Stop Domestic Violence A template for best practice

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Stop Domestic Violence- A template for best
practice

• Margaret Wong
• Executive Director
• Harmony House
• Presentation on 19 May, 2004 at the DV training
  workshop organized by the HK Council of Social
  Service

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Domestic Violence Defined

• Definition by UN (General Assembly, 1993)
• An act of gender-based violence that results in
  or likely to result in, physical, sexual or
  psychological harm or suffering to women,
  including threats of such acts, coercion or
  arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether
  occurring in public or private life.

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Domestic Violence Defined

• the attempt , act or intent to intimidate
• within an intimate, dependent or trusting
  relationship
• the use of threat, physical force on another
  person or property
• the purpose of abuse is to control, intimidate,
  inducement of fear or inflicting pain
• a pattern of behaviour
• The onset of violence will not stop by itself, it
  will only escalate once the cycle and pattern is
  established
• -adapted from the Calgary Domestic
  
  Violence Committee
  (CDVC),Alberta ,Canada

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Standards of best practice

• Agency mission, policies and practices which
  protect the victim
• Trained and experienced staff
• Specific screening and risk tracking
• Development of victim safety plan
• Abuse screened and addressed specifically and not
  as a peripheral issue
• Perpetrators viewed as responsible for the abuse,
  not the victim
• Referral to specialized DV treatment services as
  appropriate to maximize the safety for victims

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Harmony House - Zero Tolerance to Domestic
Violence

• Our goals
• To provide protection, caring and empowerment of
  women and children who are victims of family
  violence.
• To counsel and give guidance to batterers in
  order to stop the cycle of violence.
• To provide education to the community at large
  as well as specific target groups in order to
  promote family harmony.

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Harmony House - Services
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Examples of abusive behaviour

• Physical abuse
• Emotional or psychological abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Neglect
• Isolation
• Intimidation
• Economic abuse

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Myths about domestic violence

• Domestic violence (DV) is a private, family
  matter
• DV only happens in poor families
• DV only happens in certain cultures
• DV only affects a small number of people
• DV is caused by stress or alcohol/substance abuse
  
• Victims ask for the abuse
• Victims like the abuse since they stay in the
  abusive relationship
• Perpetrators are mentally ill
• Perpetrators cannot manage their anger
• Perpetrators cannot change

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Tip of the iceberg

• A world wide problem

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Source The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World,
2003
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Prevalence of Family Violence

• In the United States
• 4 million abused women require medical or police
  attention
• every 15 sec, a women is beaten
• 4,000 women die each year due to domestic violence

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Prevalence of family violenceIn H.K.

• Average of 600 women, 1200children admitted to 3
  shelters each year
• 3298 reported cases of spouse abuse in 2003
  (increase of 9 from 2002)
• 7 women is beaten every day
• 14 children affected by domestic violence on a
  daily basis

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Shelter Admission
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Effects of DV

• 92 of victims of domestic violence (spouse
  battering) are women
• Affects the physical, psychological and emotional
  health of women
• Affects children-incidences of child abuse
• Intergenerational transmission (Boys 17 times and
  girls 10 times more likely to manifest serious
  behaviour problems
• Wolfe, D.A., Jaffe, P., Wilson, S.
  Zak,Ls.,(1985)Children of Battered Women The
  relationship of child behaviour to family
  violence and maternal stress. Journal of
  Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 53, 657-665.

