestic Violence: Predicting and Solutions There are several factors which predict the state of domestic violence in the future and this will help in preventing domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence: Signs of Abuse and Abusive Relationships The unprecedented rejuvenation of such a vile act, prompted the formation of factions within society, that are sensitive to the plight of women, and fight for the cognizance of their rights in society.
• Domestic Violence against South Asian Women Again, this strategy is premised on the idea that domestic violence can be explained by the financial dependence of women in these communities.
• The Effects of Domestic Violence According to statistics and research provided in the handout, women are at a higher risk of being victims of domestic violence.
• Effect of Domestic Violence on Children This is done with the aim of ensuring that the child is disciplined and is meant as a legitimate punishment. Most of our children have been neglected and this has contributed to the increase in […]
• Domestic Violence and Elderly Abuse- A Policy Statement Though this figure has been changing with the change in the method of survey that was conducted and the nature of samples that were taken during the research process, it is widely accepted fact that […]
• Domestic Violence as a Social and Public Health Problem The article, authored by Lisa Simpson Strange, discusses the extent of domestic violence especially in women and the dangers it exposes the victims to, insisting that severe actions should be taken against those who commit […]
• Community and Domestic Violence: Elder Abuse In addition, the fact the elderly people cannot defend themselves because of the physical frailty that they encounter, they will experience most of the elderly abuse.
• Community and Domestic Violence; Gang Violence Solitude, peer pressure, need to belong, esteem, and the excitement of the odds of arrest entice adolescents to join these youth gangs.
• Fighting Domestic Violence in Pocatello, Idaho Having realized the need to involve the family unit in dealing with this vice, Walmart has organized a sensitization program that will involve the education of whole family to increase awareness on the issue. The […]
• What Is the Purpose of Studying Domestic Violence?
• What Does Theory Explain Domestic Violence?
• What Is the Difference Between IPV and Domestic Violence?
• What Age Group Does Domestic Violence Affect Most?
• When Domestic Violence Becomes the Norm?
• How Are Domestic Violence Problems Solved in American and Other Cultures?
• What Are the 3 Phases in the Domestic Violence Cycle?
• How Can Domestic Violence Be Explained?
• How Many Deaths Are Caused by Domestic Violence?
• When Was Domestic Violence First Defined?
• How Is a Domestic Violence Prevention?
• How Race, Class, and Gender Influences Domestic Violence?
• Why Do Victims of Abuse Sometimes Stay Silent?
• How Does Domestic Violence Affect the Brain?
• Is Mental Illness Often Associated With Domestic Violence?
• How Does Domestic Violence Affect a Person Emotionally?
• How Does Domestic Violence Affect Children’s Cognitive Development?
• Why Should Employers Pay Attention to Domestic Violence?
• What Are the Causes of Domestic Violence?
• What Country Has the Highest Rate of Domestic Violence?
• How Does Domestic Violence Affect the Lives of Its Victims?
• What Are the Possible Causes and Signs of Domestic Violence?
• How Does Socioeconomic Status Affect Domestic Violence?
• How Does the Australian Criminal Justice System Respond to Domestic Violence?
• How Does Culture Affect Domestic Violence in the UK?
• What Is the Psychology of an Abuser?
• What Is Police Doing About Domestic Violence?
• How Does the Government Define Domestic Violence?
• What Profession Has the Highest Rate of Domestic Violence?
• What Percent of Domestic Violence Is Alcohol-Related?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 26). 153 Domestic Violence Topics & Essay Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/domestic-violence-essay-examples/

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How to Write a Research Proposal for Domestic Violence

Psychology Graduate Schools With Specialization in PTSD

To gain a place in a postgraduate college course, such as a master's degree or Ph.D., you must present a proposal outlining what you would like to research and why. Domestic violence affects real lives in the U.S. and worldwide, making it a pertinent subject for study. Find out what specific requirements the school has before applying some basic guidelines to write a successful research proposal on the subject.

Write a title, having studied the latest scholarly material and made an informed decision about what you would like to research. Your title does not need to explain every aspect of the proposal, but should reflect the main content. For example: "Cultural Factors of Domestic Violence among Eastern European Immigrants" or "The Impact of Domestic Violence on Preschool Children."

Write your first paragraph, detailing the topic you wish to study and why you consider it important. You must convince the committee that the subject is worth investing in. Cite any evidence, such as recent studies, that prove the need for research.

Write a hypothesis, if the program requires it. This states the theory you intend to test or demonstrate through your research. For example, your hypothesis might claim that the declining economy of a particular region has an effect on rates of domestic violence among young families.

Write your next few paragraphs, putting your topic into historical and academic perspective. Include the latest research on domestic violence, from books and scholarly journals. Relevant publications include "Journal of Family Violence," "Journal of Family Studies" and "Violence Against Women," and any resources specific to your academic field, such as psychology, sociology or health care.

Write a section about what research methods you will use. Likely methodology for research into domestic violence will include interviews, for example, but your proposal should show awareness of the safety and ethical issues involved for participants. You also need to address practical concerns, such as cost and time.

Write your final section about your expected conclusions and how you and others will use the results. For example, research into domestic violence could affect the way counselors, police officers and other professionals are trained to deal with such situations.

• Describe other research in your own words, rather than quoting directly, as this shows you understand the source material.

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Dave Koenig has written professionally since 2005. His writing interests include the arts, film, religion and language. Koenig holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical-theological studies from Manchester University and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education in religious studies from Lancaster University.

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Domestic violence research topics.

The list of domestic violence research paper topics below will show that domestic violence takes on many forms. Through recent scientific study, it is now known that domestic violence occurs within different types of households. The purpose of creating this list is for students to have available a comprehensive, state-of-the-research, easy-to-read compilation of a wide variety of domestic violence topics and provide research paper examples on those topics.

Domestic violence research paper topics can be divided into seven categories:

• Victims of domestic violence,
• Theoretical perspectives and correlates to domestic violence,
• Cross-cultural and religious perspectives,
• Understudied areas within domestic violence research,
• Domestic violence and the law,
• Child abuse and elder abuse, and
• Special topics in domestic violence.

100+ Domestic Violence Research Topics

Victims of domestic violence.

Initial research recognized wives as victims of domestic violence. Thereafter, it was acknowledged that unmarried women were also falling victim to violence at the hands of their boyfriends. Subsequently, the term ‘‘battered women’’ became synonymous with ‘‘battered wives.’’ Legitimizing female victimization served as the catalyst in introducing other types of intimate partner violence.

• Battered Husbands
• Battered Wives
• Battered Women: Held in Captivity
• Battered Women Who Kill: An Examination
• Cohabiting Violence
• Dating Violence
• Domestic Violence in Workplace
• Intimate Partner Homicide
• Intimate Partner Violence, Forms of
• Marital Rape
• Mutual Battering
• Spousal Prostitution

Read more about victims of domestic violence .

Part 2: Research Paper Topics on

Theoretical Perspectives and Correlates to Domestic Violence

There is no single causal factor related to domestic violence. Rather, scholars have concluded that there are numerous factors that contribute to domestic violence. Feminists found that women were beaten at the hands of their partners. Drawing on feminist theory, they helped explain the relationship between patriarchy and domestic violence. Researchers have examined other theoretical perspectives such as attachment theory, exchange theory, identity theory, the cycle of violence, social learning theory, and victim-blaming theory in explaining domestic violence. However, factors exist that may not fall into a single theoretical perspective. Correlates have shown that certain factors such as pregnancy, social class, level of education, animal abuse, and substance abuse may influence the likelihood for victimization.

• Animal Abuse: The Link to Family Violence
• Assessing Risk in Domestic Violence Cases
• Attachment Theory and Domestic Violence
• Battered Woman Syndrome
• Batterer Typology
• Bullying and the Family
• Coercive Control
• Control Balance Theory and Domestic Violence
• Cycle of Violence
• Depression and Domestic Violence
• Education as a Risk Factor for Domestic Violence
• Exchange Theory
• Feminist Theory
• Identity Theory and Domestic Violence
• Intergenerational Transfer of Intimate Partner Violence
• Popular Culture and Domestic Violence
• Post-Incest Syndrome
• Pregnancy-Related Violence
• Social Class and Domestic Violence
• Social Learning Theory and Family Violence
• Stockholm Syndrome in Battered Women
• Substance Use/Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence
• The Impact of Homelessness on Family Violence
• Victim-Blaming Theory

Read more about domestic violence theories .

Part 3: Research Paper Topics on

Cross-Cultural and Religious Perspectives on Domestic Violence

It was essential to acknowledge that domestic violence crosses cultural boundaries and religious affiliations. There is no one particular society or religious group exempt from victimization. A variety of developed and developing countries were examined in understanding the prevalence of domestic violence within their societies as well as their coping strategies in handling these volatile issues. It is often misunderstood that one religious group is more tolerant of family violence than another. As Christianity, Islam, and Judaism represent the three major religions of the world, their ideologies were explored in relation to the acceptance and prevalence of domestic violence.

• Africa: Domestic Violence and the Law
• Africa: The Criminal Justice System and the Problem of Domestic Violence in West Africa
• Asian Americans and Domestic Violence: Cultural Dimensions
• Child Abuse: A Global Perspective
• Christianity and Domestic Violence
• Cross-Cultural Examination of Domestic Violence in China and Pakistan
• Cross-Cultural Examination of Domestic Violence in Latin America
• Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Domestic Violence
• Cross-Cultural Perspectives on How to Deal with Batterers
• Dating Violence among African American Couples
• Domestic Violence among Native Americans
• Domestic Violence in African American Community
• Domestic Violence in Greece
• Domestic Violence in Rural Communities
• Domestic Violence in South Africa
• Domestic Violence in Spain
• Domestic Violence in Trinidad and Tobago
• Domestic Violence within the Jewish Community
• Human Rights, Refugee Laws, and Asylum Protection for People Fleeing Domestic Violence
• Introduction to Minorities and Families in America
• Medical Neglect Related to Religion and Culture
• Multicultural Programs for Domestic Batterers
• Qur’anic Perspectives on Wife Abuse
• Religious Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment
• Rule of Thumb
• Same-Sex Domestic Violence: Comparing Venezuela and the United States
• Worldwide Sociolegal Precedents Supporting Domestic Violence from Ancient to Modern Times

Part 4: Research Paper Topics on

Understudied Areas within Domestic Violence Research

Domestic violence has typically examined traditional relationships, such as husband–wife, boyfriend–girlfriend, and parent–child. Consequently, scholars have historically ignored non-traditional relationships. In fact, certain entries have limited cross-references based on the fact that there were limited, if any, scholarly publications on that topic. Only since the 1990s have scholars admitted that violence exists among lesbians and gay males. There are other ignored populations that are addressed within this encyclopedia including violence within military and police families, violence within pseudo-family environments, and violence against women and children with disabilities.

• Caregiver Violence against People with Disabilities
• Community Response to Gay and Lesbian Domestic Violence
• Compassionate Homicide and Spousal Violence
• Domestic Violence against Women with Disabilities
• Domestic Violence by Law Enforcement Officers
• Domestic Violence within Military Families
• Factors Influencing Reporting Behavior by Male Domestic Violence Victims
• Gay and Bisexual Male Domestic Violence
• Gender Socialization and Gay Male Domestic Violence
• Inmate Mothers: Treatment and Policy Implications
• Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Retardation
• Intimate Partner Violence in Queer, Transgender, and Bisexual Communities
• Lesbian Battering
• Male Victims of Domestic Violence and Reasons They Stay with Their Abusers
• Medicalization of Domestic Violence
• Police Attitudes and Behaviors toward Gay Domestic Violence
• Pseudo-Family Abuse
• Sexual Aggression Perpetrated by Females
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: The Need for Education in Servicing Victims of Trauma

Part 5: Research Paper Topics on

Domestic Violence and the Law

The Violence against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 helped pave domestic violence concerns into legislative matters. Historically, family violence was handled through informal measures often resulting in mishandling of cases. Through VAWA, victims were given the opportunity to have their cases legally remedied. This legitimized the separation of specialized domestic and family violence courts from criminal courts. The law has recognized that victims of domestic violence deserve recognition and resolution. Law enforcement agencies may be held civilly accountable for their actions in domestic violence incidents. Mandatory arrest policies have been initiated helping reduce discretionary power of police officers. Courts have also begun to focus on the offenders of domestic violence. Currently, there are batterer intervention programs and mediation programs available for offenders within certain jurisdictions. Its goals are to reduce the rate of recidivism among batterers.

• Battered Woman Syndrome as a Legal Defense in Cases of Spousal Homicide
• Batterer Intervention Programs
• Clemency for Battered Women
• Divorce, Child Custody, and Domestic Violence
• Domestic Violence Courts
• Electronic Monitoring of Abusers
• Expert Testimony in Domestic Violence Cases
• Judicial Perspectives on Domestic Violence
• Lautenberg Law
• Legal Issues for Battered Women
• Mandatory Arrest Policies
• Mediation in Domestic Violence
• Police Civil Liability in Domestic Violence Incidents
• Police Decision-Making Factors in Domestic Violence Cases
• Police Response to Domestic Violence Incidents
• Prosecution of Child Abuse and Neglect
• Protective and Restraining Orders
• Shelter Movement
• Training Practices for Law Enforcement in Domestic Violence Cases
• Violence against Women Act

Read more about Domestic Violence Law .

Part 6: Research Paper Topics on

Child Abuse and Elder Abuse

Scholars began to address child abuse over the last third of the twentieth century. It is now recognized that child abuse falls within a wide spectrum. In the past, it was based on visible bruises and scars. Today, researchers have acknowledged that psychological abuse, where there are no visible injuries, is just as damaging as its counterpart. One of the greatest controversies in child abuse literature is that of Munchausen by Proxy. Some scholars have recognized that it is a syndrome while others would deny a syndrome exists. Regardless of the term ‘‘syndrome,’’ Munchausen by Proxy does exist and needs to be further examined. Another form of violence that needs to be further examined is elder abuse. Elder abuse literature typically focused on abuse perpetrated by children and caregivers. With increased life expectancies, it is now understood that there is greater probability for violence among elderly intimate couples. Shelters and hospitals need to better understand this unique population in order to better serve its victims.

• Assessing the Risks of Elder Abuse
• Child Abuse and Juvenile Delinquency
• Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States: An Overview
• Child Maltreatment, Interviewing Suspected Victims of
• Child Neglect
• Child Sexual Abuse
• Children Witnessing Parental Violence
• Consequences of Elder Abuse
• Elder Abuse and Neglect: Training Issues for Professionals
• Elder Abuse by Intimate Partners
• Elder Abuse Perpetrated by Adult Children
• Filicide and Children with Disabilities
• Mothers Who Kill
• Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome
• Parental Abduction
• Postpartum Depression, Psychosis, and Infanticide
• Ritual Abuse–Torture in Families
• Shaken Baby Syndrome
• Sibling Abuse

Part 7: Research Paper Topics on

Special Topics  in Domestic Violence

Within this list, there are topics that may not fit clearly into one of the aforementioned categories. Therefore, they are be listed in a separate special topics designation. Analyzing Incidents of Domestic Violence: The National Incident-Based Reporting System

• Community Response to Domestic Violence
• Conflict Tactics Scales
• Dissociation in Domestic Violence, The Role of
• Domestic Homicide in Urban Centers: New York City
• Fatality Reviews in Cases of Adult Domestic Homicide and Suicide
• Female Suicide and Domestic Violence
• Healthcare Professionals’ Roles in Identifying and Responding to Domestic Violence
• Measuring Domestic Violence
• Neurological and Physiological Impact of Abuse
• Social, Economic, and Psychological Costs of Violence
• Stages of Leaving Abusive Relationships
• The Physical and Psychological Impact of Spousal Abuse

Domestic violence remains a relatively new field of study among social scientists but it is already a popular research paper subject within college and university students. Only within the past 4 decades have scholars recognized domestic violence as a social problem. Initially, domestic violence research focused on child abuse. Thereafter, researchers focused on wife abuse and used this concept interchangeably with domestic violence. Within the past 20 years, researchers have acknowledged that other forms of violent relationships exist, including dating violence, battered males, and gay domestic violence. Moreover, academicians have recognized a subcategory within the field of criminal justice: victimology (the scientific study of victims). Throughout the United States, colleges and universities have been creating victimology courses, and even more specifically, family violence and interpersonal violence courses.

The media have informed us that domestic violence is so commonplace that the public has unfortunately grown accustomed to reading and hearing about husbands killing their wives, mothers killing their children, or parents neglecting their children. While it is understood that these offenses take place, the explanations as to what factors contributed to them remain unclear. In order to prevent future violence, it is imperative to understand its roots. There is no one causal explanation for domestic violence; however, there are numerous factors which may help explain these unjustified acts of violence. Highly publicized cases such as the O.J. Simpson and Scott Peterson trials have shown the world that alleged murderers may not resemble the deranged sociopath depicted in horror films. Rather, they can be handsome, charming, and well-liked by society. In addition, court-centered programming on television continuously publicizes cases of violence within the home informing the public that we are potentially at risk by our caregivers and other loved ones. There is the case of the au pair Elizabeth Woodward convicted of shaking and killing Matthew Eappen, the child entrusted to her care. Some of the most highly publicized cases have also focused on mothers who kill. America was stunned as it heard the cases of Susan Smith and Andrea Yates. Both women were convicted of brutally killing their own children. Many asked how loving mothers could turn into cold-blooded killers.

Browse other criminal justice research topics .

SAFETY ALERT:  If you are in danger, please use a safer computer and consider calling 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 / TTY 1-800-787-3224 or the StrongHearts Native Helpline at 1−844-762-8483 (call or text) are available to assist you.

Please review these safety tips .

Research & Evidence

NRCDV works to strengthen researcher/practitioner collaborations that advance the field’s knowledge of, access to, and input in research that informs policy and practice at all levels. We also identify and develop guidance and tools to help domestic violence programs and coalitions better evaluate their work, including by using participatory action research approaches that directly tap the diverse expertise of a community to frame and guide evaluation efforts.

Safety & Privacy in a Digital World

Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence  

Teen Dating Violence

Housing and Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence in LGBTQ Communities

Trans and Non-Binary Survivors

The Difference Between Surviving & Not Surviving

Earned Income Tax Credit & Other Tax Credits

For an extensive list of research & evidence materials check out the research & statistics section on VAWnet

The Domestic Violence Evidence Project (DVEP) is a multi-faceted, multi-year and highly collaborative effort designed to assist state coalitions, local domestic violence programs, researchers, and other allied individuals and organizations better respond to the growing emphasis on identifying and integrating evidence-based practice into their work. DVEP brings together research, evaluation, practice and theory to inform critical thinking and enhance the field's knowledge to better serve survivors and their families.

The Community Based Participatory Research Toolkit  (CBPR) is for researchers and practitioners across disciplines and social locations who are working in academic, policy, community, or practice-based settings. In particular, the toolkit provides support to emerging researchers as they consider whether and how to take a CBPR approach and what it might mean in the context of their professional roles and settings. Domestic violence advocates will also find useful information on the CBPR approach and how it can help answer important questions about your work.

For over two decades, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence has operated  VAWnet , an online library focused on violence against women and other forms of gender-based violence.  VAWnet.org  has long been identified as an unparalleled, comprehensive, go-to source of information and resources for anti-violence advocates, human service professionals, educators, faith leaders, and others interested in ending domestic and sexual violence.

Safe Housing Partnerships , the website of the Domestic Violence and Housing Technical Assistance Consortium , includes the latest research and evidence on the intersection of domestic and sexual violence, housing, and homelessness. You can also find new research exploring different aspects of efforts to expand housing options for domestic and sexual violence survivors, including the use of flexible funding approaches, DV Housing First and rapid rehousing, DV Transitional Housing, and mobile advocacy.

EDITORIAL article

Editorial: new perspectives on domestic violence: from research to intervention.

• 1 Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
• 2 School of Health and Social Work, University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Editorial on the Research Topic New Perspectives on Domestic Violence: from Research to Intervention

In a document dated June 16th 2017, the United States Department of Justice stated that Domestic Violence (DV) has a significant impact not only on those abused, but also on family members, friends, and on the people within the social networks of both the abuser and the victim. In this sense, children who witness DV while growing up can be severely emotionally damaged. The European Commission (DG Justice) remarked in the Daphne III Program that 1 in 4 women in EU member states have been impacted by DV, and that the impact of DV on victims includes many critical consequences: lack of self-esteem, feeling shame and guilt, difficulties in expressing negative feelings, hopelessness and helplessness, which, in turn, lead to difficulties in using good coping strategies, self-management, and mutual support networks. In 2015 the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights affirmed that violence against women can be considered as a violation of human rights and dignity. Violence against women exists in each society and it can be related to any social, economic and cultural status and impact at the economic level. It includes physical, sexual, economic, religious, and psychological abuse.

Although men experience domestic violence by women, the rate of DV among women is much higher than that of men, especially in the category of being killed due to DV.

Recent studies have shown that between 13 and 61% of women (15–49 years old) report to have been physically abused at least once by an intimate partner. Domestic Violence takes place across different age groups, genders, sexual orientations, economic, or cultural statuses. However, DV remains largely under-reported due to fear of reprisal by the perpetrator, hope that DV will stop, shame, loss of social prestige due to negative media coverage, and the sense of being trapped with nowhere to go:

Hence, it is estimated that 90% of cases of DV continue to be identified as a non-denounced violence.

The aim of this Special Issue of Frontiers of Psychology is to gather updated scientific and multidisciplinary contributions about issues linked to domestic violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV). We encouraged contributions from a variety of areas including original qualitative and quantitative articles, reviews, meta-analyses, theories, and clinical case studies on biological, psycho-social and cultural correlates, risk and protective factors, and the associated factors related to the etiology, assessment, and treatment of both victims and perpetrators of DV.

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate a better informed debate on Domestic Violence, in relation to its psychosocial impact (in and outside home, in school, and workplace), to DV prevention and intervention strategies (within the family and in society at large), in addition to specific types of DV, and to controversial issues in this field as well.

The Special Issue comprises both theoretical reviews and original research papers. 7 research papers, 6 reviews (policy and practice review, systematic review, review and mini-review) and 1 methodological paper are included.

The first section comprises 2 systematic review and 3 original research papers focused on factors associated with Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence/feminicide. Velotti et al. conducted a systematic review focused on the role of the attachment style on IPV victimization and perpetration. Several studies included failed to identify significant associations. The authors suggest to consider other variables (e.g., socioeconomic condition) that in interaction with attachment styles could explain the differences found between the studies. Considering the clinical contribution that these findings can provide to the treatment of IPV victims and perpetrators, future studies are needed. From a systematic review conducted by Gerino et al. focused on IPV in the “golden age” (old age), economic and educational conditions, younger age (55–69), membership in ethnic minorities, cognitive and physical impairment, substance abuse, cultural and social values, sexism and racism, were found as risk factors; depression emerged as risk factor and consequence of IPV. However, social support was identified as main protective factor. Also help-seeking behaviors and local/national services had a positively impact the phenomenon. Furthermore, the role of the parental communication was highlighted ( Rios-González et al. ) In that mothers encourage daughters to engage in relationship with ethical men, while removing from their representation attractive features and enhancing the double standard of viewing ethical man as unattractive vs. violent and attractive man. Fathers' communication directed toward young boys supports the dominant traditional masculinity, objectifying girls and emphasizing chauvinist values. These communicative dynamics impact males' behavior and females' choice of the partner while increasing the attraction toward violent men, and thus influencing the risk to be involved in IPV episodes.

Furthermore, factors associated with multiple IPV victimization by different partners were identified. From the study of Herrero et al. , experiencing child abuse emerged as a main predictor (“conditional partner selection process”). Similarly, adult victimization perpetrated by other than the intimate partner influences multiple IPV episodes. Moreover, this phenomenon is more frequent among younger women and those with lower income satisfaction. Length of relationship and greater psychological consequences to previous IPV are positively associated with multiple IPV episodes, while previous physical abuse is negatively related with subsequent victimization. The risk of multiple IPV episodes is reduced in countries with greater human development, suggesting the role of structural factors.

