tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/abuse-1116/articlesAbuse – The Conversation2024-02-07T13:13:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207672024-02-07T13:13:44Z2024-02-07T13:13:44ZAbout a third of employees have faced bullying at work – here’s how to recognize and deal with it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573464/original/file-20240205-19-di6nqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C44%2C5541%2C3925&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bullying at work often includes a power imbalance.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/boss-unsatisfied-from-his-employee-royalty-free-image/1257003156?adppopup=true">Vladimir Vladimirov/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The phenomenon of bullying, harassment and sexual abuse in workplaces throughout North America is widespread and harmful to both individuals and organizations. In fact, bullying at work <a href="https://canadasafetycouncil.org/working-bully/">affects up to 30% of workers</a> <a href="https://workplacebullying.org/2021-wbi-survey/">over time</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=XfvKveEAAAAJ">As practitioners</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E_FnvlkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">and researchers</a> who study workplace violence, including bullying, harassment and sexual abuse, we define workplace bullying as <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/workplace-bullying-and-mobbing-in-the-united-states-2-volumes-9781440850233/">harmful acts of mistreatment between people</a> that go beyond incivility and cross the line to intentionally causing harm.</p>
<p>Bullying behaviors range from verbally insulting or socially excluding someone to sabotaging the victim’s work, inflicting psychological terror and engaging in sexual abuse or physical aggression. Manipulation and provocation also play a role in bullying dynamics, and cyberbullying has emerged as a new form of workplace harassment. Research suggests the impacts of workplace bullying <a href="https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v15i4.1733">affect employee health and safety</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.17-0111-OP">and the workplace overall</a>.</p>
<p>In a grocery store line, if someone invades your space, shoves you aside or threatens physical harm, the police may intervene, potentially resulting in an arrest. However, in the workplace, incidents involving bullying, assault, sexual abuse or other forms of violence are typically addressed through internal investigations. Our research suggests that treating workplace bullying as a matter of <a href="https://theconversation.com/workplace-bullying-should-be-treated-as-a-public-health-issue-190330">public health rather than employment law</a> is necessary to protect those being targeted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man in reflective vest sits on pallet with boxes with his head leaning on his hand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Targeted workers can experience mental and physical health problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/depressed-worker-feel-tried-after-overwork-and-royalty-free-image/1352460014">warodom changyencham/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Workplace bullying results in real harms</h2>
<p>Targets of workplace bullying often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_8">experience serious repercussions</a>, including stress and burnout, along with other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2022.2164536">diagnosed mental health issues</a> and, in extreme cases, suicide.</p>
<p>Bullying can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_6">affect physical health</a>, with symptoms including sleep disturbances, cardiovascular diseases, body aches and pain, loss of appetite and headaches. Targets often describe an <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15051035">inability to concentrate</a>; since they’re spending time worrying about what is going to happen to them next, job performance suffers. The negative impacts can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_8">spill over to a target’s personal life</a> and affect their relationships with family and friends.</p>
<p>It’s not unusual for targeted workers to feel uncomfortable coming forward and talking about their experiences. But suffering in silence can lead to an even more <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2294">toxic climate</a> at work that can undermine your victims’ sense of security, with long-term consequences for their well-being.</p>
<h2>Personality traits of bullies and their targets</h2>
<p>Workplace bullies often target those who possess <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/beyond-cultural-competence/202306/workplace-bullies-target-self-directed-coworkers-most">qualities highly valued by employers</a>: self-sufficiency, cautiousness and innovativeness. Those targeted typically are motivated, have a kind perspective and prefer to avoid getting involved in office politics or engaging in competitive behavior. They take charge of their work and responsibilities.</p>
<p>Bullying often involves an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-10-2019-0125">imbalance of power</a>, where the perpetrator acts to obtain power and control over the target.</p>
<p>Researchers find that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2017/mar/28/the-psychology-of-a-workplace-bully">bullies tend to have</a> low self-esteem, problems with anger management and even personality disorders. Bullies often target people based on their appearance, behavior, race, religion, educational background, LGBTQ+ identity or because of perceived threats to their own career. </p>
<p>There’s no hard-and-fast profile, but males tend to exhibit more of the traits associated with bullying. Those who possess tendencies toward what psychologists call <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/dark-triad">dark triad traits</a> – <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Machiavellianism">Machiavellianism</a>, subclinical <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/psychopathy">psychopathy</a> and subclinical <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-little-bit-of-narcissism-is-normal-and-healthy-heres-how-to-tell-when-it-becomes-pathological-199069">narcissism</a> – <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-to-do-when-you-encounter-people-with-dark-personality-traits-at-work-192316">often gravitate toward jobs</a> that offer high levels of freedom and hierarchical structures.</p>
<h2>Are you being bullied?</h2>
<p>Have you noticed a <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/305680">decline in your emotional or physical health</a>? Is your job performance being affected? Feeling constantly stressed, anxious or demoralized are signs that something isn’t right.</p>
<p>Think about whether you feel singled out. Do you sense that you’re being isolated because of how others treat you?</p>
<p>If you do conclude you’re being bullied, your <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-wealth/202211/how-to-stop-workplace-bullying">first priority is keeping yourself safe</a>. Defending yourself against workplace bullying takes courage, but there are steps you can take to diffuse, distance and document what is happening to you.</p>
<p>In the moment when bullying is occurring, focus on trying to keep your emotions in check and avoid being reactive. For example, try to <a href="https://positivepsychology.com/psychological-distancing/">gain some psychological distance</a> in an emotionally charged situation – politely walk away, don’t engage, give yourself time to settle your emotions. Taking space by stepping away can disrupt the immediate intensity of the situation. It helps you stay in control rather than allowing a bully to force you to respond impulsively in the moment, which can lead you to say or do something you’ll regret.</p>
<p>Try your best to de-escalate the situation. Some tips for how to stop an interaction from spiraling include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Using polite, firm language to ask the bully to stop the conversation.</li>
<li>Asking the bully to leave.</li>
<li>Removing yourself from the situation if the bully won’t go.</li>
<li>Informing your supervisor immediately.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you feel threatened, calmly and politely stop the interaction by <a href="https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/violence/violence_negative.html">removing yourself in a nonthreatening way</a>. As challenging as it can be, the key here is to stay composed and remain respectful.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="worker in foreground aware of two in background of warehouse scene, watching" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">You can prepare yourself by thinking ahead about how to respond.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/an-industrial-warehouse-worker-being-the-target-of-royalty-free-image/1028928790">Fertnig/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to respond to an ongoing situation</h2>
<p>It may be helpful to engage in some advanced planning with a friend or colleague. Rehearse a bullying situation and practice how you would respond to help you get comfortable <a href="https://doi.org/10.14309/ajg.0000000000002090">using emotional distancing and de-escalation</a>. Advance practice can help you handle an emotionally charged encounter.</p>
<p>Seek the support and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-wealth/202211/how-to-stop-workplace-bullying">safety of your peers</a>. They can talk things through with you and become your allies if they are asked to describe or even testify about a bullying incident they witnessed.</p>
<p>Strive for an attitude of strength and confidence in yourself. Workplace bullies often choose to attack people they peg as easy targets. Present a strong front, trust in yourself and have confidence in your work – these attributes may make you less <a href="https://dailynurse.com/nurses-and-bullying-how-to-protect-yourself-and-your-co-workers/">likely to be targeted</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://healthyworkforceinstitute.com/5-strategies-to-protect-yourself-from-retaliation-when-you-confront-a-bully/">Document your experiences</a> when you perceive there is a problem. Be objective: Note the time and date, what happened, who was present, what was said and how it made you feel. Keeping a record helps quantify what is happening. Your organization should have <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9780429462528-19/managing-workplace-bullying-charlotte-rayner-duncan-lewis">policies and procedures</a> to support you if you believe you are being bullied at work. </p>
<p>A caveat, though: Keep in mind, human resources departments are often ill-equipped to manage these issues, and complaints may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040143">mishandled</a>, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Bullying-and-Harassment-in-the-Workplace-Theory-Research-and-Practice/Einarsen-Hoel-Zapf-Cooper/p/book/9781138615991">improperly dismissed</a> or simply ignored. Sometimes, if you’re able, it is better to look for a new job.</p>
<p>In order to effectively tackle the problem of workplace bullying and harassment, it is important for both employees and organizations to acknowledge and actively address these concerns. By establishing policies against bullying and fostering open lines of communication, workplaces can create safer spaces that enhance the well-being and productivity of their employees.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You’d call the police if a stranger in public did what many bullies at work get away with. 2 researchers who study workplace violence describe the widespread phenomenon.Jason Walker, Program Director & Associate Professor of Industrial-Organizational and Applied Psychology, Adler UniversityDeborah Circo, Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226512024-02-05T16:57:29Z2024-02-05T16:57:29ZChildren’s high-impact sports can be abuse – experts explain why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573083/original/file-20240202-23-vzvavg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C13%2C4486%2C2977&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/young-players-in-action-during-a-training-session-of-the-news-photo/1585783804?adppopup=true">ANDRE DIAS NOBRE/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disorder likely caused by repeated head injuries. It was first described as dementia pugilistica and punch drunk syndrome <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/dementia-pugilistica#:%7E:text=CTE%2C%20previously%20termed%20dementia%20pugilistica,et%20al.%2C%202011">almost 100 years ago</a>. CTE continues to be a serious risk associated with high impact sports, such as boxing, American football and rugby. </p>
<p>Although the risks of traumatic brain injuries, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1375">such as concussion</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995699/#:%7E:text=CTE%20has%20recently%20been%20found,also%20lead%20to%20neurodegenerative%20changes.">longer-term brain degeneration</a> from repetitive hits in impact sports have been known for decades, some sport governing bodies continue to try and cast doubt onto the relationship between impact sports and CTE. However, media attention has begun <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36376056/">to change people’s minds</a>. </p>
<p>This growing awareness is accelerated by the many lawsuits against organising bodies in relation to brain trauma. Former professional and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/19/amateur-players-launch-lawsuit-against-rugby-authorities-over-brain-injuries">amateur players</a> in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/14/landmark-class-action-chases-compensation-for-alleged-long-term-concussion-damage-to-afl-players">sports such as</a> American football, Australian rules football and rugby say their governing bodies failed to prevent harm during their playing careers. </p>
<p>The NFL has paid out <a href="https://www.nflconcussionsettlement.com">almost a million pounds</a> to former players suffering the effects of sport-induced brain trauma. High-profile rugby players are now also taking <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/gavin-henson-and-phil-vickery-among-over-200-ex-rugby-stars-taking-legal-action-over-brain-injuries-13020450">legal action over brain injuries</a>.</p>
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<p>These are not only issues for elite players. Studies into the brains of former players have found CTE in those <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1012463_en.html#:%7E:text=Importantly%2C%20risk%20of%20CTE%20pathology,to%20influence%20risk%20of%20CTE.">who only played as amateurs</a>. CTE has also been found in the brains of players under the age of 30 and even <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/28/health/cte-younger-athletes/index.html#:%7E:text=The%20youngest%20person%20diagnosed%20with,football%20player%2C%20McKee%20told%20CNN.">those as young as 17</a>. </p>
<p>Each additional year of playing impact sports <a href="https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2019/10/07/cte-risk-more-than-doubles-after-just-three-years-of-playing-football/">raises the risk of CTE</a>, by as much as 30% in American football. </p>
<p>The dangers of high-impact sport aren’t contentious. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.938163/full">Academic evidence</a> and <a href="https://concussionfoundation.org/news/press-release/NIH-CTE-repetitive-traumatic-brain-injuries#:%7E:text=United%20States%20National%20Institutes%20of,brain%20injuries%20%7C%20Concussion%20Legacy%20Foundation">medical professionals</a> now agree that sport-induced brain trauma leads to degenerative brain disease.</p>
<h2>Not suitable for under-18s</h2>
<p>Given this context, our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511321.2023.2284923">recent paper</a> written with Jack Hardwicke, a senior lecturer in the sociology of sport at Nottingham Trent University, has questioned whether it is right for children to participate in sports that intentionally feature impact, particularly involving the head. We argue that allowing under-18s to take part in high impact sports should be viewed as a form of child abuse – we use the term “child brain abuse” – and that these impact sports should be legally prohibited. </p>
<p>We are not calling for adult versions of impact sports to be banned and our argument does not apply to sports or activities where brain trauma might occur by accident. But in sports where impact is a structured part of the game, like boxing – or sports that create rapid brain movements, as in rugby tackling – collisions are not accidents, they are an inherent part of the sport. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987636/">claims that sport is safer</a>, there has been rightful concern over childhood <a href="https://theconversation.com/rugby-concussions-and-duty-of-care-why-the-game-is-facing-scrutiny-161773">concussions</a> in these impact sports – and brain injury can occur at very low levels of impact. For example, heading a football can result in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235239641630490X?via%3Dihub">immediate and measurable alterations</a> to brain functioning and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/focus-pfa-university-of-nottingham-studies-fifa-b2354775.html">longer-term brain diseases</a>, such as CTE.</p>
<p>The risk of CTE is <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/09/25/allyson-pollock-and-graham-kirkwood-tackle-and-scrum-should-be-banned-in-school-rugby/">far higher in sports</a> such as American football and rugby. The odds of developing degenerative brain diseases are <a href="https://www.thepfa.com/players/brain-health/field">increased in former players</a> of impact sports than are found in sports without deliberate impacts or the general population. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What is CTE?</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Staying healthy</h2>
<p>Some sports bodies <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/rugby-played-schools-form-child-abuse-study-b1136563.html#:%7E:text=Rugby%20being%20played%20in%20schools%20is%20a%20form%20of%20child,injuries%20associated%20with%20playing%20rugby.">defend high-impact sports</a> by arguing that sport and physical activity are important for overall health. Teams sports <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9874288/">can reduce isolation</a> and help players to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9180162/">develop a range of social skills</a>. </p>
<p>But these benefits can still be gained from non-impact versions of sports, <a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/participation/playing/ways-to-play/the-touch-union/what-is-touch">such as touch rugby</a>, which can help teach discipline and teamwork without the <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/6/319.abstract">harm from brain trauma</a>. </p>
<p>There are no health benefits of tackling – and there are no health benefits of being struck in the head. The health benefits of impact rugby or boxing are instead gained from the body’s overall movement. </p>
<p>Tag rugby tends to be faster moving than the sport’s full contact version so is better for <a href="https://www.centurion-rugby.com/blogs/rugby/81203265-9-benefits-to-tag-rugby">improving cardiovascular health</a>. Research has shown that incidents of contact during children’s rugby are the cause of cause of <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/bmjosem/10/1/e001740.full.pdf">87% of known injuries</a>. Tackling, in particular, is responsible for 52% of all injuries - with concussion being the most common injury type. Tagging, rather than tackling, saves children’s brains from harm.</p>
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<h2>Inability to consent</h2>
<p>Our research shows that impact sports should be treated equally with other prohibited activities for children, such as smoking. Children are unable to make informed decisions about the long-term risks of these activities. Parental provision for these activities is also <a href="https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/30/2016/08/No.139-Criminal-Law-Consent-in-the-Criminal-Law-A-Consultation-Paper.pdf">socially stigmatised or criminalised</a>. </p>
<p>Our research draws on a number of legal positions that support our argument that neither children nor parents on their behalf can consent to sports that require brain trauma as a necessary component of the sport. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf">Article 19</a> of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to which 195 countries are signatories, covers protection from violence, abuse and neglect. <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Our-rights_UNCRC.pdf">It states that</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Governments must do all they can to ensure that children are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and bad treatment by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some commentators <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/rugby-isnt-child-abuse-but-it-is-ghastly/">have agreed</a> that while high-impact sports are dangerous, using the term child abuse is a step too far. </p>
<p>However, the NSPCC, the UK’s leading children’s charity, <a href="https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/neglect/">say that physical neglect</a> is a form of abuse that occurs if a child is not kept safe. Allowing children to participate in impact sports while being aware of the harm they can cause is, our research shows, a failure keep children safe.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-rugby-should-not-be-compulsory-and-tackling-needs-to-be-outlawed-heres-the-evidence-196993">School rugby should not be compulsory and tackling needs to be outlawed – here's the evidence</a>
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</p>
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<p>Opponents of prohibiting children from playing high-impact sports argue that <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-13038525/BORIS-JOHNSON-Rugby-doesnt-risk-young-peoples-lives.html">boys are naturally aggressive</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2329496520959300">heavy contact sport</a> helps them to learn how to <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110706195908.htm">control their feelings</a>. </p>
<p>Boys, some argue, need physical activities – they <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/56c8138843034f93feb463bf9e69f96f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=33810">need space and learn through activity</a>. But there is no research showing that boys need to endure brain trauma in order to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-16028-002">grow up to be responsible men</a>.</p>
<p>There is no justifiable health reason for a child to play impact sport over non-impact versions. We are asking that ministers privilege children’s brains over corporate sporting bodies. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-induced-traumatic-brain-injury-families-reveal-the-hell-of-living-with-the-condition-172828">Sport-induced traumatic brain injury: families reveal the 'hell' of living with the condition</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Parry is affiliated with the Concussion Legacy Foundation (UK). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Anderson and Gary Turner do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The dangers of high-impact sport aren’t contentious. Medical professionals agree that sport-induced brain trauma leads to degenerative brain disease – so why are we still allowing children to play?Eric Anderson, Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport, University of WinchesterGary Turner, Doctoral researcher in Policy Analysis of Traumatic Brain Injury in UK Combat Sports, University of WinchesterKeith Parry, Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Event Management, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203252024-01-29T19:05:26Z2024-01-29T19:05:26ZDassi Erlich and her sisters were ‘easy pickings for predators’. With their abuser Malka Leifer’s conviction – and a new book – they take control<p>Dassi Erlich was groomed and abused from when she was in year ten, by the principal of her Ultra-Orthodox Jewish school, who knew about her difficult home life. Last year, after a 15-year campaign, her abuser, Malka Leifer, who had fled to Israel, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/24/malka-leifer-jailed-child-sex-abuse-sentence-school-principal-15-years">was tried and sentenced</a>, convicted of 18 charges of sexual abuse against Erlich and her sister, Elly. (She was acquitted of charges involving a third Erlich sister, Nicole.)</p>
<p>At the very end of Dassi Erlich’s account of abuse, trauma, and recovery through the slowly grinding mills of justice, she lists places where those who experience abuse may find help: including <a href="https://kidshelpline.com.au/">Kids Helpline</a>, <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">Lifeline</a> and <a href="https://www.wlsa.org.au/">Women’s Legal Services</a>. </p>
<p>But when her need was most acute, Erlich could not have contacted any of these services. She had absorbed the message that contact with the world outside her family’s enclosed community was a sin.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Review: In Bad Faith – Dassi Erlich with Ellen Whinnett (Hachette)</em></p>
<hr>
<p>As the <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/">Royal Commission into Institutional Abuse</a> has revealed, coercive control comes easily to patriarchal institutions – and Melbourne’s Adass Israel community is particularly patriarchal and controlling. </p>
<h2>Adass Israel ‘evokes 19th-century Europe’</h2>
<p>As with most ultra-Orthodox Judaism, <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/adass-jeshurun-adass-jisroel">Adass Israel</a> originated in 19th-century Europe as a conservative reaction to liberal secularism. The cut of the men’s black silk coats worn with white shirts, and their mink hats, come from that time and place. </p>
<p>The Australian congregation was only formed in 1939, but the tiny enclave within East St Kilda and Ripponlea where Melbourne’s Adass Israel community lives effectively evokes 19th-century Europe. </p>
<p>Its members live without television, radio or secular newspapers. Internet access and telecommunications are strictly regulated. Lives revolve around the synagogue and festivals of faith. Most of the approximately 250 families are descended from immigrants who arrived as Holocaust survivors in the years after World War II. That collective memory colours responses to any perceived threat.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570783/original/file-20240123-19-btnti9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ultra-Orthodox community Dassi Erlich (pictured) grew up evokes 19th-century Europe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hachette Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this community, Erlich’s family were outsiders. Her parents had joined a generation later, as converts to Orthodoxy after emigrating from England. She notes that as a result, “my mother was on a mission to prove her worth to the Adass community”.</p>
<p>The children suffered for her ambition, and from her unpredictable rages and punishments. Erlich writes that from a young age, she realised her mother’s rage “had no rhyme or reason, no trigger we could predict”. On one memorable occasion, her mother cut the faces from her daughters’ dolls, as they were “idols”. The children were punished by being deprived of food and even the ability to go to the toilet at night. </p>
<p>The community’s rules are many. Women’s dresses have long sleeves, while thick stockings cover their legs. Wigs or scarves conceal their hair. Modesty is all. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_commandments">613 commandments</a> extracted from the Torah govern every aspect of daily life, including the timing of sexual relations between married couples. There is no birth control. Large families are the norm. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1699&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1699&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570772/original/file-20240123-23-77i0s4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1699&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Dassi at her wedding, aged 19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hachette Australia</span></span>
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<p>People marry young, shortly after the legal age of consent. Marriages are arranged via matchmakers, and couples have few meetings before their wedding. Erlich writes that the first time she had an unsupervised conversation with her former husband, Shua Erlich, was on their wedding day. </p>
<p>Such is the fear of contamination by gender, unrelated girls and boys do not mix after they turn three. At the school for girls, the modified curriculum teaches to keep the commandments, to be good wives and mothers, to obey both future husbands and the religious authorities. Descriptions of animal or human reproductive organs are off the agenda. </p>
<p>In adolescence, Dassi Erlich became upset at the way her father would grab her and hold her close to his body, but did not understand either his motivation or her response.</p>
<p>Such children are vulnerable, easy pickings for predators. The Erlich sisters, with their difficult mother, were especially so.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/malka-leifer-found-guilty-of-sexual-abuse-of-former-students-199582">Malka Leifer found guilty of sexual abuse of former students</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<h2>‘It was just a woman’</h2>
<p>When Dassi Erlich was in year nine, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/court-told-of-principals-plea-to-alleged-abuse-victim-20150507-ggwb1q.html">in December 2002</a>, a new principal was appointed to the girls’ school. Malka Leifer had come from Israel with excellent references and appeared to be everything this devout congregation could desire. Erlich writes of “the respect and awe” the schoolgirls felt in the presence of this charismatic woman, who exuded authority. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570778/original/file-20240123-23-hpx2yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dassi as an Adass Israel school student.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hachette Australia</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>At first, the child was thrilled to be noticed, to be singled out for particular attention, to be told she was “special” and not stupid. Her mother was flattered when Leifer offered to give her daughter private lessons out of school hours, to advance her religious education.</p>
<p>Erlich wrote of these “lessons” that “I never found my words” to object to the continuing assaults on her body. She lacked the language, the knowledge or the power to speak out. The account of her inability to escape is hard to read, but is also hard to stop reading. The abuse only ended with her wedding, in September 2006, when she was 19. Its consequences never ended.</p>
<p>It was only some years later, when she was in Israel and being counselled for her ongoing depression, that Erlich recognised what had happened to her. She then discovered two of her sisters had also been abused, under similar circumstances. Without language, without knowledge, they had not been able to confide in each other.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/">Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse</a> uncovered that when abuse is discovered, the standard response of many religious institutions is to conceal the evidence. It is hardly surprising the Adass community reacted to the news of the principal’s criminal behaviour in the same way.</p>
<p>In 2008, Leifer vanished overnight from both the school and Australia – before any formal complaint could be made. When the issue was raised, the rabbi’s response was: “Mrs Leifer should not be considered guilty of any crime as there has been no investigation.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570774/original/file-20240123-29-vhbibo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At first, Dassi Erlich (back row, face featured) was thrilled to be noticed by her school principal, Malka Leifer (front row, far right).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hachette Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given the circumstances, it is hardly surprising Erlich suffered from recurring mental health issues in the following years. Her religion controlled every aspect of her life, but could not save her from being raped. One rabbi, on hearing of Leifer’s acts of abuse, said, “What’s the big deal? It was just a woman.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/holy-womans-fleshy-feminist-spiritual-pilgrimage-is-a-warning-against-religious-coercive-control-185388">Holy Woman's fleshy, feminist spiritual pilgrimage is a warning against religious coercive control</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Unrestrained power, control and authority</h2>
<p>In the way it charts her pathway towards healing, <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/dassi-erlich/in-bad-faith-inside-a-secret-ultra-orthodox-sect-and-the-brutal-betrayal-it-tried-to-hide">In Bad Faith</a> becomes more than an indictment of a fundamentalist misogynist sect. There are heroes as well as villains. </p>
<p>When Erlich becomes suicidal after the birth of her daughter, her husband’s liberal Jewish father pays for her admission to the <a href="https://www.ramsaymentalhealth.com.au/albertroad">Albert Road psychiatric clinic</a>. She gives full credit to both her therapists and her fellow patients as she maps her slow walk to self-realisation and the need to reject the rules she had always lived by.</p>
<p>The end of her marriage was inevitable, as were her many missteps on the way to freedom. But her stumbles are relatively minor compared to the trauma she experienced.</p>
<p>In enclosed sects, whatever their complexion, those who leave and speak out against misbehaviour are shunned, often losing all contact with their families. In this, Dassi Erlich is fortunate: her siblings have always stood with her. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570780/original/file-20240123-27-twlqdn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Erlich sisters always stood together. Here, they’re pictured on a visit to Israel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hachette Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Their support was essential when she eventually made a formal complaint to the Victorian police and initiated a civil case against the school. By quoting extensively from the court’s judgement, Erlich makes clear that the formal, legal acknowledgement of the crime committed against her was just as important to her healing as the record damages she was awarded.</p>
