. Overview of Domestic Violence: Battered Women's Risks and Safety Plans
Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion, that adults and adolescents use against their intimate partners.3 The overwhelming majority of domestic violence victims are women abused by a male partner.4 However, formal definitions and statistics do not convey the complexity and difficulty of the lives of battered women and their children. When building opportunities for battered women's safety and self-sufficiency, it is critical to understand both the risks battered women face because of their partner's behavior, and the safety plans battered women use to try to reduce those risks.
NOTE: For the purposes of this paper series, domestic violence and family violence will be used interchangeably.
In addition to the risks and obstacles faced by all poor people, poor battered women face an additional set of risks created by their partners' behavior. These are batterer-generated risks. (For more information see the Appendix: Safety Planning.)
■Batterer-generated risks
A common image of a domestic violence victim is a woman with a black eye and bruised face. Domestic violence is often understood as solely or primarily physical violence. However, physical violence is just one of the tactics used by batterers to control their partners, and therefore it is just one of the risks battered women and their children face. Batterers' controlling behavior may also cause risks to the children, psychological harm, the loss of housing, health care, employment, or current standard of living. (See Battered Women's Risk Analysis Chart in the Appendix: Safety Planning.) In addition, some battered women may not consider the physical violence they are experiencing to be their greatest risk. For example, some battered women may see risks to the children or the loss of financial support as their greatest danger.
A battered woman will face one set of batterer-generated risks if she stays in the relationship and a different set if she leaves. Leaving a relationship does not guarantee the reduction or elimination of violence, threats, or other risks. For some battered women, leaving may create new risks or increase existing ones.
Battered women continually analyze the risks they face. Part of a battered woman's risk analysis is consideration of the effect that staying in or leaving the relationship will have on those risks. A question frequently asked about battered women is, "Why do they stay?" This question does not reflect the real issues and considerations a battered woman must face. In contrast, the questions a battered woman may ask herself are more complete, such as: "Should I stay and risk the violence?" "If I leave will the violence be worse?" "Should I leave and place myself and my children in poverty?" "Should I leave and risk losing my children in a custody battle?"
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A Scenario
Beth and Don have been together for two years and have a 1-year old daughter.Don made all the decisions in the family, and when Beth tried to assert herself, Don beat her up "to show her who is boss." Beth left Don right after their daughter was born.Don then harassed and threatened Beth at her job until she was fired. He also filed for custody of their daughter alleging that Beth was a bad mother.Don told Beth, "If the judge gives you custody, I'll make sure you never see your daughter again."
Discussion:Beth left Don because he hit her. Beth faced new risks once she left, including the loss of her daughter. For Beth, the risk of losing her daughter was her greatest concern. Don knew this and continued his control by using their daughter. Don caused Beth to lose her job, knowing this would undermine her ability to fight for custody and independently provide for herself and her daughter. He then filed for custody, knowing Beth would not separate from her daughter.
■Battered women's safety planning strategies
Typically, when a battered woman experiences a batterer-generated risk, such as physical violence, she tries to figure out why it happened and how to keep it from happening again. She may develop a number of strategies to reduce or eliminate the risk. She may reach out to family or friends, try to talk with her partner about what happened, seek the help of a domestic violence project, counselor, employer, or clergy person.These strategies are "safety plans," although few battered women would actually use that phrase. Each battered woman faces different risks and has different options and resources. Therefore, each woman's safety plan will be unique.
Battered women use complex and creative safety plans to reduce the risks that they and their children face. As any person making a significant life decision, battered women must consider the consequences of pursuing certain options.
♦If I call the police, they can stop the current attack, but my partner will lose the job that
supports our family.
♦If I get a protective order, he'll be forced to leave the home, but I can't afford the rent on my
income alone.
♦If I stop seeing him, he said he'd kill me.
Such consequences may make a particular option useless or raise additional risks the battered woman must address in her plan.Although most battered women understand the risks they face and develop useful strategies to address them, some battered women do not. A battered woman may have an incomplete analysis of the risks surrounding her. In addition, some safety plans may be incomplete and some are based on inaccurate assumptions and information. For some battered women, mental health issues including drug/alcohol abuse will affect their ability to do accurate risk analysis and safety planning.
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II. What Battered Women Need to Be Safe and Self-Sufficient
♦Tina has left her partner several times.The first time she left she became homeless and rather than living on the street she went back.The next time she left she had a job, but couldn't find child care after he said he wouldn't watch the kids anymore.
Tina needs a job and child care.
♦ Keisha plans to leave her abusive partner once she saves enough money to get her own place. Her partner steals money from her and keeps her from getting a job so she can't leave.
Keisha needs money and affordable housing so she can move and go to work without interference.
Dawn attends a welfare-to-work program but misses class regularly because she is afraid to leave her children alone with their alcoholic, abusive father when he's been drinking. He hits her any time she talks about other child care arrangements.She's thought about filing for custody, but is afraid she'll lose because her partner spends more time with the children than she does.
Dawn needs advocacy, legal representation/advice, and time to pursue the options that will protect her and her children. This might mean flexibility by her welfare-to-work program or temporary relief from the requirement that she participate. If Dawn is able to gain custody of the children and protection from her partner, she will also need child care in order to work or participate in work activities.
♦Lisa has survived many years of abuse —first as a child by her parents and then as an adult by her partner.Lisa has not been able to keep a job for more than a few days.
Lisa needs financial support and a skilled response to the effects of years of victimization until she is either able to support herself through work or is determined to be permanently disabled.
♦Lisa left her abusive partner a year ago. When the state contacted him about child support, he beat her up. He told her, "If you don't stop this, you'll never see your kids again."
Elsa needs a child support enforcement strategy that protects her and her children.
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As these examples illustrate, each battered woman faces different risks and therefore has different needs for safety and self-sufficiency. Because each battered woman's risks are different, determining what battered women need must be done on a case-by-case basis. There is no formula for safety or self-sufficiency. Options that may work for one woman will increase danger for another. For example, leaving a relationship can increase risks for some battered women and their children and diminish them for others.In addition, particular responses may vary greatly from one jurisdiction to another. For example, the prosecutor in one jurisdiction may work hard to prosecute batterers and protect victims, and a prosecutor in another jurisdiction may just immediately dismiss domestic violence cases.
In some cases, determining what a particular battered woman needs will be as simple as asking her. Some battered women will know exactly what they need to be safe and self-sufficient. Others may need advocacy to explore their risks and options and develop a safety strategy. Working with battered women to enhance their safety plans can be complex. It begins with understanding her risk analysis and current safety plans and then requires a skilled integration of additional information and options. It is work best done by trained advocates who can provide battered women confidential opportunities to explore their risks and plans.
Like all people, battered women have basic needs for housing, food, health care, and physical safety. Like all people, they also need the basics of human dignity - privacy, opportunity, and self-determination.
Written by Attorney Jill Davies
with valuable assistance from members of the
Welfare and Domestic Violence Technical Assistance National Workgroup1