Regarding reasons of feminicide, passion motives assume the main role, followed by family problems, antisocial reasons, predatory crimes that comprise sexual component, impulsivity and mental disorders. The risk of overkilling episodes is higher when the perpetrator is known by the victim and when the murder is committed for passion reasons ( Zara and Gino ).

The second section includes papers focused on IPV/DV in particular contexts (one research paper, two reviews). Within separated couples, where conflicts are common, both men and women experience psychological aggression. However, some particularities emerged: women started to suffer of several kinds of psychological violence that was aimed to control (complicating the separation process), dehumanize and criticize them. Men report only few forms of violence experienced (likely due to the men's social position that narrows their disclosure opportunity), which mainly concern the limitation of the possibility to meet children ( Cardinali et al. ). Regarding same-sex couples ( Rollè et al. ), both similarities and differences in comparison with heterosexual couples emerged. IPV among LGB people is comparable or even higher than heterosexual episodes. Unique features present in same-sex IPV concern identification and treatment aspects, mainly due to the absence of solutions useful in addressing obstacles to help-seeking behaviors (related to fear of discrimination within LGB community), and the limitation of treatment programs tailored to the particularities of the LGB experience. Similarly, within First Nation's communities in Canada, IPV is a widespread phenomenon. However, the lack of preventing programs and the presence of intervention solutions that fail to address its cultural origins, limit the reduction of the problem and the recovery of victims. Klingspohn suggests the development of interventions capable to guarantee cultural safety and consequently to reduce discrimination and marginalization that Aboriginal people experience with mainstream health care system and which limit help-seeking behaviors.

The third section comprises two reviews and one research paper concerned with the impact of Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence. The systematic review conducted by Onwumere et al. highlighted the financial and emotional burden that violence perpetrated by psychotic patients entails for their informal carers (mainly close family relatives). Moreover, the authors identified within the studies included positive association between victimization and trauma symptoms, fear, and feeling of powerless and frustration.

Among people who suffered of Domestic Violence with a romantic or non-romantic partner who became their stalker, stalking victimization entails physical and emotive consequences for both male and female victims. Females suffered more than males of depressive and anxiety symptoms (although for both genders symptoms were minimal), while males experienced more anger. Furthermore, both genders adopted at least one “moving away” strategy in coping with stalking episodes, and the increasing of stalking behaviors determined a reduction in coping strategies use. This latter finding is likely to be due to the distress experienced ( Acquadro Maran and Varetto ).

Children abuse—which occurs often in Domestic Violence—results in emotional trauma as well as physical and psychological consequences that can negatively impact the learning opportunities. The school staff's ability to identify abuse signals and to refer to professionals constitute their main role. However, lack of skills and confidence among teachers regarding this function emerged, and further training for the school staff to increase support provided to abused children is needed ( Lloyd ).

Lastly, the fourth section includes two papers (one review and one methodological paper) that provide information on intervention and prevention programs and one research paper which contributes to the development and validation of the Willingness to Intervene in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women (WI-IPVAW) Scale. Gracia et al. The instrument demonstrated—both in the long and in its short form—high reliability and construct validity. The development of WI-IPVAW can contribute to the evaluation of the t role that can be played by people who are aware of the violence and understand attitudes toward IPV that can influence perpetrator's behavior and victim disclosure. The origin of violence within intimate relationship during adolescence calls for the development of preventive programs able to limit the phenomenon. The mini-review conducted by Santoro et al. highlighted the necessity to consider the relational structure where women are involved (history of poly-victimization re-victimization), and the domination suffered according to the gender model structured by the patriarchal context. Moreover, considering that violence can occur after separation or divorce, requires in child custody cases the evaluation of parenting and co-parenting relationship. This process can provide an opportunity to assess and treat some kind of violent behavior (Conflict-Instigated Violence, Violent Resistance, Separation-Instigated Violence). According to these consideration, Gennari et al. elaborated a model for clinical intervention (relational-intergenerational model) useful to address these issues during child custody evaluation. The model is composed of three levels aimed at understanding intergenerational exchange and identify factors that contribute to safeguard family relationship. This assessment process allows parents to reflect on information emerged during the evaluation process and activate resources useful to promote a constructive change of conflict dynamics and violent behaviors.

Author Contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thanks all the authors and the reviewers who contributed to the present article collection, for their dedication to our topics and to their readiness to share their knowledge, and thus to increase the research in this field; KathWoodward, Specialty Chief Editor of Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Studies that believed in our project, and to Dr. Tommaso Trombetta for his collaboration during last year.

Keywords: domestic violence, intimate partner abuse, intimate partner violence (IPV), gender violence against women, same sex intimate partner violence, systematic review, perpetrator and victim of violence, perpetrator

Citation: Rollè L, Ramon S and Brustia P (2019) Editorial: New Perspectives on Domestic Violence: From Research to Intervention. Front. Psychol. 10:641. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00641

Received: 25 February 2019; Accepted: 07 March 2019; Published: 28 March 2019.

Edited and reviewed by: Kath Woodward , The Open University, United Kingdom

Copyright © 2019 Rollè, Ramon and Brustia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Luca Rollè, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Violence in Families: Assessing Prevention and Treatment Programs (1998)

Chapter: 9 conclusions and recommendations, 9 conclusions and recommendations.

The problems of child maltreatment, domestic violence, and elder abuse have generated hundreds of separate interventions in social service, health, and law enforcement settings. This array of interventions has been driven by the urgency of the different types of family violence, client needs, and the responses of service providers, advocates, and communities. The interventions now constitute a broad range of institutional services that focus on the identification, treatment, prevention, and deterrence of family violence.

The array of interventions that is currently in place and the dozens of different types of programs and services associated with each intervention represent a valuable body of expertise and experience that is in need of systematic scientific study to inform and guide service design, treatment, prevention, and deterrence. The challenge for the research community, service providers, program sponsors, and policy makers is to develop frameworks to enhance critical analyses of current strategies, interventions, and programs and identify next steps in addressing emerging questions and cross-cutting issues. Many complexities now characterize family violence interventions and challenge the development of rigorous scientific evaluations. These complexities require careful consideration in the development of future research, service improvements, and collaborative efforts between researchers and service providers. Examples of these complexities are illustrative:

• The interventions now in place in communities across the nation focus services on discrete and isolated aspects of family violence. They address different aspects of child maltreatment, domestic violence, and elder abuse. Some
• interventions have an extensive history of experience, and others are at a very early stage of development.
• Many interventions have not been fully implemented because of limited funding or organizational barriers. Thus in many cases it is too early to expect that research can determine whether a particular intervention or strategy (such as deterrence or prevention) is effective because the intervention may not yet have sufficient strength to achieve its intended impact.
• The social and institutional settings of many interventions present important challenges to the design of systematic scientific evaluations. The actual strength or dosage of a particular program can be directly influenced by local or national events that stimulate changes in resources, budgets, and personnel factors that influence its operation in different service settings. Variations in service scope or intensity caused by local service practices and social settings are important sources of "noise" in cross-site research studies; they can directly affect evaluation studies in such key areas as definitions, eligibility criteria, and outcome measures.
• Emerging research on the experiences of family violence victims and offenders suggests that this is a complex population composed of different types of individuals and patterns of behavior. Evaluation studies thus need to consider the types of clients served by particular services, the characteristics of those who benefited from them, and the attributes of those who were resistant to change.

In this chapter the committee summarizes its overall conclusions and proposes policy and research recommendations. A key question for the committee was whether and when the research evidence is sufficient to guide a critical examination of particular interventions. In some areas, the body of research is sufficient to inform policy choices, program development, evaluation research, data collection, and theory-building; the committee makes recommendations for current policies and practices in these areas below. In other areas, although the research base is not yet mature enough to guide policy and program development, some interventions are ready for rigorous evaluation studies. For this second tier of interventions, the committee makes recommendations for the next generation of evaluation studies. The committee then identifies a set of four topics for basic research that reflect current insights into the nature of family violence and trends in family violence interventions. A final section makes some suggestions to increase the effectiveness of collaborations between researchers and service providers.

Conclusions

The committee's conclusions are derived from our analysis of the research literature and discussions with service providers in the workshops and site visits, rather than from specific research studies. This analysis takes a client-oriented

approach to family violence interventions, which means that we focus on how existing services in health, social services, and law enforcement settings affect the individuals who come in contact with them.

• The urgency of the need to respond to the problem of family violence and the paucity of research to guide service interventions have created an environment in which insights from small-scale studies are often adopted into policy and professional practice without sufficient independent replication or reflection on their possible shortcomings. Rigorous evaluations of family violence interventions are confined, for the most part, to small or innovative programs that provide an opportunity to develop a comparison or control study, rather than focusing on the major existing family violence interventions.
• This situation has fostered a series of trial-and-error experiences in which a promising intervention is later found to be problematic when employed with a broader and more varied population. Major treatment and prevention interventions, such as child maltreatment reporting systems, casework, protective orders, and health care for victims of domestic violence, battered women's shelters, and elder abuse interventions of all types, have not been the subjects of rigorous evaluation studies. The programmatic and policy emphasis on single interventions as panaceas to the complex problems of family violence, and the lack of sufficient opportunity for learning more about the service interactions, client characteristics, and contextual factors that could affect the impact of different approaches, constitute formidable challenges to the improvement of the knowledge base and prevention and treatment interventions in this filed.
• In all areas of family violence, after-the-fact services predominate over preventive interventions. For child maltreatment and elder abuse, case identification and investigative services are the primary form of intervention; services designed to prevent, treat, or deter family violence are relatively rare in social service, health, and criminal justice settings (with the notable exceptions of foster care and family preservation services). For domestic violence, interventions designed to treat victims and offenders and deter future incidents of violence are more common, but preventive services remain relatively underdeveloped.
• The current array of family violence interventions (especially in the areas of child maltreatment and elder abuse) is a loosely coupled network of individual programs and services that are highly reactive in nature, focused primarily on the detection of specific cases. It is a system largely driven by events, rather than one that is built on theory, research, and data collection. Interventions are oriented toward the identification of victims and the substantiation and documentation of their experiences, rather than the delivery of recommended services to reduce the incidence and consequences of family violence in the community overall. As a result, enormous resources are invested to develop evidence that certain victims or offenders need treatment, legal action, or other interventions, and comparatively limited funds are available for the treatment and support services themselves—a
• situation that results in lengthy waiting lists, discretionary decisionmaking processes in determining which cases are referred for further action, and extensive variation in a service system's ability to match clients with appropriate interventions.
• The duration and intensity of the mental health and social support services needed to influence behaviors that result from or contribute to family violence may be greater than initially estimated. Family violence treatment and preventive interventions that focus on single incidents and short periods of support services, especially in such areas as parenting skills, mental health, and batterer treatment, may be inadequate to deal with problems that are pervasive, multiple, and chronic. Many programs for victims involve short-term treatment services—less than 6 weeks. Services for offenders are also typically of short duration. Yet research suggests that short-term programs designed to alter violent behavior are often the least likely to succeed, because of the difficulties of changing behavior that has persisted for a period of years and has become part of an established pattern in relationships. Efforts to address fundamental sources of conflict, stress, and violence that occur repeatedly over time within the family environment may require extensive periods of support services to sustain the positive effects achieved in short-term interventions.
• The interactive nature of family violence interventions constitutes a major challenge to the evaluation of interventions because the presence or absence of policies and programs in one domain may directly affect the implementation and outcomes of interventions in another. Research suggests that the risk and protective factors for child maltreatment, domestic violence, and elder abuse interact across multiple levels. The uncoordinated but interactive system of services requires further attention and consideration in future evaluation studies. Such evaluations need to document the presence and absence of services that affect members of the same family unit but offer treatment for specific problems in separate institutions characterized by different service philosophies and resources.
• For example, factors such as court oversight or mandatory referrals may influence individual participation in treatment services and the outcomes associated with such participation. The culture and resources of one agency can influence the quality and timing of services offered by another. Yet little information is available regarding the extent or quality of interventions in a community. Clients who receive multiple interventions (especially children) are often not followed through different service settings. Limited information is available to distinguish key features of innovative interventions from those usually offered in a community; to describe the stages of implementation of specific family violence programs, interventions, or strategies; to explain rates of attrition in the client base; or to capture case characteristics that influence the ways in which clients are selected for specific treatment programs.
• The emergence of secondary prevention interventions specifically targeted to serve children, adults, and communities with characteristics that are
• thought to place them at greater risk of family violence than the general population, along with the increasing emphasis on the need for integration and coordination of services, has the potential to achieve significant benefits. However, the potential of these newer interventions to reduce the need for treatment or other support services over the lifetime of the client has not yet been proven for large populations.
• Secondary preventive interventions, such as those serving children exposed to domestic violence, have the potential to reduce future incidents of family violence and to reduce the existing need for services in such areas as recovery from trauma, substance abuse, juvenile crime, mental health and health care. However, evaluation studies are not yet available to determine the value of preventive interventions for large populations in terms of reduction of the need for treatment or other support services over a client's lifetime.
• The shortage of service resources and the emphasis on reactive, short-term treatment have directed comparatively little attention to interventions for people who have experienced or perpetrated violent behavior but who have not yet been reported or identified as offenders or victims. Efforts to achieve broader systemic collaboration, comprehensive service integration, and proactive interventions require attention to the appropriate balance among enforcement, treatment, and prevention interventions in addressing family violence at both state and national levels. Such efforts also need to be responsive to the particular requirements of diverse ethnic communities with special needs or unique resources that can be mobilized in the development of preventive interventions. Because they extend to a larger population than those currently served by treatment centers, secondary prevention efforts can be expensive; their benefits may not become apparent until many years after the intervention occurs.
• Policy leadership is needed to help integrate family violence treatment, enforcement and support actions, and preventive interventions and also to foster the development of evaluations of comprehensive and cross-problem interventions that have the capacity to consider outcomes beyond reports of future violent behavior.
• Creative research methodologies are also needed to examine the separate and combined effects of cross-problem service strategies (such as the treatment of substance abuse and family violence), follow individuals and families through multiple service interventions and agency settings, and examine factors that may play important mediating roles in determining whether violence will occur or continue (such as the use of social networks and support services and the threat of legal sanctions).
• Most evaluations seek to document whether violent behavior decreased as a result of the intervention, an approach that often inhibits attention to other factors that may play important mediating roles in determining whether violence will occur. The individual victim or offender is the focus of most interventions and
• the unit of analysis in evaluation studies, rather than the family or the community in which the violence occurred.

Integrated approaches have the potential to illuminate the sequences and ways in which different experiences with violence in the family do and do not overlap with each other and with other kinds of violence. This research approach requires time to mature; at present, it is not strong enough to determine the strengths or limitations of strategies that integrate different forms of family violence compared with approaches that focus on specific forms of family violence. Service integration efforts focused on single forms of family violence may have the potential to achieve greater impact than services that disregard the interactive nature of this complex behavior, but this hypothesis also remains unproven.

Recommendations For Current Policies And Practices

It is premature to offer policy recommendations for most family violence interventions in the absence of a research base that consists of well-designed evaluations. However, the committee has identified two areas (home visitation and family preservation services) in which a rigorous set of studies offers important guidance to policy makers and service providers. In four other areas (reporting practices, batterer treatment programs, record keeping, and collaborative law enforcement approaches) the committee has drawn on its judgment and deliberations to encourage policy makers and service providers to take actions that are consistent with the state of the current research base.

These six interventions were selected for particular attention because (1) they are the focus of current policy attention, service evaluation, and program design; (2) a sufficient length of time has elapsed since the introduction of the intervention to allow for appropriate experience with key program components and measurement of outcomes; (3) the intervention has been widely adopted or is under consideration by a large number of communities to warrant its careful analysis; and (4) the intervention has been described and characterized in the research literature (through program summaries or case studies).

Reporting Practices

All 50 states have adopted laws requiring health professionals and other service providers to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Although state laws vary in terms of the types of endangerment and evidentiary standards that warrant a report to child protection authorities, each state has adopted a procedure that requires designated professionals—or, in some states, all adults—to file a report if they believe that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect. Mandatory reporting is thought to enhance early case detection and to increase the likelihood that services will be provided to children in need.

For domestic violence, mandatory reporting requirements for professional groups like health care providers have been adopted by the state of California and are under consideration in several other states. Mandatory reports are seen as a method by which offenders who abuse multiple partners can be identified through the health care community for law enforcement purposes. Early detection is assumed to lead to remedies and interventions that will prevent further abuse by holding the abuser accountable and helping to mitigate the consequences of family violence.

Critics have argued that mandatory reporting requirements may damage the confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship between health professionals and their clients, disregard the knowledge and preferences of the victim regarding appropriate action, potentially increase the danger to victims when sufficient protection and support are not available, and ultimately discourage individuals who wish to seek physical or psychological treatment from contacting and disclosing abuse to health professionals. In many regions, victim support services are not available or the case requires extensive legal documentation to justify treatment for victims, offenders, and families.

For elder abuse, 42 states have mandatory reporting systems. Several states have opted for voluntary systems after conducting studies that considered the advantages and disadvantages of voluntary and mandatory reporting systems, on the grounds that mandatory reports do not achieve significant increases in the detection of elder abuse cases.

In reviewing the research base associated with the relationship between reporting systems and the treatment and prevention of family violence, the committee has observed that no existing evaluation studies can demonstrate the value of mandatory reporting systems compared with voluntary reporting procedures in addressing child maltreatment or domestic violence. For elder abuse, studies suggest that a high level of public and professional awareness and the availability of comprehensive services to identify, treat, and prevent violence is preferable to reporting requirements in improving rates of case detection.

The absence of a research base to support mandatory reporting systems raises questions as to whether they should be recommended for all areas of family violence. The impact of mandatory reporting systems in the area of child maltreatment and elder abuse remains unexamined. The committee therefore suggests that it is important for the states to proceed cautiously at this time and to delay adopting a mandatory reporting system in the area of domestic violence, until the positive and negative impacts of such a system have been rigorously examined in states in which domestic violence reports are now required by law.

Recommendation 1: The committee recommends that states initiate evaluations of their current reporting laws addressing family violence to examine whether and how early case detection leads to improved outcomes for the victims or families and promote changes based on sound research. In

particular, the committee recommends that states refrain from enacting mandatory reporting laws for domestic violence until such systems have been tested and evaluated by research.

In dealing with family violence that involves adults, federal and state government agencies should reconsider the nature and role of compulsory reporting policies. In the committee's view, mandatory reporting systems have some disadvantages in cases involving domestic violence, especially if the victim objects to such reports, if comprehensive community protections and services are not available, and if the victim is able to gain access to therapeutic treatment or support services in the absence of a reporting system.

The dependent status of young children and some elders provides a stronger argument in favor of retaining mandatory reporting requirements where they do exist. However, the effectiveness of reporting requirements depends on the availability of resources and service personnel who can investigate reports and refer cases for appropriate treatment, as well as clear guidelines for processing reports and determining which cases qualify for services. Greater discretion may be advised when the child and family are able to receive therapeutic treatment from health care or other service providers and when community resources are not available to respond appropriately to their cases. The treatment of adolescents especially requires major consideration of the pros and cons of mandatory reporting requirements. Adolescent victims are still in a vulnerable stage of development: they may or may not have the capacity to make informed decisions regarding the extent to which they wish to invoke legal protections in dealing with incidents of family violence in their homes.

Batterer Treatment Programs

Four key questions characterize current policy and research discussions about the efficacy of batterer treatment, one of the most challenging problems in the design of family violence interventions: Is treatment preferable to incarceration, supervised probation, or other forms of court oversight for batterers? Does participation in treatment change offenders' attitudes and behavior and reduce recidivism? Does the effectiveness of treatment depend on its intensity, duration, or the voluntary or compulsory nature of the program? Is treatment what creates change, or is change in behavior reduced by multiple interventions, such as arrest, court monitoring of client participation in treatment services, and victim support services?

Descriptive research studies suggest that there are multiple profiles of batterers, and therefore one generic approach is not appropriate for all offenders. Treatment programs may be helpful in changing abusive behavior when they are part of an overall strategy designed to recognize and reduce violence in a relationship, when the batterer is prepared to learn how to control aggressive impulses, and

when the treatment plan emphasizes victim safety and provides for frequent interactions with treatment staff.

Research on the effectiveness of treatment programs suggests that the majority of subjects who complete court-ordered treatment programs do learn basic cognitive and behavioral principles taught in their course. However, such learning requires appropriate program content and client participation in the program for a sufficient time to complete the necessary training. Very few studies have examined matched groups of violent offenders who are assigned to treatment and control groups or comparison groups (such as incarceration or work-release). As a result, the comparative efficacy of treatment is unknown in reducing future violence. Differing client populations and differing forms of court oversight are particularly problematic factors that inhibit the design of rigorous evaluation studies in this field.

The absence of strong theory and common measures to guide the development of family violence treatment regimens, the heterogeneity of offenders (including patterns of offending and readiness to change) who are the subjects of protective orders or treatment, and low rates of attendance, completion, and enforcement are persistent problems that affect both the evaluation of the interventions and efforts to reduce the violence. A few studies suggest that court oversight does appear to increase completion rates, which have been linked to enhanced victim safety in the area of domestic violence, but increased completion rates have not yet led to a discernible effect on recidivism rates in general.

Further evaluations are needed to examine the outcomes associated with different approaches and programmatic themes (such as cognitive-behavioral principles: issues of power, control, and gender; personal accountability). Completion rates have been used as an interim outcome to measure the success of batterer treatment programs; further studies are needed to determine if completers can be identified readily, if program completion by itself is a critical factor in reducing recidivism, and if participation in a treatment program changes the nature, timing, and severity of future violent behavior.

The current research base is inadequate to identify the conditions under which mandated referrals to batterer treatment programs offer a clear advantage over incarceration or untreated probation supervision in reducing recidivism for the general population of male offenders. Court officials should monitor closely the attendance, participation, and completion rates of offenders who are referred to batterer treatment programs in lieu of more punitive sentences. Treatment staff should inform law enforcement officials of any significant behavior by the offender that might represent a threat to the victim. Mandated treatment referrals may be effective for certain types of batterers, especially if they increase completion rates. The research is inconclusive, however, as to which types of individuals should be referred for treatment rather than more punitive sanctions. In selecting individuals for treatment, attention should be given to client history

(first-time offenders are more likely to benefit), motivation for treatment, and likelihood of completion.

Mandated treatment referrals for batterers do appear to provide benefits to victims, such as intensive surveillance of offenders, an interlude to allow planning for safety and victim support, and greater community awareness of the batterer's behavior. These outcomes may interact to deter and reduce domestic violence in the community, even if a treatment program does not alter the behavior of a particular batterer. Treatment programs that include frequent interactions between staff and victims also provide a means by which staff can help educate victims about danger signals and support them in efforts to obtain greater protection and legal safeguards, if necessary.

Recommendation 2: In the absence of research that demonstrates that a specific model of treatment can reduce violent behavior for many domestic violence offenders, courts need to put in place early warning systems to detect failure to comply with or complete treatment and signs of new abuse or retaliation against victims, as well as to address unintended or inadvertent results that may arise from the referral to or experience with treatment.

Further research evaluation studies are needed to review the outcomes for both offenders and victims associated with program content and levels of intensity in different treatment models. This research will help indicate whether treatment really helps and what mix of services are more helpful than others. Improved research may also help distinguish those victims and offenders for whom particular treatments are most beneficial.

Record Keeping

Since experience with family violence appears to be associated with a wide range of health problems and social service needs, service providers are recognizing the importance of documenting abuse histories in their client case records. The documentation in health and social service records of abuse histories that are self-reported by victims and offenders can help service providers and researchers to determine if appropriate referrals and services have been made and the outcomes associated with their use. The exchange of case records among service providers is essential to the development of comprehensive treatment programs, continuity of care, and appropriate follow-up for individuals and families who appear in a variety of service settings. Such exchanges can help establish greater accountability by service systems for responding to the needs of identifiable victims and offenders; health and social service records can also provide appropriate evidence for legal actions, in both civil and criminal courts and child custody cases.