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The Characteristic of battered women

• Low self-esteem
• Traditional view about gender role
• Accepts responsibility for the batterers actions
• Denies the terror and anger
• Severe stress reactions with psychophysical
  complaints (PTSD)
• Believes that no one will be able to help her
  resolve her predicament except herself

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Identification of DV- difficulties

• Denial by both victims and perpetrators
• Barriers to disclosure ( financial ,immigration
  status, housing, social isolation,child custody
  ,cultural and traditional beliefs, religion,
  gender)
• The stages of change /empowerment of victims

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Identification tools strategies

• Indicators
• Abuse history
• Observation- sensitivity
• Privacy
• Universal Screening
• Asking direct questions worker has to feel
  comfortable talking about abuse in order to help
  clients break the silence

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Intervention and Victims support (1)

• Key components of intervention
• - address safety issues
• - validate and support ( Victims are not
  responsible for the abuse. DV is against the law)
• - provide information (community resources)
• - victims empowerment

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Intervention and victims support (2)

• Assessment and intervention process
• - Abuse history/type of abuse
• - Barriers impacting disclosure
• - Safety assessment
• - Develop safety plan
• - Identify escalating factors
• - Arrange for follow up to ensure ongoing safety
  of client
• Provide information on resources (financial
  ,housing, legal aid, injunction order, schooling
  for children)
• Referral to specialized personnel/ agencies on
  DV/shelters /crisis team for assistance

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Safety assessment and planning

• Is client safe to talk now? Where is s/he? Are
  children present? Ask her/him to access a public
  phone/go to a place where s/he can talk to worker
  in private. If not possible,use closed ended
  questions to solicit yes or no answer.
• Is client currently living with the perpetrator?
  Harassed by the perpetrator? Does client need
  assistance to leave right away?
• Does client have a safety plan? IS there a place
  which client can go to that is not known to the
  perpetrator?
• Any friends, relatives who can assist client?
• Is client aware of community resources? (shelter
  police, IFSCs, FCPSU)
• Develop plan to contact client block caller
  identification,speak only to the client,do not
  leave messages with other individuals ,on
  answering machines, voice mail, or e-mail
• If worker is questioned by someone other than
  client, do not indicate who you are or which
  agency you are calling from
• Set a time with client to call /check on client
  again
• Harmony House
  Hotline Manual CDVC

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Escalating risk factors

• Abuse increase in frequency and severity
• Has client voiced out the intention to leave the
  relationship? What is the reaction of the
  perpetrator?
• Has client been stalked? Harassed?
• Any recent changes or additional stressors for
  the victim/perpetrator/other family members?
• Has client sought medical treatment for her
  injuries?
• Has perpetrator threatened to kill client? Her
  relatives? Other family members?
• Has weapon been used to hurt or threaten client?
• Has perpetrator threatened to commit suicide as a
  way of making client stay?
• Has the perpetrators work history changed in the
  past year? Is he employed ?
• Is the perpetrator using drugs?
• Has the perpetrator ever said that If I cant
  have you, nobody can?
• Does the client believe that the perpetrator is
  capable of killing her?

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Developing a safety plan(1)

• Keep a phone handy
• Plan an escape route out of your home-teach your
  children too
• Put away some money even enough for public
  phone
• Have copies of ID, childrens school
  diary/student ID/ immunization records/birth
  cert.
• Gather a bag of essential clothing, medicines-
  leave it with a trusted friend
• Have the numbers of the shelters handy but hidden
• Avoid rooms with access to weapons (eg kitchen)
• Teach children not to intervene in a violent
  situation. The most important thing is for
  children to be protected and to protect
  themselves
  
• 
  Shelter will be a good source of info. And
• 
  provide assistance in developing safety plans for
  victims of DV

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Developing a safety plan (2)

• Teach children a code and signal them when you
  need them to get help
• Change your routine or schedule or the route you
  take your children to school when you decide to
  leave or already left the abusive relationship
• Alert school authorities of the situation ,
  consider changing childrens school
• Talk to your neighbour and request that they call
  the police if they feel you may be in danger
  

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Developing a safety plan (3) for Staff

• See client with another staff person
• Meet client in a space that can be seen by others
• Leave your office slightly ajar
• Sit close to the door avoid blocking of exit
• Arrange other staff person to call you at agreed
  time intervals
• Talk to your supervisor about your concerns
• If interviewing client outside of office, inform
  office of the interview place and time and call
  office after completion of interview

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Developing safety plan (4)- high risk situation

