tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/intimate-partner-violence-15047/articlesIntimate partner violence – The Conversation2024-01-22T19:04:38Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2214132024-01-22T19:04:38Z2024-01-22T19:04:38ZHow both health and safety are compromised for people living with long COVID and intimate partner violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570524/original/file-20240122-27-incl0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What happens when a person is experiencing long COVID and intimate partner violence at the same time? There has been no attention paid to this question anywhere in the world since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.</p>
<p>This is staggering, given <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news-archive/2019/domestic-abuse-survivors-twice-at-risk-of-long-term-illnesses-1">previous research</a> shows women who are victim-survivors of intimate partner violence are twice as likely to develop long-term illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/post-covid-19-condition#:%7E:text=It%20is%20defined%20as%20the,months%20with%20no%20other%20explanation.">World Health Organisation</a> defines long COVID as the continuation, or development of new symptoms three months after the initial COVID infection. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2">Global studies</a> estimate one in ten infected people go on to develop long COVID symptoms. </p>
<p><a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Disconnected_Insecure_The_intersection_between_experiences_of_long_COVID_and_intimate_partner_violence/25000520">Our research</a> reveals the previously unseen impacts of long COVID on individuals experiencing domestic violence. We found that each of these conditions worsened an individual’s experience of the other.</p>
<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Disconnected_Insecure_The_intersection_between_experiences_of_long_COVID_and_intimate_partner_violence/25000520">an anonymous online survey</a> between April and October 2023 with 28 Australian adults affected by intimate partner violence and diagnosed with long COVID. The survey asked participants about the impact of long COVID on their experiences of intimate partner violence as well as about their safety and support needs. </p>
<p>The majority of survey participants (18 of the 28) identified as female and as heterosexual (21 of 28). Most participants were between 31 and 50 years old and identified English as the main language spoken at home. </p>
<p>The majority of respondents contracted long COVID in 2022 and had experienced symptoms for more than a year. Three-quarters of them said long COVID “significantly” affected their day-to-day functioning.</p>
<h2>Experiences of partner abuse since contracting long COVID</h2>
<p>Thirteen participants had experienced abuse in the relationship prior to their diagnosis with long COVID. Another seven experienced abuse for the first time following their long COVID diagnosis. These victim-survivors talked about the abuse beginning as their health deteriorated. </p>
<p>One participant described: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think the illness on top of my other conditions made him perceive me as more of a burden, leading to poor behaviour. There were a few signs of this prior to my having COVID, but I think my being vulnerable when I had previously been the ‘strong’ and ‘independent’ partner really threw him off and he rejected that.</p>
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<p>Another victim-survivor put the rapid increase in abuse down to the difficult social conditions of living through lockdowns and in isolation: </p>
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<p>[The pandemic] gave us too much time to know so much about each other. That worsened the abusive tendencies.</p>
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<p>Eighteen survey participants believed contracting long COVID had put them at higher risk of abuse due to a range of factors, including reduced brain functioning, low self-worth, social isolation associated with COVID restrictions, and the burden of care placed on their partners. </p>
<p>As two victim-survivors described: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>My self-worth has decreased and my need for help and support has increased. He makes me feel like I need him.</p>
<p>I seemed to be a burden at all times. </p>
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<p>Several participants said they were too unwell as a result of long COVID to even consider leaving their abusive partner. As two participants commented: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I felt that I had no choice but to stay. I can’t handle another huge change or unknown.</p>
<p>It [long COVID] makes me feel helpless. My health is my ticket to a better life. I’m not actioning my thoughts to leave as it all seems too big, too messy. I won’t cope physically or mentally. I cannot take care of five children on my own.</p>
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<p>Victim-survivors who had not separated from their abusive partner acknowledged that it would be impossible to recover physically from long COVID while continuing to experience intimate partner violence. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-have-covid-how-likely-am-i-to-get-long-covid-218808">I have COVID. How likely am I to get long COVID?</a>
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<h2>The weaponisation of long COVID symptoms</h2>
<p>Victim-survivors described how their partners weaponised or manipulated their long COVID symptoms to perpetrate abusive behaviours. Perpetrators exploited the mental and physical impacts of long COVID to further entrap victim-survivors in coercively controlling relationships. </p>
<p>One victim-survivor described their partner in the following way:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>yelling and pushing due to me not knowing what I want to say quickly and words getting muddled up.</p>
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<p>Another victim-survivor lost their sex drive, a well-documented symptom of long COVID, which led to their abuser shifting towards sexually abusive behaviours.</p>
<h2>Missed opportunities</h2>
<p>Many victim-survivors in <a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Disconnected_Insecure_The_intersection_between_experiences_of_long_COVID_and_intimate_partner_violence/25000520">this study</a> talked about missed opportunities for intervention by health professionals. One in five victim-survivors surveyed said that they were never asked about violence by a medical professional. </p>
<p>Several participants also said family violence support services were partially or completely inaccessible due to their long COVID symptoms. One victim-survivor commented: </p>
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<p>Nothing was able to be provided in a practical sense, the best that could be done is acknowledging that there’s a gap in services.</p>
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<p>Several victim-survivors who accessed support did so via phone or webchat. This is unsurprising given the health vulnerabilities of victim-survivors experiencing long COVID. But it highlights the importance of continued funding for the delivery of remote domestic violence supports and health care services across Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-technology-can-help-victims-of-intimate-partner-violence-218421">How technology can help victims of intimate partner violence</a>
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<h2>Supporting the safety and recovery needs of all victim-survivors</h2>
<p><a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Disconnected_Insecure_The_intersection_between_experiences_of_long_COVID_and_intimate_partner_violence/25000520">Our study</a> provides critical information relevant to the continued implementation of the Australian government’s <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children</a> as well as ongoing public health policy and practice in all Australian states and territories. </p>
<p>The unique experiences of victim-survivors with long COVID and other chronic health conditions must be recognised and addressed across the spectrum of prevention, early intervention, response and recovery efforts. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Disconnected_Insecure_The_intersection_between_experiences_of_long_COVID_and_intimate_partner_violence/25000520">this study</a>, victim-survivors commonly described losing control of their health and then losing control of their safety within their relationship. Addressing this issue requires workers responding to domestic violence to be alive to the complex intersection of chronic illness, ableism, and gender-based violence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate has received funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, Australian Institute of Criminology, Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety, the Victorian Government and the Department of Social Services. This piece is written by Kate Fitz-Gibbon in her role at Monash University and is wholly independent of Kate Fitz-Gibbon’s role as Chair of Respect Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jasmine McGowan receives funding for family violence related research from the Victorian Government and the Queensland Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Pfitzner receives funding for family violence related research from the Victorian Government and the Department of Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Scott 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>New research shows that for people living with long COVID and intimate partner violence, each was exacerbated by the other and services were inadequate.Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash UniversityBenjamin Scott, Research assistant, Monash UniversityJasmine McGowan, Lecturer, Monash UniversityNaomi Pfitzner, Lead Researcher with the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and Lecturer in Criminology at the Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171792023-12-19T13:17:23Z2023-12-19T13:17:23ZWhy do some men commit domestic violence? Trauma and social isolation may play a role<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565296/original/file-20231212-23-6xbunh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2121%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Domestic violence is experienced unevenly across the U.S.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/argument-man-and-woman-having-an-argument-at-home-royalty-free-image/1321546697">kieferpix/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Support for survivors of domestic violence is important, but to end domestic violence once and for all, society needs to understand the people who perpetrate it and how to successfully intervene.</p>
<p>Domestic violence is very common in the United States. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/NISVSReportonIPV_2022.pdf">Nearly half of women and men in the U.S.</a> experience sexual or physical violence, stalking or psychological harm or coercion in a romantic relationship during their lifetime. </p>
<p>Domestic violence is also experienced unevenly across the U.S population. Young people are most vulnerable, with <a href="https://cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/NISVSReportonIPV_2022.pdf">nearly three-fourths</a> of female victims reporting that their first experience of domestic violence occurred before age 25. <a href="https://cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/NISVSReportonIPV_2022.pdf">People of color</a> and <a href="https://cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/nisvsReportonSexualIdentity.pdf">LGBTQ+</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305774">people</a> also experience considerably higher rates of domestic violence than the national average. And despite similar rates of domestic violence across men and women, women report <a href="https://cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/NISVSReportonIPV_2022.pdf">more severe effects on their lives</a>, including higher rates of injury and need for medical care, needing help from law enforcement and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.</p>
<p>I am a social worker who has spent the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OtG3yWgAAAAJ&hl=en">past 10 years studying</a> how men come to use violence against their intimate partners, since the <a href="https://cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/NISVSReportonIPV_2022.pdf">effects of their violence</a> is often the most severe. My research has found that consistent supportive relationships with attentive adults in childhood and adulthood, along with stress management that takes trauma into account, are two promising approaches to prevent domestic violence.</p>
<h2>The roots of domestic violence</h2>
<p>Understanding how someone comes to perpetrate violence is necessary to stop violence from happening in the first place.</p>
<p>Certain childhood experiences can put people at risk of committing domestic violence in the future. Researchers have found that child abuse, neglect and a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.06.001">negative parent-child relationship</a> are significant risk factors that may lead someone to later perpetrate domestic violence. </p>
<p>Experiencing trauma in early childhood can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2663">alter the brain, how the body responds to stress</a> and whether someone sees the world as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018791268">threatening, harmful and untrustworthy place</a>. For example, research has shown that people who have been exposed to trauma have increased activity in the amygdala of the brain, resulting in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2014.10.002">heightened fear and arousal</a> that can lead to aggressive responses in the face of conflict and stress. Trauma exposure is also linked to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.04.010">decrease in activity in the prefrontal cortex</a> – that’s the part of the brain responsible for impulse control, concentration and emotional reasoning. These are essential qualities to navigate interpersonal relationships. </p>
<p>Toxic stress – excessive or prolonged activation of the body’s stress response – happens when someone encounters constant threats to their physical or mental safety during sensitive developmental periods. Compared to their peers, youth facing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-054493">disproportionate levels of hardship</a> and threats of poverty, racism and other structural inequities are at greater risk for toxic stress. These bodily changes can set kids up for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000156">PTSD, depression</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000237">alcohol or drug abuse</a> later in life, which are some of the most common risk factors of perpetrating domestic violence. One study found that nearly one-third of men in a domestic violence intervention program <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12533">reported clinical levels of PTSD</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Couple arguing in hallway of home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565302/original/file-20231212-25-zhxfvd.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">There are ways to navigate complex emotional challenges without resorting to violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/stressed-couple-arguing-blaming-each-other-royalty-free-image/1454529507">bymuratdeniz/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Beliefs about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-022-00451-0">traditional gender roles</a> dictating how men and women should act is another significant contributing factor to domestic violence. Unresolved trauma mixed with rigid gender views can limit the coping skills and tools people have to navigate complex emotional challenges in romantic relationships. For example, homes that promote rigid gender scripts, such as “boys don’t cry,” and limit opportunities to learn from activities that are considered “feminine,” like caring for baby dolls, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.12.022">stunt the emotional expression</a> of boys and make them less skilled in recognizing emotions in others and themselves. Anger typically becomes the most accessible emotion.</p>
<p>Certainly not all people who have faced childhood adversity and trauma are destined to perpetrate violence. Studies show that a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017692383">secure parent-child attachment</a> and the presence of safe, nurturing relationships and environments during childhood protect against future violence. Positive childhood experiences, such as feeling understood in difficult times and having at least two nonparental adults taking interest in your life, can help. One study of over 6,000 adults in Wisconsin found that those reporting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3007">three to five positive childhood experiences</a> were 50% less likely to have depressive symptoms or poor mental health days compared to those who had fewer or no positive childhood experiences.</p>
<p>Without these protective factors, however, many children are at risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-005-0624-4">carrying their trauma</a> into their adolescent and adult romantic relationships.</p>
<h2>Prevention and intervention</h2>
<p>Supporting the health and well-being of society calls for research-based efforts to prevent and address domestic violence. Responsive relationships, or relationships where the other person is attentive, attuned and supportive, are a key way to improve the well-being of children and adults, including the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235177">mental health of survivors</a> of abuse. </p>
<p>Researchers are paying more attention to the dangers of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/lonely-older-adults.html">social isolation among adults</a>. This has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/curing-americas-loneliness-epidemic-would-make-us-healthier-fitter-and-less-likely-to-abuse-drugs-206059">exacerbated by cultural shifts</a> stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work and social media. Social isolation and unhealthy social networks can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.07.005">dangerous for victims of violence</a> and damaging for someone prone to committing violence because they can <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18083890">worsen mental health conditions</a> like PTSD. <a href="https://teamchangingminds.org/">Community-based programs</a> that build supportive social networks have the potential to improve mental health risk factors for perpetrating violence.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of person holding their hand on another person's shoulder in a supportive gesture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565305/original/file-20231212-21-mlnsfc.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">Supportive social networks are essential for mental health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/hand-of-young-supportive-man-consoling-his-friend-royalty-free-image/1430601013">shironosov/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>Most <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018791268">domestic violence intervention programs for men</a> have not incorporated the understanding that trauma registers in the body as much as it does in someone’s way of thinking. These programs mostly focus on unlearning abusive tendencies and relearning healthy ways of engagement. This kind of approach includes using workbooks and thought exercises to identify abusive behaviors and thoughts about subjugating women, understand why they’re harmful, and learn healthy ways to resolve conflict. </p>
<p>However, focusing on cognitive thought processes as the primary mechanism for change by itself is insufficient for lasting change. In order to meaningfully alter the effects of trauma, interventions must also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105033">engage autonomic brain processes</a>. </p>
<p>Interventions that focus on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018791268">regulating stress and emotions</a>, such as deep breathing and mindfulness, can help address physiological symptoms of trauma and reset the body’s stress response. Resetting the body’s stress response can then help people engage in the higher-level learning necessary to adopt nonviolent thinking and behaviors and discard abusive tendencies.</p>
<p>Alleviating symptoms of PTSD and trauma in people who have perpetrated domestic violence may help them identify key triggers and develop the coping skills to respond to stress in healthier ways instead of violence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217179/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Voith receives funding from the National Institutes of Health; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families; and Victims of Crime Acts (VOCA), Office for Victims of Crime. </span></em></p>Childhood adversity can put people at risk of perpetrating domestic violence in the future. Having a supportive social network and learning ways to regulate the stress response, however, can help.Laura Voith, Associate Professor of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed 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>
<figcaption>
<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>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<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>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<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>
<figcaption>
<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>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<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/2117382023-11-23T04:23:48Z2023-11-23T04:23:48Z‘It cannot be normal that men hurt us women’: what we can learn from the inquest into 4 Aboriginal women’s deaths in the NT<p><em>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names of deceased people. Some names have been changed to honour Sorry Business. This article also mentions violence against and killings of First Nations women.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Kumanjayi Haywood.</p>
<p>Ngeygo Ragurrk.</p>
<p>Miss Yunupingu. </p>
<p>Kumarn Rubuntja.</p>
<p>These are the names of the four Aboriginal women at the centre of Australia’s largest and longest-running <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-08/domestic-violence-in-the-nt-coroner-explosion-inquest/103077118">coronial inquest</a> into women killed by their intimate male partners that adjourned on November 10. Over the past six months in the Northern Territory, Judge Elisabeth Armitage <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/resource/coroners-inquest-into-the-deaths-of-four-aboriginal-women-is-a-wake-up-call-to-commit-to-stopping-violence-before-it-starts/">heard evidence</a> about the shocking circumstances surrounding each woman’s death.</p>
<p>Each of the women had experienced years of severe abuse from their male partners, some of whom had served lengthy jail terms, and some of whom had long histories of violence, sometimes against multiple partners.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-16/nt-dv-inquest-police-officer-apologises-for-bail-recommendation/102489068">Kumanjayi Haywood</a> died after her partner poured petrol under the door of the bathroom she was hiding in and set her alight. She sustained burns to 90% of her body. She was a loving mother.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-29/nt-domestic-violence-inquest-mindil-beach-darwin/102540052">Ngeygo Ragurrk</a> was killed by her partner on Darwin’s Mindil Beach after a brutal attack lasting several hours. She was a Warddeken ranger and is remembered as a loving aunty.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-15/miss-yunupingu-domestic-violence-inquest/102726622">Miss Yunupingu</a> endured over a decade of abuse by her partner, who ultimately ended her life by stabbing her three times in the chest. She was much loved by her family.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-25/nt-dv-inquest-kumarn-rubuntja-ejected-from-alice-springs-club/102772110">Kumarn Rubuntja</a> was killed after <a href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nt/central-australian-man-who-drove-over-partner-repeatedly-in-hospital-carpark-pleads-guilty-to-murder/news-story/d2664c3378b13973d73d70c95a6ca29e">her partner</a> deliberately hit her with his car, reversing over and hitting her several times. She was a well-known anti-violence advocate and beloved by her friends and family.</p>
<p>These women were failed repeatedly by the systems and institutions set up to protect them. They slipped through the gaping cracks in an overstretched and overburdened system. One of the women had called police 22 times. Another was herself arrested after calling police for help. The family of another was unaware of the exact nature and circumstances of her death and the sentence of her perpetrator because there were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/30/this-is-our-horror-nt-coroner-investigates-deaths-of-women-at-hands-of-their-partners">no interpreters</a> in court when he was sentenced.</p>
<p>The coroner dedicated time to hearing about the individual circumstances surrounding each women’s death, as well as two weeks for institutional responses.</p>
<p>I was called to give evidence in the inquest twice. The first time was to provide testimony in relation to Kumarn Rubuntja’s death, as she was my friend and colleague. I spoke about the <a href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=NTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ntnews.com.au%2Ftruecrimeaustralia%2Fpolice-courts-nt%2Fnt-cop-zachary-rolfe-responses-to-domestic-violence-call-out-exposed-in-inquest%2Fnews-story%2Fd99f0074865d66a4769de26680306ac7&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&offerset=nt_truecrime_premium">rates and drivers</a> of violence in the territory. </p>
<p>The second time was part of the institutional responses, where I gave expert evidence due to my research into violence against women in the territory. I presented evidence about the development of different initiatives to improve the response to domestic, family and sexual violence in the territory, such as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-11/domestic-violence-training-for-nt-police-revamped/101225002">improved training</a> for police. </p>
<p>I believe the inquest was extraordinarily important, but it was also immeasurably difficult and painful. It was hard for all of us who loved, knew and worked with these women. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1722808884052492539"}"></div></p>
<h2>Inquest findings</h2>
<p>Armitage, the judge, characterised extreme violence in the Northern Territory as an “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-16/nt-coroner-domestic-violence-epidemic-inquest-summary-evidence/103108464">epidemic</a>”, an “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-08/domestic-violence-in-the-nt-coroner-explosion-inquest/103077118">explosion</a>”, and a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/30/this-is-our-horror-nt-coroner-investigates-deaths-of-women-at-hands-of-their-partners">horror</a>”.</p>
<p>The inquest heard domestic violence has increased by 117% in the past ten years, and is projected to increase a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-08/nt-domestic-violence-inquest-halfway-reveal-system-in-crisis/102569464">further 73%</a> in the next decade. As a result, police callout times to domestic violence incidents have more than doubled. </p>
<p>In the Northern Territory, domestic, family and sexual violence services are chronically under-funded and under-resourced. Women’s shelters from across the NT gave evidence that they had to turn women away because they did not have enough beds. Some were having to reduce staff pay due to lack of funding. Some had to rely on vacancies, while others were running their budgets in deficits. </p>
<p>However, the inquest also heard about several promising initiatives, including a co-response model for police and specialist services. But this initiative had only been given funding of $240,000 from the government. Queensland, by comparison, has funded its own co-response model with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/11/northern-territory-coroner-brought-to-tears-by-testimony-as-she-adjourns-domestic-violence-inquest">$22 million</a>. </p>
<p>Another promising initiative is improved and specialist domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-11/domestic-violence-training-for-nt-police-revamped/101225002">training for police</a> and health care workers. But the <a href="https://doyourpart.com.au/">Prevent.Assist.Respond.Training</a> program had only been funded to develop training, and there was no money for implementation or delivery. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-some-context-missing-from-the-mparntwe-alice-springs-crime-wave-reporting-199481">Here's some context missing from the Mparntwe Alice Springs 'crime wave' reporting</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A national crisis</h2>
<p>Through the inquest, the specialist domestic, family and sexual violence sector learned that the Northern Territory government had rejected its own working group’s recommendation for funding of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-10/nt-coroner-domestic-violence-inquest-closes/103089156">$180 million over five years</a>, instead committing to only $20 million over two years. Professor Marcia Langton, in her testimony, labelled this decision “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/31/gobsmacking-marcia-langton-criticises-nt-government-for-rejecting-plan-for-family-violence-funding-boost">gobsmacking</a>”.</p>
<p>Upon learning of the inadequate funding for essential services, the DFSV sector organised a “day of action” on September 26. <a href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=NTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ntnews.com.au%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fnt-domestic-violence-advocates-call-for-180m-in-funding%2Fnews-story%2F4e6971b3317a75b7564e16f20cb4e29f&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">Hundreds of people</a> gathered across the territory, in regional centres and remote communities, to call on both the NT and federal government to commit to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-26/nt-advocates-rally-for-domestic-violence-federal-funding/102901096">needs-based funding</a> for the territory.</p>
<p>The NT’s family violence sector called for:</p>
<ol>
<li> an immediate injection of a minimum additional $180 million over five years, per the government’s own recommendation</li>
<li> the immediate establishment and ongoing funding of a NT-specific domestic, family and sexual violence peak organisation</li>
<li> the allocation of 50% of new public housing to victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence.</li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/49-women-have-been-killed-in-australia-so-far-in-2023-as-a-result-of-violence-are-we-actually-making-any-progress-217552">49 women have been killed in Australia so far in 2023 as a result of violence. Are we actually making any progress?</a>
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<h2>Action is needed before more women die</h2>
<p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not yet responded to multiple requests from the Northern Territory DFSV sector to visit the territory to meet with the family violence sector and see the level of need firsthand. </p>
<p>Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said the Albanese government had already funded the NT government for family and domestic violence services with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-07/needs-based-domestic-violence-funding-appeal/103070406">$147 million over four years</a>. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-10/domestic-violence-inquest-nt-leanne-liddle-urges-more-funding/103083146">breakdown</a> of this funding included many general services – several of which run no domestic violence programs and one that was not based in the NT. She also failed to include a single women’s shelter in the <a href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=NTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ntnews.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnorthern-territory%2Ffeds-accuse-nt-govt-of-blameshifting-in-fight-against-domestic-violence%2Fnews-story%2F1453cebb9d594d49f967aeca2831fdd3&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">territory</a>. </p>
<p>Recommendations will now be put to the coroner by counsel assisting and submissions will close in March. The coroner will then lay down her findings in November. </p>
<p>Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk, Miss Yunupingu, Kumarn Rubuntja. These women rarely made the national news. The nation did not honour their lives or mourn them. Their lives did not spark marches or social media campaigns or speeches in parliament. Four more people <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-11/analysis-domestic-violence-in-the-northern-territory/103078538">have died</a> in what police believe are domestic violence incidents in the NT since the inquest began. </p>
<p>This inquest was an incredibly important opportunity to hear from the women’s friends and families, who recounted beautiful memories about them and told of their heartbreak. It’s important all of us hear the words of these grieving families – we need to do better. </p>
<p>As Ngeygo Ragurrk’s sister, Edna, said on the last day of the inquest: “It cannot be normal that men hurt us women. Everyone must do more from the start, not just after women get hurt or killed.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211738/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kumarn Rubuntja was a friend of mine and I worked alongside her for many years.
I work as the Family Violence Prevention Manager at the Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation and Managing Director of Her Story Consulting. I was also called to give evidence in the inquest.</span></em></p>The landmark inquest is investigating how four women killed by their partners were failed by systems meant to protect them. How can we stop this from happening?Chay Brown, Research and Partnerships Manager, The Equality Institute, & Postdoctoral fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2175522023-11-19T18:59:43Z2023-11-19T18:59:43Z49 women have been killed in Australia so far in 2023 as a result of violence. Are we actually making any progress?<p>As of November 17, 49 women have been killed in Australia this year as a result of violence; 28 were allegedly killed at the hands of a male intimate or ex-intimate partner. That’s according to the activist project <a href="https://www.facebook.com/p/Counting-Dead-Women-Australia-100063733051461/">Counting Dead Women Australia</a>, which collects these figures based on media-reported crimes. </p>
<p>The Commonwealth government’s recent <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/08_2023/np-outcomes-framework.pdf">Outcomes Framework</a> identifies key targets that need to be met if we are to end violence against women in “one generation”, as set out in the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022–2032</a>. </p>
<p>The targets include:</p>
<ul>
<li>25% annual reductions in women being killed by intimate partners</li>
<li>improved understanding of violence against women and support for gender equality in the community</li>
<li>halving the rate of all forms of domestic/family violence and abuse against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children by 2031, as progress towards zero. </li>
</ul>
<p>Yet, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/05/rate-of-first-nations-women-eight-times-higher-than-for-non-indigenous-counterparts">Indigenous women in Australia are eight times</a> more likely than non-Indigenous women to be murdered. Overall, one woman is killed by an intimate partner every two weeks in Australia. </p>
<p>There is no doubt violence against women has gained critical public and policy attention. But sometimes it can feel as though the problem is growing and that nothing we are doing is working to stop it.</p>
<p>So how much progress are we actually making?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/emotionally-hes-destroyed-me-why-intimate-partner-sexual-violence-needs-to-be-taken-as-seriously-as-stranger-rape-214581">'Emotionally, he's destroyed me': why intimate partner sexual violence needs to be taken as seriously as stranger rape</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What the data show: the good news</h2>
<p>Any preventable death is one too many, and zero homicides of any person should be our ultimate goal. Yet data from the <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/taxonomy/term/239">National Homicide Monitoring Program</a> show a reduction in intimate partner homicide in particular. </p>
<p>For example, in <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/sr42_homicide_in_australia_2020-21.pdf">the most recent report</a>, 25 females were killed by an intimate partner (2020-21). That’s a 31% reduction in one year from 2019-20, when 36 females were killed by an intimate partner. In 2016-17, 40 females were killed by an intimate partner, so the reduction over five years to 2020-21 is about 38%. </p>
<p>While the rates vary year-to-year, the good news is that the overall trend over the past decade shows intimate partner homicide is in steady decline.</p>
<p>Another critical measure of violence against women is the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release">Personal Safety Survey (PSS)</a>. This is the most accurate measure of self-reported experiences of all forms of personal violence in Australia. </p>
<p>Conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics since 2005, the fourth wave was released earlier this year. While we often hear the lifetime prevalence rates of violence against women, it is changes in rates of violence experienced during the past 12 months that are most sensitive to current policies and programs. This means they are most useful for monitoring a decrease over time. </p>
<p>The survey shows rates of total partner violence, including both physical and sexual violence, have reduced. Overall, the 12-month partner violence rate decreased significantly, from 2.3% in the 12 months prior to the last survey (in 2016) to 1.5% during 2021-2022. The rate of cohabiting partner violence over the past two years has either decreased or not changed in all states of Australia (NT and ACT not reported).</p>
<p>Rates of sexual harassment in the most recent survey (2021-22) were also the lowest they’ve ever been in every state and territory. And there was a significant reduction in the national 12-month rate of sexual harassment to 12.6% in 2021-22 compared to 17.3% in 2016.</p>
<p>As a community, we are also hearing more about the truth of violence against women. This does seem to be improving our knowledge and attitudes. The Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) survey of <a href="https://www.ncas.au/">Australian community attitudes towards violence against women (NCAS)</a> identified that understanding and rejection of violence against women has been increasing over the past 12 years.</p>
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<h2>Where do we have the most work to do?</h2>
<p>As mentioned, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women experience violence at higher rates than non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women. <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/FirstNationswomenchildren/Additional_Documents?docType=Answer%20to%20Question%20on%20Notice">Available national data</a> tell us that, despite comprising less than 3% of the population, Indigenous women have consistently experienced higher rates of homicide than non-Indigenous women since 2005–2006. The average rate is eight times higher than for non-Indigenous women. </p>
<p>Professor Kyllie Cripps’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-reveals-harrowing-stories-of-murdered-indigenous-women-and-the-failure-of-police-to-act-205655">coronial records investigation into 151 Indigenous women killed</a> over the past two decades due to intimate partner violence by Indigenous and non-Indigenous men further found that almost all had sought help from the police but did not receive the support that could have saved their lives.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-reveals-harrowing-stories-of-murdered-indigenous-women-and-the-failure-of-police-to-act-205655">New research reveals harrowing stories of murdered Indigenous women and the failure of police to act</a>
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<p>Alarmingly, national data on <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-09/linda-burney-wants-senate-inquiry-into-missing-indigenous-women/11773992">unsolved missing persons cases</a> highlight that Indigenous women represent up to 10% of cases. This is significant, as many are presumed dead.</p>
<p>When these data are coupled with statistics highlighting the disproportionate rate at which Indigenous women are hospitalised for assault-related injuries (<a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-in-australia-2018/summary">32 times higher</a> than for non-Indigenous women), there is clearly much work to be done in this area. </p>
<p>Our national datasets do not routinely report on the specific experiences of Indigenous women. This makes it difficult to know if there have been reductions in intimate partner and family violence in recent years.</p>
<p>But statistics alone do not articulate the complexity of these women’s stories and the systemic challenges they have encountered. This requires more in-depth research and engagement with Indigenous communities to appreciate risk, and how that translates into intervention and prevention strategies. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/FirstNationswomenchildren">Senate Inquiry into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children</a> and the dedicated <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/the-national-plan-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-action-plan-2023-2025">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan</a> are investments in building evidence to better understand the systemic issues and ultimately end the pervasive family, domestic and sexual violence in communities across the nation. </p>
<p>A further issue raised by the available data is the persistent rate of sexual assault in the Australian community. The 12-month prevalence rate from the last Personal Safety Survey showed no significant change in sexual assault or threatened sexual assault, a trend that has remained steady since 2005. </p>
<p>Further, the most recent national survey of Australian community attitudes towards violence against women (NCAS) identified that overall, <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/chuck-her-on-a-lie-detector-investigating-australians-mistrust-in-womens-reports-of-sexual-assault/">four in ten Australians mistrust women’s reports of sexual violence</a>. This suggests we still have a way to go to better educate and inform people about the reality of sexual assault and to support women in reporting it.</p>
<p>There has been a welcome increase in policy and funding to address violence against women across Australia in recent years as well as investments in research.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-plan-aims-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children-in-one-generation-can-it-succeed-192497">A new national plan aims to end violence against women and children 'in one generation'. Can it succeed?</a>
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<p>And while it is difficult to directly attribute reductions in violence against women to specific policy actions, the data to date show there is cause for optimism that our efforts are beginning to have a meaningful impact. </p>
<p>It’s not yet clear if these reductions will continue – we need to analyse the trend over time to make a clear assessment. And we need further investigation on how our prevention and response efforts affect different groups within the Australian population to ensure that <em>all</em> women are safer. </p>
<p>But it is clear that to end violence against women “in one generation” – between 20 and 30 years – we must not lose our focus. It will continue to take a coordinated and evidence-based set of actions across our whole community to address, and ultimately prevent, violence against women in Australia. </p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In immediate danger, call 000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Powell receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Criminology Research Council, Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS), and Family Safety Victoria. Anastasia is also a director of Our Watch (Australia's national organisation for the prevention of violence against women), and a member of the National Women's Safety Alliance (NWSA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacqui True receives funding from the Australian Research Council under the Discovery and Centre of Excellence programs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Diemer receives funding from the Victorian Government Department of Justice and Community Safety and Family Safety Victoria, as well as Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS). She is part of the Technical Advisory Committees for the Australian Personal Safety Survey and the National Community Attitudes Survey towards Violence against Women. She is Chair of the Board for Lucy's Project supporting animals in the context of domestic and family violence.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyllie Cripps receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Government and State Governments to conduct research and evaluations. Details related to this are on her public profiles.</span></em></p>While it can feel like little progress is being made to stop women being killed by their partners or ex-partners, the data show a steady decline in recent years.Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family & Sexual Violence, RMIT UniversityJacqui True, FASSA FAIIA Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW), Monash UniversityKristin Diemer, Associate Professor of Sociology, The University of MelbourneKyllie Cripps, Director Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, CI ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW), School of Philosophical, Historical & International Studies (SOPHIS), School of Social Sciences (SOSS), Faculty of Arts, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166052023-10-29T14:00:47Z2023-10-29T14:00:47ZThe latest mass shooting in Sault Ste. Marie highlights Ontario’s epidemic of gender-based violence<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/the-latest-mass-shooting-in-sault-ste-marie-highlights-ontarios-epidemic-of-gender-based-violence" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>It took only 11 months for Ontario to experience its next mass shooting after the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/world/canada/canada-vaughan-shooting-condo.html">one in Vaughan in December 2022</a>. </p>
<p>Sault Ste. Marie residents are contending with the loss of <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/unspeakable-tragedy-3-children-and-2-adults-including-shooter-dead-after-sault-ste-marie-shootings/article_a91ea71c-717b-59aa-b12d-df81adc1e584.html">five lives in Ontario’s latest mass shooting</a> on Oct. 24. Police say the shooting was a case of <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/sault-ste-marie-shooter-was-previously-charged-with-assaulting-cop-court-docs-show/article_4cb167f0-7d35-5f3f-9c62-8168e7499ac3.html">intimate partner violence</a>. </p>
<p>A man allegedly killed three young children and one woman, and wounded another woman, before taking his own life. The shooter has been identified as <a href="https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/family-ids-gunman-in-sault-ste-marie-shootings-cops-cite-intimate-partner-violence-cp-1.6618101">the father of the children</a>.</p>
<p>As someone who was personally impacted by <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-research-mass-shootings-but-i-never-believed-one-would-happen-in-my-own-condo-in-vaughan-ont-196863">the Vaughan mass shooting</a>, this latest gun violence incident brings with it anxiety, pain and empathy.</p>
<p>With another grim addition to the list of mass shootings in Ontario, now is the time to reflect on why this latest tragedy happened and to ask if resources are available to cope with these gun violence incidents. As a post-disaster researcher, I believe it is important to consider femicide as the context for the mass shooting in Sault Ste. Marie. </p>
<h2>Recognizing femicide</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.femicideincanada.ca/about/types">Femicide</a> is generally defined as the killing of women and girls. It is the most extreme form of violence on a continuum of violence and discrimination against women. </p>
<p>In Ontario, intimate partner violence has been <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/rural-domestic-violence-cbc-investigation-1.6276520">a long-standing issue</a>. A list published by the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses lists <a href="https://www.oaith.ca/assets/library/2021-2022-Annual-Femicide-List-Revised.pdf">54 femicide deaths</a> in the province during 2021-2022, many of which occurred by gun violence.</p>