<p>The response of the Orthodox Jewish community to the truths exposed by Erlich and her siblings was as expected. As well as abusive phone calls and online trolling, there has been a subtle public relations campaign. </p>
<p>In 2016, a year after the judge in Erlich’s civil case ruled that “Leifer’s appalling misconduct […] was built on this position of unrestrained power, control and authority that had been bestowed on her by the Board”, Adass Israel was the subject of a television documentary, <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/strictly-jewish-2016/33836/">Strictly Jewish</a>. </p>
<p>This sanitised account of the community blithely dismisses the abuse as an unfortunate event, quickly excised. At the time the documentary was aired, members of the Adass community were continuing to actively financially support Leifer, who was living free in Israel.</p>
<h2>Global quest for justice</h2>
<p>In 2014, when Malka Leifer was first arrested, Australian authorities had a reasonable expectation she would soon be extradited to face trial. Instead, she was released from custody, feigning a mental illness that had turned her into a zombie-like state. There is a certain irony in a perpetrator masquerading as being mentally ill, after inflicting enduring pain on the minds of her victims.</p>
<p>The book details the behaviour of Israeli medical, legal and political figures in their efforts to prevent Leifer from facing trial. Medical reports were falsified, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/litzman-gets-minor-fine-no-jail-for-shielding-alleged-pedophile-leifer-from-justice/">the Israeli minister for health was implicated</a> in corruption of due process. Leifer was one of their own. </p>
<p>It is hard not to contrast the crude tribalism of the Israeli political establishment with that of the Australian one. Jewish politicians, both Liberal and Labor, led their colleagues in supporting the sisters’ quest to bring Malka Leifer to judgement. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570776/original/file-20240123-19-bz731n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Jewish politicians, including Josh Burns (pictured) supported the sisters’ quest for justice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hachette Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Malcolm Turnbull <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/31/malka-leifer-how-a-long-running-child-sexual-abuse-case-tested-australias-relationship-with-israel">formally raised the scandal</a> of Leifer’s protected status in a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu. When the extradition case stalled, the Australian parliament, in a motion jointly moved by Josh Burns, Dave Sharma and Anthony Albanese, unanimously called for Mrs Leifer to be returned to face trial. Our diplomats made it clear her presence was required.</p>
<p>Erlich’s account of how her predator was <a href="https://theconversation.com/malka-leifer-found-guilty-of-sexual-abuse-of-former-students-199582">eventually brought to justice</a> shows how well these siblings learnt to work with the once unfamiliar outlet of social media. After their Facebook group was trolled by Leifer’s supporters, they established a Twitter thread, #bringleiferback. </p>
<p>This became a conduit for supporters in Israel to reveal more information, including evidence Malka Leifer had been appointed to the school in Australia after similar acts of abuse in Israel. </p>
<p>Supporters infiltrated the enclosed Israeli community where Leifer was living, using concealed cameras to show the falsity of the claims made about her ill health. After the footage was sent to Interpol, she was re-arrested.</p>
<p>Although the extradition, trial and conviction of Malka Leifer was a group effort, full credit for bringing her to justice must go to the sisters – Dassi Erlich, Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer. In their single-minded pursuit of their abuser, they are like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Furies">the Furies</a>, Ancient Greece and Rome’s goddesses of vengeance, hunting down those who have committed evil. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-extradition-between-countries-and-how-does-it-work-124637">Explainer: what is extradition between countries and how does it work?</a>
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<p>This is a very self-aware memoir: Erlich and her sisters know they need to take control of their own narrative. They’ve worked with local and international media to ensure their story – of abuse and the protection of the guilty – is fully exposed.</p>
<p>In Bad Faith is itself a part of this process of shaping the narrative – not the least because a draft of the manuscript became a document in the criminal trial. Dassi Erlich gives due credit to both her editor Ellen Whinnett, who is rightly credited as a co-author, and to the many others who helped her find her words. But this is her book, and one to be proud of.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220325/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanna Mendelssohn has in the past received funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p>Dassi Erlich details the crime, the cover-up and her eventual victory in court against Malka Leifer, the former school principal who abused her.Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2184212023-12-18T22:29:42Z2023-12-18T22:29:42ZHow technology can help victims of intimate partner violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565862/original/file-20231214-19-xsrof1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C38%2C4262%2C2805&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology is being used to help survivors by connecting them with resources, services and supports</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-technology-can-help-victims-of-intimate-partner-violence" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Intimate partner violence is a major public health concern. According to Statistics Canada, in 2018, 44 per cent of women <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210426/dq210426b-eng.htm">experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime</a>. Rates of intimate partner violence are not only alarmingly high, but steadily increasing. <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231121/dq231121b-eng.htm">In 2022, there were 117,093 victims of police-reported intimate partner violence in Canada</a>. This marked a 19 per cent increase since 2014.</p>
<p>Violence in intimate relationships can take many forms, including physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse and coercive control. And intimate partner violence increases during emergencies such as pandemics, natural disasters and even economic downturns. </p>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal consultations with provinces and territories found that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/domestic-violence-rates-rising-due-to-covid19-1.5545851">intimate partner violence rose by 20 to 30 per cent in certain regions of Canada</a>. Rising rates of intimate partner violence worldwide at this time were labelled as <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19-response/violence-against-women-during-covid-19">“the shadow pandemic”</a> by the United Nations.</p>
<p>These increases in intimate partner violence have highlighted the need for creative and innovative ways of addressing the issue, particularly during emergencies. As part of <a href="https://www.umanitoba.ca/sites/resolve/files/2023-11/COVID-19%20IPV%20Final%20Report%20November%202023.pdf">our research</a> on intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba, we examined how technology is creatively being used to help survivors of intimate partner violence.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C6%2C4459%2C2984&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Silhouette of a woman standing alone in a dark room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C6%2C4459%2C2984&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565599/original/file-20231213-17-jjbmj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rates of intimate partner violence are not only alarmingly high, but steadily increasing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Technology and intimate partner violence</h2>
<p>Discussions about intimate partner violence and technology often focus on the ways abusers misuse technology to harm their intimate partners. This type of violence, known as <a href="https://www.umanitoba.ca/sites/resolve/files/2022-04/tech-facilitated-violence-research-brief-14-en.pdf">technology-facilitated violence</a>, includes sending abusive or threatening text messages, monitoring an intimate partner through tracking systems or spyware and controlling an intimate partner’s access to technology. </p>
<p>Technology can pose undeniable harms to survivors of intimate partner violence. However, it is also being used to help survivors by connecting them with resources, services and supports. We specifically saw technology be used in creative ways during the COVID-19 pandemic in place of in-person services.</p>
<p>Participants in our research project noted an increase in online services for survivors of intimate partner violence, including online counselling, safety planning, support groups and text or chat-based crisis lines. The easy access these services provide reduced certain barriers that came with in-person services such as transportation or having to find child care.</p>
<p>Other technology-based initiatives have gained recognition, such as online awareness campaigns. The award-winning <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/signal-for-help/">Signal for Help</a> campaign was launched in April 2020 in a response to increases in both gender-based violence and the use of video calls during the pandemic. The campaign featured a one-handed gesture that survivors of violence could use on video calls to signal that they need help.</p>
<p>Several apps have also been developed to help keep survivors safe. The <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myplan-safety-app/id1563802534">myPlan Safety App</a> features assessments and strategies for safety planning, online privacy and finding resources in a user’s local area. </p>
<p>Researchers have been exploring <a href="https://data.berkeley.edu/news/expert-shares-how-ai-could-help-doctors-treat-domestic-violence-victims">the potential of using artificial intelligence to help doctors care for and support survivors of intimate partner violence</a>.</p>
<p>Large-scale partnerships with technology companies during the pandemic showed increasing potential for reaching survivors of intimate partner violence at home. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/6/news-tech-giants-provide-life-saving-information-during-covid-19">UN Women partnered with tech companies</a> in the United States to distribute information about services and resources for intimate partner violence survivors. <a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/snapchat-announces-new-resources-to-assist-users-dealing-with-domestic-viol/577725/">The National Network to End Domestic Violence and Snapchat</a> also announced a partnership to provide intimate partner violence resources for users through searches of related terms.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with a sad expression sits on the edge of a bed. A man sits on the other end of the bed behind her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565602/original/file-20231213-17-fk94wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Online services and apps can provide victims of intimate partner violence with quick, accessible support and advice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Barriers to online services</h2>
<p>The use of technology does not come without challenges. For instance, some of our research participants told us it was difficult to navigate online services. This was particularly apparent for those who had limited experience with technology. Others also noted that it could be hard to find privacy to access online services at home.</p>
<p>Additionally, some participants did not have access to the internet or technology needed to access online services, like a laptop or smartphone. This was common among <a href="https://gbvlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/issuebased_newsletters/issue-35/index.html">those living in rural, remote or northern areas of Canada</a>. Those who did have access to internet and technology in these areas noted that their internet connection or cellular service was often unreliable.</p>
<p>As technology in the area advances, it is important to identify and address social, economic and geographical barriers that can prevent survivors of intimate partner violence from utilizing online services. This is particularly important for survivors with limited online access, such as low-income, older adults or those living in rural areas.</p>
<p>Despite these challenges, the use of technology shows great potential for helping survivors of intimate partner violence, both during and after emergencies. Online service provision was noted as particularly beneficial for younger generations, who experience <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231121/dq231121b-eng.htm">especially high rates of violence</a>. Continuing to invest in creative and innovative ways of meeting the complex needs of survivors provides promising practices for addressing intimate partner violence now, and into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra Nixon receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and research support from community partner, the Family Violence Prevention Program (Government of Manitoba). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley Haller receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and research support from community partner, the Family Violence Prevention Program (Government of Manitoba). </span></em></p>Increases in intimate partner violence have highlighted the need for creative and innovative ways of addressing the issue, particularly during emergencies.Kendra Nixon, Professor, Faculty of Social Work & Director, RESOLVE (Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse), University of ManitobaAshley Haller, Research Technician at RESOLVE (Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse), University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142232023-10-26T20:47:36Z2023-10-26T20:47:36ZHow organizations can address toxic workplace cultures to tackle sexual harassment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555910/original/file-20231025-17-jhgd2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C5439%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sexual harassment is a human rights violation, yet too often it is framed as an interpersonal issue.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-organizations-can-address-toxic-workplace-cultures-to-tackle-sexual-harassment" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Sexual harassment continues to be a problem in Canadian workplaces, and organizations are not doing enough to address it. A 2022 report by the <a href="https://canadianlabour.ca/national-survey-reports-widespread-harassment-and-violence-in-workplaces/">Canadian Labour Congress</a> indicates nearly one in two workers have experienced sexual harassment in the previous two years.</p>
<p>A large part of the problem is how the issue is being viewed. Sexual harassment is a <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/page-1.html#h-256790">human rights</a> violation, yet too often it is framed as an interpersonal issue. As a result, organizations <a href="https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/liliacortina-lab/wp-content/uploads/sites/970/2021/12/Cortina-Areguin-2021-Annual-Review.pdf">adopt solutions aimed at addressing individual behaviours</a>, like building out reporting mechanisms or beefing up reprimands. Solutions that frequently fail. Punishing harassers is important, but only doing that means we only remedy sexual harassment one offender at a time.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this “rotten apples” approach does little to reduce sexual harassment. For one, it overlooks the systemic causes of harassment, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000861">an organization’s culture and leadership</a>.</p>
<p>It also ignores <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24994/sexual-harassment-of-women-climate-culture-and-consequences-in-academic">research</a> showing that the best predictors of harassment are features of the organization, not the harasser. To move the needle on these issues, we need to fundamentally change how organizations deal with workplace sexual harassment. </p>
<h2>Reframing sexual harassment</h2>
<p>Simply put, sexual harassment is an organizational problem rather than just an interpersonal one. Therefore, we need to start looking at harassment in the context of the organization and the surrounding environment. </p>
<p>Sexual harassment is more likely to occur in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12280">organizations dominated by men</a> and defined by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12289">masculinity contest cultures</a>. These cultures tend to emphasize strength and stamina, such as carrying heavy workloads and working long hours, putting work before family, avoiding displays of weakness, taking unreasonable risks and engaging in dog-eat-dog competition.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An anxious-looking woman sits at a desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555912/original/file-20231025-21-5cxl3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Punishing harassers is important, but organizations also need to address the workplace cultures that excuse or encourage harassment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Frequently accompanied by attempts to deny or justify harassment, masculinity contest cultures can compel individuals to preserve and protect their identities as “real men” by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.853">harassing others</a>.</p>
<p>For example, policing has been described as a <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315003566-4/cop-canteen-culture-nigel-fielding">cult of masculinity</a> that is often expressed through misogynistic attitudes toward women. The enforcement of strict masculine norms (e.g., show no weakness, strength and stamina, “being seen to be keen”) encourages officers to overemphasize their masculinity and repress emotions. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12286">Those who don’t conform are often subjected to ridicule, rejection and harassment</a>. </p>
<p>In a different context, academic culture promotes masculinity contests by rewarding signs of strength and stamina. Its <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10608265221108205">promotion system, which penalizes faculty who take time off for health and family</a>, rewards overly competitive scholarship and dog-eat-dog behaviour, such as taking credit for the work of others.</p>
<p>It’s no wonder that research shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016164117">academia has the highest rate of sexual harassment</a> outside the military.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102945">When leaders promote, or fail to challenge, these toxic cultures</a>, they allow them to flourish and sexual harassment to persist.</p>
<h2>Beyond reporting</h2>
<p>Maintaining harassment-free workplaces is not only the right thing to do, but it is also required by <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/page-1.html#h-256819">Canadian human rights</a> legislation. However, consideration of harassment as human rights violations tends to occur only when organizations are facing legal jeopardy. The implication is that organizations are more focused on achieving compliance rather than preventing sexual harassment. </p>
<p>To do things differently, leaders must examine the social norms, practices and belief systems that underpin sexual harassment. Simply having a formal reporting process won’t cut it. </p>
<p>The reality is that many people are reluctant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000861">to speak up about sexual harassment. And when they do, they are often silenced</a>. Formal complaints are also after-the-fact measures that don’t proactively prevent harassment from happening in the first place.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people sit in a circle consoling a man." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555914/original/file-20231025-15-t8jhsx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Many people are reluctant to speak up about sexual harassment. And when they do, too often, they are silenced.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Periodic self-studies can offer important insights into how organizational culture and practices can be improved. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611120976090">climate surveys</a> typically assess employee perceptions of leadership, culture and workplace interactions and experiences.</p>
<p>These assessments can provide a deeper understanding of the organizational context that might enable sexual harassment. They can also serve as an early warning system to prevent toxic environments from developing.</p>
<h2>Change requires bold leadership</h2>
<p>Viewing harassment through an organizational lens means addressing the systemic factors that contribute to harassment. This could involve changing recruitment, training and mentoring processes to promote better behaviour. </p>
<p>These are big changes, requiring bold leaders who model ethical values, clearly communicate their expectations and hold people accountable for violating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102945">ethical standards</a>.</p>
<p>Encouragingly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12274">research</a> shows that when leaders treat employees fairly, this sets an example for how members of the organization should treat one another. Fair practices also have the potential to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOTB-11-2019-0132">counteract the effects of masculinity contest cultures and reduce harassment</a>.</p>
<p>Enhancing gender diversity in organizations, especially at the top, may also help drive down harassment rates. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361164373_Training_programs_and_reporting_systems_won't_end_sexual_harassment_Promoting_more_women_will">Hiring more women</a> and gender-diverse people, and integrating them throughout the organization can help create an environment in which power and influence are shared.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to address sexual harassment. But we can reduce it by taking steps that improve organizational cultures. We can also reinforce the message that sexual harassment is a human rights violation requiring our best efforts to confront it, not an interpersonal problem left to others to sort out.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214223/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Workman-Stark receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Athabasca University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer L. Berdahl receives funding from the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada and the University of British Columbia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lilia M. Cortina is an Advisory Group Member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education. She has previously received funding from the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>To develop meaningful solutions, sexual harassment needs to be seen as an organizational issue and not just an interpersonal one.Angela Workman-Stark, Associate Professor, Organizational Behaviour, Athabasca UniversityJennifer L. Berdahl, Professor of Sociology, University of British ColumbiaLilia M. Cortina, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Psychology, Women's & Gender Studies, and Management & Organizations, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125372023-10-23T01:08:42Z2023-10-23T01:08:42ZKids escaping family violence can be vulnerable to intimate partner abuse. We must break the vicious cycle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553939/original/file-20231016-27-fl2v6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C19%2C4255%2C2824&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-covering-her-face-fear-domestic-563105572">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Warning: this article includes graphic descriptions of violence.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Nearly <a href="https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Ending_unaccompanied_child_homelessness_in_Australia/23306117">13,000 Australian children aged 10 to 17</a> sought help alone from specialist homeless services last year. Many of these young people will have <a href="https://www.mcm.org.au/-/media/mcm/content-repository-files/amplify_turning-up-the-volume-on-young-people-and-family-violence.pdf">escaped family violence</a> and then been <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">endangered by abusive partners</a>. </p>
<p>Our respective research tackles this emotionally tough terrain head on, speaking with <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">teens experiencing intimate partner violence</a> and children under 18 who experience <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/unaccompanied-homeless-children-in-tasmania/">homelessness</a> and are not accompanied by a parent or guardian.</p>
<p>Children and young people have told us about having nowhere safe to live, feeling invisible to government and being harmed. Their stories show Australia’s adolescent service system is frighteningly out of step with their needs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-child-protection-system-is-clearly-broken-is-it-time-to-abolish-it-for-a-better-model-200716">Our child protection system is clearly broken. Is it time to abolish it for a better model?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The reality of vulnerable teens’ lives</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.acms.au/">Australian Child Maltreatment Study</a> reported it findings this year from surveying 8,500 Australians aged 16 and over. It <a href="https://theconversation.com/major-study-reveals-two-thirds-of-people-who-suffer-childhood-maltreatment-suffer-more-than-one-kind-202033">found</a> 28.5% had experienced sexual abuse, 30.9% emotional abuse, 32.0% physical abuse and 39.6% exposure to domestic violence.</p>
<p>For unaccompanied homeless children and young people <a href="https://blogs.qut.edu.au/crime-and-justice-research-centre/files/2022/08/Briefing-Paper-FINAL-online-version.pdf">exposure to domestic violence</a> is even greater. <a href="https://www.csi.edu.au/research/the-cost-of-youth-homelessness-in-australia/">Australian research</a> shows 90% of homeless children and young people witness family violence at home, more than half leave home to escape parental or guardian domestic violence. Some 15% leave home more than 10 times due to violence. </p>
<p>Escaping family violence is a frequent precursor to unaccompanied child homelessness. </p>
<p>As part of research into unaccompanied child homelessness and mental ill-health in Tasmania, Viviana, aged 17, told <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/better-bigger-stronger/">a common story</a>. She escaped family violence only to experience violent and abusive relationships and cycles of homelessness:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mum kicked me out of home over a pair of school shoes […] she was being very violent, very aggressive […] her partner […] he ended up being quite aggressive and violent […] So I moved in with [my boyfriend’s] family and then things happened with me and that bloke a year later […] And so that’s when I ended up being homeless for a bit.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Homeless children and young people who do not have a reliable parent or guardian are highly vulnerable. The severity of violence in subsequent relationships they may come to rely on is extreme. Elise was 13 when she met David, who was three years older. During their nine-year relationship, her life was endangered repeatedly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He rammed me into the wall, grabbed me by the throat, choked me […] I remember he picked up the couch and smashed it up through the wall […] Smashed up the whole place, carried on, told me, ‘You want to fucking leave because I’m going to come back, I’m going to fucking shoot you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lilly was 14 when she met Jase, who was three years older. Being homeless and sleeping rough meant she couldn’t escape his violence and abuse: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can’t even remember how many black eyes I had from him […] I’ve got a scar there […] where he’s cut my arm open with a knife, trying to kill me. And there was nothing I could do. I was homeless, so I couldn’t get away from him, because he just knew where I’d be.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Children and young people who <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/unaccompanied-homeless-children-in-tasmania/">experience homelessness</a> and repeated <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger">cyles of violence</a> talk about persistent <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/422436">suicidality</a>, mental illness, abortion, miscarriage and substance use as common features of their lives. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="young person stands in underpass with graffiti on wall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young people fleeing family violence can get trapped in a cycle of abuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/loneliness-262222313">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/major-study-reveals-two-thirds-of-people-who-suffer-childhood-maltreatment-suffer-more-than-one-kind-202033">Major study reveals two-thirds of people who suffer childhood maltreatment suffer more than one kind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Mismatched responses</h2>
<p>A lack of supported accommodation options for teens <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30075-X/fulltext">places girls in particular</a> in highly vulnerable positions. Unable to access safe spaces, <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">they become trapped</a> in violent and abusive relationships. </p>
<p>They are being failed by systems that do not adequately recognise and engage with child and youth specific domestic violence and homelessness. Children and young people describe accessing support services that dangerously misread the risks they encounter. </p>
<p>Katie described systemic failure she faced at age 15. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I tried to get Centrelink [benefits] and they refused me and I told them my situation. I said, 'Well, like, I have no family, I have no money. I’m at risk of homelessness’ and all they gave me was a Kids’ Helpline number […] The system failed me, actually, and the only thing that they could do for me to get money is get Tom [her abusive partner] to claim Family Tax Benefits. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Viviana – who had escaped sexual abuse at home – described how she felt her ongoing risks were missed in counselling and therapy targeted to children in both school and state child and adolescent mental health services. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>They weren’t actually giving us like, I guess, adult solutions for the adult problems we did actually have, even though we shouldn’t have had them, we were only kids. And we sat down watching Lego videos on how to deal with depression and stuff like that. And I was like, this ain’t going to do shit for me.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Meeting them where they are</h2>
<p>The mismatch between the reality of children’s lives and the availability of systems and services to support them is stark. Children’s efforts to remove themselves from harm may be characterised by overstretched systems as <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/research/too-hard/">proof of their “independence”</a>. </p>
<p>What they need are standalone responses that address the extremities of their need. Yet neither national <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-housing/developing-the-national-housing-and-homelessness-plan">homelessness</a> or <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">domestic violence</a> policies are yet to acknowledge the relationship of domestic violence and homelessness in the lives of children and young people. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-we-see-you-why-a-national-plan-for-homelessness-must-make-thousands-of-children-on-their-own-a-priority-200918">Yes, we see you. Why a national plan for homelessness must make thousands of children on their own a priority</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>State and federal governments can begin to fix the cracks in the system by ensuring all agencies are held accountable for upholding the rights of children outlined by the <a href="https://www.unicef.org.au/united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child">United Nations convention</a> – especially of those without family they can rely on.</p>
<p>There are positive advances underway in <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-cabinet-keep-delivering-victorians">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/site_resources_2015/additional_releases/department_structures_to_strengthen_tasmanian_outcomes">Tasmania</a> to break the silo of child protection and re-build child and adolescent service systems with prevention and early intervention at their core. </p>
<p>A collaborative, integrated response that recognises the complexity and reality of children and young people’s lives including their independent housing, health, and safety needs is critical. This will only happen when we grow up and acknowledge children have adult problems too.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>For information and advice about family and intimate partner violence contact <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/">1800 RESPECT</a> (1800 737 732). If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact 000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmel Hobbs is affiliated with the Youth Network of Tasmania (YNOT) as Secretary of the Board.
