Using data from the Chicago Homicide Dataset for years 1988-1992 and the Chicago Community Area Demographics, multiple regression and mediation analysis are used to examine various community level factors’ impact on Intimate Partner Homicide (IPH) rates per Chicago community area. The relationship between the percentage of non-white and IPH rate per Chicago community area is significant and positive, but disappears once economic strain is taken into account, as well as when family disruption is included in the model. There is a weak, but positive relationship between population density and IPH rates, but neither economic strain nor family disruption mediates the relationship between population density and IPH rates. Economic deprivation is positively related to IPH rates, but economic strain and family disruption partially mediate the relationship between economic deprivation and IPH rates. Finally, the relationship between the percentage of males aged 30-59 and IPH rates per community area in Chicago is moderately negative, but this relationship disappears once economic strain is accounted for in the model. However, family disruption does not mediate the relationship between the percentage of males aged 30-59 and IPH rates. These results indicate that some structural covariates impact IPH rates and that some relationships are mediated by economic strain and family disruption. These results also lend support to a modified approach to general strain theory (GST). More research is necessary to validate these results.

Without a doubt, violence continues to be a brutal reality in our society. It reaches and affects millions across our nation and around the world. For centuries, scholars, researchers and academics have studied and analyzed the existence of violence in many capacities. While violence affects every individual, group, and community the dynamics and the realties that are carried out vary tremendously across race, income levels, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and national origin to name a few. The existence, impact and repercussions of violence in different communities carry varying meanings, perceptions and significance. This paper explores the influences of race, class, and gender identity on the help-seeking behavior of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) survivors of hate motivated and intimate partner violence utilizing data collected by the Virginia Anti-Violence Project (VAVP) Community Violence Survey. Utilizing a target sampling method, nearly 1,000 LGBTQ identified individuals from across the Commonwealth responded to the community survey. Only a descriptive analysis had ever been done on this data set; this more complex analysis was the first to be done. Patricia Hill Collins’ theoretical framework of intersectionality was applied in the analysis of the influences of race, class and gender identity. Concepts and propositions from Collins’ general theoretical framework have been utilized to examine how the three social locations intersect and shape distinct realities that influence how LGBTQ survivors of violence seek assistance if at all. The exploratory nature of this examination provides a glimpse into the many factors that influence the help-seeking behaviors of LGBTQ survivors of violence.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy increases the risks of adverse outcomes for both mothers and their unborn children, including maternal and fetal death. However, more research is needed to determine if IPV increases in frequency or severity during pregnancy and to determine what the risk factors are for IPV during pregnancy. Objectives: To use data from the Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study to determine (1) if abuse is more prevalent during the pregnancy period, 2) if abuse during the pregnancy period increases in frequency or severity, 3) if pregnant women who are abused are at increased risk for intimate partner homicide, and 4) what the risk factors are for intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Methods: A chi square test of independence was performed on the crosstabulation of the pregnancy and the abuse variables. The means of the scores on three validated abuse measures for women recently pregnant and not recently pregnant at the time of interview were compared using an independent samples t-test. Chi square tests of independence were performed on crosstabulations of abuse frequency and severity variables and the pregnancy variable. Logistic regressions were performed to generate crude and adjusted odds ratios for IPV for the sample characteristics, first for the complete sample and then for the recently pregnant subsample. Results: The prevalence of IPV was about the same in the recently pregnant (68.2%) and recently not pregnant samples (71.1%). The chi square value for the crosstabulation of the pregnancy and the abuse variable were not significant (X2 = 0.606, df = 1, p = 0.436). HARASS scores were not significantly different for recently pregnant and recently not pregnant women. Power and Control scores were significantly lower for recently pregnant women (t = -2.081, df = 483, p = 0.038), however this difference was very small (mean difference = -0.317, SE = 0.152). Danger Assessment scores were not significantly different for recently pregnant and recently not pregnant women. The chi square value on the crosstabulation of the abuse frequency variable and the pregnancy variable was not significant (X2 = 0.344, df = 1, p = 0.557). The chi square value on the crosstabulation of the abuse severity variable and the pregnancy variable was not significant as well (X2= 0.412, df = 1, p-value = 0.521). Adjusted odds ratios for IPV for the pregnant subsample indicated that the only factor that increased risk was having between 0 and 6 social supports (aOR = 12.39, 95% CI = 3.27 to 46.88). Conclusions: In this high-risk sample, abuse was not more prevalent during the pregnancy period. Abuse during the pregnancy period did not increase in severity or intensity. Furthermore, pregnant women were not at greater risk for intimate partner homicide. Having fewer social supports put recently pregnant women at greatest risk for abuse. This may be because abusers frequently employ tactics to isolate victims from social supports in order to better maintain control of their victims. Having fewer social supports is particularly risky for this group, as pregnant women need more outside support to negotiate the demands of childbearing. More research is needed to determine the unique risk factors for domestic violence during pregnancy.