<p>Recognition of femicide as a specific form of violence has led to increased advocacy and attention for the issue. In 2013, a 26-year-old woman in Bracebridge, Ont., was killed in a <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/bracebridge-shooting-victims-identified/article_74d2dece-a819-506c-a8de-e9fcaa3eeecc.html">murder-suicide perpetrated by a former intimate partner</a>. </p>
<p>The slain woman’s mother has called for using <a href="https://www.muskokaregion.com/life/honouring-victims-of-domestic-homicide-in-bracebridge-as-numbers-rise-in-canada/article_1f7097d5-277b-5730-aab8-e6067593d844.html">the term femicide as opposed to domestic abuse</a>. She has also played an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/victims-of-violence-slam-federal-government-over-gun-control-reform-1.5980331">instrumental role in federal gun reform legislation</a> through <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2019/06/royal-assent-of-legislation-strengthening-gun-laws-to-keep-communities-safe.html">Bill C-71</a> which, when fully implemented, would allow for a background check on a gun buyer’s entire life.</p>
<p>In 2015, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/basil-borutski-trial-triple-murder-verdict-1.4407526">three women were murdered in Renfrew County, Ont</a>. The <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/files/editorial/News/CKW-Inquest-Verdict-Recommendations-SIGNED_Redacted.pdf">findings of the coroner’s inquest</a> included a recommendation that public governments act to formally <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-intimate-partner-violence-should-be-declared-epidemic-by-ontario/">declare intimate partner violence as an epidemic</a>, and to explore adding the term femicide and its definition to the Criminal Code of Canada.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A podcast co-produced by CityNews on the murders of three women in Bracebridge, Ont., and the inquest’s findings.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In June 2023, the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9798749/ontario-wont-declare-intimate-partner-violence-epidemic-following-inquest/">Ontario government refused to recognize femicide as an epidemic</a>. </p>
<p>But the decision by Sault Ste. Marie police to come forward quickly <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-advocates-urge-public-governments-to-take-intimate-partner-violence/">using the term intimate partner violence to describe the mass shooting gave advocates renewed hope</a>. </p>
<h2>Mass shootings and misogyny</h2>
<p>There are connections between intimate partner violence and mass shootings. Data from the United States indicates most mass shooting victims are not random: research has indicated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-021-00330-0">two-thirds of mass shootings are domestic violence incidents</a>, or are perpetrated by shooters with a history of domestic violence. </p>
<p>Police in Lewiston, Maine, are reportedly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/28/us/maine-shootings-suspect-dead-saturday/index.html">pursuing a theory that a mass shooter went to places that he used to frequent with a longtime ex-girlfriend</a>, killing 18 people on Oct. 25.</p>
<p>For the Sault Ste. Marie mass shooting, police indicated the alleged killer had <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-sault-ste-marie-shooter-had-history-of-intimate-partner-violence/">previously been the subject of intimate partner violence complaints</a>. </p>
<p>There is also a history of other significant mass shootings in Canada that have been related to misogyny. Thirty years after the 1989 École Polytechnique mass shooting, the City of Montréal <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ecole-polytechnique-montreal-massacre-6-decembre-1989/">changed the words on a memorial plaque</a> from a “tragic event” to a “anti-feminist attack.” </p>
<p>And after the <a href="https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/a-look-at-the-22-nova-scotians-killed-in-canada-s-worst-mass-shooting-1.6335839">2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting</a>, the final report from the inquiry listed <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-mass-shooting-gender-based-violence-1.6796068">17 recommendations to address gender-based violence</a>.</p>
<p>After the Vaughan mass shooting, the estranged daughters of the perpetrator called him an <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/12/21/vaughan-condo-shooter-daughters-family-statement/">abusive and controlling man</a>.</p>
<h2>Insufficient resources</h2>
<p>Intimate partner violence has a <a href="https://everytownresearch.org/report/guns-and-violence-against-women-americas-uniquely-lethal-intimate-partner-violence-problem/">tragic link to mass shootings</a>. Ontario’s latest mass shooting in Sault Ste. Marie is a case in point. </p>
<p>Advocates working to prevent femicide say that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-femicides-1.6899109">funding has not kept pace with the growing demand for services</a>. </p>
<p>In the immediate aftermath of the Vaughan mass shooting, I pointed out that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/vaughan-condo-shooting-resident-support-1.6819413">mental health coping services were not present and consistent</a> when they were needed the most. The <a href="https://www.victimservices-york.org/">victim services agency serving Vaughan</a> pointed to <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/we-were-not-equipped-to-handle-a-mass-shooting-months-after-vaughan-condo-murders-traumatized/article_9f746b3a-e9d1-5a23-bb7d-be2c53504a66.html">insufficient resources</a> to respond to major incidents.</p>
<p>Between January and September of this year, the local victim services agency serving Sault Ste. Marie has <a href="https://www.elliotlaketoday.com/local-news/intimate-partner-violence-on-the-rise-locally-victim-services-of-algoma-7736562">handled 193 calls related to intimate partner violence and assisted 232 individuals</a>. Do they have sufficient resources to continue to meet that demand?</p>
<p>An aspect contributing to the devastating impact of mass shootings in Ontario and Canada is the lack of public funds and political will needed for the prevention of gun violence incidents and the response to their impact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216605/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack L. Rozdilsky receives support for research communication and public scholarship from York University. He also receives research support from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.</span></em></p>A mass shooting in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. has been classified as a case of intimate partner violence.Jack L. Rozdilsky, Associate Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, York University, CanadaLicensed 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>
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<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>
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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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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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>
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<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>
</strong>
</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>
</strong>
</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/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>
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<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>
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</em>
</p>
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<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>
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<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>
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</em>
</p>
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<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/2122432023-09-10T13:04:16Z2023-09-10T13:04:16ZCanada’s lack of recognition for gender-based violence is putting disaster survivors at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546717/original/file-20230906-29-yolnrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C0%2C2938%2C1999&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Evidence suggests gender-based violence increases during disasters and in the years that follow.</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/canadas-lack-of-recognition-for-gender-based-violence-is-putting-disaster-survivors-at-risk" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Canada has experienced an <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/here-s-a-look-at-what-s-happened-in-canada-s-record-breaking-wildfire-season-so-far-1.6512161">unprecedented wildfire season in 2023</a>. People’s experiences with any disaster event are influenced by social- and place-based vulnerabilities. For example, where you live affects your exposure to different hazards including wildfires and floods. </p>
<p>Pre-existing <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781420078572/social-vulnerability-disasters-deborah-thomas-brenda-phillips-lynn-blinn-pike-alice-fothergill">social vulnerabilities contribute to some populations having disproportionate impacts from these events</a>, in both the short and long term. Social vulnerability factors that have a demonstrated effect on people’s experience with disasters include income, health, disability, age, race, and gender. These factors also intersect in ways that increase vulnerability for certain populations. </p>
<p>Evidence suggests <a href="https://oxfordre.com/naturalhazardscience/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389407-e-390">gender-based violence increases during disasters</a> and in the years that follow. Further, the risk for <a href="https://journals.gre.ac.uk/index.php/gswr/article/download/1088/pdf">women</a> and <a href="https://genderanddisaster.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Identifying-the-experiences-and-needs-of-LGBTI-emergencies-FINAL.pdf">LGBTQI populations</a> is heightened when sheltering in place or evacuation from a community is required. </p>
<p>Evidence of gender-based violence during and after disasters can be reflected in increased calls from women to police and domestic violence helplines. However, it is estimated that <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/ccs-ajc/rr06_vic2/p3_4.html">78 per cent of cases of sexual assault</a> in Canada are not reported for a variety of reasons. </p>
<p>It is important to recognize that social vulnerabilities are not inherent individual traits, rather <a href="https://hal.science/hal-02001407/document">vulnerability stems from historic inequities</a> over time that impact access to resources and marginalize people. </p>
<p>Government preparedness for and responses to disasters must consider and address how social vulnerabilities increase disaster risk and adverse outcomes for some populations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man and woman in a kitchen arguing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547287/original/file-20230908-37766-ktrx5.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>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supports like counselling centres, women’s shelters and sexual assault centres can be disrupted during a disaster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gaps in emergency management planning</h2>
<p>My research examines how social vulnerabilities, gender and gender-based violence are addressed in government plans for responding to disasters and pandemics. <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Recognition-of-the-Gendered-Impacts-of-Disasters-EN-1.pdf">In my research</a>, I found that federal, provincial, territorial and local government emergency management plans in Canada acknowledge how social vulnerabilities contribute to the differential impacts of hazard events for households and communities. </p>
<p>Importantly, the federal government recently published two reports examining how social vulnerability contributes to disaster risk: the <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntnl-rsk-prfl/index-en.aspx#s2">National Risk Profile</a> and the report on <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/rncan-nrcan/m183-2/M183-2-8902-eng.pdf">Social Vulnerability to Natural Hazards in Canada</a>. </p>
<p>However, my research also found these reports and plans do not address how gender influences the direct and indirect impacts of disasters, including the <a href="https://theconversation.com/domestic-violence-will-spike-in-the-bushfire-aftermath-and-governments-can-no-longer-ignore-it-127018">increase in gender-based violence during and following disasters</a>. </p>
<p>While federal, provincial and territorial governments have made <a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-results-framework.html">commitments to addressing gender inequities</a> and the use of <a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-analysis-plus/government-approach.html">gender-based analysis tools such as GBA+</a>, I found limited reference or commitment to the use of these tools. </p>
<p>GBA+ tools examine how gender intersects with other identity factors, such as age, ethnicity and income to differentiate experiences of women, men and gender diverse populations. </p>
<p>Public Safety Canada’s <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/dprtmntl-pln-2023-24/index-en.aspx">Departmental Plan</a> references GBA+ when addressing emergency management. However, the plans address social vulnerability more generally and no commitments are made to address gender specifically.</p>
<p>The only identified government funded report addressing gender and disaster in the Canadian context was a <a href="https://wrd.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/9457_9457GenderMainstreamingCanada1.pdf">2008 report</a> by the Public Health Agency of Canada.</p>
<p>The federal and some but not all provincial and territorial governments took <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/FPT-Govt-Actions-to-Address-GBV-EN.pdf">actions during the pandemic</a> to address the increase in gender-based violence. However, there has been no concerted effort by Canadian governments to address the gendered impacts of disasters more generally.</p>
<h2>Gender-based violence and disasters</h2>
<p>There is an established <a href="https://genderanddisaster.com.au/research/">body of research</a> on gender-based violence during Australian bushfires. Researchers found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517696876">domestic violence occurred</a> in households where a woman had previously experienced violence, as well as in households were there had been stable non-violent relationships. </p>
<p>Further, those experiencing violence noted an increase of the severity of the violence following the disasters. These same patterns were noted in the pandemic in Canada.</p>
<p>The Australian research also found women’s unemployment or homelessness during a disaster was exploited by men who return under the guise of offering assistance. In other instances, men’s behaviour during disaster was excused by counsellors or police because of the stresses brought on by a disaster. The dismissal of violence in the context of a disaster harms women.</p>
<p>Another concern is that supports like counselling centres, women’s shelters and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catherine-Carter-Snell/publication/359635464_Gaps_in_Sexual_Assault_Prevention_in_Natural_Disasters/links/6245fbba8068956f3c5c762b/Gaps-in-Sexual-Assault-Prevention-in-Natural-Disasters.pdf">sexual assault centres</a> can be disrupted during a disaster. In the recent evacuation of Yellowknife, all these services would likely have been impacted. Further, communication infrastructure is also impacted by disasters, which can limit the ability to call for help. </p>
<p>The Canadian Women’s Foundation recently supported the <a href="https://canadianwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Service-Continuity-Guidelines-for-the-GBV-Sector-EN.pdf">development of guidance to help these organizations</a> prepare for service disruptions in the event of a disaster.</p>
<h2>A call to action</h2>
<p>We have a <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/ZACTEO-3">moral and ethical imperative</a> to address the inequitable effects of disasters within society. </p>
<p>Recommendations on how to address the gendered impacts of disasters, including gender-based violence, include <a href="https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/2018-iasc_gender_handbook_for_humanitarian_action_eng_0.pdf">The Gender Handbook for Humanitarian Action</a>, <a href="https://gbvguidelines.org/en/">Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action</a>, the Red Cross <a href="https://www.ifrc.org/sites/default/files/Minimum-standards-for-protection-gender-and-inclusion-in-emergencies-LR.pdf">Minimum Standard Commitments to Gender and Diversity in Emergency Programming</a> and the UN’s <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/featured-publication/gbvie-standards">Minimum Standards for Prevention and Response to Gender-based Violence in Emergencies</a>. </p>
<p>Australia has made significant investments in addressing <a href="https://genderanddisaster.com.au/">the gendered impacts of disasters</a>. Their process offers an example of what is needed in Canada to advance gender and disaster practice. </p>
<p>The mandate to address <a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en.html">gender inequities in Canada is already in place</a>, as are <a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence.html">plans to address gender-based violence</a>. There is an urgent imperative to bring the work addressing gender-based inequity and violence into emergency management practice. These efforts need to be led by all orders of government and integrated into their <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2022-ems-ctn-pln/index-en.aspx">action plans for improving emergency management practices</a> in Canada.</p>
<p>Experts on the gendered impacts of disasters must become part of the emergency response effort. In addition to integrating gender analysis in planning activities, rapid gender analysis needs to be conducted at the outset of a disaster and throughout the recovery period.</p>
<p>Further, emergency management organizations need to work closely with counselling centres, women’s shelters and sexual assault services to ensure they have the capacity to respond to disasters. These organizations must be recognized as an essential service when disasters occur.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Research funding recieved from the Canadian Women's Foundation.</span></em></p>Research shows gender-based violence increases in the aftermath of disasters. Governments must incorporate ways of addressing it into their disaster response plans.Jean Slick, Professor, Disaster and Emergency Management, Royal Roads UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2101012023-09-07T15:43:24Z2023-09-07T15:43:24ZHow to support someone who is experiencing domestic abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546227/original/file-20230904-32933-37baqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=155%2C0%2C5570%2C3069&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/middle-aged-asia-people-old-mom-2274179825">Chay_Tee/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is likely that you know someone in a harmful or unhealthy relationship. Domestic abuse is common. For example, estimates suggest that <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women">one in three women</a> globally will experience abuse in their lifetime. But many people do not know how to respond when a friend, relative or colleague tells them about domestic abuse.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15248380231189191">new research</a> with colleagues at UCL and domestic abuse charities examines how education and training can help families and social networks recognise domestic abuse, know how to respond and be willing to do so. </p>
<p>During COVID lockdowns, domestic abuse became more prevalent while traditional care services were more difficult to access. This meant that victims <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1263">leaned on support</a> from friends, family, colleagues and neighbours even more. As <a href="https://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=3808">we found</a>, equipping social and family networks to give this help can be a valuable – and lifesaving – addition to the support provided by professionals.</p>
<p>In the UK, charities and other social organisations offer training programmes, such as <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/our-approach-change-that-lasts/askme/">Women’s Aid “Ask Me”</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-domestic-abuse-is-such-a-difficult-subject-for-churches-157799">programmes for faith leaders</a> and <a href="https://www.eida.org.uk/">toolkits for workplaces</a>. These initiatives teach members of the public and community leaders how to respond to people experiencing abuse in positive and helpful ways.</p>
<p>While most people experiencing abuse <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0886260519843282">tell at least one friend or family member</a>, evidence suggests that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524838018770412">female and young</a> victims, and members of some <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10903-018-0803-9">marginalised groups</a> are most likely to inform and rely on their informal networks rather than formal services such as the police. </p>
<p>The reaction of informal networks can be vital. Research shows positive reactions from friends or colleagues can improve the <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/15246090260137644">health</a>, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077801202250083">wellbeing</a> and safety of people experiencing abuse. Informal support from personal contacts can also encourage people to seek help from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10926771.2020.1867278">formal services</a>, such as gaining access to practical or legal support. </p>
<h2>How to help</h2>
<p>If you believe that a friend, relative, colleague or neighbour may be in a harmful relationship, it is not your responsibility to stop the abuse. If you think that they are in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. But you can provide support and offer to help in other ways.</p>
<p>Talking about domestic abuse is difficult. It may make you feel uncomfortable if someone confides in you about an unhealthy relationship, or if you raise the issue of abuse. But there are steps you can take to respond in positive and helpful ways.</p>
<p>An easy way to remember them is through four “Rs”: recognise, respond, reassure and react.</p>
<h2>Recognise</h2>
<p>Our research highlights the importance of being able to identify the <a href="https://www.thehotline.org/identify-abuse/domestic-abuse-warning-signs/">warning signs</a> and risk factors for abuse. Many people do not recognise that domestic abuse takes many <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/">different forms</a>. And there are widespread <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/myths/">myths</a> associated with abuse that must be challenged – for example, that it always involves violence.</p>
<p>Become familiar with domestic abuse in all its forms, including <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/coercive-control/">coercive control</a> and <a href="https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/what-is-economic-abuse/">economic abuse</a>, so that you can recognise the signs of an unhealthy relationship. </p>
<p>Research suggests that learning about the <a href="https://safelives.org.uk/policy-evidence/about-domestic-abuse/how-widespread-domestic-abuse-and-what-impact">high prevalence and serious impacts</a> of domestic abuse also motivates friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to take action. </p>
<p>If you are planning on <a href="https://safelives.org.uk/reach-in">reaching out to someone close to you</a>, domestic abuse charity SafeLives recommends you start by considering safety – theirs and your own. Think about safe ways to contact them or places to meet before you reach out. </p>
<h2>Respond</h2>
<p>When discussing harmful relationships or experiences of abuse, listen without blaming. Create a space in which your friend, relative or neighbour can confide in you and feel safe. Listen without judgement and show empathy. Be patient and recognise that it is not easy to talk about experiences of abuse. </p>
