BRIEFING NOTE FOR THE MINISTER:
REPORT ON THE IMPACTS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
PURPOSE
The purpose of this note is to inform the Minister that intimate partner violence is a pressing public health problem impacting our community and more evidence-based research on our diverse community profile is needed to effectively increase public safety and reduce crime.
BACKGROUND
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), intimate partner violence (IPV) is described as violence between current or former intimate partners. This violence can be physical, sexual or psychological harm (WHO, 2014). IPV occurs among all socioeconomic, religious and cultural groups. It is rooted in a power imbalance between individuals (RCMP, 2012) and there is a
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Mandatory charging and prosecution laws were introduced in Canada in the early 1980s (Brown, 2000). This means that, regardless of the victim’s wishes, if a police officer has probable cause to believe that an assault has occurred, they are required to arrest the suspect (RCMP, 2012). This policy was implemented for specific and general deterrence purposes and therefore reducing the incidence of IPV (Brown, 2000). This policy has resulted in a dramatic increase in police-laid charges in occurrences of IPV (Brown, 2000).
CURRENT STATUS
IPV is recognized as a public health issue as it can have consequences not only to the direct victim but on communities as well. One study that focused on one specific type of IPV, spousal violence, indicated that the cost on Canadian society was $7.4 billion in 2009 (Statistics Canada, 2013). These costs are associated with:
- Victim costs (counseling expenses)
- Third-party costs (from employers and social
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- Minority women experiencing IPV tend not to seek help from mental professionals amongst all degrees of the violence they suffer (Racial Disparities…)
- Many racialized women face barriers to reporting incidents of physical or sexual assault or seeking help.
• A 2003 study in Toronto found that one in five women of colour experienced racism in the health care system which included poor quality of care, cultural insensitivity, etc. (Canadian Women’s Foundation)
CONCLUSION
Conventionally, to understand IPV, researched has focused on white, middle class, heterosexual relationships (Ristock, 2011). However, this model does not wholly reflect our Canadian society. The research deriving from these studies does not do an adequate job at looking at IPV and recommending treatments and policies that are in accordance with racially or culturally specific values (Barner et al, 2011).
Further research into intervention policy and practice is needed to determine further courses of actions in IPV prevention, intervention, adjudication, and
Intimate Partner Violence Fatalities: Prevention and Intervention Intimate partner violence is considered the most life-threatening and distressing family issue on a societal platform (Hamilton, Jaffe, & Campbell, 2013). The term family is utilized loosely as familial depictions vary, but to be certain the family has two partners that can be diversified roles and gender. By definition intimate partner violence illustrates a pattern of behaviors that are deliberate and intended to gain power and control over another person (Hamilton, Jaffe, & Campbell, 2013). Intimate partner violence does not need to be necessarily violent actions, but can be verbal threats, isolation, neglect, and disempowering tactics. The series of behaviors and violence can hastily escalate and the probability of homicide increases in those relationship dynamics.
PA 604: Domestic Violence Data Exploration Project My research topic for this data exploration project was influenced by reading the Bureau of Justice Statistics 2014 Annual Criminal Victimization Report. From that publication, an intriguing statistic caught my attention and research interest. “The rate of domestic violence, which includes crime committed by intimate partners and family members, remained stable from 2013 to 2014 (4.2 per 1,000). No measurable change was detected from 2013 to 2014 in the rate of intimate partner violence (2.4 per 1,000), which includes victimizations committed by current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends” (BJS Criminal Victimization, August 2015). I decided to investigate how this statistic was concluded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
The power and control wheel, a tool used when trying to educate victims of IPV, is symbolically represented throughout the book by demonstrating how these abusers keep control of their partners. This wheel details eight forms of violence that abusers commonly use to keep control over their partner, that include, using male privilege and coercion and threats to maintain dominance (Burgess et al., 2012, p. 300). Victimology also studies, the effects such patterns of abuse have on an individual, such as learned helplessness and PTSD (Burgess et al., 2012, p. 300). Furthermore, it is grounded in the approaches and steps of action to take in order to help victims of trauma and
The only significant flaw is that she does not define intimate partner violence specifically but rather uses the example of the professional football player hitting his fiancé until he was unconscious. This example only gives one aspect of IPV to the reader and can be misleading. By choosing this example and not elaborating on what IPV is, she leads the viewer to believe that it is only physical violence. However, it is an effective way of drawing attention and generating emotion within her audience to act because of the graphic nature of the event. The event, when viewed on television, does cause a significant impact on the viewer.
