Characteristics of women who do and do not receive onsite shelter services from domestic violence programs.

Shelter services are an essential means of providing help to women who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), but not all victims receive shelter. This article reports the results of a secondary analysis of statewide data from women using IPV services, comparing victims who did and did not obtain shelter. The demographic characteristics, abuse experiences, and service patterns of these survivors are examined. A model predicting characteristics associated with the likelihood of shelter receipt indicates that women who obtain shelter are more vulnerable and obtain more services than women who do not obtain shelter. The implications of these results are discussed.

Shelter and service receipt for victims of domestic violence in Illinois.

There is little empirical research about the services victims of violence in shelters receive and when, yet such information would increase our understanding of their unmet service needs especially after they leave shelter. This article utilizes data from a randomly selected sample of individuals in shelter to examine their service trajectories. Results indicate that most individuals receive service while in shelter. Individual counseling is likely to continue after shelter, but group counseling, employment, and educational assistance tend to end once shelter is over. The policy and practice implications of these results are discussed.

Service patterns of adult survivors of childhood versus adult sexual assault/abuse.

This analysis compared the characteristics and service patterns of adult survivors of childhood sexual assault/abuse and adult survivors of adult sexual assault/abuse. Utilizing data from sexual assault crisis centers serving survivors in a Midwestern state over a six year period and controlling for revictimization, we describe and compare the demographic characteristics, referral sources, and service patterns of the two groups. Results indicate that paths into service differ for the two groups. Furthermore, adult survivors of childhood sexual assault/abuse obtain significantly more hours of service and service contacts on average than adult survivors of adult sexual assault/abuse. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Double jeopardy: a comparison of persons with and without disabilities who were victims of sexual abuse and/or sexual assault.

This article compares individuals with and without disabilities who also were victims of sexual abuse and/or sexual assault. Data are from all state-funded agencies in a midwestern state providing services to victims. Matching the sample to control for demographic differences, the findings indicate that individuals with disabilities who sought services were significantly more likely to be victims of adult sexual abuse and/or assault compared to those without disabilities. They were significantly more likely to be referred by a social service program and significantly less likely to be self-referred. In addition, significant differences existed between the groups related to service receipt indicating that victims with disabilities received more services. The implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.

Domestic violence across race and ethnicity: implications for social work practice and policy.

Domestic violence occurs across all ethnic and racial groups, profoundly affecting women, who are most frequently the victims. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2050, 50% of the population will be minorities. To contribute to the growing literature on race and domestic violence, this article uses data derived from domestic violence programs in a large Midwestern state between 1990 and 1995 to focus on the experiences of victims who sought services and examine how they vary by race and ethnicity. The limitations as well as practice and policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Service and Support Needs of Non-Offending Parents in Cases of Intrafamilial Sexual Abuse.

This article describes the helpfulness and availability of formal and informal services and supports available to 104 non-offending parents in cases of intrafamilial sexual abuse. Though findings include high overall satisfaction with the services that were provided, parents report a gap between their needs and the availability of services. Two measures were used to collect the data: the Maternal Sense of Social Support (MSSI) (Pascoe, Loda, Jeffries, & Earp, 1981), and the Helpfulness Index, adapted from a questionnaire used by Runyan et al. (1992). These data are from the first wave of data collection in a four-year study of non-offending parents and their sexually abused children.