Research evaluations of service interventions often require the use of anonymous case records. The documentation of family violence in such records will

enhance efforts to improve the quality of evaluations and to understand more about patterns of behavior associated with violent behaviors and victimization experiences. Although documentation of abuse histories can improve evaluations and lead to integrated service responses, such procedures require safeguards so that individuals are not stigmatized or denied therapeutic services on the basis of their case histories. Insurance discrimination, in particular, which may preclude health care coverage if abuse is judged to be a preexisting condition, requires attention to ensure that professional services are not diminished as a result of voluntary disclosures. Creative strategies are needed to support integrated service system reviews of medical, legal, and social service case records in order to enhance the quality and accountability of service responses. Such reviews will need to meet the expectations of privacy and confidentiality of both individual victims and the community, especially in cases in which maltreatment reports are subsequently regarded as unfounded.

Documentation of abuse histories that are voluntarily disclosed by victims or offenders to health care professionals and social service providers must be distinguished from screening efforts designed to trigger such disclosures. The committee recommends screening as a strong candidate for future evaluation studies (see discussion in the next section).

Recommendation 3: The committee recommends that health and social service providers develop safeguards to strengthen their documentation of abuse and histories of family violence in both individual and group records, regardless of whether the abuse is reported to authorities.

The documentation of histories of family violence in health records should be designed to record voluntary disclosures by both victims and offenders and to enhance early and coordinated interventions that can provide a therapeutic response to experiences with abuse or neglect. Safeguards are required, however, to ensure that such documentation does not lead to stigmatization, encourage discriminatory practices, or violate assurances of privacy and confidentiality, especially when individual histories become part of patient group records for health care providers and employers.

Collaborative Law Enforcement Strategies

In the committee's view, collaborative law enforcement strategies that create a web of social control for offenders are an idea worth testing to determine if such efforts can achieve a significant deterrent effect in addressing domestic violence. Collaborative strategies include such efforts as victim support and offender tracking systems designed to increase the likelihood that domestic violence cases will be prosecuted when an arrest has been made, that sanctions and treatment services will be imposed when evidence exists to confirm the charges brought against the offender, and that penalties will be invoked for failure to comply with treatment

conditions. The attraction of collaborative strategies is based on their potential ability to establish multiple interactions with offenders across a large domain of interactions that reinforce social standards in the community and establish penalties for violations of those standards. Creating the deterrent effect, however, requires extensive coordination and reciprocity between victim support and offender monitoring efforts involving diverse sectors of the law enforcement community. These efforts may be difficult to implement and evaluate. Further studies are needed to determine the extent to which improved collaboration among police officers, prosecutors, and judges will lead to improved coordination and stronger sanctions for offenders and a reduction in domestic violence.

The absence of empirical research findings of the results of a collaborative law enforcement approach in addressing domestic violence makes it difficult to compare the costs and benefits of increased agency coordination with those achieved by a single law enforcement strategy (such as arrest) in dealing with different populations of offenders and victims. Even though relatively few cases of arrest are made for any form of family violence, arrest is the most common and most studied form of law enforcement intervention in this area. Research studies conducted in the 1980s on arrest policies in domestic violence cases are the strongest experimental evaluations to date of the role of deterrence in family violence interventions. These experiments indicate that arrest may be effective for some, but not most, batterers in reducing subsequent violence by the offender. Some research studies suggest that arrest may be a deterrent for employed and married individuals (those who have a stake in social conformity) and may lead to an escalation of violence among those who do not, but this observation has not been tested in studies that could specifically examine the impact of arrest in groups that differ in social and economic status. The differing effects (in terms of a reduction of future violence) of arrest for employed/unemployed and married/unmarried individuals raise difficult questions about the reliance of law enforcement officers on arrest as the sole or central component of their response to domestic violence incidents in communities where domestic violence cases are not routinely prosecuted, where sanctions are not imposed by the courts, or where victim support programs are not readily available.

The implementation of proarrest policies and practices that would discriminate according to the risk status of specific groups is challenged by requirements for equal protection under the law. Law enforcement officials cannot tailor arrest policies to the marital or employment status of the suspect or other characteristics that may interact with deterrence efforts. Specialized training efforts may help alleviate the tendency of police officers to arrest both suspect and victim, however, and may alert law enforcement personnel to the need to review both criminal and civil records in determining whether an arrest is advisable in response to a domestic violence case.

Two additional observations merit consideration in examining the deterrent effects of arrest. First, in the research studies conducted thus far, the implementation

of legal sanctions was minimal. Most offenders in the replication studies were not prosecuted once arrested, and limited legal sanctions were imposed on those cases that did receive a hearing. Some researchers concluded that stronger evidence of effectiveness might be obtained from proarrest policies if they are implemented as part of a law enforcement strategy that expands the use of punitive sanctions for offenders—including conviction, sentencing, and intensive supervised probation.

Second is the issue of reciprocity between formal sanctions against the offender and informal support actions for the victims of domestic violence. The effects of proarrest policies may depend on the extent to which victims have access to shelter services and other forms of support, demonstrating the interactive dimensions of community interventions. A mandatory arrest policy, by itself, may be an insufficient deterrent strategy for domestic violence, but its effectiveness may be enhanced by other interventions that represent coordinated law enforcement efforts to deter domestic violence—including the use of protective orders, victim advocates, and special prosecution units. Coordinated efforts may help reduce or prevent domestic violence if they represent a collaborative strategy among police, prosecutors, and judges that improves the certainty of the use of sanctions against batterers.

Recommendation 4: Collaborative strategies among caseworkers, police, prosecutors, and judges are recommended as law enforcement interventions that have the potential to improve the batterer's compliance with treatment as well as the certainty of the use of sanctions in addressing domestic violence.

The impact of single interventions (such as mandatory arrest policies) is difficult to discern in the research literature. Such practices by themselves can neither be recommended nor rejected as effective measures in addressing domestic violence on the basis of existing research studies.

Home Visitation and Family Support Services

Home visitation and family support programs constitute one of the most promising areas of child maltreatment prevention. Studies in this area have experimented with different levels of treatment intensity, duration, and staff expertise. For home visitation, the findings generally support the principle that early intervention with mothers who are at risk of child maltreatment makes a difference in child outcomes. Such interventions may be difficult to implement and maintain over time, however, and their effectiveness depends on the willingness of the parents to participate. Selection criteria for home visitation should be based on a combination of social setting and individual risk factors.

In their current form, home visitation programs have multiple goals, only one of which is the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Home visitation and family

support programs have traditionally been designed to improve parent-child relations with regard to family functioning, child health and safety, nutrition and hygiene, and parenting practices. American home visiting programs are derived from the British system, which relies on public health nurses and is offered on a universal basis to all parents with young children. Resource constraints, however, have produced a broad array of variations in this model; most programs in the United States are now directed toward at-risk families who have been reported to social services or health agencies because of prenatal health risks or risks for child maltreatment. Comprehensive programs provide a variety of services, including in-home parent education and prenatal and early infant health care, screening, referral to and, in some cases, transportation to social and health services. Positive effects include improved childrearing practices, increased social supports, utilization of community services, higher birthweights, and longer gestation periods.

Researchers have identified improvements in cognitive and parenting skills and knowledge as evidence of reduced risk for child maltreatment; they have also documented lower rates of reported child maltreatment and number of visits to emergency services for home-visited families. The benefits of home visitation appear most promising for young, first-time mothers who delay additional pregnancies and thus reduce the social and financial stresses that burden households with large numbers of young children. Other benefits include improved child care for infants and toddlers and an increase in knowledge about the availability of community services for older children. The intervention has not been demonstrated to have benefits for children whose parents abuse drugs or alcohol or those who are not prepared to engage in help-seeking behaviors. The extent to which home visitation benefits families with older children, or families who are already involved in abusive or neglectful behaviors, remains uncertain.

Recommendation 5: As part of a comprehensive prevention strategy for child maltreatment, the committee recommends that home visitation programs should be particularly encouraged for first-time parents living in social settings with high rates of child maltreatment reports.

The positive impact of well-designed home visitation interventions has been demonstrated in several evaluation studies that focus on the role of mothers in child health, development, and discipline. The committee recommends their use in a strategy designed to prevent child maltreatment. Home visitation programs do require additional evaluation research, however, to determine the factors that may influence their effectiveness. Such factors include (1) the conditions under which home visitation should be provided as part of a continuum of family support programs, (2) the types of parenting behaviors that are most and least amenable to change as a result of home visitation, (3) the duration and intensity of services (including amounts and types of training for home visitors) that are necessary to achieve positive outcomes for high-risk families, (4) the experience

of fathers in general and of families in diverse ethnic communities in particular with home visitation interventions, and (5) the need for follow-up services once the period of home visitation has ended.

Intensive Family Preservation Services

Intensive family preservation services represent crisis-oriented, short-term, intensive case management and family support programs that have been introduced in various communities to improve family functioning and to prevent the removal of children from the home. The overall goal of the intervention is to provide flexible forms of family support to assist with the resolution of circumstances that stimulated the child placement proposal, thus keeping the family intact and reducing foster care placements.

Eight of ten evaluation studies of selected intensive family preservation service programs (including five randomized trials and five quasi-experimental studies) suggest that, although these services may delay child placement for families in the short term, they do not show an ability to resolve the underlying family dysfunction that precipitated the crisis or to improve child well-being or family functioning in most families. However, the evaluations have shortcomings, such as poorly defined assessment of child placement risk, inadequate descriptions of the interventions provided, and nonblinded determination of the assignment of clients to treatment and control groups.

Intensive family preservation services may provide important benefits to the child, family, and community in the form of emergency assistance, improved family functioning, better housing and environmental conditions, and increased collaboration among discrete service systems. Intensive family preservation services may also result in child endangerment, however, when a child remains in a family environment that threatens the health or physical safety of the child or other family members.

Recommendation 6: Intensive family preservation services represent an important part of the continuum of family support services, but they should not be required in every situation in which a child is recommended for out-of-home placement.

Measures of health, safety, and well-being should be included in evaluations of intensive family preservation services to determine their impact on children's outcomes as well as placement rates and levels of family functioning, including evidence of recurrence of abuse of the child or other family members. There is a need for enhanced screening instruments that can identify the families who are most likely to benefit from intensive short-term services focused on the resolution of crises that affect family stability and functioning.

The value of appropriate post-reunification (or placement) services to the child and family to enhance coping and the ability to make a successful transition

toward long-term adjustment also remains uncertain. The impact of post-reunification or post-placement services needs to be considered in terms of their relative effects on child and family functioning compared with the use of intensive family preservation services prior to child removal. In some situations, one or the other type of services might be recommended; in other cases, they might be used in some combination to achieve positive outcomes.

Recommendations For The Next Generation Of Evaluations

Determining which interventions should be selected for rigorous and in-depth evaluations in the future will acquire increased importance as the array of family violence interventions expands in social services, law, and health care settings. For this reason, clear criteria and guiding principles are necessary to guide sponsoring agencies in their efforts to determine which types of interventions are suitable for evaluation research. Recognizing that all promising interventions cannot be evaluated, public and private agencies need to consider how to invest research resources in areas that show programmatic potential as well as an adequate research foundation. Future allocations of research investments may require agencies to reorganize or to develop new programmatic and research units that can inform the process of selecting interventions for future evaluation efforts, determine the scope of adequate funding levels, and identify areas in which program integration or diversity may contribute to a knowledge base that can inform policy, practice, and research. Such agencies may also consider how to sustain an ongoing dialogue among research sponsors, research scientists, and service providers to inform these selection efforts and to disseminate evaluation results once they are available.

In the interim, the committee offers several guiding principles to help inform the evaluation selection process.

• meet the preconditions for experimentation that are described in the other principles outlined below.

With these principles in mind, the committee has identified a set of interventions that are the focus of current policy attention and service innovation efforts but have not received significant attention from research. In the committee's judgment, each of these nine interventions has reached a level of maturation and preliminary description in the research literature to justify their selection as strong candidates for future evaluation studies.

Training for Service Providers and Law Enforcement Officials

Training in basic educational programs and continuing education on all aspects

of family violence has expanded for professionals in the health care, legal, and social service systems. Such efforts can be expected to enhance skills in identifying individual experiences with family violence, but improvements in training may improve other outcomes as well, including the patterns and timing of service interventions, the nature of interactions with victims of family violence, linkage of service referrals, the quality of investigation and documentation for reported cases, and, ultimately, improved health and safety outcomes for victims and communities.

Training programs alone may be insufficient to change professional behavior and service interventions unless they are accompanied by financial and human resources that emphasize the role of psychosocial issues and support the delivery of appropriate treatment, prevention, and referral services in different institutional and community settings. Evaluations of their effectiveness therefore need to consider the institutional culture and resource base that influence the implementation of the training program and the abilities of service providers to apply their knowledge and skills in meeting the needs of their clients.

Evaluation research is needed to assess the impact of training programs on counseling and referral practices and service delivery in health care, social service, and law enforcement settings. This research should include examination of the effects of training on the health and mental health status of those who receive services, including short- and long-term outcomes such as empowerment, freedom from violence, recovery from trauma, and rebuilding of life. Evaluations should also examine the role of training programs as catalysts for innovative and collaborative services. They should consider the extent to which training programs influence the behavior of agency personnel, including the interaction of service providers with professionals from other institutional settings, their participation in comprehensive community service programs, and the exposure of personal experiences in institutions charged with providing interventions for abuse.

Universal Screening in Health Care Settings

The significant role of health care and social service professionals in screening for victimization by all forms of family violence deserves critical analysis and rigorous evaluation. Early detection of child maltreatment, spousal violence, and elder abuse is believed to lead to an infusion of treatment and preventive services that can reduce exposure to harm, mitigate the negative consequences of abuse and neglect, improve health outcomes, and reduce the need for future health services. Screening programs can also enhance primary prevention efforts by providing information, education, and awareness of resources in the community. The benefits associated with early detection need to be balanced against risks presented by false positives and false negatives associated with large-scale screening efforts and programs characterized by inadequate staff training and responses.

Such efforts also need to consider whether appropriate treatment, protection, and support services are available for victims or offenders once they have been detected.

The use of enhanced screening instruments also requires attention to the need for services that can respond effectively to the large caseloads generated by expanded detection activities. The child protective services literature suggests that increased reporting can diminish the capacity of agencies to respond effectively if additional resources are not available to support enhanced services as well as screening.

The use of screening instruments in health care and social service settings for batterer identification and treatment is more problematic, given the lack of knowledge about factors that enhance or discourage their violent behavior. Screening only victims may be insufficient to provide a full picture of family violence; however, screening batterers may increase the danger for their victims, especially if batterer treatment interventions are not available or are not reliable in providing effective treatment and if support services are not available for victims once a perpetrator is identified. Screening adults for histories of childhood abuse, which may help prevent future victimization of the patient or others, may also be problematic without adequate training or mental health services to deal with the possible resurgence of trauma.

Evaluation studies of family violence screening efforts could build on the lessons derived from screening research in other health care areas (such as HIV detection, lead exposure, sickle cell, and others). This research could provide data that would support or contradict the theory that early identification is a useful secondary prevention intervention, especially in areas in which appropriate services may not be available or reliable. The cost issues associated with universal screening need to be considered in terms of their implications for savings in possible cost reductions from consequent conditions (such as the health consequences of HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancy, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and the exacerbation of other medical conditions) that may occur in other health care areas. Finally, the risks associated with screening (such as the establishment of a preexisting condition that may influence insurance eligibility) require consideration; such issues are already being addressed by some advocacy groups, insurance corporations, and regulatory bodies in the health care area.

Mental Health and Counseling Services

Little is known at present regarding the comparative effectiveness of different forms of therapeutic services for victims of family violence. Findings from recent studies of child physical and sexual abuse suggest that certain approaches (specifically cognitive-behavioral programs) are associated with more positive outcomes for parents, such as reducing aggressive/coercive behavior, compared

with family therapy and routine community mental health services. No treatment outcome studies have been conducted in the area of child neglect. Interventions in this field generally draw on approaches for dealing with other childhood and adolescent problems with similar symptom profiles.

For domestic violence, research evaluations are in the early stages of design and empirical data are not yet available to guide analyses of the effectiveness of different approaches. Major challenges include the absence of agreement regarding key psychosocial outcomes of interest in assessing the effectiveness of interventions, variations in the use of treatment protocols designed for post-traumatic stress for individuals who may still be experiencing traumatic situations, tensions between protocol-driven models of treatment (which are easier to evaluate) and those that are driven by the needs of the client or the context in which the violence occurred, the co-occurrence of trauma and other problems (such as prior victimization, depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders) that may have preceded the violence but require mental health services, and the difficulty of involving victims in follow-up studies after the completion of treatment. Variations in the context in which mental health services are provided for victims of domestic violence (such as isolated services, managed care programs, and services that are incorporated into an array of social support programs, including housing and job counseling) also require attention. Topics of special interest include contextual issues, such as the general lack of access to quality mental health services for women without sufficient independent income, and the danger of psychiatric diagnoses being used against battered women in child custody cases.

Collaborative efforts are needed to provide opportunities for the exchange of methodology, research measures, and designs to foster the development of controlled studies that can compare the results of innovative treatment approaches with routine counseling programs in community services.

Comprehensive Community Initiatives

Evaluations of batterer treatment programs, protective orders, and arrest policies suggest that the role of these individual interventions may be enhanced if they are part of a broad-based strategy to address family violence. The development of comprehensive, community-based interventions has become extremely widespread in the 1990s; examples include domestic violence coordinating councils, child advocacy centers, and elder abuse task forces. A few communities (most notably Duluth, Minnesota, and Quincy, Massachusetts) have developed systemwide strategies to coordinate their law enforcement and other service responses to domestic violence.

Comprehensive community-based interventions must confront difficult challenges, both in the design and implementation of such services, and in the selection of appropriate measures to assess their effectiveness. Many evaluations of comprehensive community-based interventions have focused primarily on the

design and implementation process, to determine whether an individual program had incorporated sufficient range and diversity among formal and informal networks so that it can achieve a significant impact in the community. This type of process evaluation does not necessarily require new methods of assessment or analysis, although it can benefit from recent developments in the evaluation literature, such as the empowerment evaluations discussed in Chapter 3 .

In contrast, the evaluation challenges that emerge from large-scale community-based efforts are formidable. First, it may be difficult to determine when an intervention has reached an appropriate stage of implementation to warrant a rigorous assessment of its effects. Second, the implementation of a community-wide intervention may be accompanied by a widespread social movement against family violence, so that it becomes difficult to distinguish the effects of the intervention itself from the impact of changing cultural and social norms that influence behavior. In some cases, the effects attributed to the intervention may appear weak, because they are overwhelmed by the impact of the social movement itself. Third, the selection of an appropriate comparison or control group for community-wide interventions presents formidable problems in terms of matching social and structural characteristics and compensating for community-to-community variation in record keeping.

These challenges require close attention to the emerging knowledge associated with the evaluation of comprehensive community-wide interventions in areas unrelated to family violence, so that important design, theory, and measurement insights can be applied to the special needs of programs focused on child maltreatment, domestic violence, and elder abuse. Although no single model of service integration, comprehensive services, or community change can be endorsed at this time, a range of interesting community service designs has emerged that have achieved widespread popularity and support at the local level. Because their primary focus is often on prevention, rather than treatment, comprehensive community interventions have the potential to achieve change across multiple levels of interactions affecting individuals, families, communities, and social norms and thus reduce the scope and severity of family violence as well as contribute to remedies to other important social problems.

A growing research literature has appeared in other fields, particularly in the area of substance abuse and community development, that identifies the conceptual frameworks, data collection, and methodological issues that need to be considered in designing evaluation studies for community-based and systemwide interventions. As an example, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention in the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has funded a series of studies designed to improve methodologies for the evaluation of community-based substance abuse prevention programs that offer important building blocks for the field of family violence interventions.

Developing effective evaluation strategies for comprehensive and systemwide programs is one of the most challenging issues for the research community

in this field. No evaluations have been conducted to date to examine the relative advantages of comprehensive and systemwide community initiatives compared with traditional services. Evaluations need to consider the mix of components in comprehensive interventions that determine their effectiveness and successful implementation; the comparative strengths and limitations of inter- and intra-agency interventions; community factors, such as political leadership, historical tensions, diversity of ethnic/cultural composition, and resource allocation strategies; and the impact of comprehensive interventions on the capacity of service agencies to provide traditional care and effective responses to reports of family violence.

Shelter Programs and Other Domestic Violence Services

Over time, most battered women's shelters have expanded their services to encompass far more than the provision of refuge. Today, many shelters have support groups for women residents, support groups for child residents, emergency and transitional housing, and legal and welfare advocacy. Nonresidential services also have expanded, so that any battered woman in the community is able to attend a support group or request advocacy services. Many agencies now offer educational groups for men who batter, as well as programs dealing with dating violence. Some communities have never opened a shelter yet are able to offer support groups, advocacy, crisis intervention, and safe homes (neighbors sheltering a neighbor, for example) to help battered women and their families in times of crisis. In addition to providing services for victims, the battered women service organizations also define their goal as transforming the conditions and norms that support violence against women. Thus these organizations work as agents of social change in their communities to improve the community-wide response to battered women and their children.

Shelter services and battered women's support organizations are ready for evaluations that can identify program outcomes and compare the effectiveness of different service interventions. Research studies are also needed that can describe the multiple goals and theories that shape the program objectives of these interventions, provide detailed histories of the ways in which different service systems have been implemented, and examine the characteristics of the women who do or do not use or benefit from them.

Protective Orders

Protective orders can be an important part of the prevention strategy for domestic violence and help document the record of assaults and threatening actions. The low priority traditionally assigned to the handling of protective orders, which are usually treated as civil matters in police agencies, requires attention, as do the procedural requirements of the legal system. Courts have

accepted alternative forms of due process, including public notice, notice by mail, and other forms of notification that do not require personal contact. Efforts are needed now to compare the effectiveness of short-term (30-day) restraining orders with a longer (1-year) protective order in reducing violent behavior by offenders and securing access to legal and support services for the complainants.

In-depth case studies and interviews with victims who have had police and court contacts because of domestic violence are needed to highlight individual, social, and institutional factors that facilitate or inhibit victim use of and perpetrator compliance with protective orders in different community settings. Such studies could (1) reveal patterns of help-seeking contacts and services that affect the use of protective orders and compliance with their requirements, (2) highlight the forms of sanctions that are appropriate to ensure compliance and to deter future violent behavior, (3) explore the extent to which the effects of protective orders are enhanced in reducing violence if victim advocates, shelter services, or other social support resources are available and are used by the victim in redefining the terms of her relationship with her partner, and (4) examine the extent to which protective orders can mitigate the consequences of violence for children who may have been assaulted or who may have witnessed an assault against their mother.

Child Fatality Review Panels

The emergence of child fatality review teams in 21 states since 1978 represents an innovative effort in many communities to address systemwide implications of severe violence against children and infants. Child fatality review teams involve a multiagency effort to compile and integrate information about child deaths and to review and evaluate the record of caseworkers and agencies in providing services to these children when a report of abuse or neglect had been made prior to a child's death. These review teams can provide an opportunity to examine the quality of a community's total approach to child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment.

The experience of child fatality review teams in identifying systemic features that enhance or weaken agency efforts to protect children needs to be evaluated and made accessible to individual service providers in health, legal, and social service agencies. Key research issues include: the effect of review team actions on the protection of family members of children who have died as a result of child maltreatment; the impact of child fatality review reports on the prosecution of offenders; the influence of review team efforts on the routine investigation, treatment, and prevention activities of participating agencies; the impact of review teams on other community child protection and domestic violence prevention efforts; and the identification of early warning signals that emerge in child homicide investigations that represent opportunities for preventive interventions.