This article includes reference to research funded by Anglicare Tasmania and conducted by Carmel in her role as a social researcher for Anglicare Tasmania's Social Action and Research Centre. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Robinson receives funding from Australian Research Council and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Catherine is a non-executive board director of Homelessness Australia and the Youth Network of Tasmania. This article includes reference to research funded by Anglicare Tasmania and conducted by Catherine in her role as a social researcher for Anglicare Tasmania's Social Action and Research Centre.</span></em></p>Some children and young people escape family violence, only to find themselves alone, homeless and in violent relationships. How can we support and protect these vulnerable adolescents?Carmel Hobbs, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of TasmaniaCatherine Robinson, Associate Professor in Housing and Communities, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158742023-10-18T05:17:01Z2023-10-18T05:17:01ZA new bill would bring Victoria’s strangulation laws in line with other states – but consent complicates matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554453/original/file-20231018-21-1ptr0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C60%2C5725%2C3768&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-man-hands-holding-woman-rape-1276184743">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In October 2011, Victorian woman Joy Rowley was strangled to death by her intimate partner. It was not the first time he had strangled her. Over the eight-month period leading up to her death she had called the police multiple times to report <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-23/joy-rowley-james-mulhall-inquest-victoria-police-apology/9790738">strangulation attacks</a>. </p>
<p>In the inquest that followed, the coroner highlighted an incident months before she died that involved strangulation and a knife. Police did not lay charges against the offender James Mulhall until several months after that incident. Rowley’s family and others have tirelessly campaigned since for the introduction of a strangulation <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/could-police-have-saved-joy-from-being-strangled-to-death-20180521-p4zgmu.html">offence</a>. </p>
<p>Today, 12 years later, the Victorian parliament introduced a bill to criminalise <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/non-fatal-strangulation-become-stand-alone-offence">non-fatal strangulation</a> as a standalone offence.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-family-violence-young-women-are-too-often-ignored-190547">When it comes to family violence, young women are too often ignored</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Common and gendered</h2>
<p>Strangulation, also referred to as choking, means stopping or hindering a person’s breath or blood flow through neck compression. </p>
<p>It is a common and gendered form of violence reported by 25–60% of family violence <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748895820949607?journalCode=crjb">victim-survivors</a>. It is recognised as a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0093854819843973">form of coercive control</a> – a pattern of controlling and manipulative behaviours within a relationship. Through strangulation, abusers can show they literally hold the victim-survivor’s life in their <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/system/files/2023-09/national-principles-to-address-coercive-control-family-and-domestic-violence.PDF">hands</a>. </p>
<p>A person who has experienced strangulation from their abusive partner is <a href="https://www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(07)00414-3/fulltext">six or seven times more likely</a> than other victim-survivors of family violence to experience death, or very serious harm, in the weeks or months that follow. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-red-flags-your-teen-might-be-in-an-abusive-relationship-and-6-signs-its-escalating-212536">7 red flags your teen might be in an abusive relationship – and 6 signs it's escalating</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Injury and death</h2>
<p>Some 15% of deaths attributed to family violence are caused by <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/174811">strangulation</a>. Death can occur in around a <a href="https://www.familyjusticecenter.org/resources/physiological-consequences-of-strangulation-seconds-to-minute-timeline-2/">minute</a> with a level of pressure required being less than what’s needed to open a <a href="https://www.allianceforhope.com/easy-as-pulling-a-trigger-anchorage-da-spreads-awareness-about-strangulation/#:%7E:text=Stopping%20the%20flow%20of%20blood,pressure%20to%20pull%20the%20trigger.">soft drink can</a>. </p>
<p>Sometimes death can occur weeks or months after strangulation because of <a href="https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/698586/review-of-dv-deaths-involving-fatal-and-non-fatal-strangulation-in-queensland.pdf">blood clots, stroke or brain damage</a>. When it is not fatal, injuries can be long-lasting including loss of consciousness, brain injuries resulting in memory loss, and pregnancy miscarriage. </p>
<p>Short-term injuries are common too, and may include bruising and nausea. However, in about 50% of cases victim-survivors have no visible injuries even when they have lost <a href="https://www.kemh.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/HSPs/NMHS/Hospitals/WNHS/Documents/Patients-resources/SARC---Non-fatal-strangulation.pdf">consciousness</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/family-violence-can-include-fire-threats-and-burning-we-can-do-more-to-protect-women-195197">Family violence can include fire threats and burning. We can do more to protect women</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The new bill</h2>
<p>In Victoria, strangulation is commonly charged as an assault, which does not reflect the seriousness of the offence. Victoria’s proposed strangulation legislation includes two forms of the <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/non-fatal-strangulation-become-stand-alone-offence">offence</a>. The most serious form will require the prosecution to prove the offender intended to cause injury. It will attract a maximum ten-year prison sentence. </p>
<p>A second form won’t require proof of injury and could attract a five-year maximum penalty. In such cases, it will be possible for the accused to demonstrate there was affirmative consent and avoid conviction. The government says this will: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] provide protection for people who have engaged in genuinely consensual non-fatal strangulation during sexual activity and no intentional injury has occurred.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Choking and sex</h2>
<p>Historically, strangulation has been understood as a risky and edgy form of bondage and domination sexual practices. But despite its dangers, strangulation has become an increasingly common part of sex, especially among younger people. This may be driven by increasing engagement with pornography where depictions of choking are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355594338_Pornography_Consumption_and_Sexual_Choking_An_Evaluation_of_Theoretical_Mechanisms">frequent</a>. </p>
<p>A survey of over 4,000 American undergraduate students found around one quarter of women reported being choked in their <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34242530/">most recent sexual experience</a>. The same study also highlighted the gendered nature of the activity, with women much more likely to be choked by their male partner than the other way around. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C20%2C4573%2C3428&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="woman sits on bed facing wall to hide face" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C20%2C4573%2C3428&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554445/original/file-20231018-23-1cdl7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Other states have already introduced laws to make non-fatal strangulation a crime.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/concept-sexual-harassment-against-women-rape-1468255889">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Should consent be a defence?</h2>
<p>There is increasing debate about whether consent should be a defence to any form of strangulation, given the risks and <a href="https://commons.allard.ubc.ca/fac_pubs/704/">dangers associated with it</a>. </p>
<p>Reported cases of rape and sexual assault frequently feature claims by the accused that violent sex, including strangulation, was consensual. This leads to challenges to victim-survivors’ credibility and “he said-she said” <a href="https://www.queenslandjudgments.com.au/caselaw/qca/2020/159">arguments</a>. Some experts are worried this resurrects the “<a href="https://commons.allard.ubc.ca/fac_pubs/704/">she asked for it</a>” defence in rape and sexual assault cases.</p>
<p>In Queensland, where the strangulation offence has been in place since <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/cc189994/s315a.html#:%7E:text=315A%20Choking%2C%20suffocation%20or%20strangulation%20in%20a%20domestic%20setting,-(1)%20A%20person&text=(ii)%20the%20choking%2C%20suffocation,Family%20Violence%20Protection%.">2016</a>, lawyers report allegations of non-consensual strangulation during sex generally result in sexual offence charges, rather than for strangulation. </p>
<p>Claims strangulation was consensual have been <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13657127211036175">rare</a>. This likely points to low levels of complaint rather than that non-consensual strangulation during sex it is <a href="https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/4287968/NFS-Services-Report-Sharman-et-al-2022.pdf">not happening</a>. </p>
<p>Queensland court statistics show when a charge of strangulation is lodged, about 23% of charges lead to a conviction of strangulation. The other 75% of matters are withdrawn because victim-survivors do not wish to proceed, there is insufficient evidence or a different charge <a href="https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/4096535/Fitzgerald-et-al-ODPP-report.pdf">such as assault proceeds</a>. Conviction of strangulation in Queensland results in imprisonment in over <a href="https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/court-users/researchers-and-public/stats">95% of cases</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-nations-women-dont-always-access-health-care-after-head-injuries-from-family-violence-heres-why-206084">First Nations women don't always access health care after head injuries from family violence. Here's why</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>An important step</h2>
<p>Victoria is the final state or territory in Australia to introduce a standalone offence of <a href="https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/4083784/Non-fatal-Strangulation-Laws-in-Australia.pdf">strangulation</a>. </p>
<p>Elsewhere the introduction of the offence has significantly improved knowledge among front-line workers about the risks and harms of strangulation. Greater understanding of its risk and harms should lead to more appropriate <a href="https://www.redrosefoundation.com.au/strangulation">referrals and enhanced safety</a>. </p>
<p>The proposed law is an important step in recognising the specific risks and harms associated with this behaviour. Now it’s been introduced to parliament, the text of the bill will likely be debated and potentially adapted before being passed. Hopefully the introduction of the offence will bring with it appropriate training opportunities and greater awareness.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>For information and advice about family and intimate partner violence contact <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/">1800 RESPECT</a> (1800 737 732). If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact 000. <a href="https://kidshelpline.com.au/">Kids Helpline</a> is 1800 55 1800. <a href="https://ntv.org.au/get-help/">Men’s Referral Service</a> (call 1300 766 491) offers advice and counselling to men looking to change their behaviour.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215874/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Douglas receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>The Victorian parliament has introduced a bill to criminalise non-fatal strangulation – but consent could be a defence.Heather Douglas, Professor of Law, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2116912023-09-22T11:51:09Z2023-09-22T11:51:09ZIn sport, abuse is often dismissed as ‘good coaching’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546670/original/file-20230906-22-rex6vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=224%2C0%2C5527%2C3837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-woman-sitting-on-bench-fitness-674543059">wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The head coach of the Welsh men’s rugby squad, Warren Gatland, has built a reputation as one of the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/warren-gatland-wales-rugby-liam-williams-welsh-b2394955.html">best coaches in the world</a>. But his <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/other-sports/warren-gatland-wales-rugby-union-30354730">“intense training methods”</a> have drawn comparisons to waterboarding, and his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/27/wales-players-put-in-hoods-and-doused-in-water-in-preparation-for-rugby-world-cup">training programmes have included</a> “psychological challenges” such as players being put in hoods and subjected to the sounds of crying babies. Gatland said that the training described “wasn’t brutal”, and that the feedback from players was positive. </p>
<p>In any other context, this behaviour from a boss might be (rightly) considered abuse. Professional rugby players, however, aren’t the first people who come to mind when people think of abuse victims.</p>
<p>Such treatment is described as necessary training to prepare for a big moment such as the World Cup. Some fans might consider these tactics justifiable if their team wins – as it happened, the Welsh squad lost the majority of their games last year.</p>
<p>From the amateur to the professional level, it’s clear that the definition of “good coaching” is the subject of constant debate. I have participated in sport throughout my life, <a href="http://www.pembrokeshiresport.co.uk/zoe-picks-up-brilliant-silver-medals-for-great-britain-in-two-sports">competing internationally</a> in American football and Aussie rules football. I have observed various coaching tactics and been fortunate to experience some of the better side of coaching. However, as a researcher, many of the practices I observed and experienced border on or constituted abuse. </p>
<p>Some athletes are forced to train while injured or <a href="https://www.progressiverugby.com/media/usa-college-rugby-needs-to-shed-toxic-culture-towards-concussion">concussed</a>, and may be the target of emotional, sexual and physical abuse and varied forms of humiliation. </p>
<p>In my <a href="https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/151256/">research on mixed martial arts (MMA)</a>, I found that many athletes (including myself) put up with the coaches’ worrying behaviour. This included coaches referring to athletes as “cunts”, “trannies” or “fags”. These words are small indicators into the pointed misogyny and homophobia of some sport environments – which can be toxic and dangerous environments for LGBTQ+ athletes and women. </p>
<p>“Coaching” also included comments about sexual “juice” on training shorts, and jokes about bulimia – particularly concerning given the <a href="https://patient.info/news-and-features/eating-disorders-in-sport-why-are-they-so-common-and-how-can-we-tackle-them">high rate of eating disorders in sports</a>. These “jokes” were not traded equally, but targeted and used in a disciplinary way, from the coach to the athletes, and never the other way around. </p>
<h2>Justifying harm</h2>
<p>If such behaviour were to be reported, these comments are likely to be <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-an-offence-of-public-sexual-harassment/public-sexual-harassment-consultation">legally be defined as sexual harassment</a> or abuse.</p>
<p>But players and coaches alike justify it as either “tough love” or “transformative” coaching. According to my research participants in MMA, part of this justification was also that combat sports are meant to be “tough” and therefore “non-PC” (politically correct).</p>
<p>The unique role and environment of sport (and the coach-athlete relationship) can also enable this behaviour. Athletic environments are often physically isolated from other social spaces, and have different social expectations – you certainly can’t punch people for fun in an office.</p>
<p>In fact, many people go to sporting spaces precisely to get away from everyday life – to do things that aren’t normally allowed (or legal).</p>
<p>In these spaces, a club or coach can quickly become a new support system or family. To stay a part of this family, research shows that athletes may gloss over abusive behaviour in order to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16138171.2021.2003056?casa_token=YtyQ_S6jXskAAAAA%3Ao4zdr-mYzsUAtWuy9i8KNcK6jgVfyo7L2opwhz2gMJCSMJXULnDBFh-4QN9GDiVQ-zXaqF-a_Egl">“strive for distinction”</a> in their performance. </p>
<p>Conformity and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16138171.2021.1878436?src=recsys">self-sacrifice</a> can also help athletes earn respect or a sense of belonging in a sporting space, while silencing their voices. Even recognising coaching tactics as abusive or harmful can be difficult, precisely because athletes are meant to trust their coaches. </p>
<h2>Awareness of abuse</h2>
<p>Another difficulty when discussing the distinction between coaching and abuse is that many people, including athletes, wrongly assume abuse is only a physical thing.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://sites.edgehill.ac.uk/cpss/files/2021/11/UK-NATIONAL-REPORT.pdf">UK National Report of Child Abuse in Sport</a> revealed that 73% of respondents reported interpersonal violence as a child, with psychological forms of violence responsible for the highest number of incidents. These findings show that nonphysical abuse from coaches is prevalent, though many victims may not recognise it as abuse, or are reluctant to label it as such.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="View from behind of a football manager yelling at players on the pitch during a match" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546672/original/file-20230906-25-musdi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546672/original/file-20230906-25-musdi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546672/original/file-20230906-25-musdi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546672/original/file-20230906-25-musdi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546672/original/file-20230906-25-musdi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546672/original/file-20230906-25-musdi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546672/original/file-20230906-25-musdi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tough love on the field, but where should the line be drawn?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/professional-soccer-football-match-championship-on-2253025023">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As I discuss in <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003349266/qualitative-researcher-vulnerability-bryan-clift-ioannis-costas-batlle-sheree-bekker-katharina-chudzikowski">my research</a>, I didn’t realise that my time in MMA gyms was somewhat traumatic until after I finished my research, precisely because nothing physical ever happened. However, I did always have a strange “feeling” when I was at the gym. </p>
<p>I wish I had been able to share these feelings with fellow athletes. I wish I felt brave enough to say “stop” (or to return a “fuck off!”). I wish I didn’t carry so much shame with me. </p>
<p>However, athletes may not be able to have these conversations if the perpetrator is someone in a welfare role (including the coaching staff and other team administrators and support staff). Reports of institutional <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64391791">sexism and misogyny in Welsh rugby</a> and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/aug/21/luis-rubiales-kiss-outrage-spanish-football-fa-president-womens-world-cup-final-spain-jenni-hermoso">Spanish football president</a> Luis Rubiales’ nonconsensual kiss of a female player show that, often, the sport’s governing body is part of the problem. With such stories in the headlines, athletes have little hope that reporting an incident would even be dealt with.</p>
<p>Coaches passing a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1059974/Quick_Guide_to_DBS_Checks.pdf">Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check</a>, or an online module on sexual harassment is not enough to make changes to the blurred boundaries between “tough” coaching and harm which are deeply embedded in sporting culture. </p>
<p>More conversations are needed about the possibility of violence and abuse in coach-athlete relationships, and to support athletes to trust themselves if something feels wrong. There should also be clear protocols for reporting behaviour, regardless of the level and type of sport played. </p>
<p>“Blood, sweat and tears” is a well-known phrase when it comes to sporting glory, but it shouldn’t be an instruction manual.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoe John received funding from The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to undergo her doctoral research. </span></em></p>Athletes and coaches often describe abusive behaviour as ‘tough love’.Zoe John, Lecturer in Criminology, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125362023-09-10T20:05:52Z2023-09-10T20:05:52Z7 red flags your teen might be in an abusive relationship – and 6 signs it’s escalating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547111/original/file-20230908-17-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C34%2C5716%2C3733&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/back-silhouette-couple-walking-holding-hands-256187347">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian teens need adults to help them recognise red flags for potentially abusive relationships.</p>
<p>The Australian Bureau of Statistics <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-australia-2019/contents/summary">estimates</a> 2.2 million adults have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence from a partner since the age of 15. Almost <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">one in three Australian teens</a> aged 18–19 report experiences of intimate partner violence in the previous year. </p>
<p>But physical, sexual, or psychological abuse in teen intimate relationships remains an invisible issue. The <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">First National Action Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children</a> fails to mention it at all and
<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08861099221108381">Australia lacks</a> youth-specific domestic violence support services. </p>
<p>We know teens are experiencing intimate partner violence that is putting their lives in danger. But they are dependent on <a href="http://rcfv.archive.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/">informal networks</a> for assistance. Abuse can impact all parts of their lives and their age and stage of development make them even more vulnerable to its effects. </p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">interviewed</a> 17 young people about their experiences of teen intimate partner violence from when they were under 18. They wanted support and insight from the adults around them.</p>
<h2>‘I hadn’t experienced a proper relationship before’</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(19)30815-8/fulltext">Limited relationship experience</a> can prevent young people identifying red flags for intimate partner violence. Interviewee Elise said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a young teen, I hadn’t experienced a proper relationship before; I just kind of thought this is how it is.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While physical and sexual violence cross clear lines, <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/it-depends-on-what-the-definition-of-domestic-violence-is-how-young-people-conceptualise-domestic-violence-and-abuse/">Australian teens</a> report difficulty recognising more subtle forms of violence and control, such as emotional and technology-facilitated abuse. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-has-released-its-action-plans-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children-will-they-be-enough-211606">The government has released its action plans to end violence against women and children. Will they be enough?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>7 red flags that can happen early</h2>
<p>Young people identified red flags in their past intimate relationships and described how difficult it was to see them in the moment. On their own these behaviours and actions may not be problematic. For example, spending lots of time together is a relatively normal part of a new intimate relationship.</p>
<p>But concern should arise when these behaviours become part of a pattern. They can become integrated into everyday life, making them difficult to recognise – and they can escalate over time. Here are some examples of red flags for teen intimate relationships that can begin a pattern of violence and abuse:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>being together all the time, using technology to monitor location when not together and a sense of always “being on call”</p></li>
<li><p>sharing passwords to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563219304315">social media accounts</a> or devices (or setting up shared profiles)</p></li>
<li><p>turning up unannounced or “as a surprise”</p></li>
<li><p>saying “I love you” very early in the relationship, talking about living together or having children. This is sometimes called “<a href="https://www.thehotline.org/resources/signs-of-love-bombing/">love bombing</a>”</p></li>
<li><p>showering with gifts and grand gestures</p></li>
<li><p>contacting someone’s friends or family to find out where they are</p></li>
<li><p>framing controlling behaviours as “care” or “concern”.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Young person Gina said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We had a joint Facebook [account], because I wasn’t allowed to really talk to people without him seeing it […] He had to have the password.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ingrid’s partner framed control as care:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He’d just perpetually check where I am, and then sometimes he’d just turn up […] He’d be like, ‘I’m just checking that you’re safe.’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If a teen begins to feel like their autonomy and freedom to make choices are being restricted, it is a clear cause for concern. Jamie said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I didn’t have contribution into simple things like what movie to watch.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sam felt like they had to spend time with their partner, even if they didn’t want to: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d spend hours […] just watching them play video games, because I didn’t feel like I could go and do something else […] And I hate video games.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/think-you-might-be-dating-a-vulnerable-narcissist-look-out-for-these-red-flags-205565">Think you might be dating a 'vulnerable narcissist'? Look out for these red flags</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>6 red flags that suggest escalation</h2>
<p>Increasingly problematic (but still difficult to see) behaviours include: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>framing the relationship as unique or fated, such as saying the partner is the only person who truly understands them and nobody else could ever “love you like I do” </p></li>
<li><p>isolating a partner by making it difficult for them to spend time with others </p></li>
<li><p>assuming sexual activity will happen because “they are in a relationship”</p></li>
<li><p>framing feelings of jealousy as evidence of love</p></li>
<li><p>“suggesting” how they should dress or look or encouraging exercise or diet changes </p></li>
<li><p>insults passed off as “just a joke”.</p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="teen couple sits together on pier near water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wanting to spend lots of time together is normal in a loving relationship. But patterns of control are not.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/holidays-vacation-love-people-concept-happy-572926015">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-couldnt-escape-i-wasnt-entirely-sure-i-wanted-to-confusing-messages-about-consent-in-young-adult-fantasy-fiction-156961">'I couldn’t escape. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to': confusing messages about consent in young adult fantasy fiction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How can you help?</h2>
<p><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/2mIMCL7rNltR83rxJc5_OOF?domain=academic.oup.com">Research shows</a> parents are in a unique position to support teens to foster healthy relationships. Interviewee Addison was among those asking for guidance:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Anybody that can see the relationship [has] red flags. Anybody that is worried for me, I want them to tell me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Safe and reliable adults can act as role models, ensure safety, involve professionals and empower teens to build safe and healthy relationships.</p>
<p>We can do this by building trusting, open relationships with the teens in our lives, giving them a chance to talk and listening without judgement. If your teenager does not want to talk to you, help them find another person to talk to instead. It’s important to remember they may not respond the way we hope, but providing support and talking about relationships <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/C6LCCMwv0mfqmJ1KQUNkx6d?domain=journals.sagepub.com">can decrease the risk</a> of them ending up in an abusive relationship.</p>
