Nature & Scope of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence involves a partner in a relationship gaining power over the other through a pattern of abusive behaviors (United States Department of Justice, 2017). According to the United States Department of Justice, these behaviors “intimidate, manipulate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, or wound” the victim. Ninety-five percent of domestic violence victims are females with the perpetrators being males, therefore masculine pronouns will be used for the abuser and feminine pronouns will be used for the victims in this literature review; it should be noted, however, that same-sex couples are not immune to domestic violence (“Learn about abuse”, 2013). While the possible physical abuse may be the first thing to come to mind when discussing domestic violence, intimate partner abuse can take on various forms, including emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or economic abuse (U.S. Department of Justice, 2017). Physical abuse includes the more obvious assaults, such as hitting, punching, slapping, or shoving, but also the denial of medical care. Sexual abuse includes coercion, or forcing a victim into any sexual acts, or taking explicit photographs against the victims will. Economic abuse is a situation in which the abuser takes control of the finances in the relationship, rendering the victim fully dependent. The abuser can limit his partner’s access to money or employment. Emotional or psychological abuse includes the perpetrator “undermining a person’s sense of self-worth” (“Learn about abuse”, 2013), limiting the victim’s contact with her friends and family members, and instilling feelings of intimidation and self-doubt. Due to the amount of control an abuser gains and the fear he instills in his partner, it is often difficult for the victim to leave the situation, as her partner has made her dependent upon him. The scope of domestic violence is widespread. It can, and does, occur in couples of any age, culture, or socioeconomic status (“Learn about abuse”, 2013). According to Women’sLaw.org, citing the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “Over 50% of all women will experience physical violence in an intimate relationship,” and 24-30% of those women will continue to experience on-going violence.
How Social Workers Are Involved
In relation to domestic violence, social workers are involved directly with clients who have been victims, or sometimes perpetrators, of domestic violence, as well as indirectly, such as working on a macro level to influence societal changes and policies. Social workers counsel survivors of abuse, refer them to helpful resources, such as housing resources, financial assistance, or even legal resources. Some social workers who work in domestic violence shelters work as case managers, connecting the victims with needed resources or even helping them apply for injunctions. On the larger scale of macro social work practice, social workers can advocate for survivors, work with legislators to improve laws regarding domestic violence, and work to spread awareness of the issue, whether it be through education programs, fundraisers, or other events.
Current Operational or Proposed Solutions
There are policies and laws regarding domestic violence at the federal, or national, levels as well as at the state level. Most domestic violence laws are state laws and are different depending on the state (“State and federal domestic”, 2013). Most states do have policies that allow law enforcement officers to arrest possible domestic violence offenders without warrants, only needing “probably cause”, but this is defined differently depending on the state, and sometimes visible injury to the victim is a requirement for the arrest (Zeoli, Norris, and Brenner, 2011). The requirement of visible injury can be supported by some people, so as not to arrest someone when a partner provides false accusations with no proof. Other people can contest or disagree with the requirement of visible injury because not all abuse is physical, and some people could even argue an alleged victim could harm herself in an attempt to frame her partner. Most policies have two sides or viewpoints as this one does, which could be a reason why each state has different policies and they do not all agree across the nation. Another issue with the warrantless arrests is the time limit police may have to make this arrest; offenders often flee the scene (Zeoli, Norris, and Brenner, 2011). The first major federal law relating to domestic violence was the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), first introduced in 1994. At this time, a national domestic violence hotline was created and funds were designated to create shelters, outreach programs, education and training programs, and other services for domestic violence victims as well as professionals who work with these clients (“State and federal domestic”, 2013). VAWA also established federal penalties and worked to improve law enforcement response to domestic violence. VAWA was reauthorized in 2000 and expanded from domestic violence to also include dating violence and stalking. In 2000, a legal assistance program was also created. VAWA has been reauthorized since then, in 2005 and 2013, each time expanding assistance as well as prevention programs (“State and federal domestic”, 2013). According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the VAWA 2013 renewal improved from its previous version by prohibiting discrimination against LGBT domestic violence victims and increasing protective measures for immigrants and university students. VAWA has been shown to be successful in creating positive changes for domestic violence victims. Reporting rates have increased by up to 51% for women and 37% for men (“Violence Against Women Act”, n.d.). VAWA has also saved lives; the number of victims killed by their partners “decreased by 34% for women and 57% for men, and the rate of non-fatal intimate partner violence against women has decreased by 67%” (“Violence Against Women Act”, n.d.). VAWA has been important in the creation of so many resources, and is not the only federal policy related to domestic violence. The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, also known as the Lautenberg Amendment, prevents perpetrators of domestic violence from owning guns if they have been convicted or have a restraining order against them (“State and federal domestic”, 2013). Another policy in place to provide help to victims of domestic violence is the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which gives penalties paid by domestic violence offenders to states to fund state victim compensation program and assistance programs (“NNEDV Policy Issues”, 2017).
In addition to various policies and laws that are in place, there are other methods that are used in an attempt to protect domestic violence survivors and penalize offenders. For example, in some states, domestic violence offenders can be ordered to wear a Global Positioning System (GPS) device (“Ways courts use technology”, 2017).
In the state of Florida specifically, the legal definition of domestic violence is “any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member” (“Injunctions”, 2017). The issue with this is that emotional or psychological abuse is not included here. If an individual has not been physically battered, however, he/she can still try to file for an injunction. If the judge believes the person is “in immediate danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence”, an injunction may be put into place, either temporarily, which would be in effect for a maximum of 15 days, or permanently (“Injunctions”, 2017). In cases where there is, in fact, probable cause, and a police officer goes out to the location of the domestic violence, the “decision to arrest and charge shall not require the consent of the victim” (Tatum & Clement, 2007).
Recommendations
In the arena of social work and human services, it seems as if a lack of financial resources is often the limiting factor. The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) is a great act because it is funded by the offenders and helps the victims. Provided the resources were available, opening more domestic violence shelters would be helpful in serving many people who have lacked access to resources thus far. Hiring enough staff members to run these facilities would be a concern financially, but on the positive side, more jobs would be created. Ideally, the legal definition of domestic violence would be changed to include abuse that is not physical. The penalties for physical abuse should be increased, whether it be jail time, fines, or other forms of punishment. Because physical abuse is clear and more easily defined than other forms, this increase in penalties should be relatively easy to enforce. When it comes to other forms of abuse, the penalties may be different, but existent. At this time, with these forms of abuse not covered by the legal definition, there is no law being broken and therefore the perpetrator may not be able to be punished. If there was a law against this type of abuse, punishments could be given, not necessarily jail time for emotional abuse, but perhaps mandatory counseling and fines (assuming the victim is protected and not in danger). Another recommendation when it comes to the issue of domestic abuse is an increase in awareness. Currently, there are fundraisers and events to bring awareness to the issue, but it is likely that the people who attend these events are the people who are aware of the issue, have experienced it, or work with clients who have been victims of domestic violence. The people who need to gain awareness and education are those on the outside of the social services world. Education about domestic violence and prevention could be integrated into school curriculums for older students, maybe in their final year of high school in a social studies or government class. Commercials could also be used to spread awareness, as they have for other issues such as drunk driving or drug abuse.