• Retrieve belongings from home
• Children attending school after victim leave the
  relationship
• Victim meets with relatives
• Visitation
• joint-interview
• Couple counselling/family counselling is not
  recommended for families with ongoing issues of
  abuse - couple counseling is often an option only
  after specialized treatment has been undertaken
  or when couple counselling is concurrently held
  with specialized DV programs to ensure victim is
  able to protect oneself and perpetrator has taken
  responsibility of the abuse
• 
  
• 
  Calgary Counselling Center,
  Family Violence
  Program Guidelines,1997, Alberta, Canada

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Documentation

• From intake , assessment, intervention, case
  termination to after care
• Separate documentation files for victims and
  perpetrators
• Interventions and safety plans of the victim
  should be recorded with caution in order to
  protect the safety of victim
• Photographs- request clients permission to
  photograph the injuries to be used as evidence in
  criminal proceedings if case is pursued by client

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Standards of batterers treatment program

• Safety of Victims is prioritized over the
  perpetrators right to confidentiality
• Lethality assessment
• Severity of abuse
• Holding the perpetrator accountable
• Address the violence directly
• Policy on partner contact to ensure safety of
  victims
• Note Anger /stress management program, self
  esteem group, psychotherapy, couples counseling,
  family therapy, communication skill building and
  conflict resolution without concurrent or
  sequential batterers violence treatment program
  are not appropriate for treatment of perpetrators
  of violence.
• 
  CDVC Protocol
  project,
  Feb 2000

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Understanding the Man

• Contextual economy, environment, cross border
  marriage
• Socialization emotion, gender role, power,
  family violence/role expectations

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Batterers treatment (1)

• Behavioral indicators of perpetrators
• Speak for the client/ insist on staying close to
  the client
• Minimize, deny or lie about the abuse
• Blame the abused
• Justify the abuse

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Batterers treatment (2)

• Refused to take responsibility for the abuse
• Use of control tactics to threaten, intimidate
  service providers
• Low self-esteem
• Extreme jealous, controlling behaviour
• Understanding of emotions

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Lethality Assessment

• Abuse history
• Criminal record
• Alcohol/substance abuse
• Gambling
• Mental illness antisocial, schizophrenia
• Suicide attempts
• Emotional state
• Support network

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Intervention (1) Third Path Man Service

• Man Hotline Referral
•  
• Individual Counseling
•  
• Psycho-educational Treatment Group
•  
• After Care

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Intervention (2) Goals

• Break the denial pattern
• Confront maximization/minimization
• Assume responsibility on abuse
• Community linkage
• Enhance motivation
• 2/2001 to 2/2004, total number of
• a) Hotlines (Total calls) 2130
• b) Hotlines (DV Marital problems calls) 936
• c) Case group intervention 230

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Intervention (3) Group Process Contact

• Pre-group interview screening/lethality
  assessment
• Gender roles stereotype
• Understanding of emotions - positive means of
  expression
• Impact of violence
• Cognitive behavioral changes
• Reflection of the power control issues
• Problem solving communication skills
• Relapse prevention plan

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Intervention (4) Aftercare services

• Relapse prevention
• Skills building
• Consolidation of cognitive, behavioral changes
• Peer support

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Change is possible

• Stop using violent behavior 71
• Using less violent behavior 76
• Total 147
  (71)
• No change 13
• Reject service 17
• Lose contact 30
• N207

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Staff training

• DV is a specialized area which requires basic
  training, regular info.updating and experience in
  handling DV cases
• Basic training components
• Incidence of DV
• Types of violence
• Principles of dealing DV
• Screening
• Impact of abuse
• Dynamics of abuse
• Cycle of violence
• Stages of change
• Legal responses
• Community resources

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Committment

• Agency policy on DV
• Dedicate resources
• Designate manpower
• Regular training
• Collaboration with specialized agencies/
  programs/shelters on DV
• Advocacy for systemic change and community
  response

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There is NO excuse for Domestic Violence