This qualitative interview study aims to examine the work of change regarding IntimatePartner Violence (IPV), through the voices of seven change workers at Non-GovernmentalOrganizations (NGO) in Nairobi, Kenya. The focus lies on identifying worker’s expresseddefinitions and comprehensions of violence and in what ways those affect the work of changein sectors as victim support, awareness creation & changing societal attitudes and norms. Athematic analysis reveals two themes of social and cultural norms, which emerges as themain comprehensions of violence; as well as essential components of the work of change.Feminist theory enables the image of gendered, embodied norms that supports the hierarchalstructure of marriage and women’s subordination. Findings of social and cultural normsinclude IPV as a loving form to discipline a woman, marital rape does not exist and womenshould stay in marriage. Furthermore, this study presents a mutual understanding of IPV bythe change workers, but with various ways to create change. Obstacles for the eradication ofIPV is presented as lack of shelters, lack of legal implementation, as well as lack ofknowledge within the police force. Key findings include an ambivalent perspective from thechange workers concerning women’s subordination. Most worked against it, while sometaught it, so women could “escape” violence by becoming more submissive. Throughout, IPVis expressed in gender-neutral terms, but interviews reveal the perspective of genderasymmetry and that IPV is a form of violence directed towards women by men.

Although prevalence rates of gay intimate partner violence (IPV) appear to equal heterosexual IPV rates, gay male IPV does not feature strongly in public anti-­‐violence messaging. This relative silence appears to hold even within the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) community. This study addresses this silence. In-­‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted and a critical discourse analysis informed by Ian Parker’s (1992) perspectives, was used to analyse the results. A review of mainstream and critical discourses of violence show that IPV is usually constructed as an exclusively heterosexual phenomenon and these influenced participants’ constructions. Findings indicated that a range of discourses intersect to produce constructions of gay IPV as ‘not violence’, normative, un-­‐ harmful, unintimidating, ‘anti-­‐gay’, erotic, cathartic and intimate. All of these formations can result in gay IPV being silenced and it was shown that gay mens’ constructions of IPV were inextricably bound in gendered, power asymmetry. The study demonstrates how particular configurations of discourse are necessary for violence to become intelligible at all. The implications of these findings are discussed and possibilities for important community intervention suggested.