Child Witness to Violence Programs

Child witness programs represent an important development in the evolution of comprehensive approaches to family violence, but they have not yet been evaluated. Evaluation studies of these programs should examine the experience with symptomatology among children who witness family violence, to determine whether and for whom early intervention influences the course of development of social and mental health consequences, such as depression, anxiety, emotional detachment, aggression and violence, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Such studies could also compare variations in the developmental histories of children who witness violence with those of children who are injured or otherwise are directly victimized by their parents or who witness violence in their communities. Evaluation studies should consider the recommended forms of treatment for these children, the standards of eligibility that determine their placement in treatment programs, and the impact of institutional setting (hospital, shelter, or social service agency) and reimbursement plans on the quality of the treatment.

Elder Abuse Services

Only seven program evaluation studies have been published on elder abuse interventions, none of which includes random groups and most of which involve small sample sizes. Three major issues challenge effective interventions in this area: the degree of dependence between perpetrators and victims, restricted social services budgets, general public distrust of social welfare programs, and the relationship between judgments about competence and the application of the principles of self-determination and privacy to the problem of elder abuse.

Evaluation studies should consider the different types and multiple dimensions of elder abuse in the development of effective interventions. The benefits of specific programs need to be compared with integrated service systems that are designed to foster the well-being of the elderly population without regard to special circumstances. Evaluation research should be integrated into community service programs and agency efforts on behalf of elderly persons to foster studies that involve the use of comparison and control groups, common measures, and the assessment of outcomes associated with different forms of service interventions.

Topics For Basic Research

The committee identified four basic research topics that require further development to inform policy and practice. These topics raise fundamental questions about the approaches that should be used in designing treatment, prevention, and enforcement strategies. As such, they highlight important dimensions of family violence that should be addressed in a research agenda for the field.

birth, infancy, and adolescence. Other issues linked to family formation include the use of corporal punishment in child discipline, gender roles, privacy, and strategies for resolving conflict among adults or siblings.

A third approach would be studies to discern the protective factors inside and outside families that enable some children who are exposed to violence to not only survive but also to develop coping mechanisms that serve them well later in life. This analysis would have widespread implications for assessing the impact of biological and experiential factors in specific domains, such as fear, anxiety, self-blame, identity formation, helplessness, and help-seeking behaviors. Such research could also identify abuse-related coping strategies (such as excessive distrust of or overdependence on others) that may contribute to other problems that emerge in the course of adolescent and adult development.

first-time parents, victims and offenders who have substance abuse histories, etc.)

Forging Partnerships Between Research And Practice

Although it is premature to expect research to offer definitive answers about the relative effectiveness of the array of current service and enforcement strategies, the committee sees valuable opportunities that now exist to accelerate the rate by which service providers can identify the types of individuals, families, and communities that may benefit from certain types or combinations of service and enforcement interventions. Major challenges must be addressed, however, to improve the overall quality of the evaluations of family violence interventions and to provide a research base that can inform policy and practice. These challenges include issues of study design and methodology as well as logistical concerns that must be resolved in order to conduct research in open service systems where the research investigator is not able to control factors that may weaken the study design and influence its outcome. The resolution of these challenges will require collaborative partnerships between researchers, service providers, and policy makers to generate common approaches and data sources.

The integration of research and practice in the field of family violence, as in many other areas of human services, has occurred on a haphazard basis. As a result, program sponsors, service providers, clients, victims, researchers, and community representatives have not been able to learn in a systematic manner from the diverse experiences of both large and small programs. Mayors, judges, police officers, caseworkers, child and victim advocates, health professionals, and others must make life-or-death decisions each day in the face of tremendous

uncertainty, often relying on conflicting reports, anecdotal data, and inconsistent information in judging the effectiveness of specific interventions.

The development of creative partnerships between the research and practice communities would greatly improve the targeting of limited resources to specific clients who can benefit most from a particular type of intervention. Yet significant barriers inhibit the development of such partnerships, including disagreements about the nature and origins of family violence, broad variations in the conceptual frameworks that guide service delivery, differences over the relative merits of service and research, a lack of faith in the ability of research to inform and improve services, a lack of trust in the ability of service providers to inform the design of research experiments and the formation of theoretical frameworks, and concerns about fairness and safety in including victims and offenders in experimental treatment groups. These fundamental differences obscure identification of outcomes of interest in the development of evaluation studies, which are further complicated by limitations in study design and access to appropriate subjects that are necessary for the conduct of research.

Even if greater levels of trust fostered more interaction between the research community and service providers, collaborative efforts would be challenged by factors such as the lack of funding for empirical studies, the availability of limited resources to support studies over appropriate time frames, and the social and economic characteristics of some of the populations served by family violence interventions that make them difficult to follow over extended periods of time (chaotic households, high mobility of the client population, concerns for safety, lack of telephones and permanent residences, etc.).

Service providers and program sponsors have often been skeptical of efforts to evaluate the impact of a selected intervention, knowing that critical or premature assessments could jeopardize the program's future and restrict future opportunities for service delivery. Service providers have also been less than enthusiastic in seeking program evaluations, knowing that the programs to be evaluated have been underfunded and are understaffed and present a less than ideal situation; in their view, the assessment may diminish future resources and affect the development of a particular strategy or programmatic approach. The tremendous demand for services and the limited availability of staff resources create a pressured environment in which the staff time involved in filling out forms for research purposes is seen as being sacrificed from time that might be used to serve people in need. In some cases, research funds support demonstration programs that are highly valued by a community, yet few resources are available to support them once the research phase has been completed.

Researchers and service providers need to resolve the programmatic tensions that have sometimes surfaced in contentious debates over the type of services that should be put into place in addressing problems of family violence. The mistrust and skepticism present major challenges that need to resolved before the technical challenges to effective evaluations can be addressed. A reformulation of the

research process is needed so that, while building a long-term capacity to focus on complex issues and conduct rigorous studies, researchers can also provide useful information to service providers.

The committee has identified three major principles to help integrate research and practice in the field of family violence interventions:

• Evaluation should be an integral part of any major intervention, particularly those that are designed to be replicated in multiple communities. Interventions have often been put into place without a research base to support them or rigorous evaluation efforts to guide their development. Evaluation research based on theoretical models is needed to link program goals and operational objectives with multiple program components and outcomes. Intensive marketing and praise for a particular intervention or program should no longer be a substitute for empirical data in determining the effectiveness of programs that are intended to be replicated in multiple sites.
• Coordinating policy, program, and research agendas will improve family violence interventions. Evaluation research will help program sponsors and managers clarify program goals and experience and identify areas in need of attention because of the difficulties of implementation, the use of resources, and changes in the client base. Research and data-based analysis can guide ongoing program and policy efforts if evaluation studies are integrated into the design and development of interventions. The knowledge base can be improved by (1) framing key hypotheses that can be tested by existing or new services, (2) building statistical models to explore the system-wide effects of selected interventions and compare these effects with the consequences of collaborative and comprehensive approaches, (3) using common definitions and measures to facilitate comparisons across individual studies, (4) using appropriate comparison and control groups in evaluation studies, including random assignment, when possible, (5) developing culturally sensitive research designs and measures, (6) identifying relevant outcomes in the assessment of selected interventions, and (7) developing alternative designs when traditional design methodology cannot be used for legal, ethical, or practical reasons.
• Surmounting existing barriers to collaboration between research and practice communities requires policy incentives and leadership to foster partnership efforts. Many interventions are not evaluated because of limited funds, because the individuals involved in service delivery consider research to be peripheral to the needs of their clients, because the researchers are disinterested in studying the complexity of service delivery systems and the impact of violence in clients' lives, or because research methods are not yet available to assess outcomes that result from the complex interaction of multiple systems. This situation will continue until program sponsors and policy officials exercise leadership to build partnerships between the research and practice communities and to provide funds for rigorous evaluations in the development of service and law enforcement
• interventions. Additional steps are required to foster a more constructive dialogue and partnership between the research and practice communities.

Partnership efforts are also needed to focus research attention on the particular implementation of an individual program rather than the strategy behind the program design. Promising intervention strategies may be discarded prematurely because of special circumstances that obstructed full implementation of the program. Conversely, programs that offer only limited effectiveness may appear to be successful on the basis of evaluation studies that did not consider the significant points of vulnerability and limitations in the service design or offer a comparative analysis with the benefits to be derived from routine services.

The establishment and documentation of a series of consensus conferences on relevant outcomes, and appropriate measurement tools, will strengthen and enhance evaluations of family violence interventions and lead to improvements in the design of programs, interventions, and strategies. May opportunities currently exist for research to inform the design and assessment of treatment and prevention interventions. In addition, service providers can help guide researchers in the identification of appropriate domains in which program effects may occur but are currently not being examined. Ongoing dialogues can guide the identification and development of instruments and methods that can capture the density and distribution of relevant effects that are not well understood. The organization of a series of consensus conferences by sponsors in public and private agencies that are concerned with the future quality of family violence interventions would be an important contribution to the development of this field.

Reports of mistreated children, domestic violence, and abuse of elderly persons continue to strain the capacity of police, courts, social services agencies, and medical centers. At the same time, myriad treatment and prevention programs are providing services to victims and offenders. Although limited research knowledge exists regarding the effectiveness of these programs, such information is often scattered, inaccessible, and difficult to obtain.

Violence in Families takes the first hard look at the successes and failures of family violence interventions. It offers recommendations to guide services, programs, policy, and research on victim support and assistance, treatments and penalties for offenders, and law enforcement. Included is an analysis of more than 100 evaluation studies on the outcomes of different kinds of programs and services.

Violence in Families provides the most comprehensive review on the topic to date. It explores the scope and complexity of family violence, including identification of the multiple types of victims and offenders, who require different approaches to intervention. The book outlines new strategies that offer promising approaches for service providers and researchers and for improving the evaluation of prevention and treatment services. Violence in Families discusses issues that underlie all types of family violence, such as the tension between family support and the protection of children, risk factors that contribute to violent behavior in families, and the balance between family privacy and community interventions.

The core of the book is a research-based review of interventions used in three institutional sectors—social services, health, and law enforcement settings—and how to measure their effectiveness in combating maltreatment of children, domestic violence, and abuse of the elderly. Among the questions explored by the committee: Does the child protective services system work? Does the threat of arrest deter batterers? The volume discusses the strength of the evidence and highlights emerging links among interventions in different institutional settings.

Thorough, readable, and well organized, Violence in Families synthesizes what is known and outlines what needs to be discovered. This volume will be of great interest to policymakers, social services providers, health care professionals, police and court officials, victim advocates, researchers, and concerned individuals.

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• Open access
• Published: 20 June 2023

A qualitative quantitative mixed methods study of domestic violence against women

• Mina Shayestefar 1 ,
• Mohadese Saffari 1 ,
• Razieh Gholamhosseinzadeh 2 ,
• Monir Nobahar 3 , 4 ,
• Majid Mirmohammadkhani 4 ,
• Seyed Hossein Shahcheragh 5 &
• Zahra Khosravi 6  

BMC Women's Health volume  23 , Article number:  322 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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Violence against women is one of the most widespread, persistent and detrimental violations of human rights in today’s world, which has not been reported in most cases due to impunity, silence, stigma and shame, even in the age of social communication. Domestic violence against women harms individuals, families, and society. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and experiences of domestic violence against women in Semnan.

This study was conducted as mixed research (cross-sectional descriptive and phenomenological qualitative methods) to investigate domestic violence against women, and some related factors (quantitative) and experiences of such violence (qualitative) simultaneously in Semnan. In quantitative study, cluster sampling was conducted based on the areas covered by health centers from married women living in Semnan since March 2021 to March 2022 using Domestic Violence Questionnaire. Then, the obtained data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. In qualitative study by phenomenological approach and purposive sampling until data saturation, 9 women were selected who had referred to the counseling units of Semnan health centers due to domestic violence, since March 2021 to March 2022 and in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The conducted interviews were analyzed using Colaizzi’s 7-step method.

In qualitative study, seven themes were found including “Facilitators”, “Role failure”, “Repressors”, “Efforts to preserve the family”, “Inappropriate solving of family conflicts”, “Consequences”, and “Inefficient supportive systems”. In quantitative study, the variables of age, age difference and number of years of marriage had a positive and significant relationship, and the variable of the number of children had a negative and significant relationship with the total score and all fields of the questionnaire (p < 0.05). Also, increasing the level of female education and income both independently showed a significant relationship with increasing the score of violence.

Conclusions

Some of the variables of violence against women are known and the need for prevention and plans to take action before their occurrence is well felt. Also, supportive mechanisms with objective and taboo-breaking results should be implemented to minimize harm to women, and their children and families seriously.

Peer Review reports

Violence against women by husbands (physical, sexual and psychological violence) is one of the basic problems of public health and violation of women’s human rights. It is estimated that 35% of women and almost one out of every three women aged 15–49 experience physical or sexual violence by their spouse or non-spouse sexual violence in their lifetime [ 1 ]. This is a nationwide public health issue, and nearly every healthcare worker will encounter a patient who has suffered from some type of domestic or family violence. Unfortunately, different forms of family violence are often interconnected. The “cycle of abuse” frequently persists from children who witness it to their adult relationships, and ultimately to the care of the elderly [ 2 ]. This violence includes a range of physical, sexual and psychological actions, control, threats, aggression, abuse, and rape [ 3 ].

Violence against women is one of the most widespread, persistent, and detrimental violations of human rights in today’s world, which has not been reported in most cases due to impunity, silence, stigma and shame, even in the age of social communication [ 3 ]. In the United States of America, more than one in three women (35.6%) experience rape, physical violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV) during their lifetime. Compared to men, women are nearly twice as likely (13.8% vs. 24.3%) to experience severe physical violence such as choking, burns, and threats with knives or guns [ 4 ]. The higher prevalence of violence against women can be due to the situational deprivation of women in patriarchal societies [ 5 ]. The prevalence of domestic violence in Iran reported 22.9%. The maximum of prevalence estimated in Tehran and Zahedan, respectively [ 6 ]. Currently, Iran has high levels of violence against women, and the provinces with the highest rates of unemployment and poverty also have the highest levels of violence against women [ 7 ].

Domestic violence against women harms individuals, families, and society [ 8 ]. Violence against women leads to physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, including threats, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of their freedom in public and private life. Also, such violence is associated with harmful effects on women’s sexual reproductive health, including sexually transmitted infection such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), abortion, unsafe childbirth, and risky sexual behaviors [ 9 ]. There are high levels of psychological, sexual and physical domestic abuse among pregnant women [ 10 ]. Also, women with postpartum depression are significantly more likely to experience domestic violence during pregnancy [ 11 ].

Prompt attention to women’s health and rights at all levels is necessary, which reduces this problem and its risk factors [ 12 ]. Because women prefer to remain silent about domestic violence and there is a need to introduce immediate prevention programs to end domestic violence [ 13 ]. violence against women, which is an important public health problem, and concerns about human rights require careful study and the application of appropriate policies [ 14 ]. Also, the efforts to change the circumstances in which women face domestic violence remain significantly insufficient [ 15 ]. Given that few clear studies on violence against women and at the same time interviews with these people regarding their life experiences are available, the authors attempted to planning this research aims to investigate the prevalence and experiences of domestic violence against women in Semnan with the research question of “What is the prevalence of domestic violence against women in Semnan, and what are their experiences of such violence?”, so that their results can be used in part of the future planning in the health system of the society.

This study is a combination of cross-sectional and phenomenology studies in order to investigate the amount of domestic violence against women and some related factors (quantitative) and their experience of this violence (qualitative) simultaneously in the Semnan city. This study has been approved by the ethics committee of Semnan University of Medical Sciences with ethic code of IR.SEMUMS.REC.1397.182. The researcher introduced herself to the research participants, explained the purpose of the study, and then obtained informed written consent. It was assured to the research units that the collected information will be anonymous and kept confidential. The participants were informed that participation in the study was entirely voluntary, so they can withdraw from the study at any time with confidence. The participants were notified that more than one interview session may be necessary. To increase the trustworthiness of the study, Guba and Lincoln’s criteria for rigor, including credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability [ 16 ], were applied throughout the research process. The COREQ checklist was used to assess the present study quality. The researchers used observational notes for reflexivity and it preserved in all phases of this qualitative research process.

Qualitative method

Based on the phenomenological approach and with the purposeful sampling method, nine women who had referred to the counseling units of healthcare centers in Semnan city due to domestic violence in February 2021 to March 2022 were participated in the present study. The inclusion criteria for the study included marriage, a history of visiting a health center consultant due to domestic violence, and consent to participate in the study and unwillingness to participate in the study was the exclusion criteria. Each participant invited to the study by a telephone conversation about study aims and researcher information. The interviews place selected through agreement of the participant and the researcher and a place with the least environmental disturbance. Before starting each interview, the informed consent and all of the ethical considerations, including the purpose of the research, voluntary participation, confidentiality of the information were completely explained and they were asked to sign the written consent form. The participants were interviewed by depth, semi-structured and face-to-face interviews based on the main research question. Interviews were conducted by a female health services researcher with a background in nursing (M.Sh.). Data collection was continued until the data saturation and no new data appeared. Only the participants and the researcher were present during the interviews. All interviews were recorded by a MP3 Player by permission of the participants before starting. Interviews were not repeated. No additional field notes were taken during or after the interview.

The age range of the participants was from 38 to 55 years and their average age was 40 years. The sociodemographic characteristics of the participants are summarized in table below (Table  1 ).

Five interviews in the courtyards of healthcare centers, 2 interviews in the park, and 2 interviews at the participants’ homes were conducted. The duration of the interviews varied from 45 min to one hour. The main research question was “What is your experience about domestic violence?“. According to the research progress some other questions were asked in line with the main question of the research.

The conducted interviews were analyzed by using the 7 steps Colizzi’s method [ 17 ]. In order to empathize with the participants, each interview was read several times and transcribed. Then two researchers (M.Sh. and M.N.) extracted the phrases that were directly related to the phenomenon of domestic violence against women independently and distinguished from other sentences by underlining them. Then these codes were organized into thematic clusters and the formulated concepts were sorted into specific thematic categories.

In the final stage, in order to make the data reliable, the researcher again referred to 2 participants and checked their agreement with their perceptions of the content. Also, possible important contents were discussed and clarified, and in this way, agreement and approval of the samples was obtained.

Quantitative method

The cross-sectional study was implemented from February 2021 to March 2022 with cluster sampling of married women in areas of 3 healthcare centers in Semnan city. Those participants who were married and agreed with the written and verbal informed consent about the ethical considerations were included to the study. The questionnaire was completed by the participants in paper and online form.

The instrument was the standard questionnaire of domestic violence against women by Mohseni Tabrizi et al. [ 18 ]. In the questionnaire, questions 1–10, 11–36, 37–65 and 66–71 related to sociodemographic information, types of spousal abuse (psychological, economical, physical and sexual violence), patriarchal beliefs and traditions and family upbringing and learning violence, respectively. In total, this questionnaire has 71 items.

The scoring of the questionnaire has two parts and the answers to them are based on the Likert scale. Questions 11–36 and 66–71 are answered with always [ 4 ] to never (0) and questions 37–65 with completely agree [ 4 ] to completely disagree (0). The minimum and maximum score is 0 and 300, respectively. The total score of 0–60, 61–120 and higher than 121 demonstrates low, moderate and severe domestic violence against women, respectively [ 18 ].

In the study by Tabrizi et al., to evaluate the validity and reliability of this questionnaire, researchers tried to measure the face validity of the scale by the previous research. Those items and questions which their accuracies were confirmed by social science professors and experts used in the research, finally. The total Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.183, which confirmed that the reliability of the questions and items of the questionnaire is sufficient [ 18 ].

Descriptive data were reported using mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage. Then, to measure the relationship between the variables, χ2 and Pearson tests also variance and regression analysis were performed. All analysis were performed by using SPSS version 26 and the significance level was considered as p < 0.05.

Qualitative results

According to the third step of Colaizzi’s 7-step method, the researcher attempted to conceptualize and formulate the extracted meanings. In this step, the primary codes were extracted from the important sentences related to the phenomenon of violence against women, which were marked by underlining, which are shown below as examples of this stage and coding.

The primary code of indifference to the father’s role was extracted from the following sentences. This is indifference in the role of the father in front of the children.

“Some time ago, I told him that our daughter is single-sided deaf. She has a doctor’s appointment; I have to take her to the doctor. He said that I don’t have money to give you. He doesn’t force himself to make money anyway” (p 2, 33 yrs).

“He didn’t value his own children. He didn’t think about his older children” (p 4, 54 yrs).

The primary code extracted here included lack of commitment in the role of head of the household. This is irresponsibility towards the family and meeting their needs.

“My husband was fired from work after 10 years due to disorder and laziness. Since then, he has not found a suitable job. Every time he went to work, he was fired after a month because of laziness” (p 7, 55 yrs).

“In the evening, he used to get dressed and go out, and he didn’t come back until late. Some nights, I was so afraid of being alone that I put a knife under my pillow when I slept” (p 2, 33 yrs).

A total of 246 primary codes were extracted from the interviews in the third step. In the fourth step, the researchers put the formulated concepts (primary codes) into 85 specific sub-categories.

Twenty-three categories were extracted from 85 sub-categories. In the sixth step, the concepts of the fifth step were integrated and formed seven themes (Table  2 ).

These themes included “Facilitators”, “Role failure”, “Repressors”, “Efforts to preserve the family”, “Inappropriate solving of family conflicts”, “Consequences”, and “Inefficient supportive systems” (Fig.  1 ).

Themes of domestic violence against women

Some of the statements of the participants on the theme of “ Facilitators” are listed below:

Husband’s criminal record

“He got his death sentence for drugs. But, at last it was ended for 10 years” (p 4, 54 yrs).

Inappropriate age for marriage

“At the age of thirteen, I married a boy who was 25 years old” (p 8, 25 yrs).

“My first husband obeyed her parents. I was 12–13 years old” (p 3, 32 yrs).

“I couldn’t do anything. I was humiliated” (p 1, 38 yrs).

“A bridegroom came. The mother was against. She said, I am young. My older sister is not married yet, but I was eager to get married. I don’t know, maybe my father’s house was boring for me” (p 2, 33 yrs).

“My parents used to argue badly. They blamed each other and I always wanted to run away from these arguments. I didn’t have the patience to talk to mom or dad and calm them down” (p 5, 39 yrs).

Overdependence

“My husband’s parents don’t stop interfering, but my husband doesn’t say anything because he is a student of his father. My husband is self-employed and works with his father on a truck” (p 8, 25 yrs).

“Every time I argue with my husband because of lack of money, my mother-in-law supported her son and brought him up very spoiled and lazy” (p 7, 55 yrs).

Bitter memories

“After three years, my mother married her friend with my uncle’s insistence and went to Shiraz. But, his condition was that she did not have the right to bring his daughter with her. In fact, my mother also got married out of necessity” (p 8, 25 yrs).

Some of their other statements related to “ Role failure” are mentioned below:

Lack of commitment to different roles

“I got angry several times and went to my father’s house because of my husband’s bad financial status and the fact that he doesn’t feel responsible to work and always says that he cannot find a job” (p 6, 48 yrs).

“I saw that he does not want to change in any way” (p 4, 54 yrs).

“No matter how kind I am, it does not work” (p 1, 38 yrs).

Some of their other statements regarding “ Repressors” are listed below:

Fear and silence

“My mother always forced me to continue living with my husband. Finally, my father had been poor. She all said that you didn’t listen to me when you wanted to get married, so you don’t have the right to get angry and come to me, I’m miserable enough” (p 2, 33 yrs).

“Because I suffered a lot in my first marital life. I was very humiliated. I said I would be fine with that. To be kind” (p1, 38 yrs).

“Well, I tell myself that he gets angry sometimes” (p 3, 32 yrs).

