Emma Williamson

Living in the World of the Domestic Violence Perpetrator: Negotiating the Unreality of Coercive Control:

This article considers how survivors of domestic violence negotiate the unreality of the world of the perpetrator to survive and the impact this has on their psychological well-being. Utilizing recent debates about coercive control and a reframing of domestic violence as a liberty crime, this article examines women’s accounts of negotiating coercion and control. It presents data collected from oral history narrative interviews with women who have experienced domestic violence, as well as incidents of abuse recounted to the author while working with abused women, and reanalyzes those accounts in light of the theory of coercive control.

Children's consent to research participation: social context and personal experience invalidate fixed cutoff rules.

David Wendler and Seema Shah (2003) offer an interesting proposal concerning children’s assent to participation in nontherapeutic biomedical research. They argue that children should be considered competent to consent to such participation provided they have attained a level of cognitive and prosocial development such that they are able to understand the nature and point of altruistic decisions and actions. On the basis of psychological evidence they argue that this develops between the ages of 10 and 14. They argue on practical and moral grounds for an agebased cutoff for assent to research participation at 14 years old. Other commentators on Wendler and Shah’s paper draw attention to a number of moral and practical challenges to this proposal. We would like to draw attention to what we regard as weaknesses in the scientiac basis of the paper. It is important to note that Wendler and Shah start with U.S. federal guidelines, move on to identify the underlying moral principles (drawing heavily on the standard “Four Principles” approach), and only then seek to identify a psychological foundation for the means to apply these principles in practice. Their argument turns on a psychological account of the development of the capacity for altruism as the basis for capacity to assent to participation in nontherapeutic biomedical research. Although there is some analytical interest in the proposition that capacity for altruism is a necessary condition for capacity to assent to participation in nontherapeutic research, had they approached the issue of children’s capacity to consent or assent more directly, they might well have obtained a different result. Most work on research ethics commences, as do Wendler and Shah, with a theoretical and legal analysis of the requirements for ethical research. Occasionally, empirical work is conducted to determine the acceptability of guidelines or policy in the aeld of research ethics. Yet we have found almost no research that seeks to analyze in any detail research participants’ reasoning and values concerning the ethical issues in research, or to understand how far the ethical issues identiaed by research participants are consistent with the issues raised by ethicists or ethical

Social Science Gets the Ethics Treatment: Research Governance and Ethical Review

The paper examines the current provision for ethical review within the social sciences and considers how existent structures could be improved to protect human research subjects in accordance with international guidelines and regulation. This paper examines the current regulation of social science in the form of professional guidelines, peer review, funding application procedures and steering/advisory groups, and compares these processes with the independent ethical review currently required for health research. This paper also addresses the concepts of ‘risk’ and regulation by comparing the provision of review processes for health and non-health based research. The authors question the distinctions made between different types of medical research which represent epidemiological research, for example, as non-intrusive thus creating a hierarchy of research which results in social science researchers slipping through the ethical review net.

Occurrence and impact of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse, in men attending UK primary care health clinics: a cross-sectional survey

Objective To measure the experience and perpetration of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse (DVA), and investigate its associations with health conditions and behaviours in men attending general practice. Design Cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted between September 2010 and June 2011. Setting 16 general practices in the south west of England. Participants Male patients aged 18 or older, attending alone, who could read and write English. A total of 1403 of eligible patients (58%) participated in the survey and 1368 (56%) completed the questions relevant to this paper. 97% of respondents reported they were heterosexual. Main outcome measures Lifetime occurrence of negative behaviour consistent with DVA, perceived health impact of negative behaviours, associations with anxiety and depression symptoms, and cannabis use in the past 12 months and binge drinking. Results 22.7% (95% CI 20.2% to 24.9%) of men reported ever experiencing negative behaviour (feeling frightened, physically hurt, forced sex, ask permission) from a partner. All negative behaviours were associated with a twofold to threefold increased odds of anxiety and depression symptoms in men experiencing or perpetrating negative behaviours or both. 34.9% (95% CI 28.7% to 41.7%) of men who reported experiencing negative behaviour from a partner, and 30.8% (95% CI 23.7% to 37.8%) of men who perpetrated negative behaviours said they had been in a domestically violent or abusive relationship. No associations with problematic drinking were found; there was a weak association with cannabis use. Conclusions DVA is experienced or perpetrated by a large minority of men presenting to general practice, and these men were more likely to have current symptoms of depression and anxiety. Presentation of anxiety or depression to clinicians may be an indicator of male experience or perpetration of DVA victimisation.

From pillar to post: homeless women's experiences of social care.

This paper reports findings from a longitudinal study of homeless women. Thirty-eight women were recruited with a retention rate of 58% over three rounds of interviews. Interviews explored specific events in womens lives, their current living arrangements and how their experiences and needs, including for social care, changed over time. Data were analysed thematically using a priori codes. Women reported a range of complex issues, consistent with experiences of deep social exclusion and received support from both statutory and voluntary agencies. Although women appreciated the support they received, many reported that services were fragmented and rarely personalised to their needs.