The societal problem of intimate partner violence is becoming more recognized and can be tackled from several angles, including the workplace. The workplace could help the victims of intimate partner violence by raising the issue during staff appraisal and implementing it as a routine so that these questions are asked to everyone. This survey studies the attitudes of managers at Region Norrbotten towards implementing routines at the workplace in order to be able to reach and help more people exposed to intimate partner violence. The manager's attitude has been investigated through a digital questionnaire sent out to managers at Region Norrbotten. The questionnaire contained both quantitative and qualitative questions. The quantitative questions were obligatory to answer while the qualitative questions were follow-up questions that could be answered if the respondent had anything to add. 82 managers responded, of which 72 women, 9 men and 1 non gender. The result was compiled in Google Docs survey program and the qualitative questions were set up in themes. The study showed that most of the respondents do not see any obstacles to introducing preventive work with the aim of helping employees who may be exposed to intimate partner violence. However, it emerged that today they do not have the required knowledge. They lack routines and training, which may explain that the majority of managers are uncertain about how to proceed if an employee is subjected to violence at home. They also state that they would feel safer to ask questions about the employee's home situation if there were clear routines in place. Almost all managers are positive about participating in an education on intimate partner violence. Since the attitude regarding the introduction of routines among the managers is predominantly positive, conclusions are drawn that there are good opportunities to introduce such work within Region Norrbotten but that support and training for managers in that case need to be developed. / Samhällsproblemet våld i nära relationer blir allt mer uppmärksammat och kanangripas från flera håll, däribland på arbetsplatsen. Arbetsplatsen skulle kunna hjälpa den våldsutsatta genom att lyfta frågan på medarbetarsamtal ochimplementera det som en rutin så att dessa frågor ställs till alla. Den här studien kartlägger vad chefer har för inställning till att införa insatser på arbetsplatsen för att kunna fånga upp fler våldsutsatta. Chefers inställning har undersökts genom en digital enkät som skickats ut till chefer inom Region Norrbotten. Enkäten innehöll båden kvantitativa och kvalitativa frågor. De kvantitativa frågorna var obligatoriska att besvara medan de kvalitativa frågorna var öppna följdfrågor som kunde besvaras om respondenten själv ville.82 chefer svarade, varav 72 kvinnor, 9 män och 1 hen. Materialet sammanställdes i Google Docs enkätprogram och de kvalitativa frågorna tematiserades. Studien visade att merparten av de tillfrågade cheferna inte ser något hinder till att införa ett förebyggande arbete med syfte att hjälpa anställda som kan vara utsatta för våld i hemmet. Det framkom dock att de idag inte har den kunskap som krävs. Desaknar rutiner och utbildning vilket kan förklara att majoriteten av cheferna är osäkra på hur de ska gå tillväga om en anställd skulle vara våldsutsatt hemma. De anger även att de skulle kännas sig tryggare att ställa frågor om den anställdes hemsituation om det fanns tydliga rutiner. Nästan alla chefer är positivt inställda till att gå en utbildning om våld i nära relationer. Eftersom inställningen gällande ett införande av rutiner bland cheferna är övervägande positiv dras slutsatser att det finns goda möjligheter att införa ett sådant arbete inom Region Norrbotten men att stöd och utbildning för chefer i så fall behöver utvecklas.

The aim of this study was to examine battered women’s stories about resistance within domestic relationships, and to problematize previous research theoretical description of adaptation and resistance as a dichotomous contradiction. More specifically the aim of this study was to challenge the view of battered women as only passive victims without agency, and to gain an increased understanding how adaptation can be a form of resistance. The study was based on five autobiographies, where the female authors described their experiences of living with an abusive male partner in a heterosexual relationship in a swedish context. Allan Wades definition of resistance, the leaving process and the normalization process were used as theoretical perspectives to analyze the study’s results. One of the main results showed that all the women in the autobiographies exercised resistance and that the resistance was expressed in different forms. Another result showed that more open forms of resistance almost always led to severe consequences for the battered women. As a conclusion battered women’s adaptation can be perceived as a subtle form of resistance, since they adapt to survive but still opposes the violence through thoughts and subtle acts. Thus another conclusion were that a description of adaptation and resistance as a dichotomous contradiction is problematic.

This research contributes to existing knowledge of intimate partner violence (IPV) by highlighting the lived experiences of female adolescent survivors through the examination of the lived experiences of seventeen participants. Framed within an intersectional feminist epistemology and informed by psychoanalytical theories, a hybrid of the Free Association Narrative Interview method (Hollway and Jefferson, 2001) and the Biographical Interview Method (Wengraf, 2002) was applied, allowing an in-depth analysis of the young women's adolescent experiences of IPV. The female participants' narratives highlighted significant levels of psychological, sexual and physical violence by various male partners, suggesting that gender is indeed a mediating factor. These experiences reflect Johnson's Typologies of Domestic Violence (2008). In addition, consideration of other intersecting factors, such as age, socioeconomic demographic information, familial exposure to IPV and previous IPV victimisation, highlighted the necessity to consider all factors when determining risk and experience (Potter, 2015). This research adds to the debate regarding gender symmetry of IPV perpetration and victimisation, with analysis of participants' experiences suggesting gender symmetry is not experienced by all adolescents, thus further exploration of this phenomenon is required. Similarly, participants experienced severe forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence at each stage of adolescence (early 10 to 13 years; middle 14 to 16 years; late adolescence and young adulthood 17 to 25 years) contradicting the oft held assumption that more severe violence occurs solely in adulthood. Analysis of participants' experiences of informal and formal support, and an exploration of participants' ideal prevention intervention model argues for a public health approach to preventing AIPV, with resources focused on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Ultimately the young women felt that with appropriate education, support and intervention they could have avoided, or at least reduced, their exposure to abuse. Hence in order to reduce and/or prevent adolescents from experiencing IPV resources should be aimed at giving young people the information, skills and abilities to resist gendered inequalities and unhealthy relationship behaviours, and promote healthy and happy romantic and sexual relationships.