<p>And we need a national plan to prevent and respond to teen intimate partner violence. It is not the responsibility of teens or their families to solve this issue. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you suspect your teen is in an abusive relationship, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) for advice and information. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact 000.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stuck-in-a-talking-stage-or-situationship-how-young-people-can-get-more-out-of-modern-love-200914">Stuck in a 'talking stage' or 'situationship'? How young people can get more out of modern love</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anglicare Tasmania funded the original research project where data for this article was collected.</span></em></p>Teenagers are experiencing intimate partner violence and abuse that is putting their lives in danger. And they want help from others to spot the early warning signs.Carmel Hobbs, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2098962023-07-19T10:07:02Z2023-07-19T10:07:02Z‘Boundaries’ or coercive control? Experts explain how to tell the difference<p>In a series of Instagram Stories shared on July 9, professional surfer and law student Sarah Brady, made comments on her past relationship with actor Jonah Hill. She labelled him a “misogynistic narcissist” and accused him of “emotional abuse”. To make her case, she shared <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/film/what-did-jonah-hill-do-all-the-accusations-explained-34678850">a series of screenshots</a> allegedly showing texts Hill sent to her during their relationship.</p>
<p>Emotional abuse was incorporated into the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/contents/enacted">Serious Crime Act</a> in 2015 and the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/17/contents/enacted">Domestic Abuse Act</a> in 2021. These landmark laws criminalised coercive and controlling behaviour in England and Wales. They have also sparked a growing awareness of what constitutes an “unhealthy” versus a “healthy” relationship.</p>
<p>According to the texts shared by Brady, Hill had a series of prohibitions for her behaviour during their relationship. He described these as his “boundaries”. They included surfing with men, modelling, posting pictures of herself in a bathing suit, posting “sexual pictures” and having friendships with “unstable” women.</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-barefoot-boy-summer-trend-bad-for-your-feet-experts-explain-208901?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&?utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Is the ‘barefoot-boy summer’ trend bad for your feet? Experts explain</a></em></p>
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<hr>
<p>There are several potential problems with this list of banned activities, especially for someone who makes their living as a professional surfer. The terms “sexual pictures” and “unstable” are also not clearly defined, so may have been subject to the judgment of Hill who allegedly created this list of “requirements” for their relationship. </p>
<p>Hill has not publicly responded to the allegations and his publicist did not respond to our request for comment.</p>
<h2>Were Jonah Hill’s “boundaries” a form of coercive control?</h2>
<p>It could be argued that these required “boundaries” fall under one of the examples of controlling or coercive behaviour outlined in the UK Domestic Abuse Act.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Controlling or monitoring the victim’s daily activities and behaviour, including making them account for their time, dictating what they can wear, what and when they can eat, when and where they may sleep.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In her book <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Where-to-Draw-the-Line/Anne-Katherine/9780684868066">Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Day</a>, psychotherapist Anne Katherine defines boundaries as: “A limit that promotes integrity” with the purpose of “protecting every treasured aspect of your life”. It’s hard to argue that Hill’s alleged list fits within these terms.</p>
<p>The breakthrough features of the Serious Crime Act and the Domestic Abuse Act were in recognising that psychological and emotional abuse can alone constitute possible criminal behaviour.</p>
<p>The crime of controlling or coercive behaviour does not have to be accompanied by physical violence and instead a pattern of psychological control can be enough for a prosecution. Such a pattern transcends any single incident which viewed on its own and out of context might not capture the full nature and impact of the coercive control.</p>
<p>There is inadequate information to assess the relationship of Hill and Brady or to comment on whether he was behaving like a “misogynistic narcissist” as Brady alleges. The publicity around this case can, however, hopefully usefully contribute to considerations of what constitutes healthy relationships, how to set healthy boundaries and avoid coercive and controlling behaviour in relationships.</p>
<h2>What counts as psychological abuse</h2>
<p>Psychological or emotional abuse (as defined in the Domestic Abuse Act) can include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>manipulating a person’s anxieties or beliefs or abusing a position of trust</p></li>
<li><p>hostile behaviour or silent treatment as part of a pattern of behaviour to make the victim feel fearful</p></li>
<li><p>being insulted, including in front of others. This includes undermining an person’s ability to parent or ability to work</p></li>
<li><p>keeping a victim awake</p></li>
<li><p>using violence or threats towards pets to intimidate the victim and cause distress</p></li>
<li><p>threatening to harm third parties</p></li>
<li><p>using social media sites to intimidate the victim</p></li>
<li><p>persuading a victim to doubt their own sanity (known as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/gaslighting-from-partners-to-politicians-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim-121828">gaslighting</a>”).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These are clearly “red flags” for psychological abuse, so if someone is experiencing them, they would be well advised to read the rest of the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1089015/Domestic_Abuse_Act_2021_Statutory_Guidance.pdf">statutory guidance</a> for the Domestic Abuse Act and to seek help from others. Isolation, in particular, is a key feature in <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/coercive-control-9780195384048?cc=gb&lang=en&">maintaining coercive control</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.theduluthmodel.org/">Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs</a> (an initiative based in the US that works toward ending violence against women) created the widely used Duluth Power and Control Wheel model to describe coercive relationships. The contrasting Equality Wheel describes positive healthy relationships. </p>
<p>These contrasting models compare the use of emotional abuse versus respect. They weigh up factors such as male privilege versus shared responsibility and using coercion and threats versus negotiation and fairness. The latter is described as: “seeking mutually satisfying resolutions to conflict, accepting change, and being willing to compromise”.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5OrAdC6ySiY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An explanation of the Power and Control Wheel.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Conflict between couples is inevitable and can be healthy. But the willingness to work toward finding mutually satisfying resolutions to conflict lays the foundation for a healthy relationship. The willingness to compromise hints at the acceptability of sometimes “giving in” for the sake of the relationship. Especially if it does not violate the person’s boundaries in the sense of compromising their sense of personal or individual integrity – as Brady appears to be arguing was the case in her relationship with Hill.</p>
<p>People who are experiencing coercive control may not identify with how it is described. For this reason, family members and friends can be of immense help in providing feedback in a gentle, supportive and non-confrontational manner. They can also refer loved ones to domestic abuse charities and mental health professionals. </p>
<p>Recognising how healthy boundaries in a relationship can cross the line into coercion and control can be difficult. But the law on controlling and coercive behaviour provides a good guide to help spot when that line has been crossed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209896/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Dubrow-Marshall PhD is a counselling and clinical psychologist (HCPC registered) and co-founded the Re-Entry Therapy, Information and Referral Network (RETIRN/UK) which offers advice and counselling to individuals and families affected by coercive relationships and groups. Linda is also the Mental Health Committee Chair of the International Cultic Studies Association and has received funding, along with Rod Dubrow-Marshall, from the Economic and Social Research Council for Manchester Festival of Social Science events related to coercive control in 2017 and 2020-23.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rod Dubrow-Marshall PhD is a Professor, psychologist and co-founder of the Re-Entry Therapy, Information and Referral Network (RETIRN/UK) which offers advice and counselling to individuals and families affected by coercive relationships and groups. Rod is also a Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Research Committee and Network of the International Cultic Studies Association and is also the Co-Editor of the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse and Manipulation. He has also received funding, along with Linda Dubrow-Marshall, from the Economic and Social Research Council for Manchester Festival of Social Science events related to coercive control in 2017 and 2020-23.</span></em></p>According to the texts shared by his ex girlfriend, Jonah Hill had a series of prohibitions for her behaviour during their relationship. He described these as his ‘boundaries’.Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Psychologist and Programme Leader, University of SalfordRod Dubrow-Marshall, Psychologist and Programme Leader, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2099972023-07-18T17:11:50Z2023-07-18T17:11:50ZDele Alli abuse revelations highlight how professional footballers suffer greater mental health risks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538029/original/file-20230718-21-56n78p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1728%2C358%2C4345%2C2493&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dele playing for England in 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/englands-footballer-dele-alli-during-12-1132795100">Dokshin Vlad/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everton footballer Dele Alli released an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyDL9EUIdy0">emotional interview with pundit and former player Gary Neville,</a> on July 13. The video was a poignant reminder of the difficult upbringings experienced by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2015.1012544?casa_token=JrlyWujRijkAAAAA%3AS6o0HK4ArYn0O2_yqcZtYvtNJMOXCPNu4Ax7TVti3PgNWZF8_4QmO3oR8hpIRvHWDTJmQidCLmk">many professional footballers</a> and the long-term impact on their mental health, both within and outside of the sport.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Dele Alli’s interview with Gary Neville.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dele (who has <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/10533658/dele-alli-reveals-personal-reason-for-tottenham-shirt-name-change">distanced himself from his surname</a>) discussed a range of shocking experiences including being a victim of sexual abuse, dealing drugs at the age of eight, and being hung off a bridge by an adult at the age of 11. Unsurprisingly, Dele shared that this trauma has had a significant effect on his mental health, including an addiction to sleeping tablets.</p>
<p>Alongside this, Dele has faced significant issues within football in recent years. This meant he went from being seen as one of the <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/10848178/tottenhams-dele-alli-crowned-pfa-young-player-of-the-year">most talented young players</a> of his generation to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12294559/Dele-Alli-considered-retiring-football-24-Jose-Mourinho-dropped-Tottenham.html">reconsidering his future</a> in the game at just 24 years old. </p>
<p>These revelations are an important reminder to everyone connected with football – from clubs, coaches and players, though to fans and the media – of the vulnerability of some of the most high-profile people within the sport and the risks they face in terms of exploitation.</p>
<h2>Abuse and trauma</h2>
<p>The most shocking headline from Dele’s interview was his disclosure of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66187943">being sexually abused at six years old</a>. Speaking to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/23069764/football-stars-drugs-gambling-addiction/">The Sun</a>, Dele’s biological mother has denied knowing about the childhood abuse he experienced. </p>
<p>While there have been encouraging advances in understanding <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740911004166?casa_token=JVFiwNXOUN4AAAAA:zQpVs-ZZtiQDLouaXZqW8Txx7v4bj_0p_DAJI79-WZ1UbCi7YhKVg5d5IQtSKTnqOSZ_7cFhj-E">sexual abuse of boys in sport</a>, studies have focused on different forms of maltreatment that have occurred <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/1/4.abstract?casa_token=ofwQQPSQkBIAAAAA:YxN2FHr3WSJmSbmA_gHwjfAr8FyBoHvXp-fotvdnB7uAsir3RsJLcCZgnB5ks_F71PxRhUmIANRV">within this environment</a>. This does not account for the experiences of sportspeople either before they enter the game, or when they are at home.</p>
<p>Given the established <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1524838017697312">barriers to reporting sexual abuse for men</a> and the challenges footballers face when <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029222000450">whistleblowing</a>, the potential effects on the mental health and vulnerability of players are stark.</p>
<p>Dele highlighted the impact of the trauma of his childhood on his mental health and subsequent addiction to sleeping tablets. This reemphasises the vulnerable nature of many professional footballers’ mental health. Common mental disorders (such as distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and adverse alcohol use) <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029216302345?casa_token=adpCUwrmVp8AAAAA:h69teBuFRSrtlR-4wqB5Ovtr7Vn1lzxxIXILsvY_mHGDC84fUc1vC-oqe0Xmj8xXm7Dchug7eGs">are experienced more frequently</a> by footballers than in the general population.</p>
<p>When coupled with findings that suggest professional footballers suppress their emotions to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1469029221000017#:%7E:text=3.-,Results,effects%20and%20abuse%20and%20intimidation.">conform to the masculine culture</a> of the sport, there is significant concern for players’ wellbeing. </p>
<p>The scale of Dele’s trauma explains why he might have sought refuge in sleeping pills. As his interview highlighted, those who provide these tablets illegitimately can take advantage of vulnerable players.</p>
<h2>Football’s response to these issues</h2>
<p>Dele’s interview has reinforced the need for education to <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/7/2/e001070.abstract">encourage players to seek help</a>. His revelations also highlight the need for professional football clubs to be mindful of the experiences of players as they join their academies and to consider that maltreatment of these individuals may occur within the game.</p>
<p>Dele revealed that he had doubts about his career when he was dropped by then-Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho. This shows the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0950017006064113?casa_token=XkTsdXJwJfIAAAAA:z9JHHdPuFzgPvKx5G3fcTwyAJhyY49Fks5PVfPXRLyL1q4rhXp6wNSLaz7gWdHTMGiMRpBI8VoqAPw">impact of the fear of rejection</a>. For players coming from difficult upbringings, this could become even more of an issue for their mental health and wellbeing. Clubs need to be aware of how these players may be affected by things which may normally be perceived as “part of the game”.</p>
<p>As Dele’s interview shows, professional footballers should be considered an “at-risk” group for being maltreated, particularly in relation to exploitation from other people within football and the media. Therefore, those within the game need to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029222000267">consider the risks</a> in relation to aspects of the sport such as player loans, where footballers may be placed in unfamiliar environments, as well as the broader culture of the sport where reporting wrongdoing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029222000450">can be challenging</a>.</p>
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<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Newman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dele discussed a range of shocking experiences including being a victim of sexual abuse, dealing drugs at the age of eight, and being hung off a bridge by an adult at the age of 11.James Newman, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067252023-05-31T15:44:03Z2023-05-31T15:44:03ZTina Turner: the singer’s resilience and defiance were typical of a survivor of intimate partner abuse<p>There was something elemental about the ferocity of Tina Turner’s stage strut and the grit in her voice. <a href="https://theconversation.com/tina-turner-an-immense-talent-with-a-voice-and-back-catalogue-that-unites-disparate-music-lovers-206526">Her death last week</a>, aged 83, was met with an outpouring of tributes celebrating her musical prowess. But as we mourn her passing, it’s worth noting that Tina was also a model survivor of intimate partner violence.</p>
<p>In 1981, following her split from husband Ike Turner, Tina Turner began to speak openly about the years of abuse she had endured during their marriage. No charges related to domestic abuse were ever brought, and Ike Turner <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Takin_Back_My_Name/bR5djgEACAAJ?hl=en">denied the accusations</a>. Yet, over the decades Turner told a story familiar and inspiring to many other survivors.</p>
<p>Turner is rightly held up as a <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/tina-turner-ike-domestic-abuse-survivors-1234741396/">trailblazer for speaking publicly about her experience</a> of intimate partner violence. But media coverage of Ike and Tina’s relationship has often solely focused on Ike’s physical violence.</p>
<p>Physical violence sells newspapers. It’s easy for observers to understand and widely considered the worst form of abuse by those who have never experienced it. When Turner <a href="https://people.com/tina-turner-recalled-escaping-ike-turner-abusive-marriage-1981-people-interview-7503995">first spoke publicly</a> about her experience in the early 1980s, “domestic violence” was thought of as episodic physical assault, perhaps triggered by stress or even by the victim themselves.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://the-world-of-tina.com/i-tina-my-life-story---book.html">Turner’s accounts of her relationship</a> revealed a pattern of coercive control. This understanding of abuse is something <a href="https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice-points/coercion-and-control-more-to-do/5115944.article">the world is still trying to catch up with</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Ike and Tina Turner holding guitars in a black and white photograph." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529137/original/file-20230530-15-wrzx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ike and Tina Turner on the cover of Cash Box magazine in June 1962.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ike_%26_Tina_Turner_-_Cash_Box_1962.jpg">Cash Box</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Not only was Ike physically and sexually violent, but he ensnared Turner in a web of other <a href="https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheels/">controlling tactics</a>, including financial control, emotional manipulation, control of her identity and a pattern of charm and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/social-instincts/202212/how-to-tell-if-its-love-or-love-bombing#:%7E:text=Love%2Dbombing%20is%20a%20form,to%20be%20in%20constant%20control.">“love-bombing”</a>.</p>
<p>It is this web of domination over victims that disempowers them and often prevents them from leaving a violent relationship. <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Journeys/ucdSDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">Many survivors</a> report the emotional and psychological strategies of abuse as the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Coercive_Control/14x_zwEACAAJ?hl=en">longest lasting and most damaging</a> elements of an abusive relationship. For experts in the field of intimate partner violence, Ike’s behaviour is textbook coercive control.</p>
<p>What makes Turner’s escape inspiring is the many layers of threat she faced and resisted beyond physical violence.</p>
<h2>A strong (and vulnerable) black woman</h2>
<p>Much of the media coverage of Turner’s victim-survivor status overlooks the fact that as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J015v25n03_11?casa_token=dPGdaafPGfUAAAAA:LENqaPgGcV-Q8dRlXdb_bNB8cz1s_488VEXzdDCpfY3BADgIVJixdFzN2s67wDjCIB6WIF5Ox5Yrhw">a black woman she walked a fine line in speaking publicly</a> about her experiences.</p>
<p>Research has repeatedly found that <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Coercive_Control/JgxZEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">intersectional issues</a> are faced by black women who speak out and seek support for abuse. <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/On_Intersectionality/Jkk2DgAAQBAJ?hl=en">Intersectionality</a> describes multiple challenges or disadvantages faced by an individual with overlapping social identities, such as being a black woman. Stereotypes are one example. </p>
<p>In criminological theory, the stereotypical “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-08305-3_2">ideal victim</a>” is perceived as weak and submissive. This stereotype has been attached to the notion of the “battered woman” even though it does not match most <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Coercive_Control/14x_zwEACAAJ?hl=en">survivor experiences of resistance</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OPF9WW7pDVw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Tina Turner speaking about the abuse she experienced.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There remains a widespread lack of understanding of abuse survivors as resourceful and resilient – as opposed to weak. The stereotype of the “strong black woman”, who is fiercely loving, feisty and independent is even more <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Battle_Cries/AlW5wAEACAAJ?hl=en">at odds with the “battered woman”</a> trope. Many <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Compelled_to_Crime/2z1D5Lt9eCAC?hl=en">black female survivors are criminalised</a> as a result of this dissonance. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX8t-a-Ny3w">black male identity</a> is likewise affected by deeply embedded stereotypes. Most survivors, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPF9WW7pDVw">including Turner</a>, offer loyalty as a reason for keeping abuse private, fearing social repercussions if their partner is labelled as an abuser.</p>
<p>Speaking out publicly as a black woman was complex for Turner, and as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cso1TgJrbZf/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==">other black women have expressed</a>, her bravery and steadfastness has inspired many others to follow suit.</p>
<h2>More than a survivor</h2>
<p>As <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/how-tina-turner-inspired-domestic-violence-survivors-but-never-let-abuse-define-her-12889335">media coverage</a> over recent days has pointed out, Turner refused to be defined by her experiences. In this regard, she is typical of a survivor of abuse, not an exception.</p>
<p>Stereotypes of abuse victims as weak and submissive often lead to popular coverage which assumes that victimhood dominates a survivor’s social identity. In <a href="https://www.shu.ac.uk/helena-kennedy-centre-international-justice/postgraduate-study/student-research-sarah-tatton">my research</a>, however, survivors often tell me that they “refused to be a victim”. What they mean as they discuss their circumstances is that they are so much more than the stereotypical “victim” of domestic abuse.</p>
<p>Turner was the epitome of the victim-survivor, breaking free and living her life to the full. Not all victims are privileged to have the resources to live a rockstar lifestyle. On the contrary, many are left financially destitute and often have their reputation dismantled, but all are far more than “victims”.</p>
<p>In the month before she died, Turner <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/08/tina-turner-interview">was asked how she wanted to be remembered</a>. For all the inspiration and the enormous influence she had as a survivor of intimate partner abuse, she wanted to be remembered for the person she was and the work she did – as the queen of rock and roll.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Sarah Tatton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Much of the media coverage of Tina Turner’s victim-survivor status overlooks the fact that as a black woman she walked a fine line in speaking publicly about her experiences.Dr Sarah Tatton, PhD Candidate and Associate Lecturer in Criminology, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055622023-05-18T05:29:22Z2023-05-18T05:29:22ZGovernment’s family law bill is a big step forward. But it doesn’t do enough to address family violence<p>The Labor government’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7011">Family Law Amendment Bill 2023</a> is making its way quietly through Australia’s federal parliament. It will become one of the most important laws passed this year.</p>
<p>It <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/bill_em/flab2023204/index.html">proposes to</a> overhaul the family law system to make it “safer and simpler for separating families to navigate, and ensure the best interests of children are placed at its centre”. </p>
<p>We should celebrate the fact this bill is passing through parliament. It shows the government has responded to <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/no-straight-lines-self-represented-litigants-in-family-law-proceedings-involving-allegations-about-family-violence/">insistent calls for change</a> to protect families. </p>
<p>But here’s why it doesn’t go far enough in addressing family violence.</p>
<h2>What’s the bill for?</h2>
<p>The bill will make important changes to the rules that govern parenting arrangements after separation.</p>
<p>It will remove the presumption of “<a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s61da.html">equal shared parental responsibility</a>”. Under the current law, this presumption means both parents have a role in making major, long-term decisions about their children.</p>
<p>However, it’s often misinterpreted. <a href="https://consultations.ag.gov.au/families-and-marriage/family-law-amendment-bill/consultation/view_respondent?_b_index=240&uuId=931667378">Many people believe</a> it means parents are entitled to equal time with their children, regardless of domestic and family violence or abuse.</p>
<p>This bill will finally make it clear that equal time isn’t always appropriate or safe for families with a history of abuse.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1655807754471342080"}"></div></p>
<h2>The problem of family violence</h2>
<p>The grim reality is that family violence is the norm, not the exception in family law. <a href="https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-11/mr101121_0.pdf">Recent data</a> shows well over half of cases before the family court involve allegations of family violence against children or one parent.</p>
<p>Separation often doesn’t mean an end to the violence, but <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1084682">more harm and control</a>, especially at contact changeover times for children or during the court process.</p>
<p>Helen Politis, a victim-survivor of abuse and veteran of the family law system explains what this meant for her:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The reign of chaos my children and I experienced prior to separation escalated post separation. Even worse was that this damaging behaviour was inadvertently enabled, legitimised, perpetuated and, I fear, normalised for my children.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Victim-survivors face a <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2123/6255">common belief from family law professionals</a> that children need a relationship with their father, no matter the abuse they have suffered. As Helen explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Despite the overwhelming evidence of continued abuse and countless examples of the ways in which my children were being used as pawns, my own lawyers denied my situation. Routinely my desperate pleas to my lawyers were met with dismissive responses such as “it takes two to tango” and “you can’t clap with one hand”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is even worse when the system itself is deliberately used by perpetrators to control and intimidate victim-survivors. Research in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748895817728380">Australia</a> and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/895175/domestic-abuse-private-law-children-cases-literature-review.pdf">the United Kingdom</a> demonstrates this “legal systems abuse” is common in family law. </p>
<p>For Helen, the legal system was a core component of family violence:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Being caught in the family law system felt very dangerous. I was in an impossible situation, with no way out and no way of protecting my children.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What needs to be done?</h2>
<p>This bill makes important progress, but there are two main reasons why it doesn’t go far enough. </p>
<p><strong>It must allow histories of violence</strong></p>