<p>Gender norms and cultural expectations might make it particularly difficult for some people to open up about their experiences, for example <a href="https://safelives.org.uk/policy-evidence/experiences-male-survivors">male victims of abuse</a> or those in conservative religious communities.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-a-good-listener-and-how-to-know-when-youre-doing-it-right-211556">How to be a good listener - and how to know when you're doing it right</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/the-survivors-handbook/im-worried-about-someone-else/#1667820183042-dca07399-ea4a">Supporting a friend</a> may mean reminding them that you are there to listen, helping them to identify their options, or seeking professional advice on their behalf (with their consent).</p>
<h2>Reassure</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1049732314540054">Research</a> highlights the importance of affirming, validating and understanding the feelings and experiences expressed by the person experiencing abuse. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1049732314540054">Studies report</a> that informal networks do not always respond in a helpful way. Expressing doubt, blame or hostility can harm the wellbeing of the person experiencing abuse and diminish the likelihood that they will seek further help. Make it clear that you believe them and validate their experiences. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Close up side profile of a middle aged woman talking on a mobile phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546230/original/file-20230904-19-7zpmoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546230/original/file-20230904-19-7zpmoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546230/original/file-20230904-19-7zpmoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546230/original/file-20230904-19-7zpmoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546230/original/file-20230904-19-7zpmoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546230/original/file-20230904-19-7zpmoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546230/original/file-20230904-19-7zpmoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Remind friends you are there for them – and that the abuse is not their fault.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-portrait-mature-business-woman-talking-1201166101">Jacob Lund / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Domestic abuse campaign group and charity Refuge provides advice on <a href="https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/en/Supporting-a-survivor">how to support a survivor</a> and Equation, another group working against domestic abuse, recommends things that you <a href="https://equation.org.uk/need-help/help-someone">should tell</a> the person you are supporting. A good place to start is to say “I believe you”, and tell them the abuse “is not your fault”.</p>
<h2>React</h2>
<p>Finally, offer to help your friend, relative or neighbour seek support – acting only if and when they want you to. This may mean offering to get in touch with local support services, ringing the national <a href="https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/en/Supporting-a-survivor">domestic abuse helpline</a> or using the <a href="https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/en/Chat-to-us-online">webchat</a>. </p>
<p>Women’s Aid also keeps an up-to-date <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/womens-aid-directory/">directory</a> of local support services and resources across the UK.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524838016641919">Research</a> highlights that supporting a friend or family member experiencing domestic abuse is difficult, so take steps to <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/mental-health-problems-introduction/self-care/">look after yourself</a> too. Stay aware of your own needs when helping someone with such a difficult situation, and incorporate activities into your routine that nourish your <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729">mental, emotional and physical wellbeing</a>. This may include talking to friends, being compassionate with yourself, and making time for leisure activities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210101/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Schucan Bird receives funding from Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>The support of friends and family can be crucial for domestic abuse victims.Karen Schucan Bird, Associate Professor of Social and Political Science, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2123262023-09-04T17:13:07Z2023-09-04T17:13:07ZPoor police practices are endangering 2SLGBTQ+ survivors of intimate partner violence<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/poor-police-practices-are-endangering-2slgbtq-survivors-of-intimate-partner-violence" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Intimate partner violence is a prevalent and growing issue in Canada. According to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221019/dq221019c-eng.htm">Statistics Canada</a>, there were 114,132 police-reported victims of intimate partner violence in 2021, marking the seventh consecutive year of increased rates of violence.</p>
<p><a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/intimate-partner-violence.html">Intimate partner violence</a> refers to harmful behaviours perpetrated by a current or former partner over another. This can include physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse and <a href="https://lukesplace.ca/coercive-control/">coercive control</a>. </p>
<p>The issue is particularly significant in the Canadian Prairies, where <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210302/dq210302d-eng.htm">rates of police-reported intimate partner violence are consistently highest</a>. However, these rates do not reflect the pervasive nature of this issue, as approximately <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2018001/article/54893-eng.pdf">seven out of 10 incidents of intimate partner violence are never reported to police</a>.</p>
<h2>Intimate partner violence in 2SLGBTQ+ communities</h2>
<p>Considerably less is known about intimate partner violence in 2SLGBTQ+ relationships. This is because less research has focused on 2SLGBTQ+ experiences. In fact, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038656">researchers have noted</a> that only three per cent of studies between 1999 and 2013 addressed intimate partner violence in 2SLGBTQ+ relationships.</p>
<p>The data that is avaialable suggests that it is a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65263681">prevalent issue</a> in 2SLGBTQ+ communities. <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00005-eng.htm">Statistics Canada</a> estimates that two-thirds of sexual minority women experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. </p>
<p>Scholars even suggest that rates of intimate partner violence in 2SLGBTQ+ communities are equal to, or higher than, heterosexual relationships. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19319742/">Research has found</a> abusive dynamics in one-quarter to one-half of same-sex relationships. </p>
<p>Police have historically failed to protect 2SLGBTQ+ communities from harm. In fact, as the enforcers of anti-LGBTQ laws in the 20th century, police have actively participated in the oppression of 2SLGBTQ+ communities. </p>
<p>Tensions between police and 2SLGBTQ+ communities notably reached a turning point during the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots#stonewall-s-legacy">Stonewall Uprising in 1969</a>. The six-day protest was triggered by a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City and served as a driving force for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. </p>
<p>Many advancements and milestones have been achieved in the LGBTQ+ rights movement since the uprising, but the relationship between police and 2SLGBTQ+ communities remains strained. This is largely because poor police practices continue today, with police failing to protect 2SLGBTQ+ survivors from harm — often from intimate partners.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.umanitoba.ca/sites/resolve/files/2022-10/2SLGBTQ%2B%20IPV%20Final%20Report%20October%2014%202022.pdf">Our research</a> examined how 2SLGBTQ+ communities seek help when experiencing intimate partner violence in the Canadian Prairies. We found that participants’ perceptions and experiences of dealing with police were negative. Police responses ranged from not taking the cases seriously to engaging in discriminatory behaviours towards 2SLGBTQ+ survivors.</p>
<h2>Survivor experiences with police</h2>
<p>As part of our study, we interviewed 47 2SLGBTQ+ survivors of intimate partner violence across the Canadian Prairies about their experiences. A range of gender identities and sexual orientations were represented including Two-Spirit, transgender, non-binary, genderfluid, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and asexual. Survivors ranged in age from 19 to 67 years old. </p>
<p>Around 55 per cent were of White/European ancestry, 17 per cent were Indigenous, 15 per cent were of mixed ancestry, six per cent were Black and four per cent were Asian. Almost half (47 per cent) had a mental or physical disability or chronic health condition.</p>
<p>Despite historical harms, many survivors described reaching out to police for help. However, police responses towards them ranged from disinterest at best to discriminatory at worst. While a few survivors reported positive encounters with police, these were reported much less frequently.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A video about the 1981 Toronto Police raids that targeted gay men. In 2016, the Toronto Police Service apologized for the raids. Police have historically failed to protect 2SLGBTQ+ communities from harm.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Many survivors told us they were not taken seriously when seeking police assistance. This was particularly true for lesbian survivors, who stated that police brushed off abusive incidents as a “catfight” or disagreement “between friends.”</p>
<p>This was echoed by survivors in other 2SLGBTQ+ communities, who felt the disdain they experienced from police invalidated their relationships and severity of abuse they experienced. Overall, misconceptions surrounding what abuse looks like in 2SLGBTQ+ communities were common in police responses.</p>
<p>Other survivors described blatant discrimination at the hands of police, including ridicule and dehumanizing rhetoric on account of their 2SLGBTQ+ identities. Transgender survivors in particular discussed instances of being misgendered, even after repeated attempts to express their proper name and desired pronouns. Discrimination was amplified for survivors with multiple marginalized identities, particularly those from racialized groups.</p>
<h2>Changing harmful practices</h2>
<p>Current policing practices must be addressed to improve responses to intimate partner violence in 2SLGBTQ+ communities, <a href="https://www.hrc.org/news/police-accountability-is-a-bedrock-issue-for-the-lgbtq-community">including demanding more accountability from police</a>. </p>
<p>The survivors we interviewed discussed several recommendations for tackling the issue, beginning with changing police attitudes and behaviours towards 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Specific changes include respecting 2SLGBTQ+ identities and pronouns, validating 2SLGBTQ+ relationships and taking intimate partner violence in 2SLGBTQ+ relationships seriously.</p>
<p>The need for larger systemic change within policing was also discussed. An important step towards systemic change involves committing to in-depth and long-term training to better inform interactions with 2SLGBTQ+ survivors.</p>
<p>Training should be comprehensive and address problematic preconceptions that downplay or dismiss the issue. Holding police accountable for not adequately responding to intimate partner violence within these systems was also noted as crucial to ensuring that training is put into practice.</p>
<p>Finally, increasing the diversity of justice system staff was also recommended. Survivors specifically underscored the importance of having more 2SLGBTQ+ representation in policing. Additionally, having social worker liaisons responding to calls alongside police officers was recommended to better assess and address intimate partner violence.</p>
<p>Violence of all kinds affects people of every gender identity and sexual orientation. However, 2SLGBTQ+ survivors can experience different forms of violence and face additional challenges accessing assistance and support. Police must do better to gain the trust and confidence from 2SLGBTQ+ communities. All survivors of violence, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation, have the right to safety and protection, including from the police.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212326/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra Nixon receives funding from the PrairieAction Foundation and research support from community partners Rainbow Resource Centre, OUTSaskatoon and Sagesse.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley Haller receives funding from the PrairieAction Foundation and research support from community partners Rainbow Resource Centre, OUTSaskatoon and Sagesse. </span></em></p>Research finds that police officers engage in discriminatory behaviours towards 2SLGBTQ+ survivors of intimate partner violence.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/2119652023-09-04T17:13:06Z2023-09-04T17:13:06ZPolice-academic partnerships could help tackle the crime of coercive control<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545546/original/file-20230830-15-1zhh9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5000%2C3315&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research collaboration between police forces and academics could go a long way to ensuring federal legislation aimed at fighting coercive control in intimate relationships is effective.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2020, calls to defund the police echoed a longstanding argument in critical criminology in favour of <a href="https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/introcrim/chapter/10-4-emergent-elements-of-critical-criminology/">police abolition</a>. </p>
<p>Academics who support abolition <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-018-9400-4">promote activism</a> over collaboration. But as calls for “defund the police” pivot to <a href="https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.315">“refund the police” in priority areas</a> — in particular mental health, issues faced by marginalized people and intimate partner violence — police-researcher partnerships are needed more than ever.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/defunding-the-police-is-a-move-towards-community-safety-181376">Defunding the police is a move towards community safety</a>
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<p>When faced with shifting priorities, police forces may lack the research capacity to evaluate existing policies. Most police officers and supervisors <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355719838930">don’t often read</a> academic research that could point them to current evidence-based practices.</p>
<p>Collaborating with independent researchers provides access to needed skills and may bolster public trust and <a href="https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1894-8693-2016-02-06">perceived legitimacy</a> of their work and efforts.</p>
<p>Academics who forgo working with police are losing out on opportunities for critical data access and effective knowledge mobilization. Researchers who seek to understand and evaluate policing practice need access to large-scale, timely and highly sensitive data on police operations. </p>
<p>Furthermore, if police participate in designing studies and interpreting findings, they may more readily acknowledge the need for change in light of unfavourable results — or adopt new practices that show positive effects.</p>
<h2>Intimate partner violence</h2>
<p>Academics who actively exclude the very people they seek to influence by their research are unlikely to be successful in that goal. Fortunately, many scholars now see co-operation and collaboration as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2023.2202868">best way to conduct research in criminal justice</a>.</p>
<p>Intimate partner violence is one priority area that has seen the benefits of police-academic partnership. Beginning in the 1980s, researchers collaborated with police organizations to evaluate the effects of arrest for domestic assault in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2095575">United States</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00977031">and Canada</a>. Studies showed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9133.2002.tb00107.x">arrest reduced subsequent violence</a>, but the impact varied according to an individual’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12024">history of violence</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854807300757">and other risk factors</a>.</p>
<p>More recently, an academic team initiated a partnership with police and other services to conduct research with the shared goal of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10887679231178786">preventing intimate partner homicide</a>.</p>
<p>We have been part of such partnerships over the course of our respective careers, from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.16.3.267">the creation</a> of the first actuarial risk assessment tool for intimate partner violence to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/tam0000175">the testing</a> of that tool in routine police practice. </p>
<p>Our current collaborators include researchers who have studied <a href="https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.150">how officers use such tools and assess risk</a> when responding to violent and non-violent incidents involving intimate partners. </p>
<h2>Coercive control</h2>
<p>Recognition of non-physically violent but coercive and controlling forms of abuse has grown rapidly in recent years, especially with the <a href="https://business-school.open.ac.uk/news/five-reasons-why-coercive-control-has-increased-during-covid-19">increase in coercive control incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Coercive control involves repeated, systematic acts of <a href="https://lukesplace.ca/coercive-control/#:%7E:text=Often%2C%20the%20abuser%20is%20able,when%20and%20for%20how%20lon">isolation, intimidation and violation</a> that undermine the partner and trap them in the abusive relationship. It’s a pattern of behaviour over time, making it challenging for police to identify because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X19876974">officers’ conventional understanding of intimate partner violence focus on overt acts of violence</a>.</p>
<p>Coercive control is considered a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1177/0886260516675464">risk factor</a> for intimate partner femicide, and is believed to have <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/keiras-law-introduced-in-house-of-commons-1.6348729">played a role in the apparent murder of a four-year-old Toronto girl, Keira Kagan</a>, by her father in 2020.</p>
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<img alt="Four men carry a white casket, one openly weeping." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545544/original/file-20230830-15-r6de19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545544/original/file-20230830-15-r6de19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545544/original/file-20230830-15-r6de19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545544/original/file-20230830-15-r6de19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545544/original/file-20230830-15-r6de19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545544/original/file-20230830-15-r6de19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545544/original/file-20230830-15-r6de19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&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">People carry the casket at the funeral for four-year-old Keira Kagan in Toronto in February 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
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<p>Researchers and activists have urged governments to make changes in how the criminal justice system responds to intimate partner violence in order to reflect coercive control. </p>
<p>Coercive control is now outlawed in the <a href="https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-intimate-or-family-relationship#:%7E:text=Section%2076%20Serious%20Crime%20Act,penalty%20of%20five%20years'%20imprisonment.">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-2022-65">Australia</a>, and similar legislation <a href="https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/archives/measure_indiv_Archives.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=2425&year=2020">has been passed</a> <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S1112.Html">or considered</a> in several American states.</p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-332">Bill C-332</a> seeks to criminalize coercive control, and the justice minister recently expressed the government’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/remfrew-county-1.6939642">openness to creating a new offence in the Criminal Code</a>. <a href="https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-233/third-reading">Keira’s Law</a>, which <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9903160/supporters-celebrate-passing-of-keiras-law-aimed-at-battling-domestic-abuse/#:%7E:text=violence%2C%20coercive%20control-,'Keira's%20Law'%20set%20to%20educate%20judges%20on%20domestic%20violence%2C,grief%20to%20advocate%20for%20others">passed the Senate on Aug. 17, 2023</a>, is set to mandate coercive control training for judges.</p>
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<h2>How best to address coercive control?</h2>
<p>But research suggests that criminalizing coercive control is fraught with challenges, including potential <a href="https://theconversation.com/unintended-but-not-unanticipated-coercive-control-laws-will-disadvantage-first-nations-women-188285">racial bias</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895817728381">difficulty of defining, detecting and documenting the behaviour</a>. </p>
<p>Police-academic partnerships can help answer crucial questions, including how police officers investigate coercive control, what the most effectual training methods are and whether policies are effective and equitable when implemented.</p>
<p>We are now collaborating with police to identify a common language for intimate partner violence risk appraisal. The <a href="https://celiaproject.squarespace.com/">CELIA IPV project</a> for intimate partner violence research is studying how police can recognize and respond to non-physical, coercive and controlling behaviours. </p>
<p>An expressed goal of our collaboration is to expand formal partnerships between researchers with expertise in intimate partner violence and policing services across Canada and to address research gaps in evidence-based policing for intimate partner violence.</p>
<p>We have so far established partnerships with the <a href="https://www.edmontonpolice.ca/">Edmonton Police Service</a>, the <a href="https://www.opp.ca/">Ontario Provincial Police</a> and the <a href="https://saintjohnpolice.ca/">Saint John Police Force</a> in New Brunswick. </p>
<h2>Evidence-based policing</h2>
<p>We’ll also examine risk-assessment approaches for people engaging in intimate partner violence <a href="https://celiaproject.squarespace.com/aims-1">across diverse gender and sexual identities</a>, extending our partnerships and enhancing the potential for improving evidence-based policing whenever officers respond to a domestic call. </p>
<p>Police-academic partnerships are not just about the academic search for knowledge, and not just about the evaluation of policing practice. </p>
<p>They are about the creation of relationships with the potential to transform how each partner understands and interacts with the other. Collaboration is the essence of knowledge mobilization and will be fundamental to the success of anti-coercive control legislation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>N. Zoe Hilton receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She is an author of the ODARA, an IPV risk assessment tool.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandy Jung receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Police-academic partnerships are key to the success of evidence-based policing. Growing support for coercive control legislation makes research collaboration all the more urgent.N. Zoe Hilton, Professor, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of TorontoSandy Jung, Professor, Department of Psychology, MacEwan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2064892023-06-02T12:40:21Z2023-06-02T12:40:21ZWork requirements don’t work for domestic violence survivors – but Michigan data shows they rarely get waivers they should receive for cash assistance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529631/original/file-20230601-26-jmk5gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C104%2C5318%2C3231&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Denying waivers to survivors of domestic violence can hinder their independence from their abusers. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rear-view-of-an-unrecognizable-abused-woman-sitting-royalty-free-image/1327080394">Alvaro Medina Jurado/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Very few people who have survived domestic violence are <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/family-self-sufficiency-and-stability-research-scholars-network-fssrn-2020-2025">getting Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) waivers</a> from the work requirements and time limits tied to those benefits – even though they’re eligible for them, according to our new research.</p>
<p>State governments administer the federal TANF program, commonly known as welfare or cash assistance, in accordance with their own guidelines. Federal law allows states to <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL32748">grant domestic violence waivers</a> to TANF recipients when time limits, work requirements and other policies increase their risk of abuse or would unfairly penalize victims of abuse. Without a waiver, people who receive these benefits can only get <a href="https://research.upjohn.org/jrnlarticles/214/">TANF benefits for a limited time</a>, which can’t exceed a total of five years, and they must document the completion of up to 120 hours a month of “<a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/tanf-work-requirements-and-state-strategies-fulfill-them">work activities</a>,” according to a <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/income-security/temporary-assistance-for-needy-families">complex compliance formula</a>.</p>
<p>We examined annual reports from Michigan to the federal government on the number of domestic violence waivers it issued from 2008 to 2021. Even when the number of approved TANF applications increased, as occurred at the beginning of the <a href="https://mlpp.org/revitalize-the-family-independence-program-to-help-more-michigan-families-reach-financial-stability/">COVID-19 pandemic</a>, the number of domestic violence waivers issued remained flat.</p>
<p>In recent years, an average of 12,600 families in Michigan received TANF benefits in a typical month. More than 75% were female-led single-parent households. Since studies have found that 25% to 50% of women who get these benefits <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.2.2.147">have experienced domestic violence</a>, we would expect at least 750 to 1,000 women getting this assistance to be experiencing domestic violence or to have recently left a violent relationship.</p>
<p>Instead, the state has only issued a total of from seven to 36 waivers per year for the past decade.</p>
<p>Our estimates of how many domestic violence waivers should be issued exclude men and transgender and binary people due to a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021960">lack of relevant research</a>. </p>
<p>To better understand what causes this discrepancy, we conducted focus groups with TANF caseworkers in 10 Michigan counties. They said they got no training on what domestic violence does to survivors’ ability to work, or guidance on when to grant the waivers. They also said there were no standard screening practices.</p>
<p>They also told us that survivors typically have to request waivers – even though by offering the waivers, Michigan has agreed to certify that TANF applicants and recipients are <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL32748">notified that they are available</a>.</p>
<p>The caseworkers also said that domestic violence survivors who didn’t meet TANF work requirements often lost their benefits.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>People who have experienced domestic violence can have <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/article/rfajournl/v_3a5_3ay_3a2017_3ai_3a12_3ap_3a20-31.htm">trouble finding and keeping jobs</a> because of physical injuries and their abusers’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520962075">efforts to sabotage their employment</a>. </p>
<p>Denying waivers to survivors can hinder their ability to gain financial independence and could place them at risk for returning to their abusive partner as a way to meet their housing and child care needs.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/house-approval-of-debt-ceiling-deal-a-triumph-of-the-political-center-206837">debt-ceiling deal</a> struck between the White House and Republican leaders now pending in Congress would exempt people who are experiencing homelessness, former foster youth and veterans from <a href="https://theconversation.com/snap-work-requirements-dont-actually-get-more-people-working-but-they-do-drastically-limit-the-availability-of-food-aid-204257">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a> work requirements. Known as SNAP, that program provides low-income people with money they must spend on groceries.</p>
<p>Our findings show that even with exemptions in place for at-risk groups, people who are eligible for such exceptions do not automatically get them.</p>
<p>That same deal also includes provisions that may encourage <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/debt-ceiling-deal-includes-new-work-requirements-snap-how-they-would-work">states to further restrict TANF waivers</a> by setting stricter overall work requirement goals for all parents who get this aid. </p>
<h2>What other work is being done</h2>
<p>In states with more lenient work requirements, such as not immediately stopping benefits when people miss work requirement targets, and more generous financial incentives, people who get TANF benefits tend to have better and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09714-8">higher-paying jobs</a> when they exit the program. In contrast, recent research indicates that taking TANF benefits away from domestic violence survivors can increase the risk that they will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113355">experience further abuse</a>. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We plan to expand our analysis to include the entire country and to see how waivers can be successfully used to help domestic violence survivors escape poverty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristina Nikolova Andrea Hetling receives funding from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Grant Number 90PE0044.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Hetling receives funding from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Grant Number 90PE0043-01-01.</span></em></p>People who have experienced domestic violence can have trouble finding and keeping jobs because of physical injuries and their abusers’ efforts to sabotage their employment.Kristina Nikolova, Research Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Windsor, and Adjunct Professor of Social Work, Wayne State UniversityAndrea Hetling, Professor of Public Policy, Rutgers 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>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Tina Turner speaking about the abuse she experienced.</span></figcaption>
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<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/2046882023-05-17T07:00:35Z2023-05-17T07:00:35ZHigher unemployment and less income: how domestic violence costs women financially<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524035/original/file-20230503-26-w24tq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5327%2C3546&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women in abusive relationships are more likely to be unemployed and earn less money than women with non-abusive partners. </p>
<p>That’s among the key findings confirmed by a <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/institute-working-papers/the-dynamics-of-abusive-relationships">landmark international study</a> by researchers from England, America and Finland, which charted the economic impact abusive relationships have on women.</p>
<p>The study found that the deterioration in economic wellbeing started soon after women began living with an abusive male partner. After five years, these women continued to experience significant falls in earnings and employment. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/revealed-the-hidden-problem-of-economic-abuse-in-australia-73764">Revealed: the hidden problem of economic abuse in Australia</a>
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<h2>What is economic abuse in a domestic relationship?</h2>
<p>We know from previous research that men use economic abuse to exert power over and exploit their female partners. </p>
<p>It can involve using intimidation, threats, humiliation, emotional manipulation, isolation and physical violence to restrict their partner’s right to work and access to property, including</p>
<ul>
<li><p>preventing her from taking a job</p></li>
<li><p>forcing her to resign</p></li>
<li><p>undermining her work performance</p></li>
<li><p>restricting the type of job they can do</p></li>
<li><p>preventing her from accessing bank accounts</p></li>
<li><p>excluding her from decision-making over household spending or joint property</p></li>
<li><p>preventing her from accessing joint financial assets</p></li>
<li><p>making her relinquish control over her property or income, or</p></li>
<li><p>compelling her to take on her partner’s debt.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This abuse sabotages a woman’s independence and ability to leave the relationship by limiting her access to money and work outside the home.</p>
<p>Economic abuse is more common than many realise. A recent online <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/sb/sb30">survey</a> of 15,000 women in Australia found 11% had experienced coercive control. Of this group, just over half reported their partners had used their own or shared money without consent or made important financial decisions without consulting them.</p>
<h2>What did the new study set out to do?</h2>
<p>The new empirical <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/institute-working-papers/the-dynamics-of-abusive-relationships">study</a> involved a data set of nearly 14,000 cohabiting couples. The study’s authors linked information from unusually comprehensive police and economic databases in Finland to chart men’s economic abuse of their female partners. </p>
<p>The researchers compared women who had reported domestic abuse to police with a matched sample of women who had not reported abuse.</p>
<p>By employing a relatively long time span (from 2006 to 2019), the study was able to chart the points at which physical violence and economic abuse most frequently occurred. </p>
<p>The researchers were also able to identify if the women had been in a non-abusive relationship. This allowed them to compare economic outcomes in both situations.</p>
<h2>What did the new study find?</h2>
<p>When women in abusive and non-abusive relationships were compared after five years living with a partner, the employment rates for those in abusive relationships fell 12% and their earnings declined 26% relative to their situation before cohabitating. </p>
<p>The researchers were able to exclude other factors that might have contributed to this outcome, such as a general economic downturn or working less outside the home after starting a relationship.</p>
<p>By referring to other relationships, they could also establish that these negative outcomes had not occurred when the same women had been in a non-abusive relationship. </p>
<p>In other words, the negative outcomes were a product of the abuse rather than any characteristics of the victim-survivors. These findings refute claims these women have only themselves to blame.</p>
<p>The researchers were also able to identify that a negative impact on economic wellbeing occurred relatively early in abusive relationships. Women’s unemployment tended to increase and their earnings tended to decrease within the first two years of a couple living together. </p>
<p>The study also found women “in the middle” – those with intermediate levels of education and earnings before entering into a relationship that became abusive – experienced the worst economic outcomes.</p>
<p>It’s not clear why. Perhaps this was the least predictable group in relation to whether they would leave the relationship and this may have triggered the most control from their abusive partners. </p>
<p>The study also found that economic abuse usually preceded physical violence, but could also occur in relationships where there was no reported violence. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524241/original/file-20230503-18-mgoe01.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">Abuse sabotages a woman’s independence by limiting her access to money and work outside the home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to end this abuse?</h2>
<p>Economic abuse in intimate relationships builds on <a href="https://goodshep.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/economic-abuse_final-report.pdf">existing gendered inequities</a>, especially social norms about management of finances.</p>
<p>Changing the attitudes and behaviours of perpetrators and potential perpetrators is crucial. Many consent and behaviour change programs include economic abuse as a recognised form of coercion and control. </p>
<p>It’s also important we find ways to improve financial literacy and provide more support for women seeking to leave abusive relationships.</p>
<p>Australian banks have already developed useful <a href="https://www.commbank.com.au/content/dam/commbank-assets/support/2021-01/unsw-report-key-findings.pdf">guidelines</a> and are working with experts in domestic and family violence to promote understanding of this abuse.</p>
<p>It’s vital that we find ways to support women to deal with the predictable <a href="https://www.womenandmoney.org.au/assets/Uploads/Women-+-Money-Financial-Impacts-of-Family-Violence.pdf">consequences</a> of economic abuse. These include homelessness, home insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and debts accrued by a partner or former partner.</p>
<p>Without intervention, a bad credit rating or poor rental history caused by a perpetrator’s abusive conduct can blight women’s lives for years after they leave these relationships. </p>
<p>Taking out a civil protection order may prohibit further economic abuse. <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-2022-65">New South Wales</a> and <a href="https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2004-067">Tasmania</a> already have criminal laws targeting coercive control and economic abuse. Queensland is planning to introduce a coercive control offence.</p>
<p>Enacting similar laws in other states and territories would extend these protections to even more Australian women.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coercive-control-is-a-key-part-of-domestic-violence-so-why-isnt-it-a-crime-across-australia-132444">Coercive control is a key part of domestic violence. So why isn't it a crime across Australia?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marilyn McMahon 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>Women in abusive relationships are much more likely to be unemployed and to earn less money than women with non-abusive partners.Marilyn McMahon, Deputy Dean, School of Law, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2035912023-04-18T20:26:22Z2023-04-18T20:26:22ZTime to abolish the Canadian law that allows adults to spank and hit children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521692/original/file-20230418-926-xy0s7z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=83%2C114%2C2860%2C1818&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Strategies that may help reduce support for corporal punishment — as well as reduce its use and intentions to use it — include individual and group-based programs to develop positive parenting skills.</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/time-to-abolish-the-canadian-law-that-allows-adults-to-spank-and-hit-children" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) is allowed in Canada according to <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-43.html">Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada</a>. Some Canadians are not aware of this and are surprised to learn that such a law exists, whereas others want to hold onto this archaic act. </p>
<p><a href="https://researchco.ca/2023/02/17/section43-canada/">A growing number of Canadians, however, are aware of the law and understand the need to have Section 43 abolished</a>. The real question is why hasn’t our country already removed permission to hit children from the Criminal Code of Canada? </p>
<p>Globally, efforts to end violence against children, including corporal punishment, have been underway for half a century. To date, <a href="https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/">65 countries and states worldwide have banned corporal punishment</a>. Unfortunately, Canada is not one of them. </p>
<p>Currently, <a href="https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/s-251">Bill S-251</a>, which would ban corporal punishment in Canada, is being debated in the Senate. Now is the time to provide evidence to Canadians to inform the debate. </p>
<h2>Why corporal punishment should never be used</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An infographic titled 'All children have the right to live free from violence' showing the harms caused by physical punishment and pathways for change" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1242&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1242&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521766/original/file-20230419-14-4cypca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1242&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Physical punishment has no known benefits to children, but extensive research shows the harm it causes well into adulthood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Childhood Adversity and Resilience research team)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defines corporal punishment (also referred to as physical punishment) <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/460bc7772.html">as punishment that uses physical force that is intended to cause pain or discomfort even if it is very mild or light</a>. Corporal punishment can include hitting, spanking, smacking, slapping, kicking, shaking, scratching, pinching or biting, among other physical acts. </p>
<p>Canadian estimates within the last 10 years suggest that between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7729-6">18 per cent</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2014-013">43 per cent</a> of families use spanking to discipline children. </p>
<p>Evidence collected over the past two decades and published in hundreds of peer-reviewed studies, has demonstrated that corporal punishment is harmful to children and has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503%2Fcmaj.101314">no known benefits</a>. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037%2Ffam0000191">research has consistently</a> shown <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.01.014">corporal punishment to be a significant risk factor</a> for injury, poor parent-child relationships and poor outcomes in children and youth. These include aggression, antisocial behaviour, slower cognitive development, emotional disorders including anxiety and depression, physical health problems, substance use, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and violence in intimate relationships later in life. </p>
<p>Because of serious concerns about the significant negative outcomes associated with corporal punishment, the American Academy of Pediatrics <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3112">published a statement in 2018</a> clearly recommending against any physical punishment, including spanking, hitting and slapping. A similar statement was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxz063">published in 2019 by the Canadian Paediatric Society</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“At no time should parents use physical punishment — spanking, slapping, hitting — or behaviour that shames children.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Barriers to repealing Section 43</h2>
<p>Extensive evidence highlights the harms of spanking, and no studies have found any benefits of spanking for the child. Sixty-five other countries or states worldwide have already instituted spanking bans. The question remains: Why hasn’t Canada already repealed Section 43 of the Criminal Code? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man and a woman sitting on a sofa looking at a laptop screen together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521715/original/file-20230418-26-hehrly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521715/original/file-20230418-26-hehrly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521715/original/file-20230418-26-hehrly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521715/original/file-20230418-26-hehrly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521715/original/file-20230418-26-hehrly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521715/original/file-20230418-26-hehrly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521715/original/file-20230418-26-hehrly.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">Some studies have shown that providing research summaries about harms related to corporal punishment and information about children’s rights can help parents to decide to stop spanking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A common argument for spanking is, “I was spanked, and I turned out OK.” While that may be true for some people, it often isn’t the case. </p>
<p>Many children, youth and adults experience numerous poor outcomes across their lifespan related to being spanked in childhood. Physical punishment in childhood is associated with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4359-8">higher likelihood</a> of experiencing physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect and/or exposure to intimate partner violence.</p>
<p>It’s clear that spanking is a parenting strategy that comes with significant and unnecessary risks. </p>
<p>A common misconception related to the repeal of Section 43 is that laws banning corporal punishment will mean criminalization and incarceration of parents. This is simply not true and not the purpose of a ban. </p>
<p>In 1979, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/026975800501200203">Sweden became the first country to ban corporal punishment in all settings</a>; the aim was to educate the public — not prosecute parents. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00021-6">Prosecution rates of parents remained unchanged after the ban was in place</a>. </p>
<p>The overall purpose of such bans is to reduce the use of corporal punishment, increase early identification of at-risk children and youth and to support families through preventive interventions.</p>
<h2>Evidence of changing public attitudes</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Form asking whether corporal punishment should be prohibited, with the box for 'Yes' ticked" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521716/original/file-20230418-28-n0h8ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521716/original/file-20230418-28-n0h8ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521716/original/file-20230418-28-n0h8ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521716/original/file-20230418-28-n0h8ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521716/original/file-20230418-28-n0h8ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521716/original/file-20230418-28-n0h8ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521716/original/file-20230418-28-n0h8ij.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research from several countries indicates that the most effective method of reducing public support for the use of corporal punishment may be legislation prohibiting it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several strategies have shown promise in reducing support for corporal punishment, as well as in reducing the intention to use, and the actual act of using it. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.01.017">These include</a> individual and group-based programs to develop positive parenting skills, home visitation programs and media-based interventions. </p>
<p>Some studies have also demonstrated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.10.013">providing research summaries</a> about harms related to corporal punishment and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519852631">information about children’s rights</a> can help parents to decide to stop spanking.</p>
<p>Importantly, research from several countries indicates that <a href="https://endcorporalpunishment.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-positive-impact-of-prohibition-of-corporal-punishment-on-children.pdf">legislation prohibiting corporal punishment may be the most effective method of reducing public support for the use of corporal punishment</a>. Bans alone may not be sufficient; they should be enacted in combination with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.10.016">public awareness and education campaigns</a>.</p>
<p>It is essential that Canada complies with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that prohibits spanking. It is our duty to protect our children from unnecessary harm and give them the best chance to live happy and healthy lives that are free from violence. This starts with the Repeal of Section 43.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracie O. Afifi receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Research Chairs, and the Public Health Agency of Canada for work related to her program of research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Gonzalez receives funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Canada Research Chairs fund. </span></em></p>Extensive evidence shows the harms of spanking, and 65 other countries or states worldwide have already banned it. Why has Canada not done the same by repealing Section 43 of the Criminal Code?Tracie O. Afifi, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience, University of ManitobaAndrea Gonzalez, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2022282023-03-30T22:18:00Z2023-03-30T22:18:00ZMass Casualty Commission report details the Nova Scotia shooter’s abuse of sex workers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518581/original/file-20230330-18-gk7yku.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C2959%2C2194&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Mass Casualty Commission has released its final report on the mass murder that happened in rural Nova Scotia in April 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission has released its <a href="https://masscasualtycommission.ca/final-report/">final report</a> on the largest mass murder in Canadian history — highlighting how the perpetrator, although known to the police, was able to escape arrest for charges of intimate partner violence and illegal gun possession. </p>
<p>On April 18-19, 2020, starting in Portapique, N.S., <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20200730/021/index-en.aspx">a single gunman murdered 22 people</a> over a 13 hour period while dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a mocked up RCMP cruiser. He was finally shot by police officers at a gas station as he filled up a car taken from one of his last victims. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nova-scotias-mass-casualty-commission-calls-for-stricter-gun-control-laws-202808">Nova Scotia's Mass Casualty Commission calls for stricter gun control laws</a>
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<p>The commission’s findings are compiled from submissions, public hearings and police evidence. The final report includes recommendations about how to increase community safety and how to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.</p>
<p>The report also shows how the perpetrator was never held accountable for sexualized violence against women. For example, he was known among sex workers as someone who exchanged dental work for sex and who <a href="https://masscasualtycommission.ca/files/documents/Turning-the-Tide-Together-Volume-3-Violence.pdf">routinely violated marginalized people, including sex workers</a>.</p>
<p>We have both researched sex work for many years in <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/sex-workers-in-the-maritimes-talk-back">Canada</a>, the <a href="https://www.mqup.ca/slut-shaming--whorephobia--and-the-unfinished-sexual-revolution-products-9780228006657.php">United States</a> and <a href="https://www.rienner.com/title/Reluctant_Bedfellows_Feminism_Activism_and_Prostitution_in_the_Philippines">the Philippines</a>. </p>
<p>We were commissioned to do an <a href="https://masscasualtycommission.ca/documents/commissioned-reports/#the-health-and-safety-of-survival-sex-workers-in-halifax-and-truro-nova-scotia">expert report</a> for the Mass Casualty Commission on sex worker safety in Nova Scotia, focusing on why victims of violence (abuse which was documented by the perpetrator) did not report that violence to the police. </p>
<p>Over a period of three months in 2022, we interviewed 19 executive directors and representatives of social service organizations helping sex workers. We wanted to find out what their experiences were of sex worker safety in Nova Scotia.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two women and a man sit behind a desk facing an seated audience." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518583/original/file-20230330-28-sho3xi.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">From left to right, commissioners Leanne Fitch, Michael MacDonald, chair, and Kim Stanton deliver the final report of the Mass Casualty Commission in Truro, N.S. on March 30, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Victims of violence fear they won’t be believed</h2>
<p>The quick answer to the question of why victims don’t disclose violence is that most victims do not believe they will be helped if they do come forward.</p>
<p>Sex workers, who are already marginalized, often do not trust the police because of their past dealings with them. Their fear of possible arrest, to be further criminalized and possibly have their children taken away by Child Protective Services is not unfounded. <a href="https://masscasualtycommission.ca/files/documents/Turning-the-Tide-Together-Executive-Summary.pdf">As the final Mass Casualty Commission report states</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Many women fear disbelief by others, including the police, do not trust that police will ensure their safety, and are concerned about being criminalized or subject to other state harms. These barriers are heightened for marginalized women survivors.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We heard numerous accounts of victims not being believed when they came forward with stories of abuse, being re-criminalized and not seeing the <a href="https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.1894">police or authority figures as trustworthy</a>. </p>
<p>One of the executive directors we interviewed said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Sex worker safety is nonexistent, there is no safety measures for sex workers. It’s been "grandfathered down” not to trust the police. [Our agency] also recently did a survey, and it showed that there was more violence from a police officer than of a perpetrator.“ </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The physical and emotional violence by police was well documented by our interviewees. As one executive director explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>"The cops abuse, so how are you going to go to this misogynistic institution to report that you’ve been harmed when you are already known or seen as "less than” and found not really worthy of safety anyway?“ </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our <a href="https://masscasualtycommission.ca/documents/commissioned-reports/#the-health-and-safety-of-survival-sex-workers-in-halifax-and-truro-nova-scotia">report</a> documents how the stigma faced by the most marginalized sex workers is one of the key factors in understanding how the perpetrator managed to get away with his prior criminal behaviour. </p>
<p>As another executive director told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>"What does stigma do? I mean it keeps people in the shadows, it keeps people from coming forward and asking for help.… We don’t respect sex work as legitimate work… People judge sex a lot, and the more you can dehumanize someone, and the more you can deny them basic services, you can deny their social status and respect and rights and a whole bunch of other stuff.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The level of violence and dehumanization faced by sex workers means that they do not feel protected in the community, at health-care facilities or by police.</p>
<p>Violence resulting from dehumanization was a theme in several of our interviews. Another interviewee told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“There’s such a long history of sex workers being on the margins and being treated like whores and sluts and with no value whatsoever. And that long, long history still pervades people’s perceptions of who sex workers are and what sex work is, and I think that those common perceptions run throughout all our systems.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people standing and embracing under a sign that reads: mass casualty commission in English and French" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518582/original/file-20230330-22-z8ejlq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518582/original/file-20230330-22-z8ejlq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518582/original/file-20230330-22-z8ejlq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518582/original/file-20230330-22-z8ejlq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518582/original/file-20230330-22-z8ejlq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518582/original/file-20230330-22-z8ejlq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518582/original/file-20230330-22-z8ejlq.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 report shows how the perpetrator was never held accountable for his sexualized violence against numerous women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Decriminalization as a harm reduction strategy</h2>
<p>The final Mass Casualty Commission report highlights how “economic marginalization and criminalization heighten the risk of violence against women and girls.”</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://masscasualtycommission.ca/documents/commissioned-reports/#the-health-and-safety-of-survival-sex-workers-in-halifax-and-truro-nova-scotia">report</a>, we make eight recommendations that centre on developing a harm reduction strategy to alleviate the harms criminalized sex work poses. </p>
<p>Our recommendations to federal and provincial governments include:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225783">The decriminalization of sex work</a>.</li>
<li>Coordinating social services for sex workers across Halifax and rural areas. </li>
<li>Providing more funding for organizations dealing with sex workers. </li>
<li>Education to eradicate stigma and dehumanization of sex workers, and to provide anti-racist education. </li>
<li>Decriminalization of illegal substances for personal use.</li>
<li>Providing safe and affordable housing. </li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315613311">A cultural shift around sexualized violence and sex work</a>. </li>
<li>Poverty reduction and a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.37.3.283">guaranteed annual income</a>.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Harm reduction means dealing with people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00576-9">where they are, not where we’d like them to be</a>. Harm reduction means deciding what is the greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2020.1767305">social harm</a>: sex workers dying on the job or the public recognizing that violence, addiction, homelessness and extreme poverty dehumanize sex workers far more than the actual work does.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09707-7">Stigma kills</a>, and it denies those who are stigmatized the social supports they need. Harm reduction means that the practice of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00636-0">criminalizing sex work</a> needs to stop in Canada. </p>
<p>By decriminalizing sex work, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00564-z">New Zealand</a> has radically reduced the prevalence of nearly all the social problems we named in this article. It’s time Canada did the same.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202228/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meredith Ralston received funding from the Mass Casualty Commission for our expert report. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gayle MacDonald owns GM Research Consulting Inc. She has received funding from the Mass Casualty Commission for our expert report. </span></em></p>The mass casualty commission report into the Nova Scotia mass murders outlines the perpetrator’s history of sexual abuse toward sex workers and what should be done to prevent it from happening again.Meredith Ralston, Professor of Women's Studies and Political Studies, Mount Saint Vincent UniversityGayle MacDonald, Professor, Women's Studies, Mount Saint Vincent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1926062023-02-08T03:00:42Z2023-02-08T03:00:42ZWho is perpetrating domestic, sexual and family violence?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505505/original/file-20230120-12-aaxkkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C22%2C5081%2C2851&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/young-couple-arguing-fighting-domestic-violence-2040549059">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/239821">1.6 million women (17%) and 548,000 men (6.1%)</a> in Australia aged 15 or older have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or previous cohabiting partner. This means significant proportions of the population in Australia have perpetrated domestic or sexual violence.</p>
<p>There are no national Australian data on people’s perpetration of domestic or sexual violence. While we have good data on violence victimisation, we know far less about violence perpetration.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/centre-for-justice/wp-content/uploads/sites/304/2023/01/Who-uses-domestic-family-and-sexual-violence-how-and-why-The-State-of-Knowledge-Report-on-Violence-Perpetration-2023.pdf">State of Knowledge Report on Violence Perpetration</a>, released today, reviews the current data and research on who perpetrates domestic, family, and sexual violence, how, and why, in order to enhance national efforts to end this violence. Here’s what it found.</p>
<h2>Data from victims and police</h2>
<p>One of the consistent findings from victimisation data, legal system data, and survey self-reports is that most violence is perpetrated by men.</p>
<p>Among all people in Australia who have suffered violence, <a href="https://violenceagainstwomenandchildren.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/abs-personal-safety-survey-victim-perpetrator-sex-and-relationship6.pdf">nearly all</a> have experienced violence from a male perpetrator (95% of male victims and 94% of female victims). Around one quarter of all victims have experienced violence from a female perpetrator (28% of male victims and 24% of female victims).</p>
<p>The vast majority of perpetrators of <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/sr/sr39">homicide in Australia</a> – 87% – are male. Three-quarters (75%) of all <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-in-australia-2018/summary">victims of domestic violence</a> reported the perpetrator as male and 25% reported the perpetrator as female. Among all <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release">victims of sexual violence</a> aged 15 or older, six times as many people reported violence by a male perpetrator as by a female perpetrator.</p>
<p>As most victims do not formally report to authorities, police and legal data are limited sources of information on perpetration. Police data tend to capture only the most severe cases, legal definitions vary across Australia, and existing data are shaped by <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/309729">the over-policing of First Nations</a> and ethnic minority communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man and woman holding hands" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507755/original/file-20230202-18-o4ls0q.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">Most perpetrators of violence are male and most victims are female.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Self-report data</h2>
<p>Another stream of data comes from surveys in which people report on their own use of violent behaviours. A key issue here is that most self-reported data on domestic violence relies only on asking individuals if they or their partners have ever committed any violent acts from a specified list (slapping, kicking, punching, and so on). </p>
<p>Popular measures such as the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178917301982?casa_token=K40TCQ-od5wAAAAA:zjBneG9B9LOY9bXRm4UHl_lfo5SKBQVt_iO33suf_fcVoT-PyqtfoCF5XQwX9fWd7qltKmttKFg#bb0065">Conflict Tactics Scale</a> <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-44482-001">do not also ask</a> about <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=068e7002b6aff6ffea1e9be8d13720f5d48b7e6f">severity, frequency, impact</a> (injury or fear), intent, whether the acts were in self-defence, or their <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article-abstract/44/3/324/471260">history and context</a>. They <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838015596963?casa_token=ztf8QUmzqv4AAAAA:Xa5Rw_zu4KaWiJgi1nVdrTTndJlclfC0LdKtCQMoy19qczbSsA7ieZC0Tj7UDXlLAvK_q0T9PT5x">omit</a> sexual violence, stalking, other violent acts, and violence after separation.</p>
<p>Much self-reported data on domestic violence do not measure the pattern of power and control exerted by an individual over their intimate partner or former partner, although many researchers and advocates see this as <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Tackling_Domestic_Violence_Theories_Poli/rpJgLOoPYIUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">defining domestic violence</a>.</p>
<p>Studies of domestic violence that use the Conflict Tactics Scales or other similar, acts-based measures <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838015596963?casa_token=BJDBe47RiXsAAAAA:-djm8DByZxH6guVFIFaQdA0RrRz7zLy24Gn5jSMGcDvqGKS3maSnAeMIr7PA8BfSFRB2VdYdK_8U">tend to find</a> males and females perpetrate aggression against intimate partners at similar rates, or in some instances that women report higher rates of perpetration than men.</p>
<p>Such studies also often find substantial proportions of people have used at least one type of aggression or abuse against a partner. For example, in <a href="https://connect.springerpub.com/content/sgrpa/3/1/76.abstract">a US study</a> among university students, 18% of men and 34% of women reported perpetrating physical aggression towards their partners and 98% of both men and women reported perpetrating psychological aggression.</p>
<p>Apparent findings that men and women are using domestic violence at similar rates must be interpreted with caution, for four reasons. </p>
<p>First, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838015596963?casa_token=BJDBe47RiXsAAAAA:-djm8DByZxH6guVFIFaQdA0RrRz7zLy24Gn5jSMGcDvqGKS3maSnAeMIr7PA8BfSFRB2VdYdK_8U">most studies</a> are just “counting the blows”, measuring any use of a set list of violent acts. They may lead to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-44482-001">false positives</a> or <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article-abstract/56/4/646/2747208">over-reporting</a>, including of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077801216658977?casa_token=gtVdIinYBsQAAAAA:yEqAqvbCEx1wAyIkwKFx5iJXCwBeHr8aNaEhtQyo2_b7Xxu1kdF-7_zKzReNkUPPKNQmklrw92zp">harmless</a> and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-44482-001">innocuous</a> behaviours. </p>
<p>Second, there is evidence <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135917891100022X?casa_token=bpwGXvtGyXMAAAAA:FD1DsvAW-T3nii-qk_uu8xZmBwQt7w1E0iB0BrRyyr6PZwPYT0IbYqyhSyRlgDVgm4xAb83dwoA">men are less likely than women to report</a> their own use of violence. </p>
<p>Third, women’s violence is more often in <a href="https://connect.springerpub.com/content/sgrpa/3/4/429.abstract">self-defence</a> than men’s. </p>
<p>And fourth, even where overall rates of the use of various violent acts are similar among males and females, males’ use of violence typically is more frequent, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10896-015-9732-8">severe, fear-inducing</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-009-9697-2">injurious</a>, and harmful than females’ use of violence.</p>
<p>Gender contrasts in rates of perpetration are far stronger for sexual violence. Boys and young men have significantly higher rates of sexual violence perpetration than girls and young women, as documented in reviews of studies among <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0040194">teenagers</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178914000755?casa_token=v5KC2vJxS3UAAAAA:m-bdpiqpnhJruRRRXfq3xTj4bTCqy2yP1i8U-mSkTo7_jH1yDvj4D0_CUOzLLZhqhmcu2Dglp7A">young people</a>.</p>
<p>Significant numbers of males have perpetrated sexual violence. For example, close to one-third (29%) of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838019860619?casa_token=PchjRf4zt1cAAAAA:VBGC7c6gtIc7YSbH7QoFdx1fy47szb1ZfQOqtezNrsenXxlr0ZqYf8xPuTfRI7nZEJfSdfxp8IHo">men at universities in the USA and Canada</a> reported having perpetrated sexual violence. In <a href="http://www.svri.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2018-05-09/Why%20do%20some%20men%20use%20violence%20against%20women_1.pdf">a multi-country self-report study</a> in the Asia-Pacific, proportions of men reporting they had perpetrated some form of rape against a woman or girl ranged from 10% to 62%.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pregnant-women-are-at-increased-risk-of-domestic-violence-in-all-cultural-groups-95048">Pregnant women are at increased risk of domestic violence in all cultural groups</a>
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<h2>Perpetrators in society</h2>
<p>People’s use of violence often starts young. Substantial proportions of adolescents perpetrate dating violence against their intimate partners and ex-partners. US studies find the average age of first perpetration of sexual violence by males <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11121-017-0810-4">is 16</a>.</p>
<p>Few perpetrators are held to account for their crimes. The vast majority of perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137356192_3">do not ever come</a> to the attention of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1158136018300379">police or legal systems</a>.</p>
<p>Perpetration is driven by risk factors at the individual, relationship, and community levels. Prevention efforts must address <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178915000828">childhood exposure</a> to domestic and family violence, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15248380211030224">violent</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128192023000134">sexist</a> norms, peers’ <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128192023000092">condoning of violence</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29333974/">community disadvantage</a>, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128192023000043">other factors</a>.</p>
<p>We need to know far more about perpetrators and perpetration. We <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/centre-for-justice/wp-content/uploads/sites/304/2021/06/Michael-Flood-briefing-paper-issue-13.pdf">need national data</a> on the extent and character of people’s use of domestic and sexual violence. We need <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jomf.12652?casa_token=KslqCHMkT-8AAAAA%3ALi00prlQntGpqDsXUOKBH86gG6g_0kXBlk15L8dMcQrpQlRcw-l-pZ-NzBW4vO4PtWoNT2P84mXaqSM">well-designed methods</a> that capture the character, breadth, severity, impact, and contexts of violence perpetration. We need research on <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/10790632221091193?casa_token=Wb-UplImOv8AAAAA:j3aya9-WH-zoiJWmGRvnlc0LItfZdulujuFhiSjYu0GyiO14fOQyMINrpHbR5_8i7NB5ufXWD7M0">female and LGBT</a> perpetrators and on diverse forms of violence. We need to know more about the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128192023000043">risk</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838012470031?casa_token=YVWPMwKDn3cAAAAA:rCua9zDw8nIrHCAGlo1oL34Hk36DVhBzBk9PLNokhIeiEXcd3bJKT2aERiybYSpLrjlmFHVAkpUa">protective</a> <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-013-9907-7">factors</a> that either feed into perpetration or protect against it.</p>