Shame from society

“I don’t want my daughter-in-law to know. She is not a relative” (p 4, 54 yrs).

Some of the statements of the participants regarding the theme of “ Efforts to preserve the family” are listed below:

Hope and trust

“I always hope in God and I am patient” (p 2, 33 yrs).

Efforts for children

“My divorce took a month. We got a divorce. I forgave my dowry and took my children instead” (p 2, 33 yrs).

Some of their other statements regarding the “ Inappropriate solving of family conflicts” are listed below:

Child-bearing thoughts

“My husband wanted to take me to a doctor to treat me. But my father-in-law refused and said that instead of doing this and spending money, marry again. Marriage in the clans was much easier than any other work” (p 8, 25 yrs).

Lack of effective communication

“I was nervous about him, but I didn’t say anything” (p 5, 39 yrs).

“Now I am satisfied with my life and thank God it is better to listen to people’s words. Now there is someone above me so that people don’t talk behind me” (p 2, 33 yrs).

Some of their other statements regarding the “ Consequences” are listed below:

Harm to children

“My eldest daughter, who was about 7–8 years old, behaved differently. Oh, I was angry. My children are mentally depressed and argue” (p 5, 39 yrs).

After divorce

“Even though I got a divorce, my mother and I came to a remote area due to the fear of what my family would say” (p 2, 33 yrs).

Social harm

“I work at a retirement center for living expenses” (p 2, 33 yrs).

“I had to go to clean the houses” (p 5, 39 yrs).

Non-acceptance in the family

“The children’s relationship with their father became bad. Because every time they saw their father sitting at home smoking, they got angry” (p 7, 55 yrs).

Emotional harm

“When I look back, I regret why I was not careful in my choice” (p 7, 55 yrs).

“I felt very bad. For being married to a man who is not bound by the family and is capricious” (p 9, 36 yrs).

Some of their other statements regarding “ Inefficient supportive systems” are listed below:

Inappropriate family support

“We didn’t have children. I was at my father’s house for about a month. After a month, when I came home, I saw that my husband had married again. I cried a lot that day. He said, God, I had to. I love you. My heart is broken, I have no one to share my words” (p 8, 25 yrs).

“My brother-in-law was like himself. His parents had also died. His sister did not listen at all” (p 4, 54 yrs).

“I didn’t have anyone and I was alone” (p 1, 38 yrs).

Inefficiency of social systems

“That day he argued with me, picked me up and threw me down some stairs in the middle of the yard. He came closer, sat on my stomach, grabbed my neck with both of his hands and wanted to strangle me. Until a long time later, I had kidney problems and my neck was bruised by her hand. Given that my aunt and her family were with us in a building, but she had no desire to testify and was afraid” (p 3, 32 yrs).

Undesired training and advice

“I told my mother, you just said no, how old I was? You never insisted on me and you didn’t listen to me that this man is not good for you” (p 9, 36 yrs).

Quantitative results

In the present study, 376 married women living in Semnan city participated in this study. The mean age of participants was 38.52 ± 10.38 years. The youngest participant was 18 and the oldest was 73 years old. The maximum age difference was 16 years. The years of marriage varied from one year to 40 years. Also, the number of children varied from no children to 7. The majority of them had 2 children (109, 29%). The sociodemographic characteristics of the participants are summarized in the table below (Table  3 ).

The frequency distribution (number and percentage) of the participants in terms of the level of violence was as follows. 89 participants (23.7%) had experienced low violence, 59 participants (15.7%) had experienced moderate violence, and 228 participants (60.6%) had experienced severe violence.

Cronbach’s alpha for the reliability of the questionnaire was 0.988. The mean and standard deviation of the total score of the questionnaire was 143.60 ± 74.70 with a range of 3-244. The relationship between the total score of the questionnaire and its fields, and some demographic variables is summarized in the table below (Table  4 ).

As shown in the table above, the variables of age, age difference and number of years of marriage have a positive and significant relationship, and the variable of number of children has a negative and significant relationship with the total score and all fields of the questionnaire (p < 0.05). However, the variable of education level difference showed no significant relationship with the total score and any of the fields. Also, the highest average score is related to patriarchal beliefs compared to other fields.

The comparison of the average total scores separately according to each variable showed the significant average difference in the variables of the previous marriage history of the woman, the result of the previous marriage of the woman, the education of the woman, the education of the man, the income of the woman, the income of the man, and the physical disease of the man (p < 0.05).

In the regression model, two variables remained in the final model, indicating the relationship between the variables and violence score and the importance of these two variables. An increase in women’s education and income level both independently show a significant relationship with an increase in violence score (Table  5 ).

The results of analysis of variance to compare the scores of each field of violence in the subgroups of the participants also showed that the experience and result of the woman’s previous marriage has a significant relationship with physical violence and tradition and family upbringing, the experience of the man’s previous marriage has a significant relationship with patriarchal belief, the education level of the woman has a significant relationship with all fields and the level of education of the man has a significant relationship with all fields except tradition and family upbringing (p < 0.05).

According to the results of both quantitative and qualitative studies, variables such as the young age of the woman and a large age difference are very important factors leading to an increase in violence. At a younger age, girls are afraid of the stigma of society and family, and being forced to remain silent can lead to an increase in domestic violence. As Gandhi et al. (2021) stated in their study in the same field, a lower marriage age leads to many vulnerabilities in women. Early marriage is a global problem associated with a wide range of health and social consequences, including violence for adolescent girls and women [ 12 ]. Also, Ahmadi et al. (2017) found similar findings, reporting a significant association among IPV and women age ≤ 40 years [ 19 ].

Two others categories of “Facilitators” in the present study were “Husband’s criminal record” and “Overdependence” which had a sub-category of “Forced cohabitation”. Ahmadi et al. (2017) reported in their population-based study in Iran that husband’s addiction and rented-householders have a significant association with IPV [ 19 ].

The patriarchal beliefs, which are rooted in the tradition and culture of society and family upbringing, scored the highest in relation to domestic violence in this study. On the other hand, in qualitative study, “Normalcy” of men’s anger and harassment of women in society is one of the “Repressors” of women to express violence. In the quantitative study, the increase in the women’s education and income level were predictors of the increase in violence. Although domestic violence is more common in some sections of society, women with a wide range of ages, different levels of education, and at different levels of society face this problem, most of which are not reported. Bukuluki et al. (2021) showed that women who agreed that it is good for a man to control his partner were more likely to experience physical violence [ 20 ].

Domestic violence leads to “Consequences” such as “Harm to children”, “Emotional harm”, “Social harm” to women and even “Non-acceptance in their own family”. Because divorce is a taboo in Iranian culture and the fear of humiliating women forces them to remain silent against domestic violence. Balsarkar (2021) stated that the fear of violence can prevent women from continuing their studies, working or exercising their political rights [ 8 ]. Also, Walker-Descarte et al. (2021) recognized domestic violence as a type of child maltreatment, and these abusive behaviors are associated with mental and physical health consequences [ 21 ].

On the other hand and based on the “Lack of effective communication” category, ignoring the role of the counselor in solving family conflicts and challenges in the life of couples in the present study was expressed by women with reasons such as lack of knowledge and family resistance to counseling. Several pathologies are needed to investigate increased domestic violence in situations such as during women’s pregnancy or infertility. Because the use of counseling for couples as a suitable solution should be considered along with their life challenges. Lin et al. (2022) stated that pregnant women were exposed to domestic violence for low birth weight in full term delivery. Spouse violence screening in the perinatal health care system should be considered important, especially for women who have had full-term low birth weight infants [ 22 ].

Also, lack of knowledge and low level of education have been found as other factors of violence in this study, which is very prominent in both qualitative and quantitative studies. Because the social systems and information about the existing laws should be followed properly in society to act as a deterrent. Psychological training and especially anger control and resilience skills during education at a younger age for girls and boys should be included in educational materials to determine the positive results in society in the long term. Manouchehri et al. (2022) stated that it seems necessary to train men about the negative impact of domestic violence on the current and future status of the family [ 23 ]. Balsarkar (2021) also stated that men and women who have not had the opportunity to question gender roles, attitudes and beliefs cannot change such things. Women who are unaware of their rights cannot claim. Governments and organizations cannot adequately address these issues without access to standards, guidelines and tools [ 8 ]. Machado et al. (2021) also stated that gender socialization reinforces gender inequalities and affects the behavior of men and women. So, highlighting this problem in different fields, especially in primary health care services, is a way to prevent IPV against women [ 24 ].

There was a sub-category of “Inefficiency of social systems” in the participants experiences. Perhaps the reason for this is due to insufficient education and knowledge, or fear of seeking help. Holmes et al. (2022) suggested the importance of ascertaining strategies to improve victims’ experiences with the court, especially when victims’ requests are not met, to increase future engagement with the system [ 25 ]. Sigurdsson (2019) revealed that despite high prevalence numbers, IPV is still a hidden and underdiagnosed problem and neither general practitioner nor our communities are as well prepared as they should be [ 26 ]. Moreira and Pinto da Costa (2021) found that while victims of domestic violence often agree with mandatory reporting, various concerns are still expressed by both victims and healthcare professionals that require further attention and resolution [ 27 ]. It appears that legal and ethical issues in this regard require comprehensive evaluation from the perspectives of victims, their families, healthcare workers, and legal experts. By doing so, better practical solutions can be found to address domestic violence, leading to a downward trend in its occurrence.

Some of the variables of violence against women have been identified and emphasized in many studies, highlighting the necessity of policymaking and social pathology in society to prevent and use operational plans to take action before their occurrence. Breaking the taboo of domestic violence and promoting divorce as a viable solution after counseling to receive objective results should be implemented seriously to minimize harm to women, children, and their families.

Limitations

Domestic violence against women is an important issue in Iranian society that women resist showing and expressing, making researchers take a long-term process of sampling in both qualitative and quantitative studies. The location of the interview and the women’s fear of their husbands finding out about their participation in this study have been other challenges of the researchers, which, of course, they attempted to minimize by fully respecting ethical considerations. Despite the researchers’ efforts, their personal and professional experiences, as well as the studies reviewed in the literature review section, may have influenced the study results.

Data Availability

Data and materials will be available upon email to the corresponding author.

Abbreviations

Intimate Partner Violence

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

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Acknowledgements

The authors of this study appreciate the Deputy for Research and Technology of Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Social Determinants of Health Research Center of Semnan University of Medical Sciences and all the participants in this study.

Research deputy of Semnan University of Medical Sciences financially supported this project.

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M.Sh. contributed to the first conception and design of this research; M.Sh., Z.Kh., M.S., R.Gh. and S.H.Sh. contributed to collect data; M.N. and M.Sh. contributed to the analysis of the qualitative data; M.M. and M.Sh. contributed to the analysis of the quantitative data; M.SH., M.N. and M.M. contributed to the interpretation of the data; M.Sh., M.S. and S.H.Sh. wrote the manuscript. M.Sh. prepared the final version of manuscript for submission. All authors reviewed the manuscript meticulously and approved it. All names of the authors were listed in the title page.

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Shayestefar, M., Saffari, M., Gholamhosseinzadeh, R. et al. A qualitative quantitative mixed methods study of domestic violence against women. BMC Women's Health 23 , 322 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02483-0

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• Published: 09 May 2024

Domestic violence against women during the COVID19 pandemic in Jordan: a systematic review

• Maissa N. Alrawashdeh 1 ,
• Rula Odeh Alsawalqa   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5605-5444 2 ,
• Rami Aljbour 3 ,
• Ann Alnajdawi 4 &
• Fawzi Khalid AlTwahya 5  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  11 , Article number:  598 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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This study aimed to explore the forms and causes of domestic violence against women in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic through a systematic literature review. The review yielded eight articles published between April 2020 and November 2022 in the final sample, all of which met the inclusion criteria. The results revealed 11 forms of domestic violence against women in Jordan during and after the full and partial lockdowns due to the pandemic. Physical violence was the most prevalent form of domestic violence, followed by economic, psychological, emotional, verbal, and sexual forms, as well as control and humiliation, bullying, online abuse, harassment and neglect-related violence. The causes were a combination of economic, socio-cultural, and psychological factors emerging because of the pandemic and lockdowns (e.g., poverty, job loss, low wages, gender discrimination, double burden on women [monotonous roles, paid work], male dominance, reduced income, high cost of living). Additionally, effects of the pandemic included psychological, mental, and emotional negative consequences (e.g., anxiety, fear, stress, depression, loneliness, failure, status frustration). Individuals in Jordanian societies employed the norms, ideas, and values of the patriarchal culture to negatively adapt to the economic and psychological effects of the pandemic, which contributed to more domestic violence cases.

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Introduction.

Domestic violence (DV) is a significant global and social problem. United Nations ( 2022 ) defined DV as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner, including physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, and financial acts or threats of action that influence another person. DV is also called “domestic abuse,” “family violence” or “intimate partner violence (IPV)” (Xue et al. 2020 ; Alsawalqa 2021a ). “DV is reaching across national boundaries as well as socio-economic, cultural, racial and class distinctions… its incidence is also extensive, making it a typical and accepted behavior… Its continued existence is morally indefensible…” (Kaur & Garg, 2008 : p. 73). DV is the most common form of violence against women (Xue et al. 2020 ). According to UN Women ( 2021 : p. 4), the experiences of violence against women can be classified into several categories: physical abuse (i.e., been slapped, hit, kicked, had things thrown at them, or other physical harm); verbal abuse (i.e., being yelled at, called names, humiliated); denied basic needs (i.e., health care, money, food, water, shelter); denied communication (i.e., with other people, including being forced to stay alone for long periods of time); and sexual harassment (i.e., being subjected to inappropriate jokes, suggestive comments, leering or unwelcome touch/kisses). UN Women used this definition for the purpose of the measuring the impact of COVID-19 on violence against women.

DV as a “shadow pandemic” grew and intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly against women and girls (Women UN 2021 ). UN women ( 2021 ) confirmed there was an increase in calls to DV helplines in many countries since the outbreak of COVID-19. Xue et al. ( 2020 ) indicated that during the COVID-19 lockdown, homes became an unsafe environment for victims of DV; women and children were disproportionately affected and made vulnerable during the crisis, which prevented them from seeking help, thus increasing their vulnerability and suffering. The lockdown measures due to the pandemic imposed social distancing, leading to increased family isolation and limited access to legal and social services (Xue et al. 2020 ; Leslie and Wilson 2020 ). These socio-economic stressors led to negative emotional, behavioral, and psychological consequences including depression, anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and paranoia (Pedrosa et al. 2020 ), and thus facilitated DV, child abuse, and elder abuse (Al-Tammemi 2020 ; Xue et al. 2020 ).

Since the first registered case of COVID-19 on March 2, 2020, the Jordanian government took several protective measures to prevent the rapid spread of the virus by implementing the National Defense Law on March 14. Under this law, the roads, schools, universities, air and land border crossings, all private businesses, and non-essential public services were closed. Additionally, this law suspended air traffic, and public gatherings as well as religious practices were banned. These rigorous measures had negative multidimensional effects on the economic and social conditions of Jordanian citizens, including human rights violations, such as labor rights, freedom of expression (Alsawalqa et al. 2022a ), loss of human resources, decreased income levels because of declining economic growth, drop in productivity, dismissal of employees from their work, and the inability of some organizations to pay employees’ salaries (Abufaraj et al. 2021 ; Al-Tammemi 2020 ). These poor conditions contributed to an increase in DV cases, in particular against women and children. Jordanian Juvenile and Family Protection Department ( 2020 ) stated that the number of reports of DV increased from 41,221 in 2018, to 54,743 in 2020; of these cases, 58.7% were physical violence, and 34% sexual violence, and most of the victims were female (Higher Population Council, 2021 ; National Council for Family Affairs 2022 ; 2013 ). According to the United Nations Population Fund, approximately 69% of Jordanian women were victims of some type of gender-based DV during the COVID-19 pandemic (Anderson 2020 ).

Jordanian women suffering multiple socio-economic constraints was directly related to the economic, social, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed new obligations on women, consumed more of their time and effort, and increased their stress and responsibility owing to the long period for which they had to stay at home. Homes became increasingly crowded with all members of the family present, thus increasing the household chores and caregiving burden faced by women and also the burden in meeting family needs in terms of food and supervising their children’s online education and recreation activities. Moreover, women also had to ensure that health and safety precautions to protect their family were performed diligently. Additionally, they experienced increasing financial obligations, declining income, and accumulated debt owing to the pandemic (AbuTayeh 2021 ). Similarly, Sisterhood is Global Institute-Jordan (SIGI) ( 2021a , 2021b ) mentioned that the most important effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women included the burden of unpaid family care; the high risk of women and children being exposed to DV, and the decline in protection, prevention and response services provided to them; the exacerbation of a lack of women’s economic participation, the increase in the requirement of women in the healthcare sector, and the weak representation of women in leadership positions and response teams.

The Jordanian government implemented several measures to address cases of DV and violence against women and girls. These included the establishment of the Family Protection Department in 1997, which was merged with the Juvenile Department in 2021 to become the Juveniles and Family Protection Department (Public Security Directorate 2022 ). For the first time in Jordan, the principle of promoting gender equality was adopted as an organizing factor in the economic and social development plan (1999–2003), by integrating a gender perspective (The Jordanian National Commission for Women 1998 ). In addition, the National Council for Family Affairs was established in 2001 as a civil society organization to contribute to formulating and analyzing legislation for senior citizens, family counseling, and for early childhood and family protection against violence; it included the national team for family protection against violence to address the gaps in the protection system for family members and stop incidents of DV. The government also approved the Protection from Domestic Violence Law No. 15 in 2017, in comparison with the Protection from Domestic Violence Law No. 6 of 2008 that can be regarded as a protective law without mention of gender-based violence, Law No. 15 states the importance of adapting legal texts to address the needs of Jordanian families, and to expand the umbrella of family preservation by introducing alternative measures to punishment that could reform the family and enable it to overcome the obstacles it might face (EuroMed Rights, 2018 ; National Council for Family Affairs 2022 ; 2013 ). According to the Secretary-General of the National Council for Family Affairs, this new law gave a broader concept of the place where family members usually reside and expanded the concept of family by adding relatives up to the fourth degree and in-laws from the third and fourth degrees to the list of those covered by the protection law (Protection from domestic violence law, 2017; Al-Nimri 2019 ). Within the women’s protection system in Jordan, there are five main care homes affiliated with the Ministry of Social Development regarding family harmony for women whose lives are at risk: Dar Al-Wefaq Amman, Dar Al-Wefaq Irbid, Dar Al-Karama, Rusaifa Girls’ Care Home, and Amna. These care homes welcome women whose lives are threatened by honor killings; they wish to end “preventive detention,” in which women whose lives are at risk are referred to prisons in order to preserve their lives (Ministry of Social Development 2022 ). Regarding government priorities in combating violence against women in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, the Council of Ministers approved the national strategy for women’s empowerment (2020–2025) for a society free from discrimination and gender-based violence, where women and girls can enjoy full human rights and equal opportunities to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development (The Jordanian National Commission For Women 2020 ).

In spite of the official Jordanian statements about the increase in the number of DV cases against women and girls during the COVID-19 lockdown, the growing momentum of Jordanian media reports on issues of DV against women, and the publication of individual stories of women and girls who have been subjected to physical and psychological violence, murders, or underage marriage of girls (Darwish 2020 ; Ziyadat 2021 ; Zoud 2021 ), the data on DV during the COVID-19 pandemic still remains scarce in Jordan. The reliance on the press and media reports to understand the reasons for this has increased. Therefore, this review aimed to explore the link between the economic, social, and health-related effects of the pandemic and the high number of DV cases against women in Jordan. For this purpose, we explored the forms and causes of DV against women in Jordan, during and after the full and partial lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic, as discussed in the relevant literature.

Sample selection process and search criteria

All studies that revealed the forms and causes of DV against women in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic, that were published between April 2020 and November 2022, were searched using the University of Jordan Library, PubMed, Google Scholar, and SCOPUS database. We used the following six sets of terms: “gender-based violence” + “Jordan” + “COVID-19,” “partner violence” + “Jordan” + “COVID-19,” “domestic violence” + “Jordan” + “COVID-19,” “domestic abuse” + “Jordan” + “COVID-19,” “women abuse” + “Jordan” + “COVID-19,” and “wife abuse” + “Jordan” + “COVID-19.” The search comprised studies published in Arabic and English in academic journals, which used quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research designs. Primary search results yielded 231 studies. Of these studies, 66 studies were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. The systematic review was developed according to the PRISMA (see the flowchart [Fig. 1 ]).

PRISMA Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses. A PRISMA flow diagram visually summarises the screening process. It records the total number of articles found from the initial searches, and then makes the selection process transparent by reporting on inclusion or exclusion decisions made at various stages of the systematic review (Celegence, 2022 ; Macquarie University Library, 2023 ).

Data inclusion and exclusion criteria

The primary inclusion criteria for the papers include (a) the presence of DV against women construct, (b) Jordanian society, (c) use of Arabic and English language, (d) published scientific research, and (e) the time range during and after the COVID-19 pandemic between April 2020 and November 2022. This period was identified because it witnessed an increased momentum in scientific research regarding the consequences of the pandemic globally. Papers on DV, especially those about DV in Jordan, experienced stagnation toward the end of 2022. It was observed by the researchers that scientific journals, especially local Jordanian journals, no longer include the repercussions of the pandemic on DV among their priorities and interests in publishing. This was also confirmed through communication with other researchers and publishers.

We also included both qualitative and quantitative articles focusing on constructs connected to DV against women, such as women abuse, wife abuse, partner violence, gender-based violence, domestic abuse, family abuse, and family violence. Studies that examine DV against women in Jordan before the COVID-19 pandemic, and DV against the elderly before the COVID-19 pandemic, or children before or during and after the COVID-19 pandemic were excluded. Additionally, unpublished studies, national and international reports, duplicate articles, master’s and Ph.D. theses, conference abstracts, and studies that included refugee DV against women (e.g. families or Syrian women) in Jordan were also excluded.

After assessing the quality of the primary studies and refining the included studies in the final sample, all eight remaining studies that met the inclusion criteria were exported to EndNote. The data were extracted and sorted through a structured table that contained seven variables: (a) author and publication year, (b) aim, (c) study design, (d) sample details, (e) occurred sample location, (f) definition of DV, (g) forms of DV, (h) causes of DV, (i) abuser, and (j) study limitations (see Table 1 ).

Quality assessment

The search in the literature via a comprehensive search of bibliographic databases, manual searches, and exploration of grey literature searches contribute to reducing bias. Moreover, the inclusion of studies has been thoroughly reviewed and their eligibility was independently assessed by two sociology professors, A.A and K.B with expertise in the fields of violence and abuse within the Jordanian context. They screened all study titles and abstracts to ensure that the study objectives were adhered to, in collaboration with both researchers M.A and R.A. They then examined the texts of the studies following the systematic review protocol as a guide (PRISMA 2020 ); R.A and A.A and reviewed the data, and the whole team discussed and agreed on the results of the data. Quantitative studies were assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for quantitative studies, which includes eight categories: selection bias, study design, confounders, blinding, data collection method, withdrawals and dropouts, intervention integrity, and analysis appropriate to questions. Each examined practice receives a mark ranging between “strong,” “moderate,” and “weak” (Thomas 2003 ). For qualitative studies, the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP Qualitative Studies Checklist) was used, which includes ten questions, answerable with three options (“yes”, “no” or “can’t tell”), to evaluate the study aims, validity of methodology, data analysis and results, research design validity and novelty. The CASP is divided into three sections — Section A: Are the results of the study valid? Section B: What are the results? Section C: Will the results help locally? (CASP website 2022 ).