The Impact on Informal Supporters of Domestic Violence Survivors A Systematic Literature Review

Domestic violence (DV) is experienced by 1 in 4 women in the United Kingdom during their lifetime, and most survivors will seek informal support from the people around them, even if they choose not to access help from professionals. Support from these relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues can provide a buffer against effects on the survivor’s physical health, mental health, and quality of life, and has been shown to be protective against future abuse. There has been an absence of research studying members of survivors’ networks and, in particular, investigating how the impact of DV might diffuse to affect them. A systematic literature review of reported research (either in peer-reviewed journals or in gray literature) was undertaken to explore the impacts of DV on survivor networks. Of the articles found, 24 had data relating to the topic area, though no study addressed the question directly. Framework analysis and meta-ethnography generated the following themes: physical health impacts, negative impacts on psychological well-being, direct impacts from the perpetrator, and beneficial impacts on psychological well-being. The studies in this review indicated that informal supporters may be experiencing substantial impact, including vicarious trauma and the risk of physical harm. Currently, there is little support available which is directly aimed at informal supporters of DV survivors, thus these findings have practical and policy implications, in order to acknowledge and meet their needs.

A Review of the Provision of Intervention Programs for Female Victims and Survivors of Domestic Abuse in the United Kingdom

This article is concerned with the provision of intervention programs aimed at female victims/survivors of domestic abuse in the United Kingdom. Social workers, and other statutory professionals, are increasingly referring clients who have experienced abuse to these interventions, but there has been little debate about the aims and objectives of them or consideration of their effectiveness. This article includes a discussion of the key elements of the programs and criticisms of these types of interventions.

Is it coercive controlling violence? A cross-sectional domestic violence and abuse survey of men attending general practice in England

Objective: Surveys that examine prevalence of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) without consideration of impact, severity or context have limitations. The article uses results from the first survey of a European clinical male population, the largest such study internationally, that measured a range of emotional, physical and sexual behaviors that could be construed as DVA, including experience and perpetration, and a range of impacts. The article asks to what extent the behavior reported by the men can be characterized as coercive controlling violence. Method: A survey was administered to male patients in 16 general practices (family medicine clinics) in England. Of 1,368 respondents who completed 4 screening questions regarding behavior consistent with DVA, 707 (52%) completed detailed questions on lifetime experience of possibly harmful emotional, physical and sexual behaviors, perpetration, and impacts, and if they had ever been in a domestically violent or abusive relationship. One-way analysis of variance was used to establish optimal thresholds across abuse and impact scales in order to ascertain severity of men’s reported experiences. Results: More than half (52.5%; 95% confidence interval: 48.7% to 55.9%) the men reported experiencing potentially harmful physical, emotional or sexual behavior from a partner, however only 4.4% of the men experienced coercive controlling violence and of those nearly half also reported perpetration against their partner. Conclusions: Although a large minority of men presenting to general practice experience or perpetrate DVA behavior in relationships, only a small minority experience coercive controlling violence and only 1 in 40 have experienced such violence as victims only.

The shared burden of domestic violence: a qualitative study with informal supporters of survivors

Abstract Background Domestic violence and abuse is experienced by 25% of women and has far-reaching health consequences for survivors. Most survivors access support from people around them, which has the potential to buffer against effects on physical and mental health of survivors, and to protect against future abuse. However, little research has directly assessed how impacts of domestic violence and abuse might diffuse to affect these informal supporters. The aim of this research was exploratory, investigating the effects on health and wellbeing in people who provide informal support to survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted in the UK, between 2012 and 2013, with people who had, at any point during adulthood, supported a friend, relative, or colleague who was in an abusive relationship. Recruitment was via social media, radio, and flyers in community settings. Themes from a systematic review formed the basis of the topic guide, and participants gave written informed consent. Interviews were conducted face to face, by telephone, and with Skype. Transcripts were coded in NVivo (version 10), and a thematic analysis of narratives carried out: data were coded, arranged into themes by the first author, and refined in collaboration with coauthors, by the constant comparison method. The Research Ethics Committee in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol approved the study. Findings 23 participants were recruited and interviewed. Five major themes emerged from the analysis: psychological impacts (including anxiety, low mood, confusion, and anger), physical health impacts, relationship impacts, practical impacts, and being at direct risk of harm from the perpetrator. Factors that mediated the impacts experienced included the supporters sex, the closeness of the relationship between supporter and survivor, the severity of abuse experienced by the survivor, and whether the survivor had children. Interpretation The toll on informal supporters of survivors of domestic violence and abuse was multifaceted, often onerous, and frequently persistent. Scarce support is available for friends, relatives, and colleagues of survivors. These findings have practical and policy implications to recognise and meet the needs of these important informal supporters, and have informed a public health campaign across Bristol. Funding This research was conducted as part of PhD study funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research, and was hosted by the University of Bristol.