One in four: Providing emotional support to female victims of domestic violence (original) (raw)
Related papers
Project 360: An intervention to address victim-police engagement in repeat domestic violence cases
2017
The main findings of the evaluation are summarised below. The term 'initial incident' refers to the police callout that leads to the addition of a case to the subject pool. The intervention led to an increase in victim satisfaction with police services. Victims in the treatment group were 43% less likely to report being dissatisfied with the police handling of their case than victims in the control group. The intervention led to a significant increase in willingness to report future incidents. The treatment group was 42% more likely than the control group to say that their willingness to report a future incident had increased. The intervention resulted in victims being more likely to take actions to change their situation. Relative to the control group, victims in the treatment group were significantly more likely to report having visited their general practitioner, were more likely to have accessed a domestic violence support service and were 34% less likely to be currently in contact with the perpetrator. The intervention was associated with greater victim stress in the short run. Relative to just before the initial incident, victims in the treatment group were 34% less likely to report improved stress levels and 48% more likely to report worsening stress levels than victims in the control group. Victims in the treatment group were also more likely to report a worsening of their quality of sleep and have poorer outcomes for life control and mental health. These findings are consistent with the increased willingness of victims to take actions to change their situation. Separating from an abusive partner or making other major life changes were expected to be stressful. The intervention was associated with improved family life and quality of life overall. Despite the findings in relation to stress, measures of quality of family life and quality of life overall both significantly improved for the treatment group relative to the control group. Victims in the treatment group were 26% more likely than victims in the control group to report quality of life improvements. The intervention led to an unexpected decrease in the provision of witness statements to police by victims. Victims in the treatment group were 21% less likely to provide a witness statement than victims in the control group. Consistent with this being Project 360 v attributable to the intervention, the decline was found only among victims who provided statements after the initial police visit. The intervention was associated with fewer statements being retracted by victims. Of those who made a statement, victims in the treatment group were 27% less likely to retract than victims in the control group. Further, statements in the treatment group are more likely to be associate with an arrest than are statements in the control group. The intervention was not associated with a notable change in repeat offences over a one-year period. There was no significant change in the number of instances of domestic violence recorded by police. However, we found weak evidence to suggest that the severity of future instances (as measured by risk assessment and arrests) was lower for the treatment group than for the control group. These results suggest that the Project 360 intervention had a positive effect on a number of victim outcomes and on the victims' perceptions of police handling of their cases. Based on the incremental costs incurred during the trial, we estimated a cost of £174 per victim engagement for the Project 360 intervention. The authors of this report make five recommendations based on the analysis for the design and implementation of second-responder programmes based on Project 360. Recommendation 1: A second responder programme, modelled around Project 360, should be rolled out as standard practice in police forces that would like to see improvements in the relationship between police and victims of domestic violence, particularly in cases categorised at standard and medium risk. Recommendation 2: The implementation of the intervention should ensure that victims are provided with the immediate opportunity to make a witness statement to police. This may take the form of engagement workers establishing immediately after an incident whether victims would like to make a statement and assisting victims with making such statement in as short a time period as possible. Recommendation 3: The intervention should be rolled out to repeat victims who have experienced fewer than three previous instances in a 365-day period. This would allow for police-victim relationships to be strengthened earlier in the cycle of domestic violence.
Ad Hoc Victim Services Committee Research Report
2017
In June 2016, ICJIA researchers conducted a study to identify crime victim needs and service gaps and measure the capacity of Illinois victim service providers. The study was initiated to inform ICJIA's strategic planning process for establishing victim service funding priorities. The project included a review of existing literature, an analysis of administrative data, surveys and interviews of crime victims, and surveys and discussions with victims and their family members, victim service providers, and criminal justice practitioners. Literature Review Research staff compiled and reviewed academic literature and government reports about the prevalence and incidence of crime victimization; impact of victimization on one's health and well-being; and the short-and long-term consequences of unaddressed trauma associated with victimization for individuals, families, and communities. The purpose of engaging the literature was to supplement the limited available Illinois-specific data on crime victimization and victim needs and outcomes. Staff also collected information about promising and evidence-based victim service programs to inform existing victim service practices and the development of new services and approaches. Administrative Data Research staff identified, compiled, and analyzed administrative data on crime and victim services. Data analyzed and their sources are listed in Table 1. These data were used to examine trends, characteristics, and regional differences to identify where crime hot spots and victim needs exist in Illinois. 4 services currently supported with state and federal funds and the service locations across the state. Surveys and Interviews of Victims In June 2016, ICJIA contracted with Aeffect, Inc., a marketing and communications research firm, to conduct a statewide victim needs assessment. This assessment involved a literature review, qualitative in-depth interviews, and survey of Illinois residents. Aeffect carried out the research in five stages. (1) Aeffect staff conducted a literature review detailing the efforts of other states at assessing crime victim needs. The literature review was used to inform subsequent aspects of the project, including interview and survey development. (2) Aeffect researchers conducted initial interviews with select stakeholders. ICJIA staff identified individuals who direct organizations or offices charged with serving crime victims. These stakeholders represented a wide variety of crime victims, including victims and survivors of homicide, sexual violence, domestic violence, child abuse, driving under the influence, elder abuse, and human trafficking, as well as individuals who could speak to the unique needs of victims from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) community and different cultures. The interviews with stakeholders focused on documenting victim needs, strengths, and weaknesses of existing practices related to assisting victims, challenges to addressing victim needs, and funding priorities.