<p>First, the bill needs to be stronger in recognising where family violence has occurred. </p>
<p>In the bill, there will be six principles to help judges, lawyers and parents decide what arrangements would be in children’s best interests. The bill includes reference to “safety” as one of these six principles, but at the same time proposes to remove a <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s60cc.html">reference in the current law</a> to a history of violence in considering the best interests of children. </p>
<p>Simplification of the law shouldn’t come at the cost of harm. As family law expert Zoe Rathus from Griffith University explains: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Talking about safety is talking about the future. Talking about violence is talking about the past – and talking about the past is critical to women and children being able to tell their stories when they have experienced family violence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There’s significant evidence that many <a href="https://theconversation.com/separated-parents-and-the-family-law-system-what-does-the-evidence-say-62826">victim-survivors’</a> allegations of family violence aren’t believed, and their experiences are <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.702873923415841">minimised in the family law system</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/separated-parents-and-the-family-law-system-what-does-the-evidence-say-62826">Separated parents and the family law system: what does the evidence say?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Helen’s own lawyers advised her not to raise her experiences of past family violence in her case, for fear it would be held against her: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I believed that the family law system would provide my children with the safety and support that they rightfully deserved. What I experienced was an incredibly lengthy, frightening and financially depleting process. Family violence is what led me into the family law system, yet despite the irrefutable evidence, it was routinely ignored.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As it stands, this bill reinforces this problem. It suggests we should ignore information and evidence about past violence, and pretend it isn’t relevant to the future safety of victim-survivors or the children at the heart of these arrangements. </p>
<p>To address this, the bill should retain the provision that allows evidence of any family violence to be considered. </p>
<p><strong>It must recognise ‘legal systems abuse’</strong></p>
<p>Second, the bill needs to do more to address <a href="https://dfvbenchbook.aija.org.au/understanding-domestic-and-family-violence/systems-abuse/">legal systems abuse</a>. </p>
<p>A major achievement of this bill is it will introduce a new power for judges to make orders that stop people bringing court proceedings where it would cause harm to the other family members involved.</p>
<p>However, it needs to go further. The bill needs to reflect global evidence and finally recognise “systems abuse” as a form of family violence. </p>
<p>Systems abuse could be explicitly listed as an example of family violence in the <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s4ab.html">Family Law Act 1975</a>, as recommended by a recent unpublished study by Lucy Foster from Monash University. </p>
<p>We believe the bill could add systems abuse into the existing definition of family violence used in law.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-simple-solution-when-families-meet-the-law-58641">No simple solution when families meet the law</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s important parliament takes this opportunity to get our family laws as strong as possible on the issue of family violence. </p>
<p>We support Helen in her hope for this new law:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Although too late for me and my children… I am hopeful this time we have the courage to step up and deliver a Family Law Act that does not further damage the lives of vulnerable people. Simple changes such as recognising past violence can make all the difference. The proposed changes do not seem to go far enough to address the harms inflicted on vulnerable people before the family law system, overwhelmingly women and children.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge Helen Politis, who coauthored this article. Helen is a workplace advisor and advocate. She works with organisations, including 1800 Respect and the Judicial College of Victoria towards ending family violence.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205562/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Becky Batagol provided advice to Zoe Daniels MP on the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023. Helen Politis provided statements and input to the solutions proposed for this story based upon her lived experience of family violence in the family law system. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Mant provided advice to Zoe Daniels MP on the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023.</span></em></p>We should celebrate that this bill is passing through parliament. But there are 2 key concerns.Becky Batagol, Associate Professor of Law, Monash University, Monash UniversityJessica Mant, Lecturer in Law, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2049932023-05-11T12:13:14Z2023-05-11T12:13:14ZHow did abuse get baked into the restaurant industry?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525468/original/file-20230510-27-ec428f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=229%2C7%2C4882%2C3395&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many restaurant workers see violence as a core aspect of a hardscrabble kitchen culture that has existed for generations.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/dirty-chefs-leaning-against-stove-royalty-free-image/84303248?phrase=busy+restaurant+kitchen&adppopup=true">Jetta Productions/David Atkinson via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/dining/barbara-lynch-boston-workplace-abuse.html">The New York Times</a> and <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/20/business/barbara-lynchs-restaurants-growing-concern-over-toxic-culture/">The Boston Globe</a> recently published exposés in which employees of award-winning chef Barbara Lynch described their abusive work environments, we weren’t surprised. </p>
<p>Anyone who has spent years working in restaurants probably wouldn’t be surprised, either.</p>
<p>As sociologists who study the culinary industry and its workers, we recently published research showing that many kitchen staffers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170231159845">come to view mistreatment and abuse as a mundane</a> – and often inevitable – part of working in restaurants.</p>
<h2>‘Showers of slaps’ and ‘grab-ass’</h2>
<p>Much of the reporting provided damning accounts of Lynch’s own behavior – her alleged mistreatment of employees, tirades, threats, groping and sexual innuendos.</p>
<p>But while Lynch may be in the spotlight today, she and her alleged behaviors are, unfortunately, closer to business as usual in restaurant kitchens, where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211005138">a culture of violence has been normalized</a>.</p>
<p>Numerous articles and chef memoirs dating as far back as the late 1800s have detailed everyday forms of abuse in restaurants. For example, pioneering French restaurateur Auguste Escoffier wrote <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2004262">in his memoir</a> that his first chef “believed that it was impossible to govern a kitchen ‘sans une pluie de gifles’” – without a shower of slaps.</p>
<p>Some, such as Anthony Bourdain’s memoir “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/kitchen-confidential-updated-ed-anthony-bourdain?variant=32154105413666">Kitchen Confidential</a>,” even romanticize these behaviors. At one point, Bourdain fondly recalls a kitchen he worked in early in his career as having an “atmosphere [that] was not unlike a Pinero play, very jailhouse, with a lot of grab-ass, heated argument, hypermacho posturing and drunken ranting. Two burly men who’d just as soon kill you as look at you, when talking to each other, would often nestle a hand tenderly next to the testicles of the other, as if to say, ‘I am so not gay – I can even do this!’”</p>
<p>The allegations against Lynch are only the latest in a long string of high-profile chefs and restaurateurs who have been accused of cultivating similar physically, psychologically and sexually violent workspaces. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/dining/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-lawsuits-settles.html">Mario Batali</a>, for instance, was accused in 2019 by an employee of groping and indecency, charges that he was acquitted of in 2022 and resolved with a civil settlement. </p>
<p>Oakland chef <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/10/07/767901018/this-chef-says-hes-faced-his-metoo-offenses-now-he-wants-a-second-chance">Charlie Hallowell</a> and New York restaurateur <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/dining/ken-friedman-sexual-harassment.html">Ken Friedman</a> also came under fire during the #MeToo era, with each accused of sexual harassment and assault. Hallowell ended up selling two of his restaurants and penned a <a href="https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/10/12/charlie-hallowell-publishes-open-apology-moves-forward-with-berkeley-restaurant-opening">public apology</a>, while Friedman <a href="https://la.eater.com/2022/8/25/23320499/horses-los-angeles-ken-friedman-stephen-light-ownership">shuttered a flagship restaurant and paid claims to 11 former employees</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Portrait of balding man wearing suit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525464/original/file-20230510-18623-pd1pws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525464/original/file-20230510-18623-pd1pws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525464/original/file-20230510-18623-pd1pws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525464/original/file-20230510-18623-pd1pws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525464/original/file-20230510-18623-pd1pws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525464/original/file-20230510-18623-pd1pws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525464/original/file-20230510-18623-pd1pws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Celebrity chef Mario Batali leaves Boston Municipal Court following an arraignment on a charge of indecent assault and battery in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/celebrity-chef-mario-batali-leaves-boston-municipal-court-news-photo/1145823290?adppopup=true">Scott Eisen/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our own research, we wanted to learn more about how workers deal with toxic kitchen culture. Do they ever push back? Do they flee? Or do they put their heads down and simply rationalize it as part of what they signed up for?</p>
<h2>If you can’t take the heat …</h2>
<p>There are obvious economic realities that prevent many from leaving violent workspaces. After all, most everyone has bills to pay. </p>
<p>Quitting is also hard in light of the other upsides to professional cooking, such as creativity and freedom, sensory stimulation and reciprocal joy from watching a satisfied customer eat. One sous chef we spoke with described the latter as “life-changing to me. It was addicting.”</p>
<p>These pressures aside, the workers we interviewed tended to see violence as a core aspect of a hardscrabble kitchen culture that has existed for generations. </p>
<p>Others admitted that they’ve come to expect as much after seeing the ways in which abusive chefs are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211005138">glorified in the media</a> – think Gordon Ramsay’s entertaining tongue-lashings on the show “<a href="https://www.fox.com/hells-kitchen/">Hell’s Kitchen</a>,” or Ralph Fiennes’ recent portrayal of a homicidal chef in “<a href="https://www.searchlightpictures.com/the-menu/">The Menu</a>.” </p>
<p>Because those we talked to saw violence in kitchens as unexceptional, most of them responded to it by sticking it out rather than resisting it. Many of them viewed enduring violence on the job as just another task on their daily to-do list.</p>
<p>A key element of rationalizing the violence involved justifying the perpetrator’s behavior.</p>
<p>There’s evidence of this in both articles about Lynch’s restaurants: Workers and the public touted Lynch as an <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40537526/this-is-how-we-end-rampant-sexism-in-the-restaurant-industry">early fighter of industry sexism</a>, a portrayal that presented her as an ally and may have softened her blows. Her <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2017/05/31/boston-chef-barbara-lynch-tells-us-about-writing-a-memoir-the-latest-accomplishment-in-a-life-full-of-them/">public acknowledgments</a> of her own battles with substance abuse and childhood trauma painted her in a sympathetic light and allowed some staffers to excuse her alleged behavior.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman speaking at a podium." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525463/original/file-20230510-9330-wbwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525463/original/file-20230510-9330-wbwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525463/original/file-20230510-9330-wbwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525463/original/file-20230510-9330-wbwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525463/original/file-20230510-9330-wbwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525463/original/file-20230510-9330-wbwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525463/original/file-20230510-9330-wbwvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Barbara Lynch’s employees regularly excused her behavior.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/chef-barbara-lynch-speaks-the-opening-night-of-the-news-photo/887272970?adppopup=true">Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similar rationalizations were found in our study: A chef named Jesus, for example, recounted to us a time when his boss became so upset that, after berating his crew, he “flipped everyone off and told them to ‘go f— themselves.’” But rather than note his boss’s inappropriateness, Jesus praised him for being “straightforward” and “honest.” In doing so, Jesus excused the outburst as simply a product of honesty and emotion, rather than of a work environment that bred such behavior.</p>
<p>We also noticed that Lynch’s own staff rationalized their decisions to stay – despite saying they’d been subjected to abuse – because they felt that working in Lynch’s restaurants would help them find better jobs in the future. This approach was echoed by several cooks in our study – a chef named Carsen, for example, explained away the abuse he endured once at a Michelin-starred restaurant: “I was there for the experience. I wasn’t there because I was invested in the restaurant.” </p>
<h2>Perpetuating a culture of violence</h2>
<p>As workers endure violence in kitchens, they deal with not only the harms of being targeted, but also the psychological and emotional discomfort of remaining at a job that causes them suffering. </p>
<p>Studies have also shown that learning to endure violence <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-09-2019-0362">can increase the chances of repeated abuse</a>, as well as the incorporation of unproductive behaviors into victimized workers’ own actions. The latter can look like adopting abusive behaviors themselves or engaging in small acts of damaging rebellion, like sneaking a swig of cooking wine here or slowing the pace of work there. Cruelly, enduring violence unintentionally aids the process of making violent behavior feel and seem normal in the workplace. </p>
<p>So a cycle of violence perpetuates and reverberates, embedding itself deeper into the fabric of restaurant kitchens, often being passed down from one generation of cooks to the next. </p>
<p>Workers begin to expect it. Grant, a cook we interviewed, explained: “The abuse is normalized. And sometimes romanticized as well. … Chefs being [jerks] is common in part because that’s the expectation for what it is to be a chef. … And while it [seems] like most places are getting better, it’s still a big part of kitchen culture.”</p>
<p>The accusations against Lynch are not exceptional. Sadly, we think it’s likely only a matter of time before another case of an abusive high-profile chef comes to light. Outrage will occur, and then it will settle. Rinse and repeat. </p>
<p>But culinary brilliance and artistry need not be pre-seasoned with violence. Not venerating violent kitchens and chefs would be a start. Perhaps reporting and resisting abuse, rather than enduring it, will then become the norm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Barbara Lynch’s alleged bullying of her employees is only the latest in a string of high-profile chef scandals. Two scholars explore how this behavior became normalized in kitchens across the US.Ellen T. Meiser, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Hawaii at HiloEli R. Wilson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of New MexicoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2036642023-04-17T00:03:18Z2023-04-17T00:03:18ZWhy do people crave the approval of an abusive or narcissistic parent? And what can they do about it?<p>In the phenomenally successful TV show <a href="https://www.hbo.com/succession">Succession</a>, wealthy media magnate Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox) is frequently cruel to his adult children. He insults them, pits them against each other and can be cold or menacing. Despite the years of torment, the Roy children clearly crave their father’s approval.</p>
<p>The show highlights a struggle some adult children face: the need for approval from an abusive parent. </p>
<p>Some would suggest the solution is simple: cut ties with the parent, limit contact, rid your life of this difficult relationship. But this is often not realistic. </p>
<p>Research into relationships can help us understand why some people desire the approval of a parent who is abusive, insensitive or inconsistent in their love – or who rate high on what’s known as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-to-do-when-you-encounter-people-with-dark-personality-traits-at-work-192316">dark trait</a>” tendencies (narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism).</p>
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<h2>Attachment anxiety</h2>
<p>Studies into parent-child relationships based in <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1h89j7-Oe5kC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=ATTACHMENT+AND+LOSS&ots=8ILzmfJnOy&sig=WFNQLcfE7AzJX8L9P4VnwpaHvV4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=ATTACHMENT%20AND%20LOSS&f=false">attachment theory</a> (a widely researched theory of human bonding) suggest the need for approval is a feature of people who experience an insecure attachment style known as attachment anxiety.</p>
<p>People experiencing <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=69acBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=adult+attachment:+a+concise+introduction&ots=0R9sSvfVkX&sig=xLnpojz8LmlGO02dj56j7-pT6B4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=adult%20attachment%3A%20a%20concise%20introduction&f=false">attachment anxiety</a> tend to crave relationship closeness, which includes obsessing over a parent or romantic partner, and can hold strong fears of being rejected or abandoned.</p>
<p>According to attachment theory, attachment anxiety can develop when the care provided by parents or guardians early in life is inept or inconsistent.</p>
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<h2>Inept or inconsistent care</h2>
<p>Inept care is when a parent provides some type of help, but the care provided does not meet the needs of the child. </p>
<p>For example, a child may need encouragement in achieving a challenging task. Instead, the parent provides sympathy and says the task is too hard for the child. The parent may even try to do the task for the child, which can make them feel helpless or even incompetent.</p>
<p>Inconsistent care is when the parent <em>sometimes</em> provides care that meets the child’s needs, triggering happiness or relief in the child. They feel seen, validated, and understood. </p>
<p>On other occasions, however, the parent may respond in ways that do not meet the child’s needs.</p>
<p>The parent may withdraw, avoid, or neglect the child in their time of need. On other occasions, the parent may blame the child for asking for help – or make them feel guilty by framing their request for help as a burden that affects the parent’s own well-being.</p>
<h2>Parenting and the dark traits</h2>
<p>Some believe these responses by parents are methods to manipulate their children to behave or feel a certain way. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-023-04457-9">Research</a> into the dark traits suggests those who score high on these qualities lack emotional warmth, act in hostile ways, and exert control over their <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-022-01602-8">children</a>. </p>
<p>People with these tendencies have been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X22000276">shown</a> to dehumanise others, even those closest to them. This can involve treating family and romantic partners as if they have no feelings, as if they are irrational, stupid, rigid like a robot, or as a means to an end. </p>
<p>Our own <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1948550620974892?journalCode=sppa">work</a> has shown people can act this way because their own parents were hostile towards them some 20 years prior.</p>
<h2>Intergenerational transmission</h2>
<p>For some parents, however, engaging in inept and inconsistent care is not driven by conscious motivations to manipulate and hurt their children. </p>
<p>Rather, they may not know how to parent differently. It may be that they too had parents who provided inept or inconsistent care.</p>
<p>Many of these parents have difficulties controlling their own distress when parenting their children. For some, their own worries and concerns become so intense they end up focusing on their own worries over those of their children.</p>
<p>This is an example of <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fbul0000038">intergenerational transmission</a>, where patterns of attachment and parenting can be passed from one generation to the next.</p>
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<h2>A ‘partial reinforcement schedule’</h2>
<p>Irrespective of the reason, the fallout of inept or inconsistent caregiving is that children are placed on what’s known as a <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5egODAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=mikulincer+%26+shaver+2007&ots=IQUv6hURct&sig=hKoEL58Y0eBbKgCcFCeerca28AI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=mikulincer%20%26%20shaver%202007&f=false">partial reinforcement schedule</a>. </p>
<p>This is where the child’s cries for help are <em>sometimes</em> attended to. They <em>sometimes</em> receive the love and support they require. But other times, the child experiences invalidation, neglect, or gets the message they are not understood or are harming their parent. </p>
<p>Because of this partial reinforcement schedule, children work harder to gain the attention and love of their parents. The child might think: “If I try that little harder to get their attention and approval, they’ll see what I really need, and they’ll provide me with the love, comfort, acknowledgement I desire”. </p>
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<h2>How can we break the spell?</h2>
<p>The need for approval is powerful for good reason, rooted in a long relationship history with our caregivers. Addressing this need often requires psychological intervention.</p>
<p>Therapies with a strong <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/therapy-types/relational-therapy">relational focus</a> can be especially useful in working through issues such as a chronic need for approval. Such therapies include <a href="https://psychmed.com.au/interpersonal-psychotherapy/">interpersonal therapy</a> and <a href="https://www.psychologytools.com/professional/therapies/schema-therapy/#:%7E:text=Schema%20therapy%20(ST)%20is%20an,developed%20and%20refined%20since%20then.">schema therapy</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-9lTTxdyZoMC&oi=fnd&pg=PA317&dq=young+et+al+(2003)&ots=F1QXnHEiOw&sig=CtrMyHwMcrXS9SIBXRarvr9fHUw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=young%20et%20al%20(2003)&f=false">Schema therapy</a> aims to help people understand why they have such a strong need for approval.</p>
<p>It uses cognitive, behavioural and emotion-focused strategies to help increase a person’s tolerance of disapproval. It might involve helping someone develop a better sense of their own identity, or use imagery techniques and affirmations to help clients validate themselves rather than seeking approval from an insensitive parent.</p>
<p>For people facing these struggles with a parent, try to identify when your need for approval is triggered, the emotions you feel, and what approval-seeking behaviours you engage in. It can help to write a pros and cons list about how the need for approval affects your life. Self-awareness can help lead to behaviour change.</p>
<p>It can also help to celebrate your own successes and identify your own skills and achievements. Doing so can provide you with evidence that challenges your need for approval from others. Developing <a href="https://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-kristin-neff/#">self-compassion</a> can also help.</p>
<p>Finally, positive affirmations can help challenge your own negative self-beliefs and increase your tendency to be self-approving. This can be as simple as writing down a series of truthful positive statements about yourself. You can refer to these statements when self-doubt creeps in, or when the need for approval of others becomes loud in your mind.</p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gery Karantzas receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a couples therapist and founder of <a href="http://www.relationshipscienceonline.com">www.relationshipscienceonline.com</a></span></em></p>Some would suggest the solution is simple: cut ties with the parent, limit contact, rid your life of this difficult relationship. But this is often not realistic.Gery Karantzas, Professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1990882023-04-06T02:14:30Z2023-04-06T02:14:30ZExperiencing trauma can change some people’s outlook on life – sometimes for the better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518421/original/file-20230330-911-xyrjtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=287%2C8%2C2708%2C1985&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/rXrMy7mXUEs">Joice Kelly/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Traumatic experiences are surprisingly common, with about <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/stress-and-trauma">three-quarters</a> of the population dealing with some form of trauma at least once in their lives. This might mean experiencing things like abuse, violence or natural disasters. </p>
<p>Experiencing a traumatic event alone is not enough to cause traumatic stress (a “trauma”). The person experiencing the trauma needs to view the event as highly distressing or life-threatening. </p>
<p>While trauma can be incredibly difficult to process and can leave lasting scars, there is another side to the story: post-traumatic growth. </p>
<p>Post-traumatic growth is the positive psychological change that can occur in response to a traumatic event. It is often mistaken as resilience, which means bouncing back to baseline following adversity. Post-traumatic growth, on the other hand, refers to an improvement in your life or outlook.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-half-of-australians-will-experience-trauma-most-before-they-turn-17-we-need-to-talk-about-it-159801">More than half of Australians will experience trauma, most before they turn 17. We need to talk about it</a>
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<h2>What does this growth look like?</h2>
<p>People who have experienced post-traumatic growth describe having a greater appreciation for life, increased personal strength, deeper relationships, a greater sense of spirituality or meaning, or a new sense of possibilities for the future. </p>
<p>Someone who has experienced a traumatic event may decide, for example, to make a career change or start a new hobby. Some people report wanting to give back to the community or others in need after experiencing situations where they needed help after trauma. Or they may begin to prioritise their relationships more or focus on personal growth and self-improvement.</p>
<p>While post-traumatic growth can be a powerful force for positive change, it’s not guaranteed. About <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30268956/">one in two people</a> who experience trauma will undergo post-traumatic growth. Younger people and those who experienced trauma recently are more likely to have post-traumatic growth.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1991/3/1/9">Our research</a> has found some common elements that make it more likely for a person to experience post-traumatic growth, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard-Tedeschi/publication/247504165_Tedeschi_RG_Calhoun_LGPosttraumatic_growth_conceptual_foundations_and_empirical_evidence_Psychol_Inq_151_1-18/links/548aee9a0cf225bf669f7e6c/Tedeschi-RG-Calhoun-LGPosttraumatic-growth-conceptual-foundations-and-empirical-evidence-Psychol-Inq-151-1-18.pdf">regardless of the type of trauma experienced</a>. </p>
<h2>1. Strong social supports</h2>
<p>The most important factor promoting post-traumatic growth is support from friends, family, and those around you after you have experienced a traumatic event. Seeking and accepting social support are crucial, and it can be helpful to reach out to people who have experienced similar trauma through things like support groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman places her head on a friend's shoulder" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519484/original/file-20230405-22-wecbdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519484/original/file-20230405-22-wecbdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519484/original/file-20230405-22-wecbdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519484/original/file-20230405-22-wecbdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519484/original/file-20230405-22-wecbdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519484/original/file-20230405-22-wecbdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519484/original/file-20230405-22-wecbdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Social supports can help people heal from trauma.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/KQfxVDHGCUg">Unsplash/Kulli Kittus</a></span>
