Safety risks and service needs among women who have experienced police intervention for intimate partner violence / Melissa Eve Dichter.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Dichter, Melissa Eve.

Contributor:

Gelles, Richard J., advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Social welfare.

Social welfare--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Social welfare.

Social welfare--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

ix, 177 pages ; 29 cm

Production:

2009.

Summary:

In the United States, more than one in four women experience rape, physical assault, and/or stalking in their lifetime by a current or former intimate partner. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a criminal act in the United States and the current primary societal response is arrest and prosecution. Unlike other crimes, however, IPV is typically not a one-time event and victimization may continue over time. Also unlike many other crimes, in IPV cases a "victim" is sometimes also an "offender." The purpose of this study is to identify the factors associated with perceptions of safety and risk of future victimization, and service needs, among women who have experienced police intervention for IPV with a male partner, with particular attention to the impact of the arrest action (who, if anyone, was arrested).

This study employs a non-experimental, cross-sectional design, including both quantitative and qualitative methods. One-hundred seventy-three adult, English-speaking women, recruited from a hospital emergency department or a domestic violence service agency, completed self-report questionnaires; 11 of those women also completed qualitative in-depth interviews focusing on safety, risk, and arrest experience.

The findings indicate that women's perceptions of being unsafe and at risk are associated not with arrest actions or the victims' characteristics but with particular types of violence---battering, lethality threats, and sexual violence---that signify a context of coercive control in which the perpetrator attempts to gain dominance over the victim. Having physical distance from the partner and informal and formal supports, while not assuring safety, tends to help women feel protected from further danger. To establish independence and freedom from violence, women need both economic resources and informal and formal supports. In research, theory, and practice, it is important that we recognize diversity in IPV experiences and needs for services to facilitate safety.

Notes:

Adviser: Richard J. Gelles.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Social Welfare) -- University of Pennsylvania, 2009.

Includes bibliographical references.