NCJ Number
54538
Date Published
1978
Length
134 pages
Annotation
THE ENVIRONMENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SPECIFICALLY SPOUSE BATTERING, IN MONTANA WAS STUDIED IN RELATION TO VICTIMS, ASSAILANTS, CHILDREN, PATTERNS OF VIOLENCE, LEGAL REMEDIES, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Abstract
THIS APPROACH TO STUDYING BATTERED SPOUSES WAS QUALITATIVE RATHER THAN QUANTITATIVE. FROM THE ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACH TAKEN, THE POPULATION WAS NECESSARILY SMALL IN ORDER TO OBTAIN DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT EVENTS AND ATTITUDES SURROUNDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. VICTIMS WERE LOCATED THROUGH REFERRALS FROM AGENCIES, HOSPITALS, PHYSICIANS, AND ADVERTISING FOR VOLUNTEERS. BECAUSE ALL SUBJECTS VOLUNTEERED, BATTERING WAS SELF-DEFINED AND THE AMOUNT AND DURATION OF PHYSICAL FORCE VARIED. ALL THOSE WHO VOLUNTEERED FOR THE STUDY WERE WOMEN. SEVERAL AGENCIES HAD COME INTO CONTACT WITH HUSBAND ABUSE OR MUTUAL ABUSE, BUT NONE OF THESE VICTIMS VOLUNTEERED FOR INTERVIEWING. THERE WERE 25 INTERVIEWS, 24 OF WHICH WERE TAPED. NO STEREOTYPES WERE FOUND FOR WOMEN WHO FOUND THEMSELVES IN A BATTERING RELATIONSHIP. BATTERING OCCURRED IN ALL SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES, EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES WERE VARIED, AND RELIGIOUS PREFERENCES AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS DID NOT APPEAR TO BE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN BATTERING. ONE COMMON CHARACTERISTIC OF ALL BATTERED WOMEN WAS LOW SELF-ESTEEM. BY THE TIME PATTERNS OF VIOLENCE HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED, WOMEN FOUND THEMSELVES TRAPPED BY ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN. STUDYING ASSAILANTS WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT DUE TO THE LACK OF VOLUNTEERS. VICTIMS SOMETIMES SAW VIOLENCE EXHIBITED BY ASSAILANTS AS THE PRODUCT OF INSECURITY AND VIEWED THEIR SPOUSES AS CHILD-LIKE IN EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT. DESPITE A NEED FOR INTERACTION, BATTERERS TYPICALLY WERE UNABLE TO DEVELOP INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS. IRRESPONSIBILITY WITH MONEY, ALCOHOL, BUYING OTHER PEOPLE THINGS, AND FRIVOLOUS SPENDING WERE FREQUENT COMPLAINTS MADE BY VICTIMS ABOUT ASSAILANTS. INTERVIEWS CONTAINED NO SELF-REPORTS OF CHILD ABUSE, ALTHOUGH ONE WOMAN SPOKE OF HER FEAR THAT SHE MIGHT HAVE ABUSED HER CHILDREN. WHEN CHILDREN WERE PRESENT DURING INTERVIEWING, THEY COMMENTED THAT THEIR INITIAL REACTION TO VIOLENCE WAS TO PROTECT THE ABUSED PARENT. BATTERING DID NOT OCCUR CONTINUOUSLY; AS RELATIONSHIPS BECAME MORE STRESSFUL, THERE WAS MORE PHYSICAL ABUSE. A SURVEY OF AGENCIES CONCERNING DATA AND SERVICES REVEALED THAT NO DATA WERE KEPT ON SPOUSE ABUSE, AND AGENCIES STATED THAT RECORDKEEPING PRESENTED THE PROBLEM OF CONFIDENTIALITY. MAKING PEOPLE AWARE OF SUCH SERVICES AS COUNSELING, EMERGENCY HOUSING, FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, MEDICAL CARE, AID FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN, AND EMPLOYMENT WAS FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANT IN HELPING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS OFFER ALTERNATIVES TO VICTIMS. CRIMINAL STATUTES IN MONTANA DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM OF SPOUSE BATTERING AND THE ROLE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT (POLICE AND SHERIFF DEPARTMENTS, PROSECUTORS, AND TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS) ARE EXAMINED. A LIST OF RECOMMENDED SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF BATTERING IS INCLUDED, AND OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS PERTINENT TO SPOUSE BATTERING ARE OFFERED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN THE STUDY FORMS, AGENCY DATA, A MONTHLY ARREST REPORT OF ONE CITY, A COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT'S POLICY REGARDING FAMILY DISPUTES, A TREATMENT PLAN FOR ABUSIVE HUSBANDS AND BATTERED WIVES, AN EXAMPLE OF LEGISLATION AUTHORIZING PROTECTIVE ORDERS, AND INFORMATION ON LEGISLATIVE REFORM IN OTHER STATES. (DEP)