Sample description

The eight articles included in the final sample were published between April 2020 and November 2022 in eight separate English-language journals on interpersonal violence, clinical practice, humanities and social sciences, and psychology. Of these super specialty journals and their scope in issues related to violence, only one journal specialized in violence—the Journal of Interpersonal Violence . Most of these studies had a quantitative descriptive design via online survey, and included cross-sectional (four articles), descriptive statistical (two articles), and descriptive comparative (one article) studies. The remaining study adopted qualitative exploratory descriptive analysis through a semi-structured interview guide (one article). Most of the participants in these studies were married women, between 18 and 55 years of age, who had experienced violence from their husbands; a few of them had experienced it from their father, brother, mother, or work colleagues. Only one study addressed DV among pregnant women (Abujilban et al. 2022 ). Two articles included samples of men: one of them included only married men and explored the causes and forms of DV against their wives from the perspective of the husbands. Most of these studies considered the rural and urban classification in selecting the population samples from the north, central, and southern regions of Jordan (five articles), while three articles selected samples from Amman, the capital of Jordan. No article defined or presented a clear concept of DV, except three articles, one of which was based on the World Health Organization’s definition (Abujilban et al. 2022 ). The other articles defined DV as any abusive or violent behavior that occurred between spouses. Two articles used the term “intimate partner” to refer to the husband, and some used IPV, “spousal violence,” “women abuse,” and “male violence against women” synonymously with DV (Table 1 ).

Limitations of the study

The present study is one of the first studies to address DV against women during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan, that is, within an Arab Muslim social- cultural context. The strengths of this review are the focus on the concept of DV used in studies as well as the identity of the abuser. in Jordan (rural, urban/ North, Central, South), with differently ages (18-60 years) and their educational, professional, and marital status, as well as their health status (e.g. pregnant women).

This study enriches the field of family sociology studies and women’s studies in Jordan, considering that the data on DV Against Women during the COVID-19 pandemic are still scarce in Jordan and the reliance on the press and media reports to understand the reasons for this has increased. Nevertheless, the present study also had some limitations. First, it excludes women of other nationalities, such as those who hold Syrian and Iraqi nationality and lived for a period in Jordan and were involved in its cultural context and experienced the same economic conditions, especially during and after the pandemic. Without this exclusion, the study sample could have enhanced the results and presented clearer details on women’s DV experiences in Jordan in general. Second, this review was limited to publications in English and Arabic, and in international and local academic journals only, which means that studies that may have been published in other languages were not considered, and scientific studies conducted by organizations and educational institutions that could have added to causes or forms of violence were not considered. Finally, this study does not consider studies on DV consequences and intervention strategies, which may hinder a complete understanding of this complex phenomenon.

The findings of our review were divided according to the main research goals: exploring forms and causes of DV against Jordanian women during and after the full and partial lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic.

Forms of DV against women during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

The results of our systematic review revealed 11 forms of DV experienced by women and girls in Jordan during and after the full and partial lockdowns due to the pandemic: physical (Abujilban et al. 2022 ; Abuhammad, 2021 ; Alsawalqa, 2021a ; Alsawalqa, 2021b ; Alsawalqa et al. 2021 ; Kataybeh 2021 ; Qudsieh et al. 2022 ), economic (Alsawalqa 2021a ; Alsawalqa, 2021b ; Qudsieh et al. 2022 ), psychological (Abujilban et al. 2022 ; Abuhammad, 2021 ; Alsawalqa 2021a ; Alsawalqa 2021b ; Kataybeh 2021 ), emotional (Alsawalqa, 2021a ; Alsawalqa 2021b ) verbal (Kataybeh 2021 ; Qudsieh et al. 2022 ; Alsawalqa et al. 2021 ), sexual (Abujilban et al. 2022 ; Kataybeh 2021 ), control and humiliation (Abujilban et al. 2022 ), bullying (Alsawalqa et al. 2021 ), online abuse (Alsawalqa et al. 2021 ), harassment (Alsawalqa 2021b ), and neglect (Alsawalqa 2021a ). Physical violence was the most prevalent among the samples of these studies. Notably, some of these articles dealt with psychological and emotional abuse as belonging to the same category, or as a separate concept [e.g., Qudsieh et al. 2022 ; Kataybeh 2021 ]. By contrast, some researchers defined the concepts of verbal, psychological, and emotional abuse, and dealt with them separately [e.g., Alsawalqa 2021b ; Kataybeh 2021 ]. One article addressed DV in general without clarifying its types and measurement; its results simply indicated that “20.5% of the participants suffered from increased domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic” (Aolymat, 2020 : 520).

Causes of DV against women during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

We found that the causes of DV Against Women during the pandemic were the result of a combination of the economic, socio-cultural, and psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and curfew. Six articles confirmed that the economic factors included poverty; job loss; low, insufficient, or reduced income; and high cost of living and healthcare facilities, which led to the spread and rise of DV (Abuhammad, 2021 ; Qudsieh et al. 2022 ; Alsawalqa, 2021a ; Alsawalqa 2021b ; Aolymat 2020 ; Kataybeh 2021 ). Moreover, the lockdown increased the time spent with partners and family members and caused negative psychological responses, such as stress and tension (Abuhammad, 2021 ). Five articles emphasized that the main socio-cultural factor that encouraged violence against women was the hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy that normalized violence, making women accept, tolerate, and even justify it (Abuhammad, 2021 ; Alsawalqa 2021a ; Alsawalqa 2021b ; Alsawalqa et al. 2021 ; Kataybeh 2021 ). Furthermore, the studies showed that the wives’ families often interfered in their marital life (Alsawalqa 2021a ; Kataybeh 2021 ; Alsawalqa et al. 2021 ). The results of the study Alsawalqa ( 2021a ) also confirmed that the wives’ long preoccupation with social media, and neglect of the house, children, and their personal hygiene, in addition to the husband’s unfulfilled sexual needs, were among the main reasons why they were violent to their wives, before and during the pandemic. All studies indicated that these economic, social, and cultural factors and their negative effects on the psychological, emotional, and social well-being of individuals had long-term effects which continued after the end of the lockdown.

Despite the abundance of publications on DV in Jordan, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no clear or explicit definition of the concept of DV or an accurate distinction of its forms (Alsawalqa et al. 2022b ). Our study attempted to shed light on published scientific research that addressed DV in Jordan during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, to gain knowledge and enhance our understanding of the link between the pandemic’s ramifications and high rates of DV in Jordan.

Globally, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, one in every three women experienced physical or sexual violence mostly by an intimate partner; 245 million women and girls aged 15 years or over have been subjected to sexual or physical violence. The violence against women and girls has intensified since the outbreak of COVID-19 (Women UN 2021 ).

According to World Health Organization ( 2020 : p1) the Eastern Mediterranean Region has the second highest prevalence of violence against women (37%) worldwide. This is due to structural systems that maintain gender inequalities at different levels of society, compounded by political crises and socioeconomic instability in the region. Based on a Women UN ( 2021 ) study, in collaboration with Ipsos, and with support from national statistical offices, national women’s machineries and a technical advisory group of experts, the pooled data from 13 countries covering more than 16,000 women respondents, found that 1 in 4 women say that household conflicts have become more frequent, and they feel more unsafe in their home, and (58%) women have experienced or know a woman who has experienced violence since COVID-19. The most common form is verbal abuse (50%), followed by sexual harassment (40%), physical abuse (36%), denial of basic needs (35%) and denial of means of communication (30%). Additionally, (56%) women felt less safe at home since the COVID-19 pandemic. (44%) women living in rural areas, were more likely to report feeling more unsafe while walking alone at night since the pandemic, compared to women living in urban areas (39%). (62%) were also more likely to think that sexual harassment in public spaces has worsened, compared to (55%) of women living in urban areas. Moreover, younger women aged 18–49 years were the more vulnerable group, with nearly 1 in 2 of them affected, and more than 3 in 10 women (34%) aged 60+ and more than 4 in 10 women aged 50–59 years (42%) reported having experienced violence or knowing someone who has since the pandemic began. Women living with children were more likely to report having experienced violence or to know someone who has experienced it since the pandemic, whether they were partnered (47%) or not (48%). Conversely, nearly 4 in 10 women living without children, partnered (37%) or not (41%), reported such experiences. Women who were not employed during the pandemic were also particularly affected, with an estimated (52%) reporting such experiences, compared to (43%) of employed women. Additionally, exposure was highest among women in Kenya (80%), Morocco (69%), Jordan (49%) and Nigeria (48%). Those in Paraguay were the least likely to report such experiences, at (25%) (p. 5-6, 8).

In Jordan, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict lockdown measures to prevent its spread had negative economic, social, and psychological effects on the citizens. Regarding economic repercussions, according to Raouf et al. ( 2020 ), the Jordanian gross domestic product decreased by (23%) during the lockdown. The service sector was the hardest hit, seeing an estimated drop in output of approximately (30%), and food systems experienced a reduction in output of approximately (40%). Moreover, employment losses during the lockdown were estimated at over (20%), mainly driven by job losses in the service and agriculture sectors. Household incomes decreased on average by approximately one-fifth owing to the lockdown, mainly driven by contraction in the service sector, slowdown in manufacturing, and lower remittances from abroad. As a result of this lockdown and company exploitation of the National Defense Law’s decisions imposed in emergency situations to ensure protect public safety, many workers were dismissed, several others did not receive their salaries, and some workers’ incomes decreased by (30–50%). Additionally, some companies and organizations deducted the period of lockdown imposed by the government from workers’ salaries (Jordan Labor Watch 2020 ; Jordan Economic Forum 2020 ).

The unemployment rate during the fourth quarter of 2019 reached (19%), an increase of (0.3%) from the fourth quarter of 2018. Unemployment rates reached (24.7%) in 2020 and (25%) during the first quarter of 2021, reflecting an increase of (5.7%) from the first quarter of 2020. The rate in the fourth quarter of 2021 reached (23.3%), an increase of (0.1%) from the third quarter of the same year, and a decrease of (1.4%) from the fourth quarter of 2020 (Department of Statistics 2021 ; 2020 ). Additionally, self-isolation measures and lockdown policies led to a lack of access to adequate healthcare services (Alijla 2021 ), particularly restricting women’s access to healthcare (Jordanian Economic and Social Council 2020a , 2020b ). There were also increases in food prices and people getting into debt (UNDP 2020 ).

According to the latest survey on household income and expenditures conducted by the Department of Statistics (2017-2018) (Department of Statistics, Jordan [DOS], 2018 ), poverty in Jordan was relatively high. It reached (15.7%), representing 1.069 million Jordanians, while the rate of (extreme) hunger poverty in Jordan reached (0.12%), which is equivalent to 7993 Jordanian individuals. Poverty in Jordan increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic; the estimates of the World Bank showed that the potential increase in the short-term poverty rates in Jordan may increase by an additional (11%) over the official rate declared before the COVID-19 pandemic (15.7%), to approximately (27%) (Baybars 2021 ). A UNICEF study ( 2020 ), which covered both Jordanian and Syrian families, also found that the number of households with a monthly income of less than 100 JD (140 USD) had doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and only (28%) of households had adequate finances to sustain themselves for a two-week period. Four out of ten families were unable to purchase the hygiene products they need; children went to bed hungry in (28%) of the homes during lockdown, decreasing to (15%) post-lockdown. As a result of the pandemic, employment was disrupted in (68%) of households. Furthermore, (17%) of the children under five years did not receive basic vaccinations, (23%) of children who were sick during the pandemic did not receive medical attention (largely owing to fear of the virus and lack of funds), eight out of 10 households adopted negative coping strategies, and (89%) of young women performed household duties (including caring) compared to (49%) of young men.

Notably, The Jordan Economic Monitor report issued by the World Bank showed that economic growth in Jordan in 2021 was strong at (2.2%), owing to the significant expansions in the service, industry, and travel and tourism sectors. However, some sectors, such as the service sector that deals directly with the public (through restaurants, hotels, and so on) were still experiencing low levels of economic growth before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (Refaqat et al. 2022 ). The termination of worker services in affected organizations and businesses had a significant impact on the economic circumstances of many families, particularly women-led households, causing health and psychological harm due to the inability to ensure general well-being and access to effective healthcare. Additionally, women working in low-wage, informal, temporary, or short-term sectors, such as seasonal jobs or small-scale businesses, were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Furthermore, (35.4%) of Jordanian women who worked in the education sector had to switch to remote teaching because of the pandemic, which added to their domestic work. By contrast, (13.4%) of women in Jordan who worked in the health and social services sectors continued to provide their services along with the burdens of social responsibilities imposed on them (Jordanian Economic and Social Council 2020a , 2020b ).

Regarding social and psychological repercussions, the negative economic conditions, in addition to the lockdowns, social distancing behaviors, and the lack of in-person social interaction, created enormous pressures that led to high levels of anxiety, stress, and depression among the Jordanian people, particularly among those aged 18–39 years. The stress was greater in men than in women, and anxiety and depression levels were higher in women than in men (Abuhammad et al. 2022 ). People with poor social support, who were younger and female, were more likely to experience lockdown-related anxiety (Massad et al. 2022 ). Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic had a notable effect on the mental health of the Jordanians who had low monthly income (<500 JD) or were unemployed, as well as diabetes patients (Suleiman et al. 2022 ), who felt neglected or lonely. Married couples with higher income were less likely to feel lonely than others (Jordanian Economic and Social Council, 2020a , 2020b ). Gresham et al. ( 2021 ) found that COVID-19-related stressors (financial anxiety, social disconnection, health anxiety, COVID-19-specific stress, and so on) were associated with greater IPV during the pandemic. Additionally, IPV was associated with movement outside of the home (leaving the residence); greater movement outside the home may act as a way for victims to physically distance themselves from their partners, thereby reducing stress and avoiding further abuse.

These negative socio-economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to exacerbating DV among Jordanian families. During the mandatory curfew, (35%) of Jordanians were subjected to at least one form of domestic abuse (10% total increase), (58%) of which were victims of abuse by a male family member (25% father, 16.5% husband, and 16.5% brother), (33%) by a female family member (25% mother, 8% sister), and (9%) by others. The most prevalent forms of DV reported during the lockdown were verbal violence (48%), psychological violence (26%), neglect (17%), and physical abuse (9%). These violent acts (between March 21st to April 26th, 2020) occurred 1–3 times among (75%) of the COVID-19 domestic abuse victims, 4–6 among (19%), and (7+) times among (7%) (Center for Strategic Studies-Jordan 2020 ). Additionally, since the beginning of 2021 until November 23, 2021, 15 family murders were reported (Sisterhood is Global Institute-Jordan 2021b ).

Jordanian husbands confirmed that poverty, insufficient salary, wives’ money spending habits and not considering the negative economic effects of COVID-19 on their work led to their abusive behavior and violent response (Alsawalqa 2021a ). The patriarchal structure in the Jordanian society requires men to adhere to masculine standards and ideals of “true manhood,” which require men to be strong, independent, emotionally restrained, tough, and assume responsibility for leadership, family care, and financial support, given that they occupy a higher rank than women. Masculinity has social advantages and entitlements, the most prominent of which are male control, ownership, and dominance. If men are unable to achieve these standards, society can confront them with humiliation, marginalization, stigmatization, and blame (particularly from their wives). This can make them feel shame, disgrace, sadness, depression, failure, status frustration, anxiety, fear of the future, and low self-esteem. Couples express these negative feelings through aggressive and violent behaviors (Alsawalqa et al. 2021 ; Alsawalqa and Alrawashdeh 2022 ).

Additionally, some wives (working and non-working) were unable to repay their loans, especially their loans from microfinance institutions. These financial institutions provide loans and financial facilities to specific economic sectors (such as agriculture) and groups of the population (such as women, the poor, and artisans). These institutions have been excessive in lending to women for consumption purposes at the expense of productive projects and have been unable to lift women out of poverty and empower them economically. Owing to the existence of a major defect in the legislative system, lending conditions, and the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, women borrowers (known as “female debtors,” or Algharimat in Arabic) were subjected to legal accountability and imprisonment if they failed to pay back the debt (Jordanian Economic and Social Council 2020b ). Notably, some husbands or fathers forced their wives to borrow because of poverty by dominating or exercising coercive control over the women; some women borrowed voluntarily with the aim of improving the family income. If women refuse to contribute to the household income or borrow money, they can face physical, verbal, psychological, and economic abuse.

Moreover, if women borrow money (which subjects them to legal accountability) without the knowledge of her husband or male guardian, it can expose them to more violence, because men can consider this act as a violation of their control which can cause a scandal or encourage stigma (Sa’deh, 2022 ). Jordanian working women who are married and live in rural and urban areas have encountered spousal economic abuse through control of their economic resources, management of their financial decisions, and exploitation of their economic resources. Moreover, they have endured emotional, psychological, and physical abuse, and harassment as tactics by husbands to reinforce their economic abuse and maintain control over them (Alsawalqa 2021b ). Peterman et al. ( 2020 ) indicated that the increased violence against women and children during the pandemic was associated with economic insecurity and poverty-related stress, lockdowns, social isolation, exploitative relationships, and reduced health and domestic support options.

The Information and Research Center - King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF) and Hivos report ( 2020 : p. 4, 14) on the double burden of women in Jordan during COVID-19, showed that in times of disease outbreaks, most women take up greater responsibilities and are often overburdened with paid and unpaid work, which impacts their overall well-being. Unpaid work within the home, sometimes referred to as reproductive work, includes a variety of tasks such as childbearing and caring, preparing meals, cleaning, doing laundry, maintaining the house, and taking care of older adults or disabled family members, among others. Although paid work is tied to a monetary value, unpaid work is usually not recognized as “real work”. Moreover, the new e-learning systems resulted in parents, especially mothers, spending a lot of time ensuring that their children were learning and following up on their schoolwork. Some parents worried about the future of their children’s education; the closure of schools and nurseries created an additional burden for working parents who had to find childcare solutions while they went to work. These additional burdens created new psychological pressures and increased the problem of violence among family members. Married Jordanian women, particularly those who work and are educated, often face conflicts in the economic, political, and socio-cultural aspects (Alsawalqa 2016 ). Moreover, they experience Marriage and emotional burnout that worsens with the increase in the number of children, which negatively affects their health and leads to headaches, eating disorders, irregular heart rate, stomach pain, and so on (Alsawalqa, 2019 ; Alsawalqa, 2017 ). These problems contribute to a higher marriage burnout rate among spouses, particularly among those who work full-time jobs, have been married for ≥ 10 years, and have children. Marriage burnout is a painful state of emotional exhaustion, with physical and emotional depletion experienced by spouses. This state results from emotional exhaustion, work exhaustion, and failure to fulfill the requirements (particularly emotional requirements) of the marriage (Alsawalqa 2019 ).

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic did not create new motives for DV in Jordan but contributed to its negative economic and psychological repercussions in exacerbating and confirming the pre-existing motives. The patriarchal structure and gender stereotypes in Jordanian society that establish the relationships between men and women based on coercive control produced prejudices that led to social injustice and gender inequality and made both sexes victims of DV. Individuals in Jordanian societies employed the norms, ideas, and values of the patriarchal culture to negatively adapt to the adverse economic and psychological effects of the pandemic, leading to more cases of DV.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the weak economic and social structures in place before the crisis and their negative impact during the pandemic, such as women’s poor economic participation, the gender gap in the labor market, high income tax, high cost of living, administrative and financial corruption, a weak labor market and infrastructure, and high rates of unemployment and poverty. This study highlighted the need for serious participatory work from the government and civil society organizations based on scientific research and approaches to change the cultural and social norms that reinforce patriarchal domination and stereotypes that perpetuate the gender gap. One way of achieving this is through the educational curricula in schools and universities; educating individuals on how to deal with life pressures; choosing a life partner; understanding the motives for marriage and the foundations for successful and healthy relationships, and raising children; and positive social self-development. We recommend supporting the efforts of the Jordanian government to continue the process of development and diligently follow up on the implementation of the directives and vision of His Majesty Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, King of Jordan, on economic, political, and administrative reform, activating the role of youth and empowering women. We realize that social and cultural change, and the reforming of sectors is not an easy task and requires tremendous efforts over a long period.

Implications of the study

Considering the current study results, a follow-up study to highlight the lack of conceptual clarity on DV Against Women and its various forms is recommended. Future research must carefully study the behaviors involved in each form of DV and identify the abuser of women as this will help in developing effective policies and practices to reduce or end DV against women. In addition, it would contribute to directing researchers via a correct scientific methodology as they study women’s resistance to violence, and educating women to understand forms of violence and seek the most appropriate resistance strategies to reduce or end it, and avoid involvement in the cycle of violence. Moreover, we recommend paying attention to conducting more studies on DV against males by their wives, mothers, or intimate partners, and DV against the elderly, which will contribute to understanding the factors and forms of domestic violence in more detail. We believe that these aforementioned suggestions will aid in formulating the best intervention strategies.

To reduce DV in Jordan, it is necessary to implementing courses and workshops for women, girls, and males, especially in rural areas, aiming to increase their awareness about the motives for marriage and the foundations of choosing a suitable partner, how to manage emotions, and resist and reduce violence. Additionally, promoting anti-gender discrimination thinking in educational curricula in universities and schools. Moreover, remove obstacles in implementing the Law on Protection from DV, and not to waive personal rights in crimes of DV. In addition, rehabilitation for victims and perpetrators of violence.

Data availability

All data relevant to the study are included in the article.

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Maissa N. Alrawashdeh

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Domestic Violence Research Paper

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Introduction

All states made ‘‘wife beating’’ illegal by 1920. However, only since the 1970s has the criminal justice system begun to treat domestic violence as a serious crime, not as a private family matter. Domestic violence is any physical, sexual, or psychological abuse that people use against a former or current intimate partner. It refers to a number of criminal behaviors: assault and battery; sexual assault; stalking; harassment; violation of a civil restraining order; homicide; and other offenses that occur in the course of a domestic violence incident, such as arson, robbery, malicious destruction of property, and endangering a minor. No person can validly consent to a breach of the peace or a battery that may result in serious injury or death. Furthermore, most states have abolished the marital rape exemption in toto; this exemption precluded husbands from being prosecuted for raping their wives. Thus, in general, there is no legal distinction between crimes committed against intimate partners and those committed against strangers.

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Police, prosecutors, and judges are routinely trained in domestic violence, and aggressive interventions are continually implemented. Individuals across the political spectrum have generally supported these changes, although there is ongoing debate as to which interventions work best. Furthermore, some fear that the pendulum has swung too far, and that those who are accused of domestic violence, particularly men, are presumed guilty rather than innocent. Advocates are concerned that the needs of victims are being sacrificed for higher conviction rates. Indeed, the ongoing challenge for the criminal justice system is to protect the rights of both defendants and victims while at the same time treating domestic violence as a serious social problem. Even though the criminal justice system has come a long way since 1920, it still has a long way to go.

Who are The Abusers? Who are The Victims?

The majority of those arrested for domestic violence are heterosexual men. However, between 5 and 15 percent of those arrested for battering are women. Many of these cases involve self-defending women who have been mistakenly arrested. While women can be the initial aggressor, female abusers are rarely identified or studied. Thus, most theoretical and practical work on domestic violence, as well as the policies and controversies that are discussed in this research paper, assume the male batterer/female victim paradigm.

Gay men and lesbians constitute only a small percentage of those arrested for domestic violence. As with female abusers, we know surprisingly little about domestic violence in same-sex relationships. Same-sex victims receive fewer protections and face many more social consequences when reporting domestic violence to the authorities than heterosexual victims. For example, many states define domestic violence in a way that excludes same-sex victims, and some states with sodomy laws also require victims to acknowledge that they are in a domestic relationship, forcing victims to admit to a crime before receiving legal protection.

How many people are victims of domestic violence? The honest answer is that we just do not know. The federal government and a majority of the states collect statistics on domestic violence, but there are wide variations in how each jurisdiction defines offenses, determines what is counted, and measures or reports incidents. Statistics on the incidence and prevalence of domestic violence vary greatly. Thus, it is imperative that when evaluating data one considers the source and the methodology. It is vital to have an accurate picture of domestic violence in order to formulate appropriate policies and maintain intellectual integrity.

