Domestic Abuse
This page is dedicated to valuable resources, studies, research projects, survey reports, and articles on the subject of domestic abuse. I plan to add more content in the future, but I hope that even at this early stage, it will provide you with new information, help you better support yourself or others, and offer a greater understanding of this critical aspect of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
“The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: The Annual Audit,” Women’s Aid, February 2024
This Annual Audit, situated in the context of the 50-year anniversary of Women’s Aid as a federation, looks at the provision and uptake of domestic abuse services in England. The report demonstrates how specialist domestic abuse services are working at, or even over, capacity more than ever before, and how the commissioning landscape must adapt and improve to address the challenges services are facing.
“Domestic Abuse Victim Characteristics, England and Wales: Year Ending March 2023,” Office for National Statistics, 24 November 2023
This is the latest release, full of characteristics of victims of domestic abuse and comprehensive data based on findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales and police recorded crime, provided in easy-to-understand content, charts and graphics.
“The Routledge International Handbook of Domestic Violence and Abuse” edited by Mandy Burton (Prof. Socio-Legal Studies, Leicester Law School, University of Leicester), Vanessa Bettinson (Prof. Law, Kayliegh Richardson, Assistant Professor) and Ana Speed (Ass. Prof. Solicitor, Northumbria Law School, University of Northumbria), 2024
This book makes an important contribution to the international understanding of domestic violence and shares the latest knowledge of what causes and sustains domestic violence between intimate partners, as well as the effectiveness of responses in working with victims. Drawing upon a wide range of research from across the globe, it recognises that domestic violence is both universal, but also shaped by local cultures and contexts. Contents: 1) Theoretical perspectives on domestic violence and abuse. 2) Domestic violence and abuse across the life-course. 3) Manifestations of domestic violence and abuse. 4) Responding to domestic violence and abuse. 5) Researching domestic violence and abuse.
“Training Informal Supporters to Improve Responses to Victim-Survivors of Domestic Violence and Abuse: A Systematic Review,” by Schucan Bird, K., Stokes, N., Rivas, C., Tomlinson, M., Delve, M., Gordon, L., Gregory, A., Lawrence, K., & O’Reilly, N. (2024).
Friends, family, colleagues, and community members play a crucial role in helping victims of domestic violence and abuse. However, these informal supporters often feel helpless and unsure of how to respond. This review examines how effective training is for these supporters and their perceptions of it. Eleven studies focused on educational programs aimed at improving their responses. The studies showed that training helps supporters understand the issue better and learn how to assist victims effectively. They indicated that supporters value training for building understanding and gaining the skills needed to respond to victims. The review found statistically significant improvements in supporters’ knowledge and attitudes shortly after training. The review showed that training prepares supporters to act and boosts their ability and motivation to help. This increases the chances they will support victims of abuse.
“Femicide Census 2020” – www.femicidecensus.org
Femicide or feminicide is a term for the hate crime of systematically killing women, girls, or females in general because of their sex. Men’s violence against women is a leading cause of the premature death for women globally but research in the UK and Europe is limited and unconnected. The Femicide Census significantly improves upon currently available data by providing detailed comparable data about femicides in the UK since 2009, including demographic and social factors and the methods men selected to kill women. By collating femicides, we can see that these killings are not isolated incidents, and many follow repeated patterns.
“What factors are associated with recent intimate partner violence? findings from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence,” by Tanya Abramsky, Charlotte H Watts, Claudia Garcia-Moreno, Karen Devries, Ligia Kiss, Mary Ellsberg, Henrica AFM Jansen, and Lori Heise, 2011
Intimate partner violence against women is a global public health and human rights concern. Despite a growing body of research into risk factors for IPV, methodological differences limit the extent to which comparisons can be made between studies. This study used data from ten countries included in the WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence to identify factors that are consistently associated with abuse across sites, in order to inform the design of intimate violence prevention programs. They concluded that intimate prevention programs should increase focus on transforming gender norms and attitudes, addressing childhood abuse, and reducing harmful drinking. Development initiatives to improve access to education for girls and boys may also have an important role in violence prevention.
The Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Network aims to bring together Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and domestic abuse (DA) leads across a range of organisational settings.
The CCR Network is a central hub where Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) professionals can share best practices, learn, and support each other to develop and deliver our local CCR in a climate of finite resources and expanding needs. Over the last 6 months, they have been revamped the Network (formally the DVCN Network) so that it can support you to share and improve your practice locally.
“Global, regional, and national prevalence estimates of physical or sexual, or both, intimate partner violence against women in 2018.” By Lynnmarie Sardinha, PhD, Mathieu Maheu-Giroux, ScD, Heidi Stöckl, Prof, PhD, Sarah Rachel Meyer, PhD, and Claudia García-Moreno, MD. February 2022.
This study developed global, regional, and country estimates, based on data from the WHO Global Database on Prevalence of Violence Against Women. These data were identified through a systematic literature review searching MEDLINE, Global Health, Embase, Social Policy, and Web of Science, and comprehensive searches of national statistics and other websites. A country consultation process identified additional studies. Included studies were conducted between 2000 and 2018, representative at the national or sub-national level, included women aged 15 years or older, and used act-based measures of physical or sexual, or both, intimate partner violence. Non-population-based data, including administrative data, studies not generalisable to the whole population, studies with outcomes that only provided the combined prevalence of physical or sexual, or both, intimate partner violence with other forms of violence, and studies with insufficient data to allow extrapolation or imputation were excluded. The researchers developