The current exploratory study examined the relationships between intimacy or mutuality and expression of violence among a sample of Spanish-speaking immigrant men (N = 70) mandated to a batterer intervention program in the Western United States. Correlations, hierarchical regressions, ANOVAs, and t-tests were used to explore the three-phase program’s effects on changes in men’s self-reports of mutuality, physical violence, and total emotional violence and its components - verbal emotional violence and controlling behavior. The study found that higher reports of mutuality were significantly related to lower reports of all three measures of emotional violence at intake. It was also found that reports of total emotional violence and verbal emotional violence, but not controlling behavior were reduced with participation in the program. Two distinct groups of participants emerged, with men measured in the second phase of intervention reporting higher initial verbal emotional violence and mutuality than those measured in the third phase. In addition, men measured in the second phase reported greater changes in both verbal-emotional violence and mutuality than those who reported in the third phase. The findings appear to show limitations of the measurement methods and instruments. They also seem to indicate that batterer intervention programs in general may need to examine other ways to address the more pernicious social and political roots of domestic violence.

Domestic violence and abuse is a significant problem in the UK. Eight million people in the UK have been victims and 25% of young people have witnessed at least one episode by the age of 18. The costs to society were calculated at £22.9 billion in 2001/2 (Walby, 2009). Despite the severity of the problem of domestic abuse, there is an absence of research from a leadership and management perspective. This doctoral case study research examines the police and partnership leadership response to domestic abuse in a large city in the UK. The argument is that domestic abuse is a wicked problem (Rittel and Webber, 1973), whereas the police adopt a critical or tame response (Grint, 2005). The research framework is Realistic Evaluation, and includes an examination of frontline, senior and partnership leadership approaches to tackling domestic abuse, and the implementation of the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment, and Honour-Based Violence risk assessment tool (DASH) (Richards, Letchford and Stratton, 2008). The findings are that little importance is placed on leadership in policing domestic abuse. Police and partners continue to adopt tame leadership responses, and the strategic work to identify the adaptive challenge and create public value has not been recognised. It is argued that the police are an authoritarian organisation with a coercive, response to problems (Grint, 2005), associated with a command or critical leadership approach. The introduction of the DASH has curtailed frontline officers' discretion, and there is a disconnect at the frontline delivery of domestic abuse policy (Lipsky, 2010). It is suggested that a 'one size fits all' model of leadership, where a command or tame leadership style is usually adopted, is insufficient to meet the complexity of this problem, and there is a discussion about the difficulties of finding a model to evaluate the effectiveness of new public leadership. A new model to analyse leadership and domestic abuse is proposed, and a potential model to analyse frontline leadership of domestic abuse is introduced. The study aims to make a unique contribution to knowledge about the leadership of domestic abuse.

From its distinction during the 1920s as the hub of black culture and commerce in America to its later reputation as the unmitigated manifestation of inner city decay, Harlem evokes an urban palimpsest, a lived geographic space onto which collective desires and fears are written and overwritten. Because of the symbolic place Harlem occupies in the national imaginary, my dissertation focuses on this central public site. Jay-Walking in the City: Violence Against Women, Urban Space, and Pedestrian Acts of Resistance advocates an investigation of textual histories of abusive domestic experiences in this neighborhood in order to underline the importance of public spheres in redressing trauma. As part of the larger archive of Harlem literature, the novels I investigate in this dissertation offer counter-narratives to those circulating in post-war America concerning the safety of this neighborhood’s streets and the character of its residents. Ann Petry’s The Street (1946), Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place (1980), Audre Lorde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (1982), and Sapphire’s Push (1996) all contain episodes of domestic or sexual violence against women perpetrated in the Harlem households where the protagonists of these novels live. This dissertation focuses on the moments when Harlemites whom these women encounter in the public sphere intervene in the violent conditions of these primary characters’ lives. These interposal episodes within each novel challenge the pervasive cultural dichotomy that extols the American home as a stronghold of social and national security and lambastes the inner city as a volatile space of danger and fear. / text

In recent years the issue of children’s contact with non-resident parents has been increasingly debated. The policy gaze has focused on contested contact when there are allegations of domestic abuse. Some commentators argue that in circumstances of domestic abuse, contact with an abusive father may not be in the ‘best interests’ of the child. To support these claims they point to evidence that domestic abuse adversely affects children, and domestic abuse often continues following separation. Children’s views of contact in circumstances of domestic abuse remain underresearched, as such their views on this issue have been missing from policy debates. The research aims to uncover how children view and experience contact with nonresident fathers when in the context of domestic abuse. A qualitative methodology was developed for the research. In-depth interviews were carried out with both children and their mothers. The findings confirm that conceptualisations of domestic abuse that focus on discrete acts or incidents of violence do not correspond with children’s and mother’s accounts of abuse. Domestic abuse was a constant in the lives of children and mothers. Children were exposed to domestic abuse before and following parental separation. The research uncovers the complex negotiations children make when family relationships are characterised by abuse. Children identified domestic abuse as a core issue when forming views about contact with their fathers. They tried to make sense of and developed their own analysis of their fathers’ abuse and strategies to cope with it. Children also highlighted a range of issues beyond domestic abuse that influenced their views about contact. The role children should have in disputes about contact in is contested. Children may be considered incompetent to form a view or their views are constructed as a product of parental manipulation. The research provides insights into children’s experiences of participating in contact disputes. It points to limitations in current Scottish legal mechanisms that are designed to take children’s views into account and questions the respect afforded to children’s participation in disputes. The thesis concludes by highlighting the theoretical, policy and practice implications that result from this research.

This research focuses on an awareness raising programme for primary school children in relation to domestic abuse. This area of research was considered to be of value due to the prevalence of DA and the impact that witnessing domestic abuse has been shown to have on children. Findings from the 2008/2009 British Crime Survey (Coleman, Osborne, Kaiza & Roe, 2010) show that more than one in four women (28%) and around one in six men (16%) have experienced domestic abuse since they were 16. Considerable research exists which suggests that witnessing domestic abuse can have a profound impact on a child’s life, development and psychological well being (Dodd, 2009). This research evaluates a pilot of a six week programme aimed at increasing awareness of domestic abuse in primary schools. There currently exists a gap in knowledge about the effectiveness of small-scale classroom based domestic abuse awareness raising programmes delivered in primary schools. Previous research has focused on larger scale projects often involving external agencies (Home Office, 2005) and work in secondary schools (Bell and Stanley, 2006).The programme was co-delivered by the TEP and school staff to Year Five pupils in three primary schools within a local authority. Staff and pupil views were obtained through focus groups with pupils and semi-structured interviews with teaching staff. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data in order to answer questions about the programmes strengths and weaknesses; views about the involvement of a Trainee Educational Psychologist (TEP); and pupils' understanding of domestic abuse. The findings suggest that staff and pupils thought the programme was valuable and improved children's knowledge of aspects of domestic abuse. The findings are discussed with reference to best practice and issues to consider in relation to the wider implementation and evaluation of the programme.

This study examines what effects dowry has on the gender relations in the Savar area outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The collection of data was made through fieldwork on sight in Savar, with the help of ADESH, during a two month period, in the spring of 2012. Almost twenty interviews were made out in villages with female members of ADESH who told me of how dowry and their participation in ADESH’s activities affected their lives. A few interviews were also made in ADESH’s own office with employees to gain a deeper understanding of the women’s life situation and the work of ADESH. The focus of this thesis is on analysing how dowry affects different aspects of the society in Savar and how this affects the gender relations. In this thesis I will also examine how ADESH is conducting their work and what activities they offer their members. The conclusion of my study is in short that dowry seems to have a large impact on many aspects of the women’s lives and that the actions that are taken to decrease and remove gender differences might not always work as intended, this does however not mean that they are without effect.