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<p>Research shows the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-81725-001">quality of social support</a> is important too. People report more post-traumatic growth if the support they receive comes from people they trust. </p>
<p>Social support is so crucial that some treatments <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235177">interventions</a> have focused on the use of social networks to improve the recovery of people who have experienced trauma. For example, some post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recovery programs include support groups to help people heal.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-11135">Explainer: what is post-traumatic stress disorder?</a>
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<h2>2. Coping skills</h2>
<p>Coping strategies such as humour, acceptance and focusing on the future are effective at reducing our distress after trauma, and they make it more likely we will heal and find positive aspects in our experiences. </p>
<p>People who experience post-traumatic growth often say they have a greater sense of inner strength and feel better equipped to handle stress and hardship in the future. These types of coping strategies are sometimes inherent, but often they can also be enhanced by therapy.</p>
<h2>3. Personality traits</h2>
<p>People who tend to be optimistic are more likely to experience post-traumatic growth. Instead of seeing the traumatic event as purely negative, optimistic people are able to find some positive aspects of their experience. </p>
<p>This can be difficult, as traumatic experiences often involve loss, pain, and suffering. However, by finding meaning and purpose in the experience – for example, by sharing their story with others going through similar experiences – people can begin to see themselves and the world in a new light. </p>
<p>Again, this is sometimes inherent, but can be enhanced by engaging with a mental health professional.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-people-with-chronic-pain-flexibility-and-persistence-can-protect-wellbeing-199008">For people with chronic pain, flexibility and persistence can protect wellbeing</a>
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<p>Some <a href="https://opennursingjournal.com/VOLUME/12/PAGE/238/FULLTEXT/">studies</a> have also found being more extroverted can help people experience post-traumatic growth. This may be because extroverted people are more likely to seek social support because they tend to find themselves in more social situations. </p>
<h2>4. Religion or spirituality</h2>
<p>Religion often teaches that transformation and power can arise in the face of suffering.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1367467032000157981">Research</a> shows people who are religious (or spiritual) often experience post-traumatic growth because they have a greater sense of community, pastoral support and a higher meaning behind hardship.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two men pray at church" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519485/original/file-20230405-20-uzlbrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519485/original/file-20230405-20-uzlbrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519485/original/file-20230405-20-uzlbrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519485/original/file-20230405-20-uzlbrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519485/original/file-20230405-20-uzlbrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519485/original/file-20230405-20-uzlbrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519485/original/file-20230405-20-uzlbrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Religion or spirituality can bring support and a higher meaning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/WNVnnHHcBeM">Sam Balye/Unsplash</a></span>
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<h2>Treatment also prioritises the same factors</h2>
<p>The ways people flourish after adversity have helped inform researchers and clinicians on the best ways to treat post-traumatic stress. </p>
<p>Social support, helpful coping and finding meaning are core components of therapies commonly used by people who have experienced adversity, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy, and trauma-focused acceptance and commitment therapy. </p>
<p>Of course, post-traumatic growth is only part of the story, and it is an ongoing process. Trauma impacts people in many different ways. Sometimes healing from trauma or experiencing post-traumatic growth can be related to factors outside of a person’s control, such as their resources or socioeconomic status. </p>
<p>There are no guarantees a person will experience growth after trauma, but factors like social support, helpful coping, personality traits, and finding meaning make it more likely. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-reporting-process-was-more-traumatising-than-the-assault-itself-lgbtq-survivors-on-accessing-support-after-sexual-violence-202142">‘The reporting process was more traumatising than the assault itself’: LGBTQ+ survivors on accessing support after sexual violence</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199088/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alix Woolard receives funding from the Perth Children's Hospital Foundation and Channel Seven Telethon Trust. </span></em></p>People respond to trauma in different ways, with some people experiencing post-traumatic growth.Alix Woolard, Postdoctoral research fellow, Telethon Kids InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1960582023-03-09T14:31:04Z2023-03-09T14:31:04ZDepression, anxiety and childhood trauma: South African study explores links, prevalence and who’s most at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508890/original/file-20230208-16-mlr1kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africans need targeted and accessible interventions and counselling programmes.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AJ Watt/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mental health problems among adults are an ever-increasing <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30925-9/fulltext">public health concern</a>. These include depression, anxiety, and conditions associated with bad childhood experiences such as abuse. </p>
<p>Several factors are known to influence the development of mental illness. These include <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24917433/">anxiety</a>, <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-13-835">early</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20520546/">adversity</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25789499/">socio-economic</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12522017/">status</a>, and some <a href="https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1752-4458-1-4">demographic</a> <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1999-76712018000400014">characteristics</a> such as where a person lives. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.986531/full">recent study</a> we assessed the prevalence of mental health problems among South African adults. We also explored socioeconomic and demographic associations with depression, anxiety and adverse childhood experiences. </p>
<p>We found that South Africans who were exposed to adverse experiences in early childhood had a higher risk of probable depression or probable anxiety in adulthood than people who did not face adversity in childhood. (We say “probable” because our study recorded the presence of symptoms. The respondents weren’t diagnosed by a trained mental health professional.)</p>
<p>We also found that the symptoms of mental illness were more commonly reported by people with certain demographic characteristics. Probable depression and probable anxiety were more frequently reported among adults who were: retired and older than 65 years; widowed, divorced or separated; living in metropolitan areas; and with only primary school education. The characteristics that were significant in our study tend to be associated with relative poverty. </p>
<p>This confirms what has <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33303583/">previously</a> been suggested. That <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1497743/">poverty</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17009190/">rural-urban differences</a> are associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6678738/">mental health</a> risk. </p>
<p>In 2009, nearly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191537/">20%</a> of South African adults suffered from impaired mental health. According to a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23890669/">2013</a> study, the prevalence of depression was highest in the Eastern Cape (<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23890669/">31.4%</a>) – one of the country’s poorest provinces. Research done among informal settlement residents in 2021 found that nearly one in every five women reported <a href="https://www.whatworks.co.za/resources/peer-review-journal-articles/item/747-risk-factors-for-generalized-anxiety-disorder-among-young-women-and-men-in-informal-settlements-in-south-africa-a-cross-sectional-study">moderate to severe levels</a> of anxiety. And <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2981623/">more than half</a> of South African adults have been exposed to adverse experiences in childhood and adolescence.</p>
<p>The prevalence of mental illness risk varies across the provinces. The socioeconomic and demographic determinants of mental illness also vary across the provinces. These findings underscore a need for targeted and accessible interventions and counselling programmes. </p>
<h2>Mental health problems</h2>
<p>We interviewed 3,402 adults across the nine provinces of South Africa between September and October 2021. Most of the participants were under the age of 44. We used clinically validated <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20633738/">screening surveys</a> to detect symptoms of depression, anxiety and adverse childhood experiences. Respondents were asked questions about how often – in the previous two-week period – they had been bothered by problems listed in the screening survey. </p>
<p>Probable depression had five levels: minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe.</p>
<p>More than a quarter (25.7%) of respondents reported moderate to severe symptoms of probable depression. The Northern Cape province reported the highest prevalence (38.8%). The Free State province reported the lowest prevalence (14.7%). </p>
<p>The prevalence of probable depression was highest among: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>respondents 65 years or older (39% of this age group showed signs of probable depression)</p></li>
<li><p>respondents who were widowed, divorced or separated (32.6%)</p></li>
<li><p>those with only primary school education (32.1%)</p></li>
<li><p>those who were retired (30.6%)</p></li>
<li><p>respondents residing in metropolitan areas (27.0%)</p></li>
<li><p>women (26.7%) </p></li>
<li><p>those with lower household assets (26.4%).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>To estimate probable anxiety, we asked the respondents questions about how often they had experienced general anxiety symptoms. </p>
<p>Our survey suggests that 17.8% of South African respondents had probable anxiety. Once again, the Northern Cape province reported the highest prevalence (29.3%). KwaZulu-Natal province had the lowest prevalence (8.6%). </p>
<p>Probable anxiety was highest among: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>respondents aged 65 or older (22.6% of these respondents had probable anxiety)</p></li>
<li><p>the unemployed (21.9%)</p></li>
<li><p>respondents who had only completed primary school (20.4%)</p></li>
<li><p>the widowed, divorced or separated (20.4%)</p></li>
<li><p>those living in metropolitan areas (19.7%).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Adverse childhood experiences are potentially traumatic events that occur before the age of 18 years. They can be emotional, physical or sexual abuse, or household dysfunction.</p>
<p>More than one in five respondents reported high exposure to adverse childhood events (23.6%). The Western and Eastern Cape provinces reported the highest mean scores. </p>
<p>High exposure to adverse childhood experiences was also more prevalent among respondents who: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>had only a basic level of education (35.1%)</p></li>
<li><p>were unemployed (30.8%)</p></li>
<li><p>had fewer resources (28.9%) </p></li>
<li><p>were aged 45-54 (28.2%)</p></li>
<li><p>were married or co-habiting (25.1%)</p></li>
<li><p>lived in rural settings (24.9%).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Our findings are in line with existing research. For example the Eastern Cape – one of the poorest provinces in South Africa, with 67.3% of adults living below the <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P03101/P031012021.pdf">poverty line</a> – reported the highest prevalence of adverse childhood experiences. </p>
<h2>The importance of our findings</h2>
<p>This study provides important evidence of factors linked to depression and anxiety. Our findings could help identify how these associations work, and how to intervene. </p>
<p>Overall, the study found that probable depression, probable anxiety and adverse childhood experience prevalence varied across the nine provinces. </p>
<p>The provincial breakdown of data can inform provincial service provision. </p>
<p>Reports of probable depression, probable anxiety and adverse childhood experiences were drivers. The reports differed markedly based on people’s socioeconomic and demographic characteristics like marital status, age, education attained, employment status and living circumstances. Our evidence suggests that these factors increase the frequency and extent of depression and anxiety independently of one another.</p>
<p>Probable depression and anxiety were associated with adverse childhood experiences and with each other. More than half – 58.1% – of respondents with probable depression also reported probable anxiety. </p>
<p>Our findings, therefore, suggest that reported adverse childhood experiences put people at greater risk of mental health problems in adulthood. That’s another reason to intervene in early childhood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196058/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashleigh Craig does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Adverse childhood experiences are associated with an increased risk of mental health problems in adulthood.Ashleigh Craig, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981222023-02-20T16:14:02Z2023-02-20T16:14:02ZHow transformative justice can address abuse in Canadian sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510929/original/file-20230217-14-cqe26a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C42%2C5590%2C3690&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Only when the full extent of the wrongdoing has been identified can real progress be made.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In January 2023, dozens of scholars (ourselves included) signed an <a href="https://www.scholarsagainstabuse.com/">open letter</a> to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for an independent judicial inquiry into widespread allegations of abuse in the nation’s sporting organizations. </p>
<p>Our movement, Scholars Against Abuse in Canadian Sport, encompasses experts on law, education, sociology, criminology, history, psychology, and numerous other disciplines, collectively tackling the issue of abuse in sport.</p>
<p>We have all drawn the same conclusion — Canada desperately requires an independent judicial inquiry. Such an inquiry, as legal scholar <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/gilbert-canadians-deserve-a-judicial-inquiry-into-abuse-in-sports">Daphne Gilbert</a> recently explained, can “support ongoing efforts, while creating a space to unpack the crisis and propose ideas to fix it.”</p>
<p>Judicial inquiries can take many forms, but as Justice <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/bcp-pco/CP32-56-1990-1-eng.pdf">Charles Dubin</a> — who led the 1990 inquiry into drugs and banned practices in sport — explained, inquiries “seek a way of correcting errors of the past so that they will not recur.”</p>
<p>A judicial inquiry is an important first step to overhauling Canada’s abusive sporting culture, laying the foundation for broader, <a href="https://www.sace.ca/learn/restorative-and-transformative-justice/">transformative justice</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People walk past a door with the Hockey Canada symbol. A red and black maple leaf with a hockey player." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510446/original/file-20230216-26-2nc9av.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hockey Canada and other sporting bodies have been rocked by sexual abuse allegations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Transformative justice pursues systemic change, by situating survivors and abusers within social structures, past and present. By addressing the root causes of violence, we can reimagine systems to allow for more supportive, safe and accountable communities. This can, and should, include sport. </p>
<p>Only when the full extent of the wrongdoing has been identified can real progress be made.</p>
<h2>Why calls for restorative justice are problematic</h2>
<p>A different approach, however, is being floated as the only solution: <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-instead-of-another-judicial-inquiry-we-should-use-restorative-justice/">restorative justice</a>. Conceptually, restorative justice encompasses a range of related practices and ideas for addressing specific instances of harms enacted against an individual or community. </p>
<p>At the core of most definitions of restorative justice is voluntarism. As legal scholar <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/C/bo70058417.html">Annalise Acorn explains</a>, survivors and abusers meet, of their own free will, for “a reconciliation of meaningful — even strict — accountability for wrongdoing with compassion for both victim and perpetrator.” </p>
<p>Restorative justice can provide an alternative to the more retributive and carceral aspects of the criminal justice system. Some members of marginalized communities, such as Black and Indigenous Peoples, who are <a href="https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/practice-areas/criminal/black-and-indigenous-prisoners-continue-to-suffer-from-poor-correctional-outcomes-report/371402">overpoliced and disproportionately incarcerated</a>, may have a valid mistrust of the criminal justice system, and prefer a community-based restorative approach. </p>
<p>Although some survivors may benefit from restorative justice, limitations of restorative justice processes suggest that they must not be the <em>only</em> action taken to address and dismantle serious and systemic abuse in Canadian sport.</p>
<p>Restorative justice often relies on the assumption that there was a past ideal environment to begin with that can be restored. It also seeks to restore interpersonal relationships, rather than effect broad, systemic change. It is a reactive tool that cannot fix the institutional failings and culture of violence that generated and normalized harm in the first place. </p>
<p>Two decades ago, justice reformer <a href="https://canadianscholars.ca/book/stories-of-transformative-justice/">Ruth Morris</a> argued, “restorative justice does not go far enough. It still accepts the idea that one event now defines all that matters of right and wrong — it leaves out the past, and the social causes of all events.” </p>
<p>Restorative justice can also be problematic because it can recreate a cycle of abuse, in which an abuser seeks reconciliation, only to then continue the violence. Although restorative justice processes do not necessarily require forgiveness, survivors can feel pressure to forgive perpetrators. </p>
<p>This is problematic as forgiveness asks survivors to relinquish their justified negative feelings towards the abuser, implying that the survivor has moved on, and suggesting that “<a href="https://www.vox.com/22979070/restorative-justice-forgiveness-limits-promise">society has permission to do so as well</a>.”</p>
<p>Some survivors may not want to engage in restorative justice, for a number of reasons. For example, they might understandably not want to have any further communication with their abuser. Furthermore, perpetrators may not be sincerely remorseful. Whether or not individual athletes decide to engage in restorative justice, it is clear that such measures cannot redesign an entire system. </p>
<p>An inquiry would afford survivors an opportunity to use their voices to speak truth to power within a platform that can result in meaningful, structural change. Only after the stories have been told and the facts found can measures be taken that directly ameliorate the wrongs committed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with blonde hair speaking in parliament." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510931/original/file-20230217-374-5ni8j3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Federal sport minister Pascale St-Onge has said there is no coherence in Canada’s safe sport system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Listening to survivors</h2>
<p>Since Parliament’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canadian-sports-abuse-study-motion-standing-committee-1.6635877">Standing Committee on the Status of Women</a> stepped in to provide space for survivors to be heard, calls for a judicial inquiry by the sport and academic communities have been clear. However, to date, the Government of Canada has been slow to act.</p>
<p>Retired soccer player <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/FEWO/meeting-43/evidence#Int-11968976">Ciara McCormack</a>’s testimony at the Standing Committee was unequivocal:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Systemic change means shining a light into the financial relationships that preserve power and uncovering and dismantling these relationships and systems that protect Canadian sport institutions at the expense of athletes’ lives…Only a judicial inquiry into abuse in Canadian sport, with a broad scope, will shine a necessary light on the harm of the past while rebuilding trust for a better future.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>On the same day as McCormack’s testimony, boxer <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/FEWO/meeting-43/evidence#Int-11968893">Myriam Da Silva Rondeau</a> also urged the government to assemble an inquiry. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“There can be no rebuilding unless a judicial inquiry is conducted by a third party in order to hold the people who perpetuate abuses and the current sport culture in Canada to account.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Retired cyclist <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/FEWO/meeting-44/evidence#Int-11975370">Geneviève Jeanson</a> echoed their remarks. As did former Team Canada soccer captain <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/FEWO/meeting-48/evidence#Int-12025772">Andrea Neil</a>: “Nothing can change until we turn the lights on and reckon with where we are.”</p>
<p>Abuse depends upon the silencing of those impacted. Failing to listen to survivors can be retraumatizing and can minimize their agency.</p>
<p>An inquiry will uncover those responsible for failing the athletes and prevent them from escaping accountability for wrongdoings.</p>
<p>This is a key moment as conversations about the need for safer sport have captured public attention. We must ensure that survivors’ voices are centered in decisions on how to move forward. </p>
<p>Relying solely on restorative justice would fumble a vital opportunity to repair a broken system. An independent judicial inquiry that allows for sustainable, transformative justice, must be part of the solution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By addressing the root causes of violence, we can reimagine systems to allow for more supportive, safe and accountable sport communities.Shannon Giannitsopoulou, Doctorate of Education candidate, University of TorontoMacIntosh Ross, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Western UniversityMartine Dennie, Assistant Professor, University of ManitobaNicole O'Byrne, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of New BrunswickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983942023-02-08T21:03:53Z2023-02-08T21:03:53ZTo prevent child sexual abuse, we need to change our thinking — and stop exploitation before it happens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508946/original/file-20230208-16-ag4mjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3498%2C2534&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Talking for Change is a government-funded national program that aims to prevent child sexual abuse. It provides an anonymous national helpline and treatment options for anyone concerned about their attraction to children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse in Canada. The impacts of abuse can be long-lasting, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105%2Fajph.91.5.753">psychological</a> and physical consequences for victims, and significant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.02.020">economic impacts</a> on our society. </p>
<p>Recent research has shown a troubling rise in online sexual offences and abuse against children in Canada, particularly during the pandemic.</p>
<p>In a 2022 report, Statistics Canada found the number of online sexual offences against children reported to police had tripled compared to the previous six-year period. Statistics Canada compiled <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00008-eng.htm">research from 2014</a> — the year when Canadian cybercrime data first began to be compiled nationwide — to 2020.</p>
<p>The numbers paint a worrisome picture. According to the research, police-reported incidents of online child sexual exploitation and abuse climbed to 9,441 in 2020 from 3,080 incidents in 2014 — a three-fold increase.</p>
<p>Statistics Canada reports that in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the rate of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) reported to police grew to 101 incidents per 100,000 population — a 35 per cent increase from 2019. </p>
<p>The rate of online sexual offences against children, which include luring a child and distributing images without consent, also grew. In 2020 there were 30 incidents per 100,000 population, a 10 per cent increase over the previous year.</p>
<h2>The urgent need for prevention</h2>
<p>But we know these numbers don’t even come close to telling the full story. Sadly, many experiences of childhood sexual abuse go unreported. Around <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/14698-eng.pdf?st=-Zyf7J47">93 per cent of childhood sexual and physical abuse experiences are not reported</a> to the police or child protective services for a host of reasons, as Statistics Canada acknowledges in its study.</p>
<p>The increase in reported abuse and exploitation online is likely only the tip of the iceberg. But these rising incidence numbers underscore the dire need to do more to prevent child sexual abuse in Canada. It is critical that we take action to intervene early, providing individuals at risk for offending with support through an anonymous helpline, as well as therapy, to prevent abuse.</p>
<p>It also underscores that traditional ways of stopping child sexual abuse may not be enough to prevent child sexual abuse from happening.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1579852045473153026"}"></div></p>
<p>Historically in Canada, counselling programs for individuals who are concerned about their sexual interest in children are only made available <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/889043/canada-home-to-advanced-sex-offender-treatment-programs/">after abuse has already happened</a>. People who have committed a sexual offence <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809338545">can change their behaviour</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2017.8">Appropriate treatment</a> is effective at reducing sexual re-offending, and there are ways to make treatment as effective as possible.</p>
<p>But intervening after a child is hurt is intervening too late, especially when prevention is possible.</p>
<h2>Talking for Change</h2>
<p>To make a difference in preventing child sexual abuse in Canada, it’s essential to acknowledge that child sexual abuse is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491412900303">public health problem</a> that requires a public health solution, including various prevention strategies.</p>
<p>I recently led the development of a program focused on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1703232">stopping child sexual abuse before it happens</a>. <a href="https://talkingforchange.ca/">Talking for Change</a>, launched in August 2021 at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, is the first government-funded national program that provides treatment options and anonymous support to youth and adults who are concerned about their sexual interest in children, their risk to sexually abuse a child or their use of child sexual abuse material.</p>
<p>With the support of a team of psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers and academics, the program provides an anonymous national helpline for anyone concerned about their attraction to children or who are worried about engaging in online or offline offending involving a child. </p>
