Do Welfare Reforms Make Abused Women Safer (original) (raw)
Related papers
Dangerous Dependencies: The Intersection of Welfare Reform and Domestic Violence
Gender & Society, 2002
Using longitudinal, ethnographic data, the authors examine how the pursuit of self-sufficiency in the context of welfare reform may unintentionally encourage some women to develop alternative dangerous dependencies on abusive or potentially abusive men. In this article, the authors document how women ended up relying on men who have been abusive to them either for instrumental assistance or for more direct financial assistance as they struggled to move from welfare to work. The authors also document how some extremely disadvantaged and vulnerable women became enmeshed in even more dangerous dependencies as they hit time limits and fell through public and private safety nets into drug addiction and sex work. The authors frame this discussion of dangerous dependencies with the recognition that dependency relations are necessary and inevitable components of carework. They argue that the discourse of self-sufficiency should acknowledge the fact that careworkers are productive citizens to the same extent as paid laborers and grapple with the question of the means through which they can support that productivity when personal resources are limited and paid labor is temporarily or permanently impossible.
Woman battering and welfare reform : The view from a welfare-to-work program
1999
This research compares employment training program staff estimates (N = 118) and enrollee reports (N = 122) of woman battering, that is, the physical violence and other abuse men deploy against their wives and girlfriends. The vast majority of staff estimate that woman battering obstructs the transition from welfare to work for at least some of their clients. Overall, staff respondents' relative sense of the frequency of battering quite accurately reflects enrollee reports. However, staff are especially reluctant to give estimates of physical violence and injury. Moreover, many give very low estimates for those items that are obvious markers of battering, which enrollees report at nontrivial levels. Such discrepancies are particularly disturbing because successful welfare reform implementation depends in part on staff understandings of woman battering as an obstacle to welfare-to-work transition
Although research and social policy on domestic violence and poverty have largely focused on factors linked to welfare reform policy goals, low-income abused women have a broader set of needs for which they turn to the state for assistance. Using ethnographic data, I explore the impact of abused mothers' interactions with an array of social welfare policy systems on their ability to protect themselves and their children from domestic violence. Analysis of interview and observational data found that distinctions between positive and negative influences on vulnerability to domestic violence were not clear-cut. Policies that provided protection and security to some placed others at increased risk; some policies mitigated the risk of further abuse for participants at the same time that other policies exacerbated their risk. Findings identify some current policy successes and failures, highlight the important role played by frontline workers, and demonstrate the importance of expanding the focus of research in this area beyond welfare and employment policies and outcomes to include the range of structural forces affecting family life in low-income communities. Drawing on the analyses and findings, I discuss ways in which social policy might be made more responsive to abused women and better ensure the safety and security of our most vulnerable families.
Poverty, Welfare and Battered Women: What Does the Research Tell Us?
While domestic violence cuts across social groups defined by race, ethnicity, and economic circumstances, it is clear that the combined experience of poverty and violence raises particularly difficult issues for women. Several studies in the past ten to fifteen years have documented the importance of economic resources for battered women's decision-making. Gondolf's (1988) study of the exit plans of 800 women who had used Texas battered women's shelters, for example, found that access to an independent income, along with child care and transportation were primary considerations; only 16% of the women with their own income planned to return to their batterers. Similarly, shelter programs have reported that a majority of shelter residents use welfare in their efforts to end the violence in their lives (Raphael 1995). Despite these indications, research which explores the connections between domestic violence against impoverished women and their use of welfare is still i...