2006
It cannot be stated strongly enough how much support there was for the roll-out of the pilot project across Glasgow. ASSIST is a support service for partners and ex-partners of those brought before the Domestic Abuse Court (DAC). ASSIST provides information, support and advocacy to adults (both female and male) who are survivors of domestic abuse. The services provided by ASSIST are offered from the point of initial referral by the police, to the end of the court proceedings. The evaluation of ASSIT took place over nearly two years (2004-06) and included multiple forms of data. The aims of the evaluation included: • Describing the process of developing ASSIST highlighting key challenges and opportunities encountered, thereby understanding the process by which ASSIST provides support services to victims of domestic abuse and their children in the multi-agency context. • Documenting the outcomes of this intervention on those referred to ASSIST, the key outcome being increased safety o...
A qualitative examination of engagement with support services by victims of violent crime
International Review of Victimology
Research suggests that victim engagement with support services is generally low, and that many individuals are at risk of trauma symptomology and associated negative psychological outcomes as a result. The existing literature examining barriers to engagement with victim services is relatively small and largely quantitative, and a detailed qualitative examination of decisions to engage with victim services has yet to be undertaken. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined provision of information and referral processes by the police, initial and follow up contact with support services, and perceived barriers to engagement. Victim evaluations of accessed services were also examined. 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the victims of violent criminal victimisation during a 6 month period in a Police Force in England and Wales. Participants who engaged with victim services reported experiencing significant benefits as a result of the support they received. However, there was a generally low level of engagement with Victim Support and other services in the sample. A number of different factors associated with lack of engagement were identified by the analysis, consistent with previous research. The paper ends by considering the implications of the study for developing more effective strategies for increasing victim engagement in ways consistent with current local, national and European policy. 3 Public policy in the United Kingdom has recently placed greater emphasis on the importance of the needs of victims and a focus on increasing their engagement with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and support services (Burrows, 2014; Ministry of Justice, 2015). This is a timely change in focus given that the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) recorded 1.9 million violent incidents in 2012/13 (Office for National Statistics, 2014). These figures suggest that there are a significant number of victims of violent crime each year who, as a result of their experiences, are at risk of developing trauma symptoms (e.g., avoidance behaviours, negative moods) which can subsequently lead to substance use problems, poor emotional regulation, and increased risk of psychiatric disorders
Police awareness and involvement in cases of domestic and partner abuse
2016
The last decade has seen the number of incidents of domestic and partner abuse coming to the attention of the police increase by around 50%. Over the same period, new legislative measures have sought to criminalise and protect against abusive behaviour, while the Scottish Government’s Violence Against Women team has developed a national strategy for tackling domestic abuse and guidance for practitioners in the field. In spite of this activity, victims of domestic and partner abuse remain among the least likely to report their victimization to the police. Moreover, research seeking to explore and understand this issue is scarce. Drawing on Scottish Crime and Justice Survey data, this paper presents an exploratory logistic regression analysis of the factors influencing whether or not the police become aware of victims’ experience of abuse. Highlighting that a wide spectrum of individuals experience domestic and partner abuse, this analysis demonstrates clear disparity between key groups of victims in terms of police awareness and attention. Female victims, victims without employment, victims experiencing multiple abuse, and victims whose children witness abuse are the most likely to come to the attention of the police. Young victims, male victims and victims in employment are among the least likely. These findings highlight critical gaps in current national policy and guidance, and present an opportunity to reconsider strategies for police/ victim engagement.