This is a qualitative study exploring the needs of women when residing in a refuge. In the context of the United Kingdom, women's refuges are a specialist provision that provide temporary accommodation for women escaping domestic violence and abuse (DVA). Recent literature that looks at the needs of women who reside in refuges is limited. However, considering these needs is important at a time when austerity measures have resulted in funding cuts to the DVA sector, which have had a direct impact on refuge service provision. This study contributes to the literature on women's refuge services, as they are the most likely specialist DVA service to be accessed, and are consequently in high demand. In this study, 35 participants took part in total. Within two research phases 32 residents across 6 refuges and 3 focus groups answered the first research question: What are the self-articulated needs of women in a refuge? Within the first phase a thematic analysis of the data from the first two focus groups identified six key themes: Accessing a refuge, Loss, To feel safe, Support, To move on, and To feel valued. Within the second research phase, a further focus group was conducted, the analysis of which is presented without decontextualising the content into themes, as it was felt to be important to represent the narrative structure of the documented accounts. The analysis of the material is presented by providing summaries demonstrating examples of the physical and emotional journeys that three women took to get to a refuge, and their subsequent needs upon arrival. In the third phase of the study, three semi-structured interviews were conducted with refuge staff members to answer the second research question: What do workers in a refuge setting perceive to be the needs of the residents? Thematic analysis of each interview identified 11 main themes, of which two themes per staff member were discussed. The final phase of the analysis process involved comparing and contrasting the salient findings that appeared similar or dissimilar across the data. Key emerging issues related to research question one identified the unexpected outcome addressing the needs of children and the helplessness felt by the mothers. Other issues discussed were the emotional challenges that accessing a refuge brought in terms of preparation, isolation, and location along with the importance of relational support in service delivery. In relation to research question two, key issues highlighted include the engagement of residents in support interventions and the impact that financial cuts have had on refuges. From a counselling psychology perspective, implications are identified for research and professional practice across a range of roles, from refuge personnel and funding commissioners to services that work alongside refuges, such as housing associations, local governments, and mental health professionals.

In this thesis I investigate intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in heterosexual relationships by analysing the accounts of women and men in the Anglophone Caribbean country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Since IPV occurs in the context of a range of abusive practices (Dobash and Dobash 2004) participants' talk on the use and experiences of violent acts, violent threats, as well as other controlling and coercive tactics are examined as part of this study. Analytically, I focus on the points at which discourses of gender converge with narratives of violence. In other words, the current work examines the ways in which participants construct, (re)produce, disturb and/or negotiate gender in their accounts of IPV, and the kinds of power dynamics that are implicated in these verbal performances. I apply a feminist poststructuralist framework to the study of IPV against women. Synthesising feminist theories of gender and power, and poststructuralist insights on language, subjectivity, social processes and institutions, feminist poststructuralism holds that hegemonic discourses of gender are used to subjugate women (Weedon 1997; Gavey 1990). The points at which individuals complicate dominant discursive practices will also be assessed as part of this approach. In-depth interviews conducted with 34 participants - 19 women and 15 men - between 2007 and 2008 are analysed by using a version of discourse analysis (DA) compatible with the feminist poststructuralist framework outlined in the thesis. My analysis begins by highlighting the ways in which narratives of gender inscribe asymmetrical relations of power. The focus then shifts to a comparison of women's and men's accounts on a range of abusive acts. Traditional scripts on gender are often used to police the boundaries of femininities and masculinities, tying these to female and male bodies respectively. This is the context in which control, coercion, violence and violent threats are discussed in these accounts. Understandings of manhood and womanhood also emerge in the analysis of the strategies used to explain violence. I conclude with a summary and discussion of the analysis, and I suggest possible areas for further research on IPV in the Anglophone Caribbean.