<p>Without this information we do not know where best to target interventions against perpetration effectively, when to intervene early, and whether Australia’s efforts to reduce the use of violence are making progress. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-who-suffer-domestic-violence-fare-much-worse-financially-after-separating-from-their-partner-new-data-190047">Women who suffer domestic violence fare much worse financially after separating from their partner: new data</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Flood has received funding from the Australia Research Council, Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute Foundation, Jesuit Social Services, Victorian Government, and Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chay Brown receives funding from ANROWS and the Australian National University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lula Dembele received payment from QUT (who was sponsored by PwC) as co-author of the report this article references. Lula is affiliated with the Independent Collective of Survivors. Lula is sole director of Accountability Matters Project Pty Ltd, lived experience consultant for ANROWS, lived experience advisor for the Department of Health and the Department of Social Services, and works for the Women's Trauma Recovery Centre, as Director Lived Expertise, Government Relations, and Advocacy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsti Mills 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>The State of Knowledge Report on Violence Perpetration, released today, reviews the current data and research on who perpetrates domestic, family, and sexual violence.Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of TechnologyChay Brown, Research and Partnerships Manager, The Equality Institute, & Postdoctoral fellow, Australian National UniversityKirsti Mills, Research Assistant, Queensland University of TechnologyLula Dembele, Lived experience research assistant, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1980222023-01-31T12:55:27Z2023-01-31T12:55:27ZNetflix’s Pamela, A Love Story overturns
stereotypes about victims of intimate partner abuse<p>Pamela Anderson’s Netflix documentary is worth watching for many reasons, but one of the greatest lessons it has to offer is what a victim-survivor of intimate partner abuse looks like: resilient, resourceful, eternally optimistic and compassionate.</p>
<p>Unlike most other victim-survivors, Anderson has been granted a platform for a narrative we still rarely hear in the mass media but which <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Coercive_Control/8h0TDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=evan+stark+coercive+control&printsec=frontcover">professionals in the field have known for decades</a>. People who experience intimate partner abuse are not the submissive stereotype but often strong willed and resistant. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3SBJB8r8fVQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Pamela, A Love Story, on Netflix.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Netflix are billing Pamela, A Love Story as a “humanising documentary”, necessary precisely because this is a woman who has been systematically dehumanised by media narratives throughout her life. </p>
<p>Anderson’s voice has always been drowned out by the stories other people have written about her. Most recently her experiences in her relationship with Tommy Lee and the exploitation of her reputation and private life have been mined without her consent in Hulu’s drama series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-watch-pam-and-tommy-the-series-turns-someones-trauma-into-entertainment-176844">Pam and Tommy</a> (2022). </p>
<p>This has prompted a woman who has finally found her power (spoiler, it was inside her all along) to tell her own story, out loud and in control of her narrative.</p>
<h2>Narrative power and intimate partner abuse</h2>
<p><a href="https://kenplummer.com/2019/06/04/narrative-power/">Narrative power</a> is an important aspect of social identity – and taking control of it is one of the most powerful tools used by perpetrators of coercive and controlling behaviour.</p>
<p>Techniques such as <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/gaslighting">gaslighting</a> (where an abuser constructs a false reality by denying and contradicting their victim’s perception) manipulate and degrade the victim’s sense of reality and their sense of self. Yet it is not only within the abusive intimate relationship that a victim’s sense of identity can be warped by narrative.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A black and white photo shows Pamela leaning affectionately on the shoulder of her adult son Brandon." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504909/original/file-20230117-22-d5uwp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504909/original/file-20230117-22-d5uwp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504909/original/file-20230117-22-d5uwp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504909/original/file-20230117-22-d5uwp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504909/original/file-20230117-22-d5uwp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504909/original/file-20230117-22-d5uwp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504909/original/file-20230117-22-d5uwp8.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">Pamela Anderson with her son Brandon Lee in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cap-dantibes-france-may-23-brandon-1447025672">Andrea Raffin</a></span>
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<p>Criminologist Nils Christie drew attention to what many of us think of when we consider victims of crime – especially victims of intimate partner abuse - in his classic work on the “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-08305-3_2">ideal victim”</a>. Christie explained that we view victims as inherently weak or vulnerable and that anyone who deviates from this is not considered a “real” victim. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.shu.ac.uk/helena-kennedy-centre-international-justice/postgraduate-study/student-research-sarah-tatton">my research</a> as an expert in intimate partner abuse, I often hear the common misconception that victims are submissive and dependent. Those who show resistance to their abuser are considered to be complicit or provocative.</p>
<p>Many victim-survivors I’ve spoken to explain – just like Anderson does in her Netflix documentary – that they do not perceive themselves as victims. This is because they do not align with the “ideal victim” stereotype. Instead, they see themselves as strong and fiercely independent, and with good reason.</p>
<h2>Optimism and compassion</h2>
<p>Pamela Anderson is eternally optimistic and compassionate – she believes in love and romance. We hear the story of how Lee “wooed” her with constant messages and a whirlwind of drugs and champagne before they settled into a life dominated by his heavy drinking and control of her everyday activities.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pamela Anderson wears a long red dress and large black hat, holding hands with ex husband Tommy Lee who is shirtless beneath a feather black jacket and wearing leather trousers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504905/original/file-20230117-14-u71c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&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">With ex husband Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in 1997.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/27jan97-baywatch-star-pamela-anderson-lee-93667795">Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>It’s only looking back, she says, that she sees these red flags. Anderson continued to believe in her love story as she juggled young children, a gruelling work schedule and media onslaught.</p>
<p>“I thought I could love him/her better” is a common refrain in the work that I do. Persistence in an abusive relationship is not submission but fierce loyalty and generosity. Even after the relationship with Lee ends, Anderson retains her faith in romance, going on to marry three more times in attempt to find it.</p>
<p>It’s evident that she is not dependent on men – it’s clear that she was the one holding her life with Lee together. She just believes in the love stories we are all saturated in.</p>
<h2>Resilience and grief</h2>
<p>Anderson is also resilient. She withstood Lee’s demanding behaviour until the point that he attacked her physically. </p>
<p>At that point, she ended the relationship swiftly and with conviction, admitting that she was lucky to have the resources to do so. But she continues to co-parent with Lee and she endures the trauma of having had her most private moments revealed to the world in the infamous “sex tape” with integrity.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-watch-pam-and-tommy-the-series-turns-someones-trauma-into-entertainment-176844">Don't watch Pam and Tommy – the series turns someone's trauma into entertainment</a>
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<p>The documentary uses old photographs and videos to tell the story of how Anderson made a safe and happy life for her young sons, despite the heartbreak of “not being able to make it work with the father of my children” – a grief she carries still.</p>
<p>This is not to say that victim-survivors are invincible. Anderson explains that she doesn’t see herself as a victim, but as someone who puts herself into “crazy situations” and survives.</p>
<h2>A resourceful survivor</h2>
<p>Anderson uses the status she has been conferred with – “sex-symbol” and “thing that belongs to the world” – to campaign for animal rights, an issue she is passionate about.</p>
<p>In a montage of chat show interviews, she is seen sidestepping the hosts’ jokes about “the sex tape” and relationship with Lee to talk about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x64TykhnzNg">her work with the animal charity Peta</a>. But the most poignant example of her resourcefulness comes through her pieces to camera – especially towards the end of the documentary, where we see her draw on her reputation and her survival instinct to train for the starring role in Chicago.</p>
<p>Anderson has transformed her experiences into wisdom, self-reliance and confidence. </p>
<p>In one of my research interviews, a victim-survivor told me: “I’m stronger than I could ever have been if this hadn’t happened.” This <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/may/09/pamela-anderson-chicago-broadway-roxie-hart">glows</a> from Anderson too, as she’s shown performing on the Broadway stage at the end of the documentary.</p>
<p>It is not enough for Pamela Anderson to tell her story – it needs to be heard. I hope the world is ready to listen carefully.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198022/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>An expert in intimate partner abuse on why the world should ‘listen carefully’ to Pamela Anderson’s Netflix documentary.Dr Sarah Tatton, PhD Candidate and Associate Lecturer in Criminology, Sheffield Hallam 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>
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</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/1958972022-12-06T19:04:14Z2022-12-06T19:04:14ZWorkers supporting survivors of gender-based violence are demanding change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499277/original/file-20221206-17-31xdiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3594%2C2382&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A staff member carries bedding to a suite at Toronto's Interval House, an emergency shelter for women in abusive situations, in 2017. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</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/workers-supporting-survivors-of-gender-based-violence-are-demanding-change" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>While the world went into lockdown at the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, shelters helping women who are survivors of domestic violence remained open. </p>
<p>In fact, for many of shelters, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-022-00398-2">the work increased</a> as they adjusted to public health measures and a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/domestic-violence-rates-rising-due-to-covid19-1.5545851">surge in gender-based violence</a>. </p>
<p>The United Nations has termed this a “<a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19-response/violence-against-women-during-covid-19">shadow pandemic</a>.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-covid-19-pandemic-has-made-the-impacts-of-gender-based-violence-worse-193197">The COVID-19 pandemic has made the impacts of gender-based violence worse</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Challenges facing front-line workers</h2>
<p>I’ve been working in gender-based violence for 15 years, the past five at <a href="https://endvaw.ca/">Women’s Shelters Canada</a>, a national non-profit organization supporting women’s shelters.</p>
<p>My work in the field started early for me. As a survivor of gender-based violence, I know the reality all too well and have witnessed family members struggle to survive and carve out new paths to live free of violence and abuse. These early experiences propelled me into activism and the women’s movement.</p>
<p>As a researcher, I do not work directly with survivors, but rather those who work tirelessly to support them in their healing journeys. </p>
<p>Working at Women’s Shelters Canada has connected me with front-line workers across the country. Hearing their stories of struggle under the weight of the pandemic led us to conduct a <a href="https://endvaw.ca/feminist-brain-drain/">national study</a> about the extent of this labour crisis, as well as providing potential solutions on how we can collectively improve the lives of those who work so hard to make the world a better and safer place.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman looks through a rainy window." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499077/original/file-20221205-22-on3rpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C54%2C5961%2C3881&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499077/original/file-20221205-22-on3rpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499077/original/file-20221205-22-on3rpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499077/original/file-20221205-22-on3rpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499077/original/file-20221205-22-on3rpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499077/original/file-20221205-22-on3rpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499077/original/file-20221205-22-on3rpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Front-line workers at women’s shelters are under-compensated, overworked and burnt out. It’s time to throw them a lifeline the way they do for so many victims of gender-based violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Elliot Mann/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Retention problems</h2>
<p>Like other sectors, especially the <a href="https://theonn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Survey-2022-Policy-Report.pdf">non-profit sector</a>, we struggle with retention issues — losing workers to employers (usually government) that can offer better salaries and benefits. </p>
<p>I cannot count the times I have heard leaders in our sector refer to violence against women shelters as a “training ground.” We prepare our workers with all the tools they need to provide quality trauma-informed care to then watch them leave once they have gained enough experience.</p>
<p>But can we blame them? We know our <a href="https://endvaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/More-Than-a-Bed-Final-Report.pdf">salaries have not remained competitive</a> and this is largely due to government funders refusing to increase salaries, even cost-of-living increases, in our operating budgets. </p>
<p>To compensate for this inadequacy, management tries workarounds like increasing benefits and flex time, but it’s not enough. </p>
<p>In a preliminary and unpublished subset of data from a recent <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rd15-rr15/p2.html">national survey</a>, we found that 32 per cent of shelter workers work an additional job to supplement their incomes, and over a quarter are considering quitting their jobs.</p>
<p>Compounding low wages is the level of burnout, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue at all levels, from front-line workers to organizational leaders.</p>
<p>This occurs for many reasons, including working within broken systems (for example, the lack of affordable housing, inadequate mental health supports, insufficient social assistance and immigration barriers, to name just a few issues). As well, the <a href="http://endvaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Shelter-Voices-2020-2.pdf">complexity of cases</a> have intensified during the pandemic, including both the severity and frequency of the violence survivors are experiencing.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-shadow-pandemic-femicide-187661">Canada's shadow pandemic: Femicide</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Relentless need</h2>
<p>As workers leave the sector and shelters struggle to hire new staff, the remaining workers are overwhelmed and exhausted from the past two and a half years. </p>
<p>Like the ongoing crisis of overflowing <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/cheo-second-pediatric-icu-surge-cases-1.6646324">intensive care units in children’s hospitals</a>, the demand and need is relentless. </p>
<p><a href="https://endvaw.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Shelter-Voices-2022.pdf">Shelter Voices</a> reported 60 per cent of women’s shelters have requested more space since March 2020. </p>
<p>This stress is spilling into workplaces as front-line workers have reported cases of microaggressions from other staff.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a white T-shirt and jeans sits with her head in her hands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499084/original/file-20221205-23-fd2k95.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">Many shelter workers report microaggressions from their colleagues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Half of workers we surveyed during the pandemic have witnessed or experienced microaggressions based on their race and 30 per cent based on gender identity. As a result of these compounding challenges, 64 per cent of shelters reported that they have seen a decrease in mental health of their front-line staff.</p>
<p>Leadership and management are doing their best to support workers, but are also affected by the increased workloads and challenges as the pandemic wears on. Shelters are an essential service for many survivors of domestic violence, and yet they must raise funds to keep their doors open and services flowing. </p>
<p>We’ve heard from our members that some provinces are seeing a turnover in leadership of up to 25 per cent. The loss of this institutional knowledge at the organizational and sector level is profound and will have lasting impacts.</p>
<h2>Coming together to build a movement</h2>
<p>We recently brought together 45 shelter workers from across the country to discuss this issue. The participants were grateful, after more than two years of isolation, for an opportunity connect with their peers. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1599816852728778752"}"></div></p>
<p>We could feel the energy and the momentum to create some real change to improve the lives of workers. We asked some hard and critical questions of each other: Are we a sector or are we a movement?</p>
<p>We are both, and transformation — especially when it comes to the large systemic change required to end gender-based violence — needs diverse and multi-layered strategies. </p>
<p>We need to take to the streets to demand equitable and sustainable funding that similar sectors receive. We believe that the supports a survivor receives should not depend upon their <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-womens-shelters-canada-funding/">postal code</a>. There are <a href="https://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/issuebased_newsletters/issue-35/index.html">fewer services in rural, remote and northern communities</a> and what services do exist must act as a catch-all for a variety of community needs.</p>
<p>We also need a seat at the table with the federal government as it shapes its <a href="http://endvaw.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Final-Joint-Statement-on-NAP.pdf">National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of women pose for a photo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499019/original/file-20221205-5826-m5rbf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499019/original/file-20221205-5826-m5rbf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499019/original/file-20221205-5826-m5rbf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499019/original/file-20221205-5826-m5rbf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499019/original/file-20221205-5826-m5rbf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499019/original/file-20221205-5826-m5rbf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499019/original/file-20221205-5826-m5rbf0.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">Shelter workers gather at the Feminist Brain Drain Symposium in Ottawa in November 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Women’s Shelters Canada</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a workforce predominantly comprised of <a href="https://canadianwomens.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ResettingNormal-Women-Decent-Work-and-Care-EN.pdf">women and women of colour</a>, we are tired of being ignored, silenced and tokenized. </p>
<p>Our expertise and value is essential in the fight to end gender-based violence. Our workers are the heart of this transformative justice work and need to be recognized, appreciated and adequately compensated for the important and often life-saving work they do. </p>
<p>Survivors — and frontline workers — deserve nothing less.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195897/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krys Maki (they/them) worked for Women's Shelters Canada as the Director of Research and Policy from 2017-2022. </span></em></p>The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that shelters helping survivors of domestic violence are essential. Retention and recruitment issues in the gender-based violence sector require systemic solutions.Krys Maki, Assistant Professor at the School of Social Innovation, Université Saint-Paul / Saint Paul UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1952732022-12-05T13:26:14Z2022-12-05T13:26:14ZA judge in Texas is using a recent Supreme Court ruling to allow domestic abusers to keep their guns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498785/original/file-20221204-16605-8lpn7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C3008%2C1985&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Taking guns from abusers saves lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/gun-royalty-free-image/1007622020?phrase=gun%20law&adppopup=true">Kameleon007 via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For a large part of the history of the United States, <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781635570977">domestic abuse was tolerated</a> under the nation’s legal system. There were few laws <a href="https://doi.org//10.1353/eam.2007.0008">criminalizing</a> <a href="https://doi.org//10.1086/449151">domestic violence</a>, and enforcement of the existing laws was rare. </p>
<p>It was only in the <a href="https://jaapl.org/content/38/3/376">past few decades</a> that laws criminalizing domestic violence came to be widespread and enforced. But now, the U.S. is in danger of backtracking on that legal framework precisely because of the <a href="https://doi.org//10.1086/449151">nation’s historical legacy</a> of turning a blind eye to domestic violence.</p>
<p>On Nov. 10, 2022, a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txwd.1177458/gov.uscourts.txwd.1177458.55.0.pdf">judge in the Western District of Texas</a> struck down the federal law that prohibits access to guns for people subject to domestic violence protection orders. He did this based on a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/20-843">NYSRPA v. Bruen</a>, which held that, to be constitutional, a firearm restriction must be analogous to laws that were in existence when the country was founded. In other words, disarming domestic abusers violates the Second Amendment because those types of laws didn’t exist at the founding of the country.</p>
<p>In a separate, but related, case, the 5th U.S. Circuit of Court of Appeals on Feb 1. sided with the Texas judge, ruling that the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/politics/domestic-violence-guns-fifth-circuit/index.html">federal ban was unconstitutional</a>. The Justice Department has indicated that it will appeal.</p>