Latino children living in the context of domestic violence (DV) often lack access to cultural-specific services. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among Latino children’s level of cognitive development (age), country of origin and psychological adjustment as well as styles of coping with domestic violence . Analysis of data collected from an interview conducted with Latino children at a local DV intervention program suggests that Latino children utilize a range of coping responses when confronted with violence in their homes. In a regression analysis using psychological adjustment as the dependent variable, developmental age was not related to adjustment in children. However, country of origin was a significant predictor of psychological adjustment. That is, immigrant children reported lower levels of psychological adjustment compared to children born in the U.S. This remained true while controlling for age, coping strategy, and family cohesion. The growing number of immigrant Latino children in the United States increases the need for culturally relevant research with racial and ethnic minority groups in regard to DV. These findings suggest immigrant Latino children have unique needs in the context of DV.

Latino children living in the context of domestic violence (DV) often lack access to cultural-specific services. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among Latino children’s level of cognitive development (age), country of origin and psychological adjustment as well as styles of coping with domestic violence . Analysis of data collected from an interview conducted with Latino children at a local DV intervention program suggests that Latino children utilize a range of coping responses when confronted with violence in their homes. In a regression analysis using psychological adjustment as the dependent variable, developmental age was not related to adjustment in children. However, country of origin was a significant predictor of psychological adjustment. That is, immigrant children reported lower levels of psychological adjustment compared to children born in the U.S. This remained true while controlling for age, coping strategy, and family cohesion. The growing number of immigrant Latino children in the United States increases the need for culturally relevant research with racial and ethnic minority groups in regard to DV. These findings suggest immigrant Latino children have unique needs in the context of DV.

One of the most debated constituents of intimate partner violence pertains to attachment theory. Although, attachment theory can provide a theoretical framework for understanding the linkage between childhood family experiences and subsequent experiences with partner violence, there are controversial perspectives as to whether attachment style is stable from childhood to adulthood (Bowlby, 1973, 1980, 1982) or if attachment style can be formulated directly from adult abusive relationships (Caspi & Elder, 1988; Ricks, 1985). Therefore, the purpose of this research was to explore how attachment style presents in the Battered Woman Syndrome, determine if the battered woman's attachment style is consistent throughout childhood to adulthood or if it is manifested due to intimate partner violence exposure as well as to determine how attachment style is manifested in interpersonal functioning and perceived power and control. The theory of learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975) was used as a conceptual model for understanding why battered women remain in abusive relationships. There were 137 female sample participants who reported a history of domestic violence. Measures administered included the Battered Woman Syndrome Questionnaire (BWSQ, Walker, 1978) that assessed childhood history, interpersonal functioning and power and control and the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (Collins and Read, 1996) that assessed the participant's attachment style. Statistical techniques employed included latent class analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression. Results indicated that aversive childhood environment (as measured primarily by childhood battering variables) and involvement in adulthood abusive relationships were significantly related to childhood environment and involvement in adulthood abusive relationships. Across all five adulthood battering episodes there were significant overall effects of attachment style on sexual abuse scores. Results also confirmed the hypotheses that insecurely attached participants were more likely to report more interpersonal functioning difficulties and lower perceived power and control when compared to secure participants. Implications for future research are also presented.

This thesis that is supported by the research findings is as follows: In private law contact disputes between parents, greater weight should be attached to the statutory requirement to give children an opportunity to express their views, as well as to the statutory requirement to protect them from abuse, rather than assuming on-going contact with a both parents is essential for the promotion of a child’s welfare. Despite the acquisition of rights by women and children since the late 19th century, it is argued, they remain disempowered within private law legal process as the patria potestas (paternal power) once held by married fathers, has evolved into this assumption that a child’s welfare requires direct, regular contact with his or her biological father – whether the child wants this or not. Consequently, where children’s views are taken, but they express a view contrary to on-going contact with their biological father, their wishes are often overridden and they may be forced by the court into contact arrangements that distress them. This is particularly problematic as the majority of cases coming before the courts involve serious welfare concerns (including domestic violence and the abuse of substances) and children often have lucid reasons for not wishing to be left under the care and control of their non-resident parent. Yet, these children may sometimes be further victimised by the court system charged with their protection.