I read an article on Huffington Post dated October 2014, that stated from 2001 to 2012 6,488 American troops were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. During that time 11,766 American women were murdered by their current or ex partners. I believe those number speaks volumes on the current and ongoing problem with intimate partner violence in the United States. I would be extremely surprised if a student in our classes hasn’t been affected by this in some way. I am an IPV survivor, when I was 18 I met my daughters dad.
Survivors Support Group I am currently on the mental health track, so looking at a potential group that I might encounter would encompass female victims of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) which is also referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV) and rape or sexual assault victims (as statues vary depending on the states definition). Both forms of abuse stem from a power and control dynamic. The use of force during sex is not about sexual pleasure for the perpetrator, instead the pleasure comes from being in a position of power and having control over another human being. The act of hurting and demeaning the woman is the real pleasure. DVA/IPV consists of physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse.
(n.d). Family violence affects all and everyone. According to statisticians, about 6% of women in Canada in 2013 suffered from intimate violence in the past five years and “80% of intimate partner violence were against women and 97% of spousal murder-suicides were against women”. Half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. Family violence is not reported in majority of cases.
Nonsexual physical Intimate Partner Abuse is the tactic most people think of with Intimate Partner Abuse and battered women, including tactics ranging from slapping, shoving, hitting, burning, kicking, and stabbing to shooting, or any other form of nonsexual physical violence. Many research studies, police reports, and so on fail to distinguish between more minor and more serious forms of slapping, shoving, and so on. One force that keeps IPA invisible is that the survivors themselves are often reluctant to define themselves as victims, and might hide, deny, and or/ minimize their partners’ abuse and their own injuries resulting from this abuse, particularly during the early stages of the IPA perpetration. These “unacknowledged victims” are
Spousal Abuse People often turn away from issues that do not affect them, but this only lets the issue grow further until there is nothing left to do but deal with it. This could be why domestic violence has been taking place for centuries now. One issue that comes with domestic violence is spousal abuse- a problem that only seems to be getting worse, with ten million victims being beaten by an intimate partner each year (“Domestic Violence”). Although spousal abuse seems to be an ongoing issue in the United States, efforts are being made at both national and local levels to suppress the violence.
Glady’s Heavenfire Case Battered Woman Syndrome has provided women who have been abused at the hands of their partners recognition in the criminal justice system and is allowing women to tell their stories. Although there are controversies surrounding battered woman syndrome, it should not be viewed as an excuse for killing their partners. It is a real disorder that has affected thousands of women 's lives all over the world. Discussing the Gladys Heavenfire case will bring awareness to the life of a woman who has been abused by her partner for several years. Furthermore, it provides information on Indigenous women who are more likely to suffer abuse than white women.
Nowadays domestic violence can happen to anyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, income, gender, or ethnicity. Currently 3 million victims of physical assaults in the USA are men (Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts, 2015). One in four women will be exposed to domestic violence during her lifetime (Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts, 2015). Women between 20 years old to 24 years old are more likely to experience domestic violence (Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts, 2015). Around 4 million women experience rape and physical assaults by their partners (Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts, 2015).
The Impact of Domestic Violence on the Aboriginal Community Domestic violence in Aboriginal community is a cause for concern regarding Aboriginal women 's health and safety. According to Kubik, Bourassa, and Hampton (2009) “In Canada, Aboriginal women have faced destruction in their communities and families as a result of multiple forms of oppression. Aboriginal women experience the highest rates of violence and abuse of any population in Canada”(p.29). Domestic violence is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (2015) as “ the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or habitual pattern of such behavior”. The objective is to look at the cause of domestic violence aimed at Aboriginal
Changes have to be made for the future, police that is handling cases such as intimate violence should have a prompt response. The restraining order wouldn’t do any good if it isn’t enforced, the perpetrator should be return to police custody to guarantee the safety of the victim. Compensation can be used as a tool to discourage offenders from committing acts. Families and victims should be compensated for the grief that they were put through and the losses they may have had (Fattah & Peters,
“ Same-sex Partner Abuse: Challenges to the Existing Paradigms of Intimate Violence Theory”. In Cruel But Not Unusual: Violence in Canadian Families. Alaggia, R. & C. Vine (Eds.). Wilfrid Laurier University Press: Waterloo, ON. In the article, providing a comprehensive picture of the field of same-sex partner abuse in terms of theory, services and advocacy.
It will be argued that although there are many theories that can be used in social work practices a critical perspective (feminist theory) is clearly the most appropriate theory to apply in regards to my social justice issue, domestic violence. The first theory that will be explored is a conservative practice, the psychodynamic theory. As a social worker, taking on a psychodynamic practice involves individualising the user, separation from social contexts and works with forces in maintaining the status quo which ignores the importance of societal constructs (Bliss & Rasmussen, 2013). The Psychodynamic theory was introduced by a man named Sigmund Freud.