<p>We <a href="https://sph.umich.edu/faculty-profiles/zeoli-april.html">study the link between gun laws</a> <a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/240/shannon-frattaroli">and domestic violence in the U.S.</a> and know that backtracking on laws that prevent the perpetrators of domestic violence from getting their hands on guns will put lives at risk – the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20363814/">research </a>has proved this time and time again. </p>
<h2>Putting lives in danger</h2>
<p>At present, <a href="http://disarmdv.org/">federal law</a> prohibits persons subject to final – rather than temporary – domestic violence protection orders from purchasing or possessing firearms. In addition, 39 states and the District of Columbia have similar prohibitions on their statutes, with many expanding the restrictions to include individuals under temporary, or ex parte, orders prior to a full hearing.</p>
<p>Ruling that these laws are unconstitutional will put mainly women and children in danger. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31245255/">More than 50%</a> of women who are murdered are killed by intimate partners, and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-14080-005">most of those homicides</a> are committed with guns. A 2003 study found that when an abusive man has access to a gun, it <a href="https://doi.org//10.2105/ajph.93.7.1089">increases the risk</a> of intimate partner homicide by 400%.</p>
<p>Women constitute the <a href="https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-10.xls">majority of victims</a> of intimate partner homicide, and almost <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28630118/">one-third of children under the age of 13</a> who are murdered with a gun are killed in the context of domestic violence. </p>
<p>Moreover, <a href="https://injepijournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40621-021-00330-0">68% of mass shooters</a> have a history of domestic violence or killed an intimate partner in the mass shooting.</p>
<p>Enforcement of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20088664/">gun restrictions is spotty</a>, with further research needed as to how systematically they are ordered and whether restricted individuals relinquish firearms they already possess. Nonetheless, research shows that firearm restrictions on domestic violence protection orders save lives. <a href="https://doi.org//10.1093/aje/kwy174">Multiple studies</a> conclude that these laws are associated with an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X06287307">8%-10% reduction</a> in intimate partner homicide.</p>
<p>Specifically, there are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30383263/">statistically significant reductions</a> in intimate partner homicide when the firearm restriction covers both dating partners and those subjected to temporary orders. This decrease is seen in total intimate partner homicide, not just intimate partner homicide committed with guns, nullifying the argument that abusers will use other weapons to kill.</p>
<p>Moreover, these laws have broad support across the country – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7859883/">more than 80%</a> of respondents to two national polls in 2017 and 2019 said they favor them.</p>
<p>Americans – whether male or female, gun owner or non-gun owner – tend to agree that domestic abusers should not be able to purchase or possess firearms while they are subject to a domestic violence protection order. Most seem to realize that such reasonable restrictions serve the greater good of keeping families and communities safe. </p>
<h2>A disregard for data</h2>
<p>The ruling in Texas was based on an originalist legal argument rather than the data. Under the judge’s interpretation of the Bruen decision, because colonial law – written before a time when women could vote, let alone be protected in law from violent spouses – didn’t restrict domestic abusers’ gun rights, then it simply isn’t constitutional to do so now. In effect, the ruling, should it stand, would mean the U.S. is unable to escape the nation’s <a href="https://doi.org//10.1086/449151">historic legal disregard for domestic violence</a>.</p>
<p>It also disregards the harm that allowing domestic abusers to keep hold of guns does. Multiple studies demonstrate that domestic violence firearm restriction laws are <a href="https://doi.org//10.1136/ip.2009.024620">effective </a>and <a href="http://doi.org//10.1093/aje/kwy174">save</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X06287307">lives</a>.</p>
<p>That research shows that, should the Texas ruling stand, people who suffer abuse at the hands of an intimate partner are at greater risk of that abuse being deadly. </p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-geller">Lisa Geller</a>, director of state affairs at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, contributed to this article.</em></p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story was updated on Feb. 3, 2022 to include the ruling from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195273/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>Research shows that removing guns from violent abusers saves lives. But laws doing just that are at risk of being ruled unconstitutional, following a landmark Supreme Court guns case.April M. Zeoli, Associate Professor of Public Health, University of MichiganShannon Frattaroli, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1937582022-11-03T19:43:14Z2022-11-03T19:43:14ZConvicted murderer Colin Thatcher’s invitation to the Saskatchewan legislature diminishes us all<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493131/original/file-20221102-16-y5vob9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4945%2C3294&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Colin Thatcher, former MLA of Saskatchewan and convicted murderer, walks out of the chamber after the speech from the throne at the Saskatchewan legislature in Regina on Oct. 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and key legislators are under fire for inviting and initially defending the invitation of convicted killer and former cabinet minister Colin Thatcher to the throne speech. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/thatcher-sask-throne-speech-1.6633569">The invitation</a> was issued by Lyle Stewart, a Saskatchewan Party MLA and legislative secretary to the premier responsible for provincial economic autonomy. </p>
<p>Describing Thatcher as a “fine individual,” Stewart said: “If anybody has a right to be here, it’s Colin Thatcher.” </p>
<p>Stewart’s supposed “fine individual” is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/thatcher_colin/">the same person who was convicted in 1984 of the first-degree murder of his ex-wife, JoAnn Wilson</a>, in the garage of her Regina home. The pair was in a custody battle when Wilson was severely beaten before being shot in the skull. </p>
<p>It wasn’t the first time Wilson had been violently assaulted after the marriage breakdown. In 1981, she was shot in the shoulder through a patio door. </p>
<h2>Longtime abuser</h2>
<p>Thatcher’s final act of violence was, according to Wilson’s earlier statement, the culmination of abuses that <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/parl/xc71-1/XC71-1-1-441-4-eng.pdf">experts — those who have lived and/or studied intimate partner violence</a> — recognize as a classic escalation.</p>
<p>Under the influence of stress and alcohol, Thatcher reportedly pushed and kicked Wilson because she couldn’t soothe their sick infant and shoved her when she was nine months pregnant. Among several threats, he once said he would kill her and hide her body so it would never be found. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a pink suit with short grey hair talks to reporters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493133/original/file-20221102-24-pnx9el.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">Thatcher had a right to be at the throne speech, Tell told reporters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet when responding to questions about Thatcher’s invitation to the province’s throne speech, Christine Tell, <a href="https://regina.ctvnews.ca/wasn-t-the-appropriate-response-christine-tell-acknowledges-colin-thatcher-comments-1.6134969">minister of corrections, policing and public safety, said</a>: “It doesn’t matter, he has a right to be here, just like anybody else. He is a free citizen.” </p>
<p>The comment implies that because Thatcher served a 22-year jail sentence before being released on parole, his crime is no longer relevant. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/moe-sask-thatcher-apology-1.6635779">Moe has backpedalled</a> on his initial refusal to apologize for the incident and reprimanded Stewart by removing him as his legislative secretary. </p>
<p>Tell, however, appears to have not suffered any political repercussions for her comments, though she admits her words were “inappropriate” and should not take away from the “horrendousness” of Thatcher’s “situation.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1585458945354858496"}"></div></p>
<h2>Normalizing violence against women</h2>
<p>To treat these reactions as the wrongful attitudes of a privileged few only compounds and masks what is really wrong with these responses. They illustrate that we live in a society that normalizes violence against women, and this normalization is reflected in systems that not only routinely fail to protect women from further violence, but also become the tools of abusers. </p>
<p>Saskatchewan, which has the highest rates (tied with Manitoba) of interpersonal family violence in Canada, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210302/dq210302d-eng.htm">according to the latest statistics</a>, is a quintessential example. This kind of violence in Saskatchewan also rose between 2016 and 2019, so the problem is getting worse. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A black-and-white photo shows a man in a suit in handcuffs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493136/original/file-20221102-19-95op7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493136/original/file-20221102-19-95op7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493136/original/file-20221102-19-95op7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493136/original/file-20221102-19-95op7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493136/original/file-20221102-19-95op7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493136/original/file-20221102-19-95op7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493136/original/file-20221102-19-95op7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thatcher is escorted by police into the Regina provincial courthouse in June 1984 for a preliminary hearing after being charged with murdering his ex-wife in 1983. He was later convicted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lorne McClinton</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What does it say to those who have experienced or are experiencing such violence, when even the most horrific intimate partner violence is not enough to make a man a permanent pariah to the province’s most powerful politicians? </p>
<p>The Saskatchewan government should be just as concerned with the safety of domestic violence survivors as it currently <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9241966/honourable-partnership-saskatchewan-bill-provincial-autonomy/">is with asserting provincial autonomy</a>. </p>
<p>Domestic violence survivors also require autonomy so they are not subject to violence in their own homes. The Saskatchewan Party’s version of autonomy is inherently patriarchal; we’d all benefit from measures that recognize women’s rights to a life free of violence and terror.</p>
<h2>Survivors need resources</h2>
<p>The same week Thatcher was being invited to the legislature, a forum was being held in Saskatoon called “<a href="https://students.usask.ca/events-calendar/2022/10/walking-with-domestic-violence-survivors-stories,-prevention-and-healing.php">Walking with Domestic Violence Survivors: Stories, Prevention, Responses and Healing</a>.” It focused on the voices of survivors and those who work to support them. </p>
<p>An illusory autonomy is produced for domestic violence victims, typically women, when the onus is placed on them to protect themselves by moving away — despite widespread knowledge that the most dangerous period for victims is immediately after separation. As the speakers at the Saskatoon forum stated: “Why should the abused be the ones who lose their homes?” and “Where are they going to go?” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1586195680116121601"}"></div></p>
<p>Survivors’ stories at the forum indicated that they need to be better connected with resources to help them heal. Saskatchewan currently does not provide operational funding to second-stage shelters that could provide security and counselling support. </p>
<p>Survivors also feel police frequently don’t believe them and do not provide adequate protection in an abuse situation. Social workers too often intervene by taking children from the abused parent on the grounds that they’re not providing a safe environment for their children. Family law courts do not take domestic violence into adequate account when determining custody of children.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Donne">English poet John Donne</a> once remarked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Every [human] death diminishes me because I am involved in [Human]kind.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Saskatchewan government’s version of law and order would do well to recognize that Wilson’s death diminished us, and actively address its ongoing systemic causes and conditions — not accommodate and defend the supposed “rights” of her killer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathy Walker has volunteered in the campaigns of provincial and federal NDP and Liberal Party candidates she knows and respects.
Susan Gingell is a member of the Saskatchewan NDP and edits the newsletter of her MLA, Erika Ritchie. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Gingell 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>What does it say to victims of intimate partner violence when a convicted wife beater and murderer is invited to a public event by the ruling government?Kathy Walker, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Studies, University of SaskatchewanSusan Gingell, Professor Emerita (Decolonizing & Women's Literatures in English; Women's and Gender Studies), University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1928392022-10-20T05:05:04Z2022-10-20T05:05:04ZTo end gender-based violence in one generation, we must fix how the system responds to children and young people<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490777/original/file-20221020-19-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhouetted-studio-shot-of-boy-and-girl-9794730/">Photo by Ron Lach/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Federal, state and territory governments this week released Australia’s ten-year <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">National Plan to end Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032</a>, which is framed by the ambitious goal of ending gender-based violence in one generation.</p>
<p>The plan organises governments’ commitments across four domains: prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery and healing. </p>
<p>But there’s a crucial part of the story you might have missed: how and why the plan acknowledges children and young people as victim-survivors in their own right, and what needs to happen next.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C6720%2C4446&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman and child are seen in silhouette against a white background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C6720%2C4446&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490773/original/file-20221020-21-aw3wct.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">One in two young people who experience domestic and family violence during childhood go on to use violence in the home during adolescence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-9-in-10-young-australians-who-use-family-violence-experienced-child-abuse-new-research-190058">Almost 9 in 10 young Australians who use family violence experienced child abuse: new research</a>
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<h2>Children and young people’s experiences of family violence</h2>
<p>Latest <a href="https://anrowsdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/RP.20.03-RR1_FitzGibbon-AFVinAus.pdf">Australian data</a> on domestic and family violence show that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>one in two young people who experience domestic and family violence during childhood go on to use violence in the home during adolescence</p></li>
<li><p>of those who report using violence in the home during adolescence, almost nine in ten report childhood experiences of domestic and family violence and other forms of maltreatment. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>This highlights the intergenerational transmission of domestic and family violence. </p>
<p>Ending gender-based violence, including domestic and family violence, requires a clear commitment to ending children’s and young people’s experiences of such violence. </p>
<p>It also requires a clear commitment to providing age-appropriate recovery support and services for children experiencing domestic and family violence.</p>
<p>Childhood experiences of domestic and family violence further increase young people’s <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/domestic-violence/about/effects-of-dv-on-children#:%7E:text=Studies%20show%20that%20living%20with%20domestic%20violence%20can,aggressive%20towards%20friends%20and%20school%20mates%20More%20items">risk</a> of:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>poor mental health</p></li>
<li><p>suicide</p></li>
<li><p>educational disengagement</p></li>
<li><p>disability and other chronic health problems. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Many of these are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384540/">associated</a> with an increased risk of being a victim or perpetrator of domestic and family violence. </p>
<p>We need not just an acknowledgement of children as victim-survivors in their own right, but also a commitment to boost resourcing of child-centred recovery support. </p>
<p>Every child experiencing violence must have access to recovery support. </p>
<h2>The status quo: children as an extension of their parent</h2>
<p>For too long, system responses to domestic and family violence in Australia have seen children only as extensions of their primary carer. This means we fail to recognise and adequately respond to children’s unique safety, support and recovery needs.</p>
<p>This can make children invisible in relevant risk assessment; assessors may <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0004865818760378">miss</a> the specific risk to children’s safety and wellbeing in the context of domestic and family violence. This can lead to preventable harm, injury or even homicide and suicide. </p>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/almost-every-fortnight-an-australian-child-is-killed-by-a-parent-so-why-dont-we-talk-about-it/lzox5j90i">one child a fortnight</a> is killed in the context of domestic and family violence in Australia. </p>
<p>More data are needed on the link between domestic and family violence and young people’s suicide. But existing research has identified a link between childhood experiences of domestic and family violence, the impact of unaddressed trauma and an <a href="https://www.psypost.org/2016/06/link-found-witnessing-parental-domestic-violence-childhood-attempted-suicide-43299">increased risk of suicide</a>.</p>
<p>So embedding short- and long-term recovery support for children affected by domestic and family violence is not only an investment in ending domestic and family violence in one generation. It is also an investment in securing children’s lives.</p>
<p>But it requires long-term government funding and political will.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A child sits in a hallway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490791/original/file-20221020-23-jkobon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research has identified a link between childhood experiences of domestic and family violence and increased risk of suicide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Building whole-of-system responses for children and young people</h2>
<p>Acknowledging children and young people as victim-survivors in their own right is a starting point. </p>
<p>Their specific support needs and how these will be met must be clearly embedded in the first five-year action plan, to be delivered in early 2023.</p>
<p>The rights and needs of children and young people must be considered at each point of the plan – from prevention to early intervention, through to response and recovery. </p>
<p>This includes early childhood- and school-based education targeted at gender equality and respectful relationships. </p>
<p>Responses must recognise the intersecting support needs of young people at risk of using violence in the home. </p>
<p>This includes recognising <a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-9-in-10-young-australians-who-use-family-violence-experienced-child-abuse-new-research-190058">many</a> young people using violence in the home have childhood trauma themselves. </p>
<p>Recognising this would help build trauma informed responses across education, child and family welfare services, child and young mental health services and youth justice.</p>
<h2>Housing needs for children and young people fleeing family violence</h2>
<p>The upcoming action plan must address the paucity of crisis housing options for children and young people experiencing domestic and family violence. </p>
<p>Australia currently has minimal domestic and family violence specialist crisis intervention and accommodation services for young people as victim-survivors in their own right. </p>
<p>The current service system is geared towards adult victim-survivors. If a child flees violence without their parent, they are met with a service system that does not cater to them. As a result they face significant risk of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/03/young-people-are-invisible-family-violence-survivors-falling-through-cracks-at-crisis-services">homelessness</a>.</p>
<p>The national plan provides an opportunity to address this critical service system gap but young people must be able to access a domestic and family violence informed response, whether they’re with or without a victim-parent. They need protection, housing and recovery support. </p>
<h2>Taking children’s risk and safety seriously</h2>
<p>In developing the first action plan, governments must consult closely with experts, including practitioners, academics and – most importantly – young advocates who have experienced domestic and family violence.</p>
<p>Interventions for and responses to children and young people experiencing domestic and family violence must be informed by lived experience. </p>
<p>Getting this right won’t be easy and it won’t be cheap. But properly meeting the needs of children and young people experiencing domestic and family violence will help secure a safer future for the next generation. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-plan-aims-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children-in-one-generation-can-it-succeed-192497">A new national plan aims to end violence against women and children 'in one generation'. Can it succeed?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silke Meyer receives funding from Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety, the Australian Institute of Criminology, and the Qld Department for Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs. In 2021 Silke co-led the National Plan Stakeholder and Victim-Survivor Advocates Consultation Projects.
She is a Subject Matter Expert for the clinical management committee of 1800RESPECT. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate receives funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, Australian Institute of Criminology, Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety, the Victorian Government and the Department of Social Services. In 2021 Kate led the National Plan Stakeholder and Victim-Survivor Advocates Consultation Projects. This piece is written by Kate Fitz-Gibbon in her capacity as Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and are wholly independent of Kate Fitz-Gibbon’s role as Chair of Respect Victoria.</span></em></p>We need not just an acknowledgement of children as victim-survivors in their own right but a commitment to boost resourcing of child-centred recovery support.Silke Meyer, Professor of Social Work; Leneen Forde Chair in Child & Family Research, Griffith UniversityKate Fitz-Gibbon, Director, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre; Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.