<p>Talking for Change also provides therapy directly and leverages an extensive referral network to offer suggestions for fee-for-service therapy outside the jurisdictions where coverage is provided. The program’s free therapy service is provided only to people who do not have current legal involvement for a sexual offence, who want to remain offence-free and who are ready to take the next step in identifying themselves to receive service. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Close-up rear view of young man in streaming on videocall on a tablet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The free therapy service provided by Talking for Change is offered only for people who do not have current legal involvement for a sexual offence, who want to remain offence-free and who are ready to take the next step in identifying themselves to receive service.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the helpline is national, the (often virtual) therapy program is currently available in Ontario, Atlantic Canada, Québec, Nunavut and Yukon, with plans to expand to additional provinces. </p>
<p>Over the past 18 months, our team has received more than 250 contacts from individuals seeking counselling or information to prevent child sexual abuse. We provided them with a safe space to talk. We listened and communicated, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/sah0000154">without judgment or stigma</a>. We helped them realize they are not alone and that they are not doomed or destined to offend. </p>
<p>Most importantly, we developed strategies to prevent them from hurting anyone.</p>
<h2>International prevention efforts</h2>
<p>Talking for Change is not the only prevention program. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, the program <a href="https://www.stopitnow.org/">Stop it Now!</a> provides similar prevention through an anonymous helpline. </p>
<p>In Germany, the <a href="https://www.troubled-desire.com/">Troubled Desire</a> program aims to provide prevention techniques through self-guided digital intervention. Early data indicates that prevention programs are a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-022-01375-8">promising technique to reduce child sexual abuse</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, an <a href="https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/stop_it_now_evaluation_summary.pdf">assessment study of the United Kingdom’s “Stop it Now!”</a> program showed that there is a clear demand for confidential helplines providing information, advice, support and guidance to people concerned about preventing child sexual abuse. </p>
<p>This includes people concerned about their own thoughts or actions as well as individuals concerned about a child or adult’s behaviour or a child who may be at risk. </p>
<p>The study found that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“the helplines can provide cost effective, quality advice and support to protect children directly, and to prompt behaviour change in adults and strengthen protective factors which can reduce the risk of offending.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Breaking the silence</h2>
<p>Child sexual abuse is such a dark and taboo subject that it may be difficult for many people to extend the focus beyond the victims and try to understand what leads someone to offend against a child or to use child sexual abuse material. </p>
<p>People may prefer not to think about it, and find it easier to avoid difficult conversations. Sadly that means the problem may continue to grow worse in the silence.</p>
<p>The people we counsel in the Talking for Change program often tell us that they wish they didn’t have these feelings or urges. And they tell us that they do not want to hurt anyone, and that in many cases they want to help prevent child abuse in Canada.</p>
<p>Talking for Change has only begun to scratch the surface of this problem. But we’re confident, based on the impact we’ve made in our first year, that prevention is not only possible, it’s happening.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ainslie Heasman works for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). </span></em></p>There is a dire need to prevent child sexual abuse in Canada. It is critical to intervene early, and provide those at risk for offending with support through an anonymous helpline, as well as therapy.Ainslie Heasman, Clinical Forensic Psychologist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ontario Tech UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1979892023-01-17T22:46:00Z2023-01-17T22:46:00ZPeople with disabilities in group homes are suffering shocking abuse. New housing models could prevent harm<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504826/original/file-20230117-18-hw195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C7%2C5121%2C3422&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1615506313305-e61daaa8cdcb?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1770&q=80">Unsplash/Jon Tyson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was designed to be a market-based system that would shift power from government and providers to consumers. </p>
<p>The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s <a href="https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/resources/reports-policies-and-frameworks/inquiries-and-reviews/own-motion-inquiry-aspects">Own Motion Inquiry report</a> demonstrates that for the most vulnerable NDIS participants, there is still a power imbalance, with providers and workers still in charge. </p>
<p>The Commission <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-16/ndis-quality-asurance-report-group-homes/101857778">found</a> more than 7,000 serious incidents were reported in a sample of seven of the largest disability group home providers over the past four years. Given that many people living in group homes are voiceless and unable to report, this is likely to be a significant underestimate of incidents. This latest report shows 17,000 Australians living in group homes are too frequently subjected to sexual misconduct, coercion, serious injury, abuse and neglect. </p>
<p>Most people living in group homes are “captive” to traditional disability providers. They are locked into arrangements where they have little or no choice about where they live, who they live with or who provides personal and other supports. But we know there are far better options.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1615103591274119168"}"></div></p>
<h2>The right to choose where you live</h2>
<p>In addition to the quality of support being a problem in group homes, the physical environment is often also inadequate. Most group homes are old housing stock that does not meet contemporary standards. Most of this stock is owned by state governments. </p>
<p>The buildings do not foster independence, dignity or privacy. The redevelopment of this stock into contemporary housing that incorporates assistive technology and is designed to maximise independence has the potential to reduce the cost of paid supports and the liability of the scheme.</p>
<p>Australia is a signatory to the <a href="https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf">United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a> that states people with disabilities should: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many people now living in group homes across Australia have the capacity to move to more individualised and inclusive living arrangements. A further 2,500 younger people with disability live in aged care. To explore alternatives and make an informed choice, NDIS participants in group homes and aged care need skilled and patient support from independent experts. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="person with cerebral palsy sits in wheelchair while carer holds bowl and spoon" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504827/original/file-20230117-14-b5tm5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People with disability have a right to choose where they live and who assists them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/young-cerebral-palsy-patient-royalty-free-image/605759166">Getty</a></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/everyone-is-talking-about-the-ndis-we-spoke-to-participants-and-asked-them-how-to-fix-it-193524">Everyone is talking about the NDIS – we spoke to participants and asked them how to fix it</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>More independent options</h2>
<p>Under the Coalition government, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) saw <a href="https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/home-and-living/individualised-living-options">independent living options</a> as a short-term solution to cut costs. Instead, it could <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022-06/AHURI-Final-Report-380-Accommodating-adults-with-intellectual-disabilities-and-high-support-needs_0.pdf">improve participant outcomes, increase independence and reduce lifetime care costs</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Individualised living options - Ned and his housemates. Housing Hub.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While many people with disabilities are living good lives in <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022-06/AHURI-Final-Report-380-Accommodating-adults-with-intellectual-disabilities-and-high-support-needs_0.pdf">individual supported living arrangements</a> with funding from the NDIS, most require enormous effort and commitment from family members to set up and maintain.</p>
<p>The NDIA needs to fund expert support so a greater range of NDIS participants, including those with limited social support, can set up and maintain high quality independent living options. </p>
<h2>Co-located apartments</h2>
<p>New disability housing in Australia includes more than <a href="https://data.ndis.gov.au/media/3472/download?attachment">1,300 single occupancy apartments</a> being developed by specialist disability accommodation providers. </p>
<p>These apartments generally have <a href="https://summerfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Onsite-shared-support_Discussion-paper_May.pdf">ten apartments co-located in a mainstream development</a> so NDIS participants are not segregated. They have neighbours like everyone else and can live with their partner or children. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Specialist disability accommodation apartment design. Summer Foundation.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is smart home and communication technology built into each apartment and an additional apartment that is a base for support workers to enable the cost-effective delivery of support. While this model does not suit everyone, early <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2020.1785023">research</a> shows it has the potential to increase the health, wellbeing and independence of people with disability and reduce support costs. </p>
<p>Under the previous government, the <a href="https://piac.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/22.04.30-PIAC-HH-report_Housing-Delayed-and-Denied_April-2022-final.pdf">NDIA undermined rather than embraced</a> this innovation in disability housing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-shown-me-how-independent-i-can-be-housing-designed-for-people-with-disabilities-reduces-the-help-needed-181793">'It's shown me how independent I can be' – housing designed for people with disabilities reduces the help needed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Not everyone has family to rely on</h2>
<p>The most vulnerable people with disability are those who do not have family or friends in their lives. They are totally dependent on people who are paid to support them. </p>
<p>At worst, all the paid people in their lives may be employed by one organisation, such as in a group home. This increases their vulnerability to mistreatment and might make them less likely to feel they can report abuse or neglect to a trusted or independent person. </p>
<p>For this reason, the proposed increased regulation for group homes is unlikely to improve lives or keep people safe. </p>
<p>Not everyone will be able to move out of group homes into more independent living options. However, there are a range of solutions that will transform disability housing and support in Australia:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>growing <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fresc.2021.786445/full">evidence-based programs</a> that support NDIS participants to maintain and develop social relationships, and increase community participation</p></li>
<li><p>information and resources <a href="https://assets.summerfoundation.org.au/pdf_offload/2022/05/Storytellers-with-lived-experience-strengthening-opportunities-for-pwd-to-live-independently_Co-design-project.pdf">co-designed by people with disability</a> for people with disability about exploring housing options, support and moving house</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.housinghub.org.au/resources/category/support-coordination-services">independent experts</a> to support people in group homes to explore housing and support options, make an informed choice and move out if and when they want to</p></li>
<li><p>peer support services that provide the wisdom and expertise of other people with disability who have made a move</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.supportfordecisionmakingresource.com.au">decision-making support</a> for people with cognitive and communication impairments </p></li>
<li><p>scaling up evidence-based interventions such as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hsc.13961">participant-led videos</a> that enable NDIS participants to train and direct the disability support workers who work for them</p></li>
<li><p>developing new training courses for disability support workers that are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2022.2086636">evidence based</a> and co-designed by people with disability</p></li>
<li><p>developing a range of <a href="https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/home-and-living/individualised-living-options">individualised and contemporary models</a> of housing and support</p></li>
<li><p>government to address <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/business/competition/exclusive-dealing">third line forcing</a> ie, where people living in an group home are required to used one provider for all of their disability supports (sometimes includes support coordination and allied health)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2020.1785023">measuring the outcomes and experiences</a> of NDIS participants who move to inform ongoing innovation and foster a truly consumer-driven market. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ndis-participants-are-left-waiting-for-too-long-in-hospital-beds-due-to-bureaucratic-delays-188439">NDIS participants are left waiting for too long in hospital beds due to bureaucratic delays</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Empowering people with disabilities</h2>
<p>An effective market-based system requires empowered consumers who are able to make informed decisions about the services and products they use. </p>
<p>At the start of the scheme, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_Insurance_Scheme/MarketReadiness/%7E/media/Committees/ndis_ctte/MarketReadiness/report.pdf">more than A$100 million</a> was invested in supporting providers to make the transition to a market-based system. </p>
<p>The latest findings are shocking and show Australia needs to invest now in the capacity of NDIS participants to be part of an effective and safe disability housing market driven by the people living in it. </p>
<p>The real solutions to the abuse and neglect in group homes involve supporting people with disability to become informed and empowered consumers, <a href="https://www.ndis-iac.com.au/s/Advice-Choice-and-control-to-safely-live-a-good-life-of-belonging-and-citizenship-Final-2021-06-13.docx">exercise choice and control and realise their citizenship</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this article originally stated more than 7,000 serious incidents were reported in a sample of seven homes. This has been amended to reflect it was the seven largest disability group home providers.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Di is the CEO of the Summer Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the issue of younger people living in Residential Aged Care (RAC). The Summer Foundation developed the Housing Hub which is an online platform to help people with disability explore and find housing. Di is also a director of Summer Housing, a not-for-profit Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) provider.</span></em></p>People with disabilities have a right to choose where and who they live with. Too many are currently in vulnerable arrangements.Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1967122022-12-22T18:34:28Z2022-12-22T18:34:28ZHelping male victims of domestic abuse can benefit society as a whole<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502230/original/file-20221220-15-dqrok9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C39%2C5299%2C3492&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Around one in five men experience physical violence in an intimate relationship every year.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/helping-male-victims-of-domestic-abuse-can-benefit-society-as-a-whole" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Every year in early December, the UN holds its <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/in-focus/2022/11/in-focus-16-days-of-activism-against-gender-based-violence">16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence</a>. The issue is one that <a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence-knowledge-centre/gender-based-violence-its-not-just.html">can affect everyone</a> regardless of their sex, gender or gender identity. </p>
<p>However, men who experience violence, and efforts to prevent violence against men and boys, are conspicuously lacking from the gender-based violence discussion. Despite solid evidence of men’s experiences of violent victimization in <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00016-eng.htm">Canada</a>, <a href="https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/60893">the U.S.</a> and elsewhere, services for them are virtually non-existent. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2022/08/sterling-prize-recipient-alexandra-lysova-shrugs-off-controversy.html">I have been studying men’s intimate partner victimization and domestic violence more generally for over 15 years</a>. I believe that helping male victims of intimate partner abuse will also address violence against women and girls by breaking the cycle of violence, and will benefit society as a whole. </p>
<h2>Men as victims of intimate partner violence</h2>
<p>Men are overrepresented among victims of <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/gsh/Booklet1.pdf">homicide</a> and <a href="https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Mental-Health-and-Suicide-Prevention-in-Men.pdf">suicide</a>. Research on intimate partner violence — recently highlighted by <a href="https://theconversation.com/depp-v-heard-verdict-is-a-turning-point-in-discussion-of-intimate-partner-violence-184424">the <em>Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard</em> case</a> — suggests that men can also become victims of female-perpetrated partner violence. </p>
<p>Self-reported population studies — one of the major sources of data on partner violence — identified that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.3.2.140">one in five men (19.3 per cent)</a> in North America and western Europe experience physical violence in an intimate relationship annually.</p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520922352">about 655,000 men</a> reported having experienced physical victimization in intimate relationships between 2004 and 2014. Moreover, about 64,000 of these men experienced the most severe type of partner abuse characterized by repeated and severe physical and psychological violence with a high probability of injuries and negative emotional effects. </p>
<p>A U.S study found that people in same-sex relationships can experience <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29994648">higher levels of domestic violence</a>. Just over half <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00005-eng.htm">(55 per cent)</a> of police-reported same-sex partner violence in Canada involved male partners. These individuals may face special barriers when it comes to discussing their experiences or seeking help.</p>
<p>We are also learning that men are at a higher risk of experiencing legal and administrative abuse in the intimate relationships, including false accusations of abuse. A 2020 survey found that 11 per cent of American men <a href="https://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/pr/survey-over-20-million-have-been-falsely-accused-of-abuse/">reported being falsely accused of domestic violence or other forms of abuse</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man with his head in his hand is comforted by other people." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502232/original/file-20221220-12-31d0ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Men often experience gender-specific barriers when seeking help for dealing with domestic violence, but there are far fewer services available to them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second major source of data — police-reported statistics — indicates that women are more likely to experience the most severe injurious violence and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61030-2">intimate partner homicide</a>. Police-reported data also reveals that women and girls make up <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221019/dq221019c-eng.htm">almost 70 per cent</a> of family-violence victims in Canada. There are however limitations on police-reported data. For example, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221019/dq221019c-eng.htm">about 80 per cent</a> of victims of abuse never report it to the police, and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00016-eng.pdf?st=8udlmN8X">men tend to underreport</a> spousal violence compared to women. </p>
<p>Despite underreporting, police data identified concerning trends of family violence for male victims. Between 2009 and 2021, the rates of police-reported family-violence in Canada decreased by five per cent for women and girls but <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221019/dq221019c-eng.htm">increased by four per cent for men and boys</a>. </p>
<h2>Gap in services for men</h2>
<p>Like other victims, men require attention and help with recognizing abuse earlier so they can cope with the consequences of abuse more effectively.</p>
<p>An international study I was a part of in 2020 found gender-specific <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20919710">barriers to men seeking help</a>, including not recognizing or calling what happened to them abuse, trying to live up to notions of “manliness” (being a victim may be seen as unmanly), trying to fix the relationship, protecting children and simply because they had nowhere to go for help. </p>
<p>There is a drastic <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2022027-eng.htm">service gap for male victims of abuse</a> compared to female victims of partner abuse. Among 557 government-funded residential facilities for victims of crime in Canada, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00006-eng.pdf">only 24 reported being mandated to also serve men in addition to women</a>. </p>
<h2>Breaking the cycle of violence</h2>
<p>Adults are not the only victims of domestic abuse. Children’s exposure to domestic violence – when children witness a parent assault another parent or partner — is a widespread social problem. </p>
<p>Around <a href="http://jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0676">25 per cent of youth</a> in the U.S. are affected by it in their lifetime. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9783-x">Children of men</a> who are victimized by their female partners often witness the violence and/or experience direct physical and emotional abuse.</p>
<p>Preventing violence by any partner can help to break the cycle of violence — or what is known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8999-8_2">the intergenerational transmission of violence</a>. That is when children who witness or experience abuse are more likely to engage in violent partner relationships in adulthood. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An image of shadows on a wall showing a man and woman arguing which a child sits nearby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502231/original/file-20221220-26-2d2215.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children who witness violence in the home are more likely to carry those experiences over into their adult relationships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moreover, boys are much more likely than girls to experience <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/14698-eng.pdf?st=VVPO3JZy">physical childhood abuse</a>, including being kicked, bitten, punched, choked, burned or otherwise attacked. Eliminating this type of abuse could reduce men’s perpetration of violence against women and children in their future relationship. </p>
<p>Many people might think that most intimate partner violence is perpetrated only by men and directed toward women. However, the most common pattern of abuse is <a href="https://www.gmu.edu/news/2022-06/depp-heard-trial-shines-light-bidirectional-intimate-partner-violence">bidirectional violence</a>. That is, violence perpetrated and experienced by both people in a relationship. Around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.3.2.e3">58 per cent</a> of reported cases of intimate partner violence were bidirectional. </p>
<p>The impact of the bidirectional violence can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2005.079020">very serious</a>, including physical injury and mental health problems for both partners. Recognizing and addressing partner violence that involves mutually violent couples can reduce violence against both men and women.</p>
<h2>Helping men means saving lives</h2>
<p>Strong evidence suggests that helping male victims of domestic violence can help reduce the likelihood of homicide for both men and women. In the U.S. and Canada, research has shown that when abused women are able to leave violent relationships, like finding refuge in a shelter for abused women, there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767999003003001">a reduction in female-perpetrated homicides</a>. </p>
<p>If abused men had similar opportunities to receive timely help, it could prevent abusive relationships from escalating, and potentially reduce male-perpetrated homicides as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819463-8.00012-5">the deaths of men</a> who are killed by their partners. </p>
<p>It is time to recognize men’s experiences of violence and abuse, not only as perpetrators but also as victims. <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/news/2022/11/canada-supports-engagement-for-men-and-boys-to-end-gender-based-violence.html">Engaging men</a> in reducing gender-based violence against women is important, but not enough. </p>
<p>Helping men and boys prevent violence in their own lives and providing them with support to address the consequences of partner abuse is the next important step in eliminating intimate partner violence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196712/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Lysova receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She had a research collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Men and Families. </span></em></p>Providing men who suffer domestic abuse with the help they need can also reduce violence experienced by women and children.Alexandra Lysova, Associate Professor of Criminology, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1931972022-11-24T21:27:59Z2022-11-24T21:27:59ZThe COVID-19 pandemic has made the impacts of gender-based violence worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496580/original/file-20221121-20-pusw4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=232%2C434%2C4803%2C2452&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protestors in Gqeberha, South Africa, demonstrating against gender-based violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every November the United Nations marks a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/women/16-days-activism-against-gender-based-violence">16-day campaign</a> against gender-based violence. It begins on Nov. 25, the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/ending-violence-against-women-day">International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women</a>, and ends on Dec. 10, <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day">Human Rights Day</a>. This year’s theme is “<a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/in-focus/2022/11/in-focus-16-days-of-activism-against-gender-based-violence">UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women and girls</a>.”</p>
<p>This theme aims to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on gender-based violence, as well as inequalities in accessible housing, services and resources. </p>
<p>During pandemic lockdowns women experiencing gender-based violence found themselves in precarious and dangerous circumstances. Many women facing violence had to contend with the prospect of homelessness as a result of limited housing options.</p>
<h2>Gender-based violence and COVID-19</h2>
<p>COVID-19 lockdowns exacerbated the pre-existing problem of gender-based violence. Families who were already dealing with violence were no longer able to leave the home for work, school or social activities. This left many women trapped with abusive partners which led to <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/hq-complex-page/covid-19-rebuilding-for-resilience/gender-based-violence?">increased rates of violence against women</a>. </p>
<p>Spaces like religious gatherings, workplaces, community centers, support groups and community agencies where women could get some reprieve and support were also no longer easily accessible. </p>
<p>The pandemic also highlighted a larger social divide and social inequalities in access to health care and housing, as well as poor working conditions. It had a more severe impact on lower-paid people — many of whom are women — who were often the first to lose their jobs. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaa159">This led to women falling behind on rent and having to move in with family</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three women hold placards with messages against domestic violence." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496585/original/file-20221121-18440-7m0lqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women’s rights activists take part in a demonstration to condemn the violence against women in Lahore, Pakistan, July 24, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These divides do not come as a surprise to women and children fleeing violence.
