The Relationship Between Formal Help-Seeking and Sexual Orientation Among Victims of Domestic Violence.

Domestic violence, broadly defined, includes violence among children, parents, siblings, intimate partners, and other relatives. Help-seeking behaviors for domestic violence, especially among sexual minority (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and others who are not heterosexual) victims, is not well understood. Using the National Crime Victimization Survey, the current study fills a gap in the literature regarding the relationship between sexual orientation and four types of formal help-seeking among victims of violence perpetrated by a relative or an intimate partner: reporting to the police, seeking psychological care, contacting a victim services agency, and seeking medical assistance. This study additionally examined whether individual and incident level variables are related to formal domestic violence help-seeking among sexual minority victims. Results indicate that sexual orientation was significantly related to seeking psychological care and help from a victim services agency, and the relationship between individual and incident level characteristics varies by type of help-seeking among victims of domestic violence. These results suggest that sexual minority victims' decisions to access services is likely influenced by the availability of services and victims' perceptions of how they would be treated within the various systems. Future research should continue to examine the help-seeking process among sexual minority victims of domestic violence in order to develop appropriate policy responses and provide services needed by this population.

Assessing States' Intimate Partner Violence Offender Treatment Standards using a Principles of Effective Intervention Framework.

Court-ordered treatment programs are a widely used response to intimate partner violence (IPV) and many states have developed standards to guide programs. The current study provides an update to Maiuro and Eberle's. (2008) review of states' standards and extends the literature by using the principles of effective intervention (PEIs; i.e., risk, need, responsivity, treatment, and fidelity) as an organizational framework to examine standards. Findings showed that 84% of states had standards in 2020, compared to 88% in 2007, and extensive changes both within and across states' standards had occurred. Regarding the PEIs, in line with the risk principle most states mandated the use of risk assessments; inconsistent with the needs principle, few states used these assessments to classify clients into risk levels or inform individualized treatment. The majority of standards addressed the treatment principle by outlining a required structure and duration, but few attended to responsivity factors (e.g., identifying treatment modalities, attending to specific client factors). Regarding the fidelity principle, most standards outlined education or training requirements for staff and required periodic program reviews or audits, but few standards were evidenced-based and only about half required that programs collect data to measure effectiveness. Taken together, findings suggest that standards have continued to evolve and that the integration of PEIs into IPV treatment is only just beginning. Standards provide a rich opportunity for future researcher-practitioner partnerships in the field of IPV intervention.

A Nation-Wide Assessment of Empowerment Among States' Personal Protective Order Statutes.

The Personal Protective Order (PPO) and the PPO process may provide an opportunity to shift power dynamics from the state/abuser to the victim-a process otherwise known as "victim empowerment." Using a previously established empowerment framework, the Empowerment Process Model, 2017 PPO statutes for all U.S. states and the District of Columbia (n = 51) were examined in regard to 23 statutory elements conceptualized to facilitate the process of victim empowerment for initmate partner violence (IPV) victims. Findings demonstrated that there is little consistency across PPO statutes in regard to empowerment facilitators (8.0-18.5, M = 13.5, SD = 2.3). Three elements were found to be consistently empowering by most states: the use of gender-neutral language, inclusion of same-sex couple violence, and adherence to full faith and credit provision of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Future research should examine which statutory elements are associated with the greatest increases in victim empowerment, and model PPO language should be developed. Furthermore, in general, PPO research findings must be discussed within the confines of state statutes and limited generalizability across states.

Violence Against Women: Reflecting on 25 Years of the Violence Against Women Act and Directions for the Future.

The year 2019 marked the 25th anniversary of the passage of the landmark legislation, the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). As we reflect on the Act, it is important to examine how the VAWA influenced the response to violence against women. This guest editors' introduction provides a preview of five articles devoted to a special issue of Violence Against Women. The articles highlight key aspects of VAWA. With H.R. 15851 awaiting consideration by the Senate, we suggest that perhaps now is an appropriate time to assess the Act's impact.

The 1994 Violence Against Women Act: A Historic Response to Gender Violence.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is frequently questioned about its success, especially during times of its reauthorization. While federal, state, local, and private organizations have funded a significant amount of research through VAWA since its inception, questions remain as to whether the field has the evidence to make a concrete judgment about its success. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we review the Act and its subsequent reauthorizations. Second, the article addresses issues related to VAWA's success. We consider whether it is possible to answer Moore Parmley's question posed in 2004, p. 1,428: " . . . on the anniversary of the VAWA, will we be able to say with any confidence that the Act helped to prevent violence against women?"

Anti-Asian Hate Crime During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Reproduction of Inequality.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is believed to have emerged in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 and began rapidly spreading around the globe throughout the spring months of 2020. As COVID-19 proliferated across the United States, Asian Americans reported a surge in racially motivated hate crimes involving physical violence and harassment. Throughout history, pandemic-related health crises have been associated with the stigmatization and "othering" of people of Asian descent. Asian Americans have experienced verbal and physical violence motivated by individual-level racism and xenophobia from the time they arrived in America in the late 1700s up until the present day. At the institutional level, the state has often implicitly reinforced, encouraged, and perpetuated this violence through bigoted rhetoric and exclusionary policies. COVID-19 has enabled the spread of racism and created national insecurity, fear of foreigners, and general xenophobia, which may be related to the increase in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic. We examine how these crimes - situated in historically entrenched and intersecting individual-level and institutional-level racism and xenophobia - have operated to "other" Asian Americans and reproduce inequality.

An Updated Assessment of Personal Protective Order Statutes in the United States: Have Statutes Become More Progressive in the Past Decade?

The Personal Protection Order (PPO) is one civil intervention all states provide to victims of domestic violence; however, each state varies widely in who can access PPOs, what protections are included in PPOs, and how they are enforced. Given the many changes to state PPO statutes over the last decade, this research replicates and updates DeJong and Burgess-Proctor's research on PPOs' victim-friendliness (using states' 2003 PPO statutes) by examining states' 2014 PPO statutes. Findings suggest that states have become more victim-friendly with most states ranking in the highest category of victim-friendliness. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Domestic Violence Offender Treatment and Multidisciplinary Treatment Teams: The Role of "Treatment" Victim Advocates.

In Colorado, "treatment victim advocates" (TVAs) serve alongside providers and probation/parole officers on "multidisciplinary treatment teams" (MTTs) to oversee domestic violence offender's treatment. Although this model provides an opportunity for victim safety concerns to be heard, the utility of using victim advocates as advisors regarding interventions for domestic violence offenders has yet to be studied. Using survey data and narrative responses from TVAs ( N = 37), the current study examines the challenges and opportunities TVAs face while serving on MTTs. Results suggest that, overall, TVAs are successful in communicating with other members of the MTT, are confident that their perspectives are valued in the offender decision-making process, and are able to provide a wide variety of services and referrals to the victims with whom they are engaged. Implications and recommendations for the Colorado model as well as correctional professionals managing domestic violence offenders internationally are presented and discussed.

The Implementation of State-Mandated Standards for Batterer Intervention Programs: The Colorado Experience.

The current research examines Colorado's experience implementing evidence-based mandated treatment Standards, which use a uniform risk assessment, differentiated treatment levels, offender competencies, and a multidisciplinary treatment team (MTT) composed of a victim advocate, probation officer, and treatment provider to manage offender treatment. Using data from MTT member surveys (n = 107) and follow-up interviews (n = 14), the study investigates perceptions of implementation and treatment fidelity, MTT decision making and communication, and the process of successful treatment completion. Results demonstrate that full implementation of Colorado's standards for domestic violence treatment has not yet been achieved and that many MTT members report challenges to communication and decision making regarding offender treatment plans and successful achievement of competencies. Recommendations for further improvements in Colorado's domestic violence treatment model are made and directions for future research are discussed.

Childhood Physical Maltreatment and Young Adult Dating Violence: A Propensity Matching Approach.

Intimate partner violence disproportionately occurs among young adults and relates to a range of health and behavioral problems throughout the life course. Although numerous studies substantiate the prevailing cycle of violence perspective, methodological limitations in prior research prohibit the conclusion of a causal relationship between childhood physical maltreatment and dating violence perpetration and victimization in young adulthood. The current research applies a quasi-experimental propensity score matching approach to a large sample of young adults ( n = 4,168) to isolate the causal effect of childhood physical maltreatment on dating violence perpetration and victimization. Results suggest selection bias accounts for the correlation between childhood physical maltreatment and young adult physical dating violence perpetration and victimization, indicating a spurious relationship-before matching: odds ratio (OR) = 1.38, p < .001; OR = 1.35, p < .001; after matching: OR = 1.08; p = .379; OR = 1.09; p = .297. Study limitations and implications are discussed.

The Cycle of Violence Revisited: Distinguishing Intimate Partner Violence Offenders Only, Victims Only, and Victim-Offenders.

Using a cycle of violence framework, we investigated experiences with physical intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, perpetration, and both IPV victimization and perpetration (IPV overlap). Data included the U.S. subsample of college students in the International Dating Violence Study (n = 4,162). Findings indicated that 40% of participants reported lifetime IPV, with 28% reporting membership in the overlap group. Cycle of violence variables including child sexual abuse, witnessing violence inside the home during childhood, and witnessing violence outside the home during childhood were uniquely related to membership in the overlap group. No relationship between cycle of violence variables and IPV victimization only or IPV perpetration only was identified. Results suggested the cycle of violence might predominantly operate among individuals who are both IPV victims and offenders, rather than among individuals experiencing IPV victimization or perpetrate IPV exclusively.

Investigating the Role of Child Sexual Abuse in Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration in Young Adulthood From a Propensity Score Matching Approach.

The link between child sexual abuse and adult intimate partner violence surfaces throughout prior research. Nonetheless, methodologies investigating this cycle of violence predominantly involve descriptive, correlational, or traditional regression-based analyses that preclude more definitive statements about the empirical relationship between child sexual abuse and adult partner violence. In recognition of these limitations, the current study presents a quasi-experimental investigation into the relationship between sexual abuse in childhood and physical partner violence victimization and/or perpetration in young adulthood. Propensity score matching analysis of a national data set sampling over 4,000 young adults suggests that experiencing child sexual abuse influences adult intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration. Study implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Exploring the relationship between child physical abuse and adult dating violence using a causal inference approach in an emerging adult population in South Korea.

Child maltreatment is one of the most commonly examined risk factors for violence in dating relationships. Often referred to as the intergenerational transmission of violence or cycle of violence, a fair amount of research suggests that experiencing abuse during childhood significantly increases the likelihood of involvement in violent relationships later, but these conclusions are primarily based on correlational research designs. Furthermore, the majority of research linking childhood maltreatment and dating violence has focused on samples of young people from the United States. Considering these limitations, the current study uses a rigorous, propensity score matching approach to estimate the causal effect of experiencing child physical abuse on adult dating violence among a large sample of South Korean emerging adults. Results indicate that the link between child physical abuse and adult dating violence is spurious rather than causal. Study limitations and implications are discussed.

A 10-year analysis of rearrests among a cohort of domestic violence offenders.

In this study, survival analysis is used to examine time to rearrest for both domestic violence and nondomestic violence crimes among a cohort of domestic violence offenders (N = 286) over a 10-year period. In addition, risk factors for rearrest such as demographic, offending history, and batterer treatment variables are examined to determine their influence on domestic and nondomestic violence recidivism. Overall, the results suggest that approximately half of domestic violence offenders are rearrested. Furthermore, among those who are rearrested, they are rearrested fairly quickly and for generalized (both domestic and nondomestic violence offenses) versus specialized offending. Risk factors associated with both types of rearrest included age, marriage, and domestic violence offense history. Several additional risk factors were unique to rearrest type. Study limitations are explicitly stated and policy implications are discussed.

A longitudinal examination of offending and specialization among a sample of Massachusetts domestic violence offenders.

A paucity of existing research focuses on longitudinal examinations of criminal trajectories among reoffenses committed by domestic violence offenders. Specifically, few studies have longitudinally assessed whether domestic violence offenders specialize, recidivating in domestic violence assault, or generalize, committing a range of personal and property crimes. Acknowledging these research deficiencies, the current study uses longitudinal data from a cohort of 317 batterers who were processed in a domestic violence court to investigate the trajectories of domestic violence arrests and nondomestic violence arrests over a 10-year period. The degree of overlap between domestic and nondomestic violence arrest trajectory groups is examined through a cross-tabulation and chi-square analysis. Logistic and multinomial regression models are applied to identify risk factors that distinguish trajectory groups. A PROC TRAJ procedure identifies two trajectory groups for domestic violence arrests (low and high rate) and three trajectory groups for nondomestic violence arrests (very low, low, and high rate). Results indicate that specialization among domestic violence offenders is rare-prior alcohol and drug crimes predict membership in the high-rate domestic violence arrest trajectory group and prior domestic violence arrests predict membership in both the low-rate and high-rate nondomestic violence arrest trajectories. Implications for future research and policy are discussed in this article.

