Practical Implications of Current Intimate Partner Violence Research for Victim Advocates and Service Providers

• NCJ Number: 244348
• Author(s): Barbara J. Hart, J.D.; Andrew R. Klein, Ph.D.
• Date Published: January 2013
• Length: 260 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Technical Assistance; Literature Review; Instructional Material

Annotation

This report uses a question-and-answer format to inform victim advocates and service providers of the findings of published research on intimate partner violence (IPV) and their relevance for practice.

Abstract

The first of 13 sections of the guide poses and answers questions pertinent to the issue, "What is intimate partner violence?" In this section, 11 questions are posed and answered. The issues addressed include the various behaviors and circumstances that constitute IPV. Other issues considered in this section are whether men and women are equally likely to be victims or perpetrators of IPV and whether women's use of IPV is different from men's. The second major section poses and answers questions related to IPV victimization rates. Some of the issues addressed are populations at increased risk for IPV, with attention to whether the risk for IPV is greater for women who are separated or divorced, pregnant, disabled, elderly, LGBT, or military. The guide's third section poses and answers 19 questions related to the impact of IPV on victims. The fourth section poses and answers 20 questions related to the characteristics of persons who perpetrate IPV. Other sections of the guide pose and answer questions related to victim characteristics that predict IPV victimization; whether IPV victims seek assistance and services; protective factors and coping skills that mitigate the adverse impact of IPV; the services that are typically available to IPV victims; whether victim services work; health-care providers' role in responding to IPV; what victim advocates and service providers need to know about the legal system; the features of IPV victim advocacy; and the performance measures advocates should adopt in evaluating the criminal justice response to IPV. 884 references