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801220917464">Research</a>, and the experiences of <a href="http://www.pcawa.net/covid-19-frontline-worker-survey.html">those fighting gender-based violence</a>, have illustrated that women face multifaceted challenges when accessing social services and supports. </p>
<p>Specifically, racialized women face unique vulnerabilities that increase their risk of violence and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392116639221">access to services</a>. These include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211050590">restrictive immigration laws</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34547946/">racial profiling</a>. Exploring the relationship between COVID-19 and gender-based violence is key to understanding women’s experiences. Gender-based violence survivors’ experiences must be understood from an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29048196/">intersectional approach</a>.</p>
<h2>The housing crisis</h2>
<p>Due to financial dependence and an increasingly unaffordable housing market, women and children fleeing violence are in dangerous positions. In many large cities, housing costs have been skyrocketing. The average monthly rent across Canada is <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/average-rent-in-canada-exceeds-2-000-per-month-report-1.6108714">more than $2,000 per month</a>. </p>
<p>Many women face the difficult decision of staying with abusive partners or family members. A problem that many women struggling to support their children have voiced is having to <a href="https://www.acto.ca/a-new-poll-shows-the-majority-of-ontario-renters-are-having-to-choose-between-food-and-paying-their-rents-when-it-comes-to-housing-affordability-this-province-is-on-fire/">choose between buying food and paying rent</a>. </p>
<p>With housing increasingly unaffordable, women fleeing violence are struggling to find a secure place to live. This puts women at risk and places them back at the mercy of their abusers.</p>
<p>Across Canada, women are <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9014236/ns-domestic-violence-shelter-affordable-housing/">staying in shelters longer</a>. In Nova Scotia for instance, there is limited funding for <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9240198/sask-ndp-shelter-funding-domestic-violence-thatcher/">second stage housing</a> which supports women transitioning from temporary shelters to permanent housing. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People gather near a rock with the words: women's monument." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496586/original/file-20221121-11-q64a7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People take part in a vigil at the Women’s Monument in Petawawa, Ont., to remember Carol Culleton, Nathalie Warmerdam and Anastasia Kuzyk. The three women were murdered by Basil Borutski, a man who had a known history of violence against women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Survivors of abuse in Canada are given priority on social housing wait-lists based on a special priority criterion. This criterion includes leaving abusive relationships within 90 days and providing <a href="https://www.peelregion.ca/housing/pdf/V-08-121.pdf">proof of cohabitation</a>. But wait times for social housing are long and these criteria do not apply to everyone. </p>
<p>Consequently, many women remain in unhealthy and abusive households because they cannot afford to live elsewhere. <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/SR/VAWJournalists/Government/canada.pdf">Domestic violence shelters</a> often turn away women and children due to lack of beds. Those that make it in shelters in Canada are having <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9014236/ns-domestic-violence-shelter-affordable-housing/">longer stays</a>.</p>
<p>Many survivors live in risky, temporary housing, yet are considered safe because they no longer live with their abusers. Survivors choose temporary housing options to protect their children’s lives, stability and welfare, meet basic needs and avoid child welfare agencies. This tends to leave survivors homeless or at risk of returning to their abusers.</p>
<p>Survivors also face challenges applying for the help they need. The need for virtual meetings and application processes during the pandemic raised new challenges for <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/affordable-housing-ontario">social housing application access</a>. </p>
<p>Due to limited access to the internet, computers, skill set gaps and use of shared devices, some survivors cannot safely and privately seek help and complete applications at home.</p>
<p>Exploring the intersections between systemic oppression and women’s vulnerabilities is critical. The 16 Days of Activism are a call for all levels of government to address the housing gap and gender-based violence. </p>
<p>Building more affordable housing, improving access to subsidized housing and increasing benefit assistance rates are some sustainable solutions to the chronic cycle of homelessness faced by women fleeing violence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Watetu wa Gichuki works for Salvation Army Family Life Resource Centre women's shelter. The organization receives funding from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and Women's Shelters Canada. </span></em></p>Improving access to affordable housing and increasing benefit assistance rates are some sustainable solutions to the chronic cycle of homelessness faced by women fleeing violence.Watetu wa Gichuki, PhD Student, Global Health, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1941642022-11-13T12:46:25Z2022-11-13T12:46:25ZAbuse is widely accepted as part of organized sports culture but it should not be tolerated<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494553/original/file-20221110-24-n2ja5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C38%2C5184%2C3383&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Different forms of abuse are quite common in organized sports.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/abuse-is-widely-accepted-as-part-of-organized-sports-culture-but-it-should-not-be-tolerated" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Participating in sports as a child or adolescent can have many benefits, including improvements in both physical and mental health with positive impacts into adulthood. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, various forms of abuse within sports appear to be common, negating benefits in participating in sports and resulting in long-term negative impacts. Greater recognition that verbal and emotional abuse in sports is abuse and harmful regardless of victim or perpetrator gender is necessary.</p>
<p>Daniel Carcillo, former NHL player and two-time Stanley Cup winner, is the lead plaintiff in a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/canadian-hockey-league-class-action-lawsuit-1.5834716">class action abuse lawsuit filed against the Canadian Hockey League in 2020</a>.</p>
<p>Carcillo <a href="https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29330583/daniel-carcillo-leads-class-action-lawsuit-canadian-hockey-league-physical-sexual-abuse">alleges abuse by teammates when he was a 17-year-old player with the Ontario Hockey League</a>. He retired in 2015, and is involved in activism that lets kids know that hazing rituals — whether physical, sexual, verbal or emotional — are abuse.</p>
<p>Canadian figure skater Elizabeth Manley, a silver-medalist Olympian, reported years of verbal abuse as a young skater that included <a href="https://www.besthealthmag.ca/article/figure-skating-olympics-body-image-sports/">being fat-shamed and told she wasn’t “tough enough” to be a winner</a>.</p>
<p>Recently, players in the National Women’s Soccer league have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/04/sports/soccer/soccer-abuse-power.html">come forward to report the abuse they experienced at the hands of some of their coaches</a>. One player was so frightened about the potential fallout that it took her six years to report the abuse. </p>
<p>Similar stories of abuse abound. Larry Nassar, a former doctor with USA Gymnastics, may be the most prolific sex abuser in sports: <a href="https://time.com/5629228/larry-nassar-victim-speaks-out/">over 500 girls and women reported being abused by him</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DTB4iOmSfec?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Global News looks at abuse and mistreatment in sports.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Types of abuse</h2>
<p>Abuse is defined as behaviours that “<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/service-delivery/abuse/types-abuse.html">scare, isolate or control another person. Abuse may be a pattern or a single incident</a>.” The Canadian government has identified five categories of abuse:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Physical abuse is behaviour that includes assault and forcible confinement, for example, hitting, strangling or physically restraining.</p></li>
<li><p>Sexual abuse is sexual contact without consent — forced sexual acts.</p></li>
<li><p>Psychological abuse refers to threats and intimidation, such as gaslighting or making the victim doubt their own sanity.</p></li>
<li><p>Financial abuse is abuse that involves fraud and extortion by withholding money or controlling the budget.</p></li>
<li><p>Neglect is abuse where the necessities of life causing harm are withheld, <a href="https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/types-and-signs-abuse">causing malnutrition, unsanitary living conditions and more</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>The benefits of sports</h2>
<p>Sports can help an individual’s development beyond just the physical aspects of exercise. Playing sports can <a href="https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-1229.153335">build character, develop analytical skills, foster leadership qualities and help with goal-setting skills</a>. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2020-09/YSS_Report_OnePager_2020-08-31_web.pdf">the U.S. President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition (PCSFN) Science Board</a>, 73 per cent of parents believe that their children’s mental, emotional and social health benefits from participating in sports. In terms of physical health, 88 per cent of parents believe that participating in sports benefits their child’s physical health. </p>
<p>Additional benefits can last into adulthood — 73 per cent of adults who play sports also participated in sports when they were younger.</p>
<h2>Abuse in sports</h2>
<p>In a survey of 370 elite and club athletes, <a href="https://canada.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/sexual-abuse-in-sport">31 per cent of female athletes and 21 per cent of male athletes indicated that they had experienced sexual abuse before they were 18</a>. </p>
<p>Research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.840221">athletes experience abuse in sports</a>, with rates ranging from 38 to 72 per cent for psychological abuse, nine and 30 per cent for sexual abuse, and 11 to 21 per cent for physical abuse.</p>
<p>Although many may think of abuse in sport as sexual or physical, verbal and emotional abuse is exceedingly common. Emotional abuse is an <a href="https://kempe.org/2019/08/14/hidden-scars-a-look-at-emotional-abuse-in-sports/">under-reported form of abuse that occurs across all levels of sport</a>. Emotional abuse can be in the form of shaming, insults, and threats and can be perpetrated by coaches, team members and parents.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="official looking people sit around a conference table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494554/original/file-20221110-2908-qamwu2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Witnesses from Hockey Canada appear at the standing committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa on July 27, 2022. The committee is looking into how Hockey Canada handled allegations of sexual assault and a subsequent lawsuit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Impact of abuse</h2>
<p>In our research, we examined whether defendant gender, victim gender and type of abuse (emotional, physical) influenced mock-jurors’ decisions when the abuse happened in a sports domain. We asked 239 people to act as jurors and read through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09553-3">a mock-case vignette describing an alleged emotional or physical abuse situation</a>.</p>
<p>First, participants were asked whether the case should proceed to trial. Following this, participants rated their perceptions of the defendant and the victim, and then answered questions related to sexism. When the abuse was physical, participants were more likely to state the case should go to trial, and participants also had more positive perceptions of the victim.</p>
<p>However, when the abuse was emotional, victims were perceived less positively. There may be a misguided acceptance of emotional abuse in sports. While gender had little influence on mock-jurors’ decisions, the type of abuse greatly influenced their decisions. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, when the abuse was emotional, mock-jurors were more likely to believe that the victim fabricated the story as opposed to when the abuse was physical. Again, this feeds into the notion that emotional abuse is part of the “game.” </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/addressing-athlete-abuse-in-canadian-sport-requires-internal-change-and-external-investigators-188783">Addressing athlete abuse in Canadian sport requires internal change and external investigators</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Zero tolerance</h2>
<p>There may be a lack of awareness of the detrimental effects of emotional abuse. Research has found that <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/news/psychological-abuse-most-common-form-maltreatment-experienced-national-team-athletes-u-t-study">emotional abuse is the most common type of abuse in sports</a>.</p>
<p>A sports culture that does not tolerate abuse of any kind needs to be cultivated to ensure that the benefits of participating in sports are achieved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194164/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanna Pozzulo receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Pica does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A sports culture that does not tolerate abuse of any kind needs to be cultivated to ensure that the benefits of participating in sports are achieved.Joanna Pozzulo, Chancellor's Professor, Psychology, Carleton UniversityEmily Pica, Associate Professor, Psychological Science and Counseling, Austin Peay State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1901892022-11-08T13:41:25Z2022-11-08T13:41:25ZBeing light-skinned can lead to ‘reverse colorism’ in many parts of the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492850/original/file-20221101-26775-ck41ft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C195%2C3819%2C2795&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An albino girl carries a member of her family in Zimbabwe.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-albino-girl-carries-a-member-of-her-family-in-front-of-news-photo/1006332532?phrase=albino african&adppopup=true">Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Racism is often debated, discussed and analyzed in politics, the classroom and the workplace.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lfBeq78AAAAJ&hl=en">But as a scholar of the politics of skin color</a>, I see colorism as a form of prejudice that’s poorly understood and gets very little attention.</p>
<p>The Merriam-Webster dictionary <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colorism">defines colorism</a> as “prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin.” Western media outlets <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/colorism-people-color-overcome-insecurities-biases-71875856">routinely assume</a> that colorism refers to the preference for lighter skin in communities of color. </p>
<p>Yet this assumption betrays a Western bias. Yes, in places like the U.S., darker-skinned people <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/colorism-study-highlights-discrimination-based-skin-color-hispanics/story?id=80991400">can experience various aspects of discrimination</a>.</p>
<p>But in some African communities, the U.S. and other parts of the world, light skin may also lead to prejudicial treatment.</p>
<h2>Targets for discrimination and abuse</h2>
<p><a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21747-albinism#:%7E:text=Yes%2C%20albinism%20is%20passed%20down,to%20be%20born%20with%20albinism.">Albinism</a> is a hereditary condition caused by mutations of certain genes that affect the amount of melanin produced by the body. The condition is relatively rare – <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/health/albinism-seen-in-1-out-of-17-000-people-worldwide/1875595">roughly 1 in 17,000 people</a> worldwide – and rates vary by population group.</p>
<p>But in Africa, certain tribal traditions can place the lives of albino Africans in danger. In an environment where dark skin is the dominant norm, <a href="https://www.underthesamesun.com/sites/default/files/Frequency%20of%20Albinism.pdf">light appearances can invite reverse colorism</a> – and even <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26489055">lead to violence</a>.</p>
<p>Incidents of albino reverse colorism occur most often in sub-Saharan Africa. There, some natives refer to albinos using the pejorative “<a href="https://face2faceafrica.com/article/shocking-african-cultural-practices-that-victimized-people-with-albinism">inkawu</a>,” which, in English, roughly equates to “white baboon.” </p>
<p>Other words that refer to albinos are “<a href="https://face2faceafrica.com/article/shocking-african-cultural-practices-that-victimized-people-with-albinism">isishawa</a>” – meaning a person who is cursed – and “<a href="https://face2faceafrica.com/article/shocking-african-cultural-practices-that-victimized-people-with-albinism">zeruzeru</a>,” which is predominantly used in Tanzania and means “ghostlike.”</p>
<p>Tanzania is notable for another reason: It has the largest number of documented murders of albino people <a href="https://www.ijern.com/journal/June-2014/25.pdf">on the entire continent</a>. </p>
<p>There are certain cultural traditions that facilitate the abuse and murder of albino people. <a href="https://www.underthesamesun.com/sites/default/files/UTSS%20report%20to%20UN%20-%20REPORT.pdf">A report prepared for the United Nations in 2012</a> noted that a tradition existed in the Maasai tribe to place <a href="https://face2faceafrica.com/article/shocking-african-cultural-practices-that-victimized-people-with-albinism">a newborn albino child at the gate of a cattle barn</a>. Cattle were then released to graze, and they would often trample the newborn to death. If the child somehow survived, it would be allowed to live.</p>
<p>Beyond the imminent physical danger albino newborns can find themselves in, the birth of an albino child <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-020-09701-0">can create a host of challenges for the rest of the family</a>, which can find itself newly stigmatized. For these reasons, some families see their albino children <a href="https://face2faceafrica.com/article/shocking-african-cultural-practices-that-victimized-people-with-albinism">as a curse</a>. </p>
<p>Other albino children, as well as adults, <a href="https://face2faceafrica.com/article/shocking-african-cultural-practices-that-victimized-people-with-albinism">may end up mutilated</a>, their body parts used to concoct potions and make trinkets. Such forms of violence are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-022-00214-3">reserved for the albino population alone</a>. </p>
<p>The statistics are devastating: In Tanzania, <a href="https://www.gct.com/community/the-inside-scoop/the-buzz/growing-up-in-the-sun">only 2%</a> of people born with albinism live to the age of 40.</p>
<h2>Fighting back</h2>
<p>In Africa, there are activists who are working to end the stigmatization of albino people.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gct.com/community/the-inside-scoop/the-buzz/growing-up-in-the-sun">Sister Martha Mganga</a>, who was born with albinism, has been holding community events in Tanzania for over 30 years to help dispel myths about albinism. Through her organization, Peacemakers for Albinism and Community, she has placed over 150 albino children in schools where they’ll be safe.</p>
<p>Another activist, an albino South African lawyer and model named <a href="https://www.allure.com/story/thando-hopa-personal-essay-albinism">Thando Hopa</a>, sees it as her mission to change the perception of albino people. </p>
<p>In a 2021 essay, she reflected on her experiences:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“As I grew older, I constantly experienced covert, overt, and borderline obsessive interrogation of my human and biological value, my normality, my general intellectual competence, my racial positioning, and social desirability – all linked to my having albinism.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An albino fashion model wearing a black dress and black hat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492853/original/file-20221101-14-9tgq4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492853/original/file-20221101-14-9tgq4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492853/original/file-20221101-14-9tgq4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492853/original/file-20221101-14-9tgq4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492853/original/file-20221101-14-9tgq4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492853/original/file-20221101-14-9tgq4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492853/original/file-20221101-14-9tgq4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An albino model during a 2017 fashion show in Durban, South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-albino-model-presents-a-creation-by-a-local-designer-news-photo/805234174?phrase=albino%20african&adppopup=true">Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet reverse colorism is no less an issue among African-Americans. <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/colorism-people-color-overcome-insecurities-biases-71875856">While many scholars and journalists</a> maintain that colorism manifests as discrimination against those having darker skin, it doesn’t always play out that way. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218810756">the first African American litigation centered on colorism</a> was brought by a light-skinned African American named Tracey Morrow, who, in 1990, claimed she was discriminated against in performance evaluations by her dark-skinned supervisor at the IRS, where she worked.</p>
<p>Oprah Winfrey’s 2015 documentary “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-light-girls-twitter-20150120-story.html">Light Girls</a>” is one of the few Western works that tackled the issue of reverse colorism. The documentary features personal accounts of light-skinned Black women, some of whom were brought to tears as they described being rejected or discriminated against by their community for not being “<a href="https://theconversation.com/too-pretty-to-play-stephen-curry-and-the-light-skinned-black-athlete-76638">Black enough</a>.”</p>
<p>The complexions of people of African descent across time and space are varied – from light-skinned sociologist <a href="https://media.poetryfoundation.org/uploads/media/cache/default/0001/16/f42532a431dd468d5f9f742bcc046b452740ebcc.jpeg/bbc3cc15a11acfbac58939f1dedb9f59">W.E.B. DuBois</a> to the dark-skinned former prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, <a href="https://idsb.tmgrup.com.tr/ly/uploads/images/2020/09/10/thumbs/800x531/57473.jpg">Patrice Lumumba</a> – and myriad variations in between.</p>
<p>Perhaps mankind is always destined to differentiate itself for social, political and economic reasons. But while racial discrimination persists, it has become more difficult to divvy people up by racial group due to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/08/mixed-race-americans-increase-census/">the growth of multiracial populations</a>.</p>
<p>Skin color, on the other hand, is starkly visible – making it an ideal canvas for discrimination.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190189/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronald E. Hall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In Tanzania, only 2% of people born with albinism will live to the age of 40.Ronald E. Hall, Professor of Social Work, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1920482022-10-18T12:36:47Z2022-10-18T12:36:47Z‘Nobody said anything because they feared being benched’ – how abuse is baked into American sports<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489813/original/file-20221014-15-92s3wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C20%2C3430%2C2276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Too many coaches seem to believe that physical and emotional abuse creates better athletes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/scream-royalty-free-image/183241016?phrase=coach yelling&adppopup=true">imbarney22/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As someone who has been researching, writing and teaching about women’s and girls sports for the past 15 years, I wasn’t surprised <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/sports/soccer/us-soccer-abuse-nwsl.html">by the recent revelations</a> of sexual and verbal abuse by National Women’s Soccer League coaches.</p>
<p>There’s a tendency to explain such horrific behavior <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1703233">in strictly individualistic terms</a> – as a sign of personality disorders or moral deficiencies. But this kind of response misses the larger picture of how organized sports itself contributes to abusive and even sadistic behavior.</p>
<p><a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442266285/How-College-Athletics-Are-Hurting-Girls-Sports-The-Pay-to-Play-Pipeline">My book</a> on the hypercommercialization of girls sports identified many instances of verbal and physical abuse of girls and young women at both the youth and college levels. </p>
<p>More recently, some colleagues and I have been exploring the structural causes of college athlete stress and anxiety. A <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/college-athletes-stress-suicide-help-20220812.html">pilot study</a> of several hundred athletes (of all genders) at both large and small schools has revealed troubling examples of abusive coaching behavior. These examples were identified more frequently in women’s sports and were present in both large and small colleges.</p>
<h2>‘It’s like being in the Army’</h2>
<p>Our study – which involved over 600 surveys and 40 interviews – has not explicitly uncovered any cases of sexual abuse.</p>
<p>The findings, though, suggest that abusive behavior can take several forms short of sexual assault. The surveys we administered did not ask about abuse in any form. We discovered examples of abuse only during interviews. Most of these examples were offered without direct prompting but when “coaching behavior” was discussed more generically. </p>
<p>We found that there is often overt denigration of an athlete’s other college responsibilities. In the survey portion of our study, 80% of athletes reported spending far more than 20 hours per week on their sport. That violates NCAA <a href="https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/reports/getReport/90008">bylaw 17.1.7</a>, which sets limits on weekly and daily sports participation.</p>
<p>One woman in a small college program told us, “Coach was clear that if I missed ‘voluntary’ conditioning to finish a lab report I could forget about playing next season.” Another athlete in a larger program said, “The 20 hour rule is a joke; they think our whole lives should be about [the sport]. Them preaching balance is a load of bulls— for parents and recruits.”</p>
<p>A second form of abuse concerns the facilitation of authoritarian behavior. Sociologist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2017-0096">Sarah Hatteberg</a> has written on college sports as a “total institution” not unlike prison or the military.</p>
<p>As Hatteberg argues, in total institutions, those in charge have complete control of subordinates and have the power to set stringent rules and the freedom to mete out punishments. My colleagues and I believe this “militarized” aspect of organized sports encourages and legitimates abusive coaching behavior by reinforcing authoritarianism. </p>
<p>Our interviews regularly uncovered elements of militarization. </p>
<p>“The coaches tell us when to eat, when to sleep, when to s—, what to wear, what classes we take,” one football player told us. “It’s like being in the f—ing Army.” A softball player remarked, “When I asked why we had 6 a.m. practice during finals even though the field is always available, [the coach] shouted, ‘because I said so; toughen up or get lost.’” </p>
<h2>Blaming bad apples</h2>
<p>The final thread of abuse we uncovered is the most straightforward: emotional abuse or nonsexual physical abuse. </p>
<p>Emotional abuse consists of ridicule, embarrassment and demoralization, usually in a public setting. Physical abuse might include forcing people to lift an unsafe amount of weight or having to run up and down stairs until the athlete throws up or faints, which often results in more ridicule.</p>
<p>As one baseball player recounted, “The coach would go berserk and start winging baseballs at us if we made an error during practice. He hit a couple of guys in the head. Nobody said anything because they feared being benched.”</p>
<p>It’s easy to say that the allegations against the National Women’s Soccer League coaches, along with the arrests of sexual abusers like former USA Gymnastics doctor <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/larry-nassar-timeline/">Larry Nassar</a> and former Penn State assistant football coach <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/11/sports/ncaafootball/sandusky.html?_r=0">Jerry Sandusky</a>, represent hideous aberrations.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People in a stadium with red seats hold a banner reading 'Protect NWSL Players.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489815/original/file-20221014-26-hm2xl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489815/original/file-20221014-26-hm2xl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489815/original/file-20221014-26-hm2xl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489815/original/file-20221014-26-hm2xl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489815/original/file-20221014-26-hm2xl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489815/original/file-20221014-26-hm2xl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489815/original/file-20221014-26-hm2xl8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fans hoist a banner in support of players after a report was released documenting systemic abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/fans-hold-up-a-banner-saying-protect-nwsl-players-during-news-photo/1243801782?phrase=national%20women's%20soccer%20league&adppopup=true">Matthew Ashton/AMA via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But our data – along with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/world/americas/whats-behind-the-pileup-of-sex-abuse-scandals.html?searchResultPosition=1">other research</a> – strongly suggests that abusive behavior is widespread and baked into the <a href="https://theconversation.com/girls-no-more-why-elite-gymnastics-competition-for-women-should-start-at-18-143182">very essence</a> of organized sports.</p>
<p>Even though none of the people who participated in our research mentioned sexual abuse, we wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were victims of or knew about a coach’s sexually abusive behavior. Studies by the <a href="https://uscenterforsafesport.org/impact-report/">U.S. Center for Safesport</a> estimate that 90% of sexually abused athletes do not report the offense in real time. A study commissioned by the <a href="https://laurenskids.org/">Lauren’s Kids Foundation</a> puts that number at 75%. </p>
<p>The prevailing wisdom in organized sports is that physical and emotional antagonism – it is rarely called “abuse” – creates better athletes, just as it supposedly makes better soldiers. But athletic competitions aren’t wars. They’re games – at least, they’re supposed to be. </p>
<p>Firing, suspending or fining offending and offensive individuals will not by itself address the systemic conditions that enable this sort of behavior in the first place. Imagine for a moment if teachers publicly ridiculed a student for making an error. Or if they made an entire class serve detention when one student arrived late to class. </p>
<p>College and high school administrators, along with national oversight boards, tend to address abusive coaching by <a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/03/08/larry-nassar-sexually-abused-gymnasts-michigan-state-university-usa-gymnastics/339051002/">blaming bad apples</a> rather than examining the conditions that allow bad apples to thrive. For decades, <a href="https://theconversation.com/serena-williams-forced-sports-journalists-to-get-out-of-the-toy-box-and-cover-tennis-as-more-than-a-game-189024">the media has fallen into the same trap</a>.</p>
<p>As long as organized sports continue to emphasize winning at all costs, abuses are unlikely to disappear – no matter how many bad apples are discarded.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192048/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Eckstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US National Women’s Soccer League was recently rocked by revelations of sexual abuse. But research shows that physical and verbal abuse is also disturbingly common in organized sports.Rick Eckstein, Professor of Sociology, Villanova UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.