Walking on eggshells: Abused women's experiences of Ontario's welfare system
Toronto, ON: York …, 2004
A questionnaire was mailed to all area administrators of Ontario Works (48). Thirty-five completed questionnaires were returned, for a response rate of 73%. The questionnaire is attached as Appendix 2. 3.) Spousal and Child Support "It's crazy to have women track men down (for support), you're running from him for God's sake." This quote from one of the woman interviewed for our study captures vividly the problems that arise when women are required to pursue abusive spouses for support as a precondition to welfare eligibility. In addition to well-grounded fears of violence, many women are reluctant to pursue support because they want to move on with their lives and have no contact with their abusive partners, or because they worry that a claim for support will launch a counter-claim for custody or access that would be harmful for both them and their children. Although a temporary waiver may be granted in cases of domestic violence, several problems were identified with this regime: almost no women were told of the waiver; no definition of domestic violence is provided and no guidelines exist as to when further extensions are warranted; standards for verification are vague; and many women (often those who are most marginalized) do not have access to the forms of verification requested. These difficulties with the waiver regime are compounded by the reality-described so vividly by the women in this study-that many women do not disclose the abuse to their welfare workers. 4.) Spouse in the House The definition of 'spouse' and of 'same sex partner' create great difficulties for many lowincome women and unfairly discriminates against women. Our report shows, not surprisingly, that the present definition lead some women to be very wary of forming relationships at all, preclude some living arrangements which could help reduce costs, and subject women to a great deal of scrutiny of their intimate lives. The definition is so complex and ambiguous that it is virtually impossible for women to know when a spousal relationship will be found. Our report also shows some abusive partners threaten, and act on the threat, to call the welfare fraud line to falsely accuse women of living in vii 'common-law' relationships. Women described how such threats further the abuser's power and control, leaving them feeling trapped with no where to turn. 5.) Constantly Living Under Suspicion; Welfare Surveillance Many threads weave together the web of suspicion and surveillance in which women find themselves: from 'enhanced verification' procedures and eligibility reviews; to scrutiny of their intimate relationships; to home visits; to compliance with workfare; to detailed, intricate rules that are hard to ascertain yet where failure to comply can have disastrous consequences. Many of the women we spoke with described what it is like to be caught up in this web of suspicion and surveillance. Many said that in their interactions with the welfare system they constantly felt they were being treated as suspected criminals. The extensive documentation demands, the need to verify and prove everything, the insistent calls to report to the office, and some of their personal interactions with workers contributed to this sense. Lack of access to full and comprehensible information creates many problems, one of the most significant of which is the constant fear that one might be in violation of a rule that one doesn't even know exists. The difficulty of ascertaining the rules-which are complex, often discretionary, and frequently counter-intuitive (loans count as income, e.g.)-combines with the fear of extreme and negative consequences if one breaks a rule (being cutoff and/or charged with fraud), to lead many women to the conclusion that it is simply not safe to talk to their workers, including about the abuse in their lives. Many abusive men threaten to report and/or do report their current or past partners to welfare, alleging fraud. As noted above, the alleged fraud often is based on a claim that the woman is living with her 'boyfriend', or 'common law partner'. Sometimes the man calling claims to be the person living with her, sometimes he points to another man. In most of the instances of this in our interviews, the allegations were baseless. Nevertheless, more often than not, benefits were immediately terminated. One woman had her benefits terminated four times; each time it was her former abusive partner who called, and the welfare office was aware of the history of abuse. Threats or actual calls to welfare by abusive partners occurred for roughly 20% of the women interviewed. We note too that in the survey completed by area administrators of welfare, 20 of the 35 respondents that answered this question answered affirmatively when asked, "Are you aware of any cases where an abusive partner has reported to the welfare fraud hotline or elsewhere that his former partner is living with another man?" 6.) Difficulties in Accessing Information Women told us of the extraordinary difficulties that they have had in accessing accurate and timely information that might be of benefit to them. General prohibitions and obligations seem to have been rather well communicated to women, such as the obligation to report income and to pursue child support. However, very few women knew about the availability of special benefits and the possibility of deferrals or waivers of some OW requirements. viii
POLICY FOR THE'DESERVING,'BUT POLITICALLY WEAK: THE 1996 WELFARE REFORM ACT AND BATTERED WOMEN
Review of Policy Research, 2001
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law #104–193) is perhaps the most visible national legislation since the sweeping Civil Rights laws of the 1960s. For social policy so well entrenched into the American social fabric, the rapidity with which reforms swept through the welfare system was unprecedented and confound conventional theoretical pronouncements on bureaucracy and policy change. The swiftness of reform, and the political rhetoric that surrounded the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, have prompted criticism that reformers responded more to the social construction of welfare recipients than they did to the dictates of sound public policy (Magusson and Dunham, 1996). This article discusses the ramifications of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act for battered women and concludes that battered women's social construction as deserving of public assistance, but politically weak, precipitated welfare reform policy, targeted to battered women, that has been largely rhetorical rather than substantive.
Domestic Violence in the Lives of Women Receiving Welfare
2000
Using data from a random sample of women from the welfare caseload in an urban Michigan county, the authors investigate the prevalence of domestic violence and its association with mental health, health, and economic well-being. Nearly a quarter of the women experienced physical partner violence in the past 12 months, and almost two thirds in their lifetimes. Recent victims had significantly higher rates of five psychiatric disorders (depression, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug dependence, and alcohol dependence) and health problems than women who never experienced domestic violence. Recent partner violence was also associated with greater material hardship. Analyses did not indicate any significant association between domestic violence, past or present, and employment.