There are two official federal measures of crime, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) of the F.B.I. The NCVS gathers information about crime and its consequences from a nationally representative sample of U.S. residents. It surveys respondents about any crimes experienced, including their relationship to the perpetrator. However, there is no way to independently verify this information or to determine how many incidents go unreported to authorities. In fact, it is estimated that about one-half of the incidents of intimate violence experienced by women are never reported to the police. This percentage is likely higher for both straight and gay men and lesbians given that the traditional definition of domestic violence is ‘‘wife beating.’’

The UCR tracks crimes reported to law enforcement. However, it does not require local law enforcement to maintain data on the relationship between victim and offender except in the case of murder. The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), authorized by Congress in 1995, will include and standardize data collection on domestic violence. However, NIBRS has not yet been implemented nationally.

Data compiled in 1996 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics yielded the estimate that women experienced 840,000 rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault victimizations at the hands of an intimate, down from 1.1 million in 1993. Men experienced about 150,000 such victimizations, with little variation between 1992 and 1996. In 1996, just over 1,800 murders were attributable to intimates, and in almost three out of four of these killings, the victim was a woman. By comparison, in 1976, there were nearly 3,000 victims of intimate murder (Greenfeld). Other studies have suggested that as many as four million women are battered each year, and that 14 percent of women report having been violently abused by a spouse or boyfriend at some time in their lives. (Healy, Smith, and O’Sullivan).

Most intimate relationships are established between people of the same racial and economic background. Domestic violence occurs across all demographic groups. However, official rates of nonlethal, intimate violence are highest among women aged sixteen to twenty-four, women in households in the lowest income categories, and women residing in urban areas (Greenfeld). Couples who cohabitate experience more violence than those who are married (HolzworthMunroe). Other studies have found that abused women are more likely to live in communities with the highest rates of stranger violence (Fagan). African American women comprise the largest group of victims, although they are also more likely to report intimate victimizations to the police than any other group. However, ethnicity and race are not significant correlates with domestic violence when controlling for other socio-demographic variables, such as income, employment status, and age.

Official statistics may be overinclusive of the poor and minorities. Women with higher incomes often have the resources to deal with domestic violence privately without involving the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the police may be more likely to arrest people in poor and middle-class neighborhoods than in upper-class neighborhoods. However, those with fewer resources also face more stressors, and while stress itself does not lead directly to violence, it can exacerbate the risk of violence (Holzworth, Munroe).

The Causes of Domestic Violence

There are many theories as to the causes of domestic violence. Feminist-inspired theories look to the institution of patriarchy and argue that battering mirrors male power and control over females. Family-based theories examine the level of family conflict and the indirect lessons children learn about the relationship between violence and love. Individual-based theories attribute domestic violence to personality disorders or biomedical factors, such as head injuries or mental illness. Evolutionary theorists have suggested that male violence against females, both in primates and cross-culturally, is a strategy used to control the female’s reproduction and, in humans, is often precipitated by male sexual jealousy (Daly and Wilson).

Furthermore, domestic violence researchers are exploring how race, class, religion, and culture, as well as psychological variables such as low self-esteem and abusive childhoods, affect one’s experiences with violence. As a result, we are beginning to understand how the battering experience is both common and unique among abusers and victims.

No single causal model can explain why people hurt those they claim to love. As research becomes more interdisciplinary, and policies are driven as much by empirical data as by politics, theories will have to account for the complicated interplay of biological, social, economic, cultural, and individual factors that lead to domestic violence.

Federal Approaches to Domestic Violence

Local and state governments are responsible for enforcing most domestic violence crimes. However, in 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Among its many provisions, VAWA makes certain offenses federal crimes, such as interstate stalking and violation of a protection order. In addition, the 1996 Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits the transfer, possession, or receipt of both firearms and ammunition by anyone convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense. These laws reflect a larger trend to federalize the criminal law, and they are controversial. Advocates applaud them as providing for a fundamental change in the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence. Opponents argue that they are overreaching, ineffective, and grant excessive power to the federal government, and insist that combating domestic violence is best left to local, not federal, law enforcement. It is too early to access VAWA’s impact on curbing domestic violence.

Arrest Policies

Prior to 1984, most police could not legally make a warrantless arrest unless a misdemeanor occurred in the officer’s presence, or the officer had probable cause to believe that a felony had taken place. Since most domestic violence cases involve simple assault and battery—a misdemeanor—the police could not make an arrest at the scene. Advising the husband or boyfriend to ‘‘take a walk around the block’’ was often the extent of police intervention.

In 1984, the U.S. Attorney General recommended arrest as the standard police response to domestic violence. This recommendation resulted from a landmark Minneapolis controlled experimental study that compared the deterrent effects of arresting the suspect, mediating the dispute, and requiring the batterer to leave the house for eight hours. The study found that arrest more effectively deterred subsequent violence than did the other courses of action. The results were widely publicized.

That same year, Tracy Thurman received a $1.9 million settlement from the Torrington, Connecticut, Police Department for its policy of nonintervention and nonarrest in domestic violence cases. After the Thurman case, police departments concerned about similar lawsuits began to rethink their policies. All fifty states now provide for warrantless arrests in domestic violence cases.

Since arrest statutes have been broadened, many jurisdictions have adopted mandatory or pro-arrest policies. Under these policies, an arrest is either required or preferred if the police officer has probable cause to believe that a domestic battery has taken place, regardless of the victim’s wishes. These policies have received mixed reviews. Some advocates maintain that mandatory arrest not only substantially reduces domestic assaults and murders, especially when prosecution follows, but also provides police officers with clear guidelines on how to proceed, correcting the ‘‘take a walk around the block’’ mentality. Opponents argue that these policies fail to account for the criminal justice system’s historic mistreatment of minorities. Furthermore, when officers are either unable or unwilling to discern who was the initial aggressor, mandatory arrest policies can result in both parties being arrested. Thus, these pro-arrest policies have the unintended consequence of penalizing rather than protecting victims. Others argue that police ought to have more discretion to handle domestic violence situations on a caseby-case basis.

Does arrest work? The research is inconclusive. For example, when the Minneapolis study was replicated in other jurisdictions, the results differed significantly. Specifically, arrest consistently deterred employed batterers, but increased repeat violence among unemployed batterers. Yet, these findings were largely ignored. Furthermore, between 1992 and 1996, while the police responded to 90 percent of calls for assistance, in only 20 percent of the cases was the alleged abuser arrested immediately (Greenfeld). These findings raise questions as to how effective arrest policies have been in reducing recidivism or changing police practices.

Prosecution and Sentencing Policies

Prosecutors routinely fail to initiate cases and follow through with prosecution. Victim noncooperation is often cited as the major reason for dismissing a domestic violence case. Thus, once police began to arrest alleged batterers, advocates began to focus reform efforts on prosecution practices. As a result, prosecutors are undertaking new initiatives. Many have established specialized domestic violence units. A few units specialize in same-sex battering, while others target teenagers in dating relationships, where experimentation with violence often begins. Vertical prosecution, in which one prosecutor is assigned to handle the case from arraignment to completion, thus providing the victim with ongoing support, is becoming common. Increasingly, jurisdictions are employing social workers to counsel victims and their families. Some courts expedite, or rocket docket , domestic violence cases. Others divert first-time offenders into batterer treatment prior to trial.

Most controversial, many jurisdictions are implementing no-drop policies. Under such policies, prosecutors cannot routinely dismiss charges at the victim’s request, but are required to pursue a case if enough evidence exists to substantiate the charge. Moreover, the prosecutor usually signs the charge, relieving the victim of responsibility. At least four states have adopted legislation encouraging the use of no-drop policies, and VAWA has authorized grants to local law enforcement agencies that adopt aggressive prosecution policies.

Pro-prosecution policies are often characterized as either hard or soft no-drop policies. Under hard policies, cases proceed regardless of the victim’s wishes when there is enough evidence to go forward. This can include subpoenaing the victim to testify and requesting that the judge issue an order of contempt if the victim refuses to cooperate. Most states recognize an exemption to marital privilege laws in cases in which one spouse is charged with a crime against the other and, thus, the vast majority of victims can be compelled to testify as a witness for the state and incarcerated for refusing to do so. Some jurisdictions go forward without the victim’s testimony, just as if it were a homicide case, by introducing other evidence, such as 911 tapes, photographs, medical records, and testimonies of police officers and expert witnesses.

Under soft policies, victims are provided with support services and encouraged to proceed, but are never mandated to participate. The state will not proceed if the victim insists that the case be dropped.

Those supportive of aggressive prosecution argue that no-drop policies take the burden off the victim by removing her as the ‘‘plaintiff.’’ They contend that the batterer has less incentive to try to harm or intimidate his victim once he realizes that she no longer controls the process. Furthermore, aggressive prosecution sends a strong message that domestic violence is a crime against the state as well as the individual. However, many advocates for battered women argue that the use of hard policies has the unintended effect of punishing or revictimizing the victim for the actions of the abuser. It also fails to take into account the effect that prosecution will have on family income or children. The state should neither force the victim into a process over which she has no control, nor undermine her autonomy or decision-making.

Do aggressive prosecution policies work? It is difficult to measure the difference between policies as written and policies as practiced. While early data indicate that aggressive policies can reduce domestic homicides, lower recidivism rates, and change attitudes within the criminal justice system, more research is needed to verify these findings (Hanna, 1996).

Despite these reforms, most domestic violence cases still end in arrest. Of those cases that are prosecuted, many are charged or plead down to misdemeanors even though the conduct constituted a felony. When prosecutors do go forward, the final disposition is most often a period of probation. A growing number of defendants must also complete a batterer’s treatment program as a condition of probation. Only a small percentage of domestic violence offenders are sentenced to incarceration (Hanna, 1998).

How do domestic violence cases compare to nondomestic violence cases? As of 1999, no empirical evidence supported the assertion that the criminal justice system treats domestic violence offenses less seriously than other violent crimes. One study in the mid-1980s found that offenders closely related by blood or sexual ties to their victims were usually given probation or had their cases dismissed, but so too were offenders unrelated to their victims (Ferraro and Boychuck). According to a 1998 study of all inmates incarcerated in state prisons, the median sentence for assault was four years longer if the victim was the offender’s spouse rather than a stranger (Greenfeld). Given the changes in arrest and prosecution policies, as well as increased public pressure on law enforcement to treat domestic violence as a serious crime, it is likely that domestic cases are being treated more seriously than nondomestic cases.

Batterer Treatment Programs

In 1984, the Attorney General’s Task Force on Family Violence concluded that treatment for domestic violence is most successful when the criminal justice system mandates it. Although the Task Force report recommended incarceration for serious offenses, it encouraged the use of batterer treatment programs in cases where the injury to the victim was not serious. Since then, the criminal justice system has adopted faith in treatment as a matter of policy. Some states require courts to order attendance into a batterer treatment program as a condition of probation. Others have pretrial diversion programs in which first-time offenders can avoid conviction by completing a batterer treatment program. VAWA also endorses batterer treatment for violations of its criminal provisions.

Many states mandate the length and content of treatment programs that can be court ordered, although there is no convincing evidence that either the length or model of the treatment determines its effectiveness. Most court-ordered programs are six months to a yearlong. Program content varies greatly. Early programs were based on the premise that poor conflict management skills within the relationship caused violence and, therefore, treated both parties. Most court-ordered programs today, however, reject couple’s therapy and treat the batterer only. While some programs focus on anger control and the individual’s history with violence, increasingly, the majority of court-ordered programs adopt the premise that battering is an outgrowth of patriarchy and focus on the use of violence by the batterer to establish power and control over his victim. Most of these programs will not accept batterers who have substance abuse problems, although more than half of those incarcerated for domestic violence had been using drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident for which they were incarcerated, suggesting that many abusers are in need of multiple interventions (Greenfeld).

Does batterer treatment work? Some available data suggest that court-ordered treatment correlates with a reduction in physical violence, although treatment neither terminates violence in many cases nor curbs the more subtle forms of abuse. However, whether treatment, or simply individual motivation brought on by legal intervention, causes the reduction of violence is unclear. In fact, some studies have found that men arrested and treated resume violent behaviors as frequently as do men arrested and not referred to treatment, and that there is no significant difference between men who complete batterer’s treatment and men who drop out of the program (Rosenfeld). The available research on batterer treatment is hampered by the lack of a control group. As of 1999, no study has randomly assigned abusers to incarceration, treatment, or unsupervised probation. A control group would give researchers confidence that treatment, and not some other variable, such as threat of incarceration, individual motivation, support from one’s partner, social stigma, or other factors, are influencing a change in behavior. Additionally, many studies are methodologically unsound. Sample sizes are often too small to draw valid conclusions and drop-out rates are high. Even more troubling is that most studies that report treatment successes include only subjects who have no substance abuse problems, no psychiatric difficulty, and high motivation. Thus, the complex question of which programs work best for whom, and under what circumstances, remains largely unanswered.

Finally, some jurisdictions have established specialized probation units. Probation officers trained in domestic violence intensively supervise abusers, following their progress in treatment and at home. This is considered to be the last loophole that the criminal justice system needs to close in order to hold abusers accountable for their crimes.

Future of The System’s Response to Domestic Violence

One of the most promising developments in the prevention and treatment of domestic violence is research on batterer typologies. Despite popular misconceptions, all abusers are not equally dangerous, nor are they all alike. It is estimated that only two percent of the total male population is repeatedly severely abusive to women in any given year (Dutton). Most men arrested for domestic violence are low-risk offenders, and are violent only with family members. Those who pose the greatest risk often have extensive criminal histories, including property crimes, drug or alcohol offenses, and violent offenses against nonfamily victims (Dutton). This research will help law enforcement to better screen cases and develop interventions that account for the differences among abusers. In addition, research on the relationship between violence and biomedical conditions is likely to lead to treatments for abusers that involve both medical and behavioral therapy.

The criminal justice system also needs to expand its understanding of domestic violence beyond the male abuser/female victim model and to provide adequate protections for all victims regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Further research into why most men do not engage in intimate violence is imperative to understand what role gender does play in domestic violence.

Only time and solid research will tell if the criminal justice system can successfully reduce domestic violence. None of the initiatives described above will work in isolation. The best research suggests that a coordinated community response, which involves police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation officers, victims’ advocates, treatment providers, and medical professionals, is essential. And, while both lethal and nonlethal intimate violence declined in the 1990s, so too has nondomestic violence. Thus, we must be cautious before attributing progress solely to more aggressive criminal intervention. Nevertheless, many remain optimistic that treating domestic violence as a serious public crime and not a trivial family matter will make for a safer society.

Bibliography:

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• Attorney General’s Task Force on Family Violence. Final Report, U.S. Department of Justice.
• BACHMAN, RONET, and SALZMAN, LINDA ‘‘Violence against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey (NCJ-154348).’’ Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1995.
• BINDER, ARNOLD, and MEEKER, JAMES ‘‘Implications of the Failure to Replicate the Minneapolis Experiment Findings.’’ American Sociological Review 57 (1993): 698–708.
• BUZAWA, EVE, and BUZAWA, CARL G. Domestic Violence: The Changing Criminal Justice Response. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1992.
• BUZAWA, EVE, and BUZAWA, CARL G. Domestic Violence: The Criminal Justice System Response. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1996. ———. Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work? Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1992.
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159 Domestic Violence Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on domestic violence, ✍️ domestic violence essay topics for college, 👍 good domestic violence research topics & essay examples, 🌶️ hot domestic violence ideas to write about, 🎓 most interesting domestic violence research titles, ❓ domestic violence research questions.

• Domestic Violence, Consequences and Solutions
• Domestic Violence Against Women
• Effects of Domestic Violence on Children and Youth
• Domestic Violence and Its Environmental Influences
• Domestic Violence Against Women in India
• Feminism and Domestic Violence
• Domestic Violence in “Othello” by W. Shakespeare
• Domestic Violence in the Modern Society Domestic violence is an acute and prevalent problem in society which requires research and effective solutions. The incidence of domestic violence is increasing exponentially.
• Domestic Violence: The American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) style is a set of rules that describe different components of scientific writing.
• Domestic Violence: Justification Is Unacceptable Domestic violence affects all segments of society, but women and children. In the absence of law enforcement oversight, domestic violence continues to increase.
• Domestic Violence: Causes and Effects Domestic violence disrupts regular patterns of communication and provides children with behavior models that ruin relationships and suggest the role of an abuser or a victim.
• Domestic Violence Against Women: What Can Be Done? Domestic violence against women is one of the most common social problems that many societies across the world face in modern society.
• Impact of Domestic Violence on Society Domestic violence takes place mainly among married couples, ex-couples, who those who are still dating or cohabiting.
• Domestic Violence in Nursing Despite legal repercussions and the established support systems, a large share of victims avoids reporting incidents of domestic violence.
• Causes and Consequences of Domestic Violence This literature review aims to discuss the scope of the problem, mention previous findings from academic literature, and assess the available information on the issue of violence.
• Domestic Violence: Case Study Description Proponents of this model argue that some men will apply diverse tactics to manipulate and control women, such as domestic abuse and violence.
• The Problem of Domestic Violence in Modern Society The unwillingness to report instances of domestic abuse leads to a steep rise in the intensity of violence and the negative experiences that victims suffer.
• Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Domestic Violence It is important to note that domestic violence can be discussed as aggressive acts of the physical, psychological, or sexual nature against any family member.
• Projects or Stop Violence Programs: Domestic Violence The violence mainly happens between the families, dating, cohabitation, marriages, as well as intimate relationship.
• Domestic Violence: Prevalence, Types, and Risk Factors Domestic violence may be experienced by a variety of people regardless of age, sex, gender or any of the other numerous factors that might play a role in its manifestation.
• The Impact of Domestic Violence on Victims’ Quality of Life Domestic violence (DV) is currently one of the major public health concerns that need to be discussed and analyzed.
• Protective Orders and Domestic Violence Review The article provides a vivid introduction with discussion in the current status of the legal status of prevention of family violence.
• Domestic Violence Issue in Modern Society Neutralization theory presents freedom in a relationship, condemns deviant behaviors and aims to eliminate oppressive cultures and safeguard ethical human activities.
• Domestic Violence and COVID-19 Connection This paper aims to recognize the connection between domestic violence and COVID-19 and unmask the possible cause of the rapid growth of violence issues in marriages.
• Societal and Gender Construction Affecting Incidents of Domestic Violence The paper intends to explore how societal and gender construction can affect the incidences of domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence Issues and Interventions The fact that domestic abuse victims often do not report their cases to the authorities leads to a difference between the actual number of incidents and the official statistics.
• Domestic Violence Forms: Cases Analysis In the cases described in the current research paper, an elderly woman and a six-year-old girl endured several forms of domestic violence.
• The Root Cause of Domestic Violence Domestic violence had great implications on the physical and mental health of the victim. There are many attempts that have been put in place to deal with domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence and Feminism in Bell Hooks’ Theory The main purpose of this paper is to summarize and assess the ideas of hooks’ theory regarding domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence Effects – Psychology This paper seeks to examine the principles of critical thought in relation to domestic violence. It considers the importance of ethics and moral reasoning.
• Effects Of Domestic Violence on Children According to this paper, a child is anyone below the age of eighteen, and it aims at discussing the effects of domestic violence on these children.
• Domestic Violence in the Military Domestic violence is a pervasive problem connected with PTSD, subsequent substance abuse, and occupational hazards that increase stress and result in marital conflict.
• Domestic Violence in Same-Sex Relationships The article “A Same-Sex Domestic Violence Epidemic Is Silent” by Shwayder addresses the issue of domestic abuse as one of the key concerns of contemporary societal concerns.
• Domestic Violence with Disabilities Domestic violence is a kind of act that happens when a member of the family or ex partner tries to harm the other by dominating them physically or psychologically.
• Female Victimization and Domestic Violence The paper explores the subject of domestic violence, the long-term effects domestic violence has on victims, and how criminal justice addresses the issue.
• Reducing Domestic Violence: Family Law The current paper states that domestic violence and abuse present a substantial public health problem for different societies worldwide.
• Domestic Violence During COVID-19 Pandemic The paper reviews the articles: “Home is not always a haven: The domestic violence crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic”, “Interpersonal violence during COVID-19 quarantine.”
• Alcohol and Its Effects on Domestic Violence Alcohol was invented as a beverage drink just like the others, such as soda and juice. Of late, alcohol has been abused because people are consuming it excessively.
• Effect of Domestic Violence on Children Domestic violence is a serious issue that can have severe consequences for the development of children that grow up in such environments.
• Domestic Violence Typology and Characteristics The typology of domestic violence is based on the nature of the abusive act and provides clues to the underlying reasons for it.
• Domestic Violence and Its Impact on Maternity Domestic abuse directly impacts maternity as women experiencing a hostile environment feel that the conditions are dangerous to personal health and the well-being of a child.
• Child Abuse, Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence The paper analyzes three types of victimization: child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence. It gives definitions, describes causes and effects of these crimes.
• Domestic Violence and Its Main Categories When it comes to domestic violence, there are many categories. These include economic abuse, male privilege use, verbal abuse, isolation, emotional abuse, and intimidation.
• Domestic Violence in the African American Community Black women have suffered domestic violence mostly because of gender, race, and poverty, the poor economic conditions have fueled domestic violence in families and fighting.
• The Importance of Domestic Violence Law Domestic violence is a big problem of many families, especially taking into consideration that many victims do not report it as they are not aware of domestic violence laws.
• Community Action vs. Domestic Violence Against Australian Women Strengthening community action in the area of domestic violence against Australian women is one of the greatest decisions which are provided now in Australian society.
• Domestic Violence. “No Visible Bruises” by Snyder A review of the book “No Visible Bruises” by Snyder provides an opportunity to assess the diverse nature of the manifestations of domestic violence in families.
• Domestic Violence as a Research Topic The family abuse that took place in the community, often affected women, elder members of the family, and children.
• Domestic Violence: Analysis and Evaluation of Articles This paper evaluates peer-reviewed articles that touch on the subject of domestic violence, and addresses ethical issues related to the use of secondary data.
• Child Corporal Punishment as Domestic Violence The public widely accepts a differentiation between domestic violence and corporal punishment, although the latter can be damaging to children’s health and well-being.
• Problems of the Domestic Violence Domestic violence is gaining notoriety each passing day. More and more women are falling victims to this social ill at an alarming rate.
• Domestic Violence Against Women Women who earn more than their spouses have a lower chance of experiencing violence and abuse in their marriages.
• Domestic Violence and Its Impact on Children Domestic violence is a complex phenomenon, which has emotional, behavioral, social, cognitive, and physical consequences for children.
• Domestic Violence and Workplace Environment Domestic violence worsens employees’ performance. The entire workplace environment suffers if a single employee is subject to domestic violence.
• Domestic Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence Domestic abuse and intimate partner violence presents a significant public health problem, and individuals from different backgrounds can be exposed to it.
• Domestic Violence in Melbourne: Impact of Unemployment Due to Pandemic Restrictions The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent does unemployment due to pandemic restrictions impact domestic violence against women in Melbourne.
• Domestic Violence and Cyber Abuse This paper discusses the issue of domestic violence and elder abuse, including the types of abuse and the vulnerability of elders with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
• The Domestic Violence Effects on Witnessing Children This paper analyzes the effects that domestic violence has on children that bear witness to it. It causes a child to develop severe physical and/or mental problems.
• Domestic Violence Intervention Programs Identification of the weaknesses portrayed by domestic violence programs promotes the provision of adequate strategies to mitigate the problem.
• Working With Victims of Domestic Violence Domestic violence is nowadays a talk of the day; new cases emerge daily. Families have issues that most can amicably resolve while others cannot and can advance to violence.
• Domestic Violence: Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Domestic violence, meaning a violent act committed against a person in a domestic relationship such as a spouse, a relative, or a dating or sexual partner.
• Domestic Violence Against South Asian Women This research essay aims to analyze the concept of domestic violence against South Asian women, its premises, and its impact on modern women’s lives.
• Domestic Violence: “Crime in Alabama” by Hudnall et al. The consequences of domestic violence can be associated with deterioration in the population’s quality of life, psychological problems, or even the victim’s death.
• The #Metoo Movement Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse In opposition to the injustice toward women, the #MeToo movement emerged to fight sexism and harassment, including the struggle for the detention of gender-based violence.
• The Problem of Domestic Violence As a global public health and human rights concern, domestic violence affects the lives of millions of individuals throughout the entire world.
• An Inside View of Police Officers’ Experience with Domestic Violence “An Inside View of Police Officers’ Experience with Domestic Violence” is an article authored by Horwitz et al., published in 2011.
• Domestic Violence in the US During the COVID-19 The more physically or psychologically vulnerable groups of the population are often subjected to various forms of violence by the more resistant groups.
• Domestic Violence and Survivors Support Domestic violence is a type of violence or any other form of abuse in a domestic setting, victims of which can be both adults and children.
• Racialized Rhetoric: Domestic Violence and Muslim Community The work analyzes the rhetoric in the news article, which discusses forced marriage and compares it to the existing research regarding violence against women and racialization in the media.
• The Bill of Rights: the Case of Domestic Violence Jessica Gonzales is a case of domestic violence. She is a lady that has fallen victim to being shut out of court.
• Reducing Cases of Domestic Violence at All Stages of Pregnancy This essay suggests that intervention mechanisms should be established to reduce cases of domestic violence at all stages of pregnancy.
• Volunteering in the Social Project Providing Legal Assistance to the Domestic Violence Victims Although the U.S. is a progressive country, one in four its women experiences severe partner physical violence.
• Domestic Violence in America Governmental and non-governmental agencies have often argued that domestic violence is a serious social problem in America.
• Domestic Violence and Its Impacts on Children Domestic violence has serious impacts on children. When they grow up in a violent environment, they get affected psychologically and sometimes physically.
• The Reluctance of Gay, Lesbian Victims to Report Domestic Violence Members of the gay community suffer from domestic violence in almost the same magnitude as members of the heterosexual community.
• Community and Domestic Violence: Elder Abuse Perhaps the most common type of elder abuse is neglect; this refers to the refusal or failure to provide basic needs such as food, shelter or healthcare to vulnerable adults.
• Ku Klux Klan Ban and Domestic Violence and Race Issues Ku Klux Klan should be declared a terrorist organization and banned for the benefit of the community as a whole.
• Community and Domestic Violence: Violence Against Women The most known form of domestic violence is physical or battering, which causes pain and injury and it involves beating, choking, pushing, biting, kicking, and others.
• Domestic Violence Problem Overview and Analysis The macro-sociological theory tells that the root of violence in families lies within the core system of society and is a reaction to harmful events inside and outside the family.
• New York State Domestic Violence Statics Family violence has been revealed to cause a lot of problems in which; family issues remain unsolved for long, once spouses get into frequent domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence – A Grave Societal Concern Our community faces issues that relate to violence committed on women and for every reason to enjoy conjugal life there is also the need to bear with violence.
• Involving the Health Care System in Domestic Violence “Involving the Health Care System in Domestic Violence: What Women Want” points out the importance of integrating socially accepted means to break the silence related to domestic violence.
• Abusive Relationships and Domestic Violence Treatment One of the most apparent examples of how exposure to abusive relationships can have adverse outcomes is the nurse practitioner who experienced abuse and manipulation in the past.
• Nurses Caring for Domestic Violence Victims The past experiences of family violence certainly allow nurses to become aware of the nature and processes involved in these situations.
• Changing Course in the Anti-Domestic Violence Legal Movement To address the problem of domestic violence, it is necessary to propose a complex program as a response to this social issue.
• The Connection Between Domestic Violence and Cultural Norms The topic of domestic violence was a natural choice for me, as I have witnessed the results of domestic violence in my work and have done a lot of research on the topic already.
• The Realities of Domestic Violence and Its Impact on Our Society The topic of domestic violence was chosen not only for its relevance but also because of the hope to shed light on the adverse influence that the issue has on people.
• Revealing Marital Rape as Domestic Violence Marital rape entails sexual action with one’s partner devoid of his or her consent. Failure to get consent is the fundamental component that results in the involvement in violence.
• How Non-Profits Address Domestic Violence Both law enforcement agencies and organizations focusing on public health can contribute to the action plan of addressing domestic abuse.
• Domestic Violence and Non-Therapeutic Interventions In the United States, the issue of domestic violence is closely related to other misfortunate circumstances in people’s lives.
• Environmental Influences of Domestic Violence and Potential Interventions This paper propose a study on what are the potentials drivers for the increasing rates of domestic violence, and how can different social and healthcare institutions intervene.
• Domestic Violence as a Topic for Academic Studies The topic selected for the research deals with family issues and is critical for society. Domestic violence is reported all over the world that is why it should not be ignored.
• Domestic Violence in the US of the Last Decade The issue of domestic violence is a global societal problem. In most cases, women are the main victims of this uncivilized behavior with men being the perpetrators.
• Domestic Violence: Control and Prevention Domestic violence occurs when a person is abused by another in the same family. This form of violence is common in relationships, marriages, and families.
• Domestic Violence Experienced by Psychiatric Patients Oram et al. believe that the incidence of domestic violence and abuse can be associated with the victimization among the patients with psychiatric disorders.
• Domestic Violence Problem: Psychiatric Patients The problem of domestic violence experienced by psychiatric patients is particularly acute now that the statistics show the rapidly growing number of the cases of family abuse.
• Domestic Violence in Federal and State Legislation Despite the fact that much remains to be done to solve the problem of violence in the family, the state and society have contributed to changing the current situation.
• Domestic Violence as a Pressing Issue This work examines a course project on the topic of domestic violence as a pressing issue on which the public cannot come to an agreement.
• Domestic Violence Article and Conservation Model This essay examines the article “Violence against women and its consequences” and assesses the article’s strengths and weaknesses using the conservation model.
• Domestic Violence in Same/Opposite-Sex Relationships In their article, Banks and Fedewa investigate counselors’ attitudes toward domestic violence in same-sex versus opposite-sex relationships.
• Domestic or Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Practitioners aim pharmacology-based IPV intervention strategies at relieving the effects of abuse that victims encounter, which may range from mild distress to PTSD.
• Domestic Violence Among Black Immigrant Women This study shows that domestic violence is more prevalent among black immigrant women as compared to other women in the United States.
• Domestic Violence Victims’ Needs Assessment To address domestic violence, it is important to perform a needs assessment and collect the data to develop an effective strategy to withstand domestic violence.
• Nurse’s Help and Policy for Domestic Violence Victims Nurses often found themselves deprived of opportunities to help their patients who are victims of violence because of policy restrictions.
• Domestic Violence Negative Impact on the People Psyche The question of the project is whether children who have experienced domestic violence demonstrate irreversible changes in their mentalities that shift their behaviors to deviant.
• Domestic Violence in the US: Effects on Children Domestic violence is a common practice in many countries. This study finds out how domestic violence affects children in the USA.
• “Addressing Domestic Violence Against Women” by Kaur and Gang Kaur and Gang present arguable aspects regarding ways of addressing the problem of domestic violence against women. Different individuals have divergent views on this subject.
• Domestic Violence Problem and the Impact on the Children’s Psyche The research question of this paper is whether domestic violence results in irreversible changes in children’s mentality and psyche and how its negative impact could be mitigated.
• Domestic Violence and Victims’ Resistance This paper defines, discusses, and solves the problem of domestic violence to guarantee the improvement in the sphere and victims’ ability to resist this problem.
• Domestic Violence, Its Existing and New Solutions Domestic violence is a problem that is researched and monitored by various agencies. Different social care establishments try to create a system for possible interventions.
• Domestic Violence Study and Lessons Learnt Apart from shedding a lot of light on the nature of abusive relationships, the project on domestic violence and abuse helped me develop new research skills.
• Domestic Violence in the Health Policy Domestic violence is a crucial issue that has to be addressed in order to eradicate abuse and help the patients to overcome the issue of retained supremacy.
• Domestic Violence and Abuse Countermeasures At the moment, the civilized world condemns domestic violence and has introduced different measures to protect people from this remnant of the past.
• Mental Health and Domestic Violence in Bangladesh The paper reviews Ziaei et al.’s article “Experiencing lifetime domestic violence: Associations with mental health and stress among pregnant women in rural Bangladesh.”
• Domestic Violence by an Intimate Partner Most people, especially women, are rejecting any form of violence in intimate relationships as a legitimate social norm. The major factor is the diffusion of global norms.
• Domestic Violence and Public Awareness This academic research increases the audience’s understanding of the severity of the topic of domestic violence and raises public awareness.
• Domestic Violence Intervention in Health Care Domestic violence is a concept that can be described as emotional, verbal, sexual or any other existing kind of abuse that may scare the victim.
• Conservation Model and Domestic Violence The analysis reveals that domestic violence provokes a chain of negative reaction in females’ structural, social, and personal integrity, and energy.
• Nursing and Midwifery Recognizing Domestic Violence The paper reviews the article “Are We Failing to Prepare Nursing and Midwifery Students to Deal with Domestic Abuse?” by Bradbury-Jones & Broadhurst.
• Domestic Violence in America, Asia, and Africa The paper investigates the issue of domestic violence in the United States and several other cultures, namely, in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru, and Brazil.
• Substance Abuse Treatment and Domestic Violence The histories of child abuse and neglect form the present behavior of a person a define his administering treatment needs regarding the fact of whether a person was sexually or emotionally abused.
• The Origin of Domestic Violence The present research is to define the origin of domestic violence and the measures that can be taken in order to lessen the influence of the discovered reason.
• Defining Domestic Violence Reasons – Family Law The social phenomenon of domestic violence has given rise to scholarly debates concerning its main causes and consequently the methods for handling the issue.
• Domestic Violence in Florida The mission of the Florida Department’s Domestic Violence Program is to contribute to creating the safe environments for the victims of domestic violence.
• Battered Woman Syndrome as a Theoretical Explanation of Domestic Violence Effects Battered Woman Syndrome is an inductive theory that seeks to explain the reactions of women when they are subjected to domestic violence.
• Resilience and Growth in the Aftermath of Domestic Violence In this paper, the discussion centers on the concept of resilience, spirituality, and its application in the aftermath of domestic violence.
• African American Women: Domestic Violence and Integrity At present, gender profiling still remains an issue, and the present-day African American communities are infamously known as a graphic example of women abuse in society.
• The Impact of Abusive Experiences on Nursing Practitioner’s Performance With the Victims of Domestic Violence This paper aims to discuss positive and negative tendencies that could emerge in the mentioned circumstances.
• What Is Meant by Domestic Violence?
• What Do You Feel About Domestic Violence?
• Why Do We Have Domestic Violence?
• Does Domestic Violence Affect a Child’s Future?
• Should Domestic Violence Always Be Prosecuted?
• What Are the Causes of Domestic Violence?
• What Are the Factors Influencing Domestic Violence Against Women in Jamaica?
• Can Domestic Violence Abusers Be Rehabilitated?
• How Far Can Children Be Said to Be Affected by Domestic Violence?
• Are Men Also Subject to Domestic Violence?
• Can the Police Reduce Domestic Violence?
• Does Economic Empowerment Protect Women Against Domestic Violence?
• Does Women’s Labor Force Participation Reduce Domestic Violence?
• What Are the Differences Between Domestic Violence and Family Violence?
• When Did Domestic Violence Become Illegal?
• What Are the 5 Signs of Emotional Abuse and Domestic Violence?
• How Does Domestic Violence Affect a Person Emotionally?
• Where Does Most Domestic Violence Occur?
• Where Is Domestic Violence Most Common in the US?
• How Widespread Is Domestic Violence?
• How Does Domestic Violence Affect a Woman Mentally?
• How Does Domestic Violence Affect a Man?
• What Type of Relationship Has the Highest Domestic Violence Rate?
• What Country Has the Lowest Rate of Domestic Violence?
• What Is the Punishment for Domestic Violence in Canada?
• Can Domestic Violence Cause a Nervous Breakdown?
• Does Domestic Violence Lead to Depression?
• What Do People Need to Know About Domestic Violence?
• Does Domestic Violence Affect the Brain?
• Does Domestic Violence Cause Mental Illness?

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These essay examples and topics on Domestic Violence were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 8, 2024 .

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How exactly to Write a Domestic Violence Research Paper

Domestic violence and divorce are extremely common social problems. Increasingly more young couples are getting through the method of divorce after a couple of years of marriage. Thousands of woman and young ones are suffering from domestic violence everyday. That is why students at universities and colleges are often assigned to write a domestic violence research paper or research paper on divorce.

In this essay we want to reveal to you our insight on how to write a good essay on these crucial topics and provide you some food for thought with topic a few ideas.

Domestic Violence Research Paper Outline

The next outline may also be applied to other research papers. If you are writing a research paper on domestic violence or perhaps a research paper on divorce, outline could be modified with regards to the topic and the type of research. Let’s look over the main elements of your future research paper.

1. The abstract. In your abstract, give a brief summary of one's paper which means your readers is able to see whether this kind of research is in line with their interests. Also, mention these points:

• the purpose of the research
• the basic design of the research
• the main findings and trends
• brief conclusions

2. The introduction. This section links to the abstract and provides additional information concerning the topic you are likely to discuss in the torso paragraphs. Highlight how the issue is important and just why the reader should focus on it. Also, you need to create a thesis statement.

3. The literature review. In this section you can highlight the most interesting findings from the recent publications and researches. Share statistics as well as other materials associated with the topic. Mention research gaps in the literature and point out moments that need further investigation.

4. The methodology. Here you need to talk about the methods that you used to investigate the chosen issue.

5. Results. Share your findings on this issue. For example , when you have conducted a survey, you need to discuss the info you have obtained as a result. It is possible to illustrate the major data in tables or diagrams, as people frequently perceive visual data better. Also, describe the received data.

6. Conclusion. Summarize the information that you have disclosed in most parts. Demonstrate how your findings are significant, and highlight the important thing findings from your own research. If at all possible, show new or improved ways of taking into consideration the issue.

Please be aware: Your outline may take yet another form, particularly when you haven't conducted the field study. For example , rather than the methodology and results sections, you can discuss several sides of the problem.

Where to find the Right Topic for Your Paper

Divorce and domestic violence contain hundreds of problems. These topics can be viewed from various points: social, psychological, historical, economic, and more. This issue can influence all people of most races and ethnicities.

• Explore the topics you have discussed in the class. Also, it will likely be a good idea to appear through the paragraphs in your textbooks. Highlight those topics or questions that interest you the most.
• Brainstorm. Take a blank sheet of paper or open a fresh document in a text editor. Switch off your phone and make an effort to minimize distractions. Take a few breaths, in and out. Start writing everything you have on your mind and try to focus on the topic for the paper. Because of this, you will have a set of possible problems and some ideas that you can just take for your research.
• Look over previously written works. In your library or any database you have access to you will get various theses and dissertations written on issues linked to domestic violence or divorce. Make a summary of interesting topics and generalize them, as you won’t be able to fully disclose a narrow topic in your quest paper.
• Look at internet. Make certain you can find enough information for the most interesting topics. Try to find facts and information you haven’t discussed in your class. Such information is likely to make your paper more unique and intriguing to the teacher. Save your self the most helpful links and documents to a separate folder.

Because of the above actions, you will get a summary of topics. All you have to to do is choose the best to you. Be sure you have enough information to write about.

Domestic Violence Research Paper Topics

Explore the issues attached to domestic violence in the list below. You can simply take one of the domestic violence research paper topics as a basis for your own personel paper.

• Older adults and elderly. Domestic violence may appear among elderly couples. Also, elderly people could be abused by cohabitants or other nearest and dearest. You can discuss how domestic violence affects their mental health, define the role of social services, and discover more information about violence against older women.
• Children and adolescents. Kiddies and adolescents are extremely at risk of domestic violence. A tender psyche and high sensitivity make kiddies actively answer violent behavior. Domestic violence can influence the formation of a young child as an individual and cause poor consequences in subsequent years. If your child grows in an atmosphere of violence, what kind of person will he/she become? Do you know the effects of shelter services on children?
• New technologies and domestic violence. Occurring technologies for mobile phones along with other forms of communication can enhance the level of response and prevention of domestic violence. Find recent information regarding how technologies can be used and discuss current practices. How do new technologies be used for a fast reaction to emergency situations of domestic violence?
• Prevention of domestic violence. Analyze the existing details about preventive programs in your country, state, or city. Explore the programs that already successfully run far away. How can domestic violence of children/elderly/women/etc. be prevented? Do you know the most effective approaches?
• People with disabilities. Women and men with disabilities are frequently experiencing domestic violence and sexual abuse. The abuser might be a partner, relative, health care provider, or caregiver. So how exactly does domestic violence affect people who have disabilities? How do it be prevented?
• Psychology of domestic violence. Actually , domestic violence affects a person’s self-esteem, psychological wellbeing, emotions, identity, and more. That are abusers? That are the most susceptible to domestic violence? What psychological approaches should really be used while working with victims of domestic violence? Consider various genders and age ranges.
• The cultural context of domestic violence. Maybe you have heard about female genital mutilation? Femicide? Compulsory marriage? Cultural identity, strict gender roles, customs, and set values have an important influence on society. These and other dilemmas are typical for many cultures and even countries. Cultural groups are quite detached, which is why it’s hard to manage them. What you can do to eliminate domestic violence from culture?
• Media representation of domestic violence. Advertising is a powerful tool of influence on public comprehension of domestic violence. On the other hand, the media forms certain stereotypes and perceptions of social issues. How can mass media portray domestic violence and gender-based violence?

Topics for Research Paper on Divorce

In the event that you were asked to write a paper about divorce, you are able to explore these topics in order to find something interesting for you:

• Divorce in various countries. Examine the divorce law in a variety of countries. Which are the strangest laws? How do divorce rates differ in western and eastern countries? Why do people divorce? Define the perception of divorce in various regions.
• Religion and divorce. What role does religion play in marriage? Explore the primary beliefs and traditions linked to divorce in a variety of countries and cultures. Are religious couples more happy than nonreligious couples?
• Influence of divorce on children. Kiddies are highly sensitive for their parents’ relationships. The smoother the divorce will be, the greater the child will go through this hard time period. What should parents do to help their children? Just how can parents build or maintain healthy relationships with a young child after a divorce? When can it be time to ask a specialist that will help you?
• Economics and divorce. What countries would be the leaders of divorce? How can divorce influence the economic well-being of the country? How should the country make extra effort for saving marriages?
• Psychology of divorce. There are numerous reasons why people divorce. But most of the cases harm each side. What effects does divorce have on adults? How does divorce affect physical and mental health?
• Role of feminism in divorce. As a result of feminist movements, women in many countries have gained more rights and freedoms. How can women’s and men’s positions on divorce differ? How can gender equality refer to the increased variety of divorce?
• Importance of marriage. From year to year, the rates of marriages are constantly decreasing. Try to define what marriage means to your self and your environments. Find out why marriage became unpopular. Can it be good or bad? What has influenced this change?

Research Paper on Domestic Violence Sample

In the text below you can read an excerpt from a research paper compiled by one of our writers. You should use the information as a basis for your future paper. Also, look through the works cited list to get resources for the research.

The Origins and State of Domestic Violence in the US

INTRODUCTION

Domestic violence doesn't have country or race. It will take various forms and does occur in different countries around the world aside from society and government type. Every third woman on earth becomes a victim of violence. Domestic violence is just a serious social problem that really needs unified types of victim assistance and strong governmental support. Despite growing awareness of this social problem and regulatory actions, many aspects of domestic violence still have not yet been fully realized. (…)

Literature Review: Their state of the situation

Every minute, in line with the Centers for Disease Get a handle on and Prevention (CDC), at the least 24 people in the US experience threats, psychological pressure, or physical or sexual violence (Basile et al. ). It is a paradox, but it happens in the living rooms and bedrooms and at family events, where people should actually feel completely safe. Very nearly 35. 6% of feamales in the US have seen rape and physical violence from an intimate partner. The amount of known cases of domestic violence isn't complete. Not absolutely all crimes become known, as less than 40% of women who have experienced violence look for help (The World’s Women 2015). This type of situation does occur because a lot of women are convinced that it really is their own fault. Women are too embarrassed to seek help from the authorities or special support groups, particularly when they have experienced violence committed by a romantic partner. (…)

The issue of domestic violence has existed for a long period in all countries, and reflects the disharmony and imbalance in society. People that experience domestic violence for a long period of time might experience physical, mental, and emotional issues; in probably the most extreme cases, domestic violence can result in death. Social tolerance to domestic violence is a refusal of the creation of a civilized society. Industry experts agree that to tackle the issue of domestic violence, it's important to shrink legislation, support organizations that take care of victims, and spread information through mass media. (…)

Works Cited

Basile, Kathleen C., et al. National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report. Centers for Disease Get a grip on and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, 2011. The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics. United Nations Publications, 2015.

Maybe you are also enthusiastic about the following paper – annotated bibliography on the impact of gender violence on women and children .

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Essay On Domestic Violence

500 words essay on domestic violence.

Domestic violence refers to the violence and abuse which happens in a domestic setting like cohabitation or marriage. It is important to remember that domestic violence is not just physical but any kind of behaviour that tries to gain power and control over the victim. It can affect people from all walks of life and it basically subjects towards a partner, spouse or intimate family member. Through an essay on domestic violence, we will go through its causes and effects.

Causes of Domestic Violence

Often women and children are the soft targets of domestic violence. Domestic violence is a gruesome crime that also causes a number of deaths. Some of the most common causes of domestic violence are illiteracy and economical dependency on the menfolk.

The male-dominated society plays an important role in this problem. Further, dowry is also one of the leading causes which have the consequence of violence against newly-wed brides. In many parts of the world, physically assaulting women and passing horrendous remarks is common.

Moreover, children also become victims of this inhuman behaviour more than often. It is important to recognize the double standards and hypocrisy of society. A lot of the times, the abuser is either psychotic or requires psychological counselling.

However, in a more general term, domestic violence is the outcome of cumulative irresponsible behaviour which a section of society demonstrates. It is also important to note that solely the abuser is not just responsible but also those who allow this to happen and act as mere mute spectators.

Types of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence has many ill-effects which depend on the kind of domestic violence happening. It ranges from being physical to emotional and sexual to economic. A physical abuser uses physical force which injures the victim or endangers their life.

It includes hitting, punching, choking, slapping, and other kinds of violence. Moreover, the abuser also denies the victim medical care. Further, there is emotional abuse in which the person threatens and intimidates the victim. It also includes undermining their self-worth.

It includes threatening them with harm or public humiliation. Similarly, constant name-calling and criticism also count as emotional abuse. After that, we have sexual abuse in which the perpetrator uses force for unwanted sexual activity.

If your partner does not consent to it, it is forced which makes it sexual abuse. Finally, we have economic abuse where the abuser controls the victim’s money and their economic resources.

They do this to exert control on them and make them dependent solely on them. If your partner has to beg you for money, then it counts as economic abuse. This damages the self-esteem of the victim.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Domestic Violence

To conclude, domestic violence has many forms which include physical aggression like kicking and biting and it can also be sexual or emotional. It is essential to recognize the signs of domestic violence and report the abuser if it is happening around you or to you.

FAQ of Essay on Domestic Violence

Question 1: Why is domestic violence an issue?

Answer 1: Domestic violence has a major impact on the general health and wellbeing of individuals. It is because it causes physical injury, anxiety, depression. Moreover, it also impairs social skills and increases the likelihood that they will participate in practices harmful to their health, like self-harm or substance abuse.

Question 2: How does domestic violence affect a woman?

Answer 2: Domestic violence affects women in terms of ill health. It causes serious consequences on their mental and physical health which includes reproductive and sexual health. It also includes injuries, gynaecological problems, depression, suicide and more.

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