The impact of victim-focused outreach on criminal legal system outcomes following police-reported intimate partner abuse.

Randomized control designs have been used in the public health and psychological literatures to examine the relationship between victim outreach following intimate partner abuse (IPA) and various outcomes. These studies have largely relied on samples drawn from health providers and shelters to examine outcomes outside the criminal legal system. Based on the positive findings from this body of research, we expected that a victim-focused, community-coordinated outreach intervention would improve criminal legal system outcomes. The current study used a randomized, longitudinal design to recruit 236 ethnically diverse women with police-reported IPA to compare treatment-as-usual with an innovative community-coordinated, victim-focused outreach program. Findings indicated that the outreach program was effective in increasing women's engagement with prosecution tasks as well as likelihood of taking part in prosecution of their abusers. Results were particularly robust among women marginalized by ethnicity and class, and those still living with their abusers after the target incident.

The impact of community-based outreach on psychological distress and victim safety in women exposed to intimate partner abuse.

OBJECTIVE: Using a longitudinal, randomized controlled trial, this study assessed the impact of a community-based outreach versus a more traditional criminal justice system-based referral program on women's distress and safety following police-reported intimate partner abuse (IPA). METHOD: Women (N = 236 women) with police-reported IPA were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 interdisciplinary community-coordinated response program conditions: Outreach (community-based victim advocate outreach) or Referral (criminal justice system-based victim advocate referrals to community-based agencies). Participants were interviewed 3 times over a 1-year period: within 26 (median) days of police-reported IPA, 6 months later, and 12 months later. Primary outcome measures included posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptom severity (Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale; Beck Depression Inventory-II), fear appraisals (Trauma Appraisal Questionnaire), IPA revictimization (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale), and readiness to leave the relationship with the abuser. RESULTS: One year after the initial interview, women in the Outreach condition reported decreased PTSD and depression symptom severity and fear compared with women in the Referral condition. Although both conditions were unrelated to revictimization in the follow-up year, women in the Outreach condition reported greater readiness to leave the abuser and rated services as more helpful than women in the Referral condition. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the first studies to examine community-based outreach in the context of an interdisciplinary community coordinated response to police-reported IPA. The findings suggest that community-based outreach by victim advocates results in decreased distress levels, greater readiness to leave abusive relationships, and greater perceived helpfulness of services relative to system-based referrals.

Integrating the American criminal justice and mental health service systems to focus on victimization.

Although most research and policy in the mental health and criminal justice arenas have operated independently of one another, there is a growing consensus suggesting the need for an integration of these two disparate, yet complementary systems. Furthermore, in light of the adverse mental health consequences that often accompany victimization experiences, it is apparent that these two systems should develop and foster overlapping services for crime victims. The research reviewed herein provides an examination of issues such as these, identifies some of the barriers that stand in the way of a successful integration of the two systems, and attempts to provide some guidance and direction for future integrated mental health and criminal justice system approaches. An outline of research gaps and directions for future study are offered for the integration of criminal justice and mental health systems, as such collaborations are likely to alleviate some of the deleterious mental health outcomes evident among crime victims and at the same time reduce the occurrence of repeat victimization.

The influence of childhood maltreatment and self-control on dating violence: a comparison of college students in the United States and South Korea.

Various aspects of social learning and self-control theories have been applied to partner violence among multiple samples in the United States, but these theoretical approaches have been less commonly studied cross-culturally. Consequently, childhood maltreatment and low self-control have been identified as risk factors for various outcomes in primarily American samples. This study examined the relationships between childhood maltreatment, low self-control, and dating violence among college students in South Korea and the United States. Findings indicated that experiencing childhood maltreatment and having low self-control were key predictors of perpetration and victimization for both psychological and physical relationship violence. Witnessing interparental violence during childhood was less consistently predictive of one's involvement in a violent dating relationship. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.

Law enforcement officers' attitudes about domestic violence.

This exploratory study examines attitudes about domestic violence among officers from a large urban police department. Additionally, this study examines whether attitudes vary according to officer characteristics. A total of 309 police officers responded to a survey that explored their attitudes and perceptions of domestic violence incidents. The results show that officers are well versed in handling domestic violence, though self-reports indicate that police personnel who respond to the calls are concerned about their limited amount of discretion. Additionally, when comparing attitudes based on officer characteristics, more similarities are found than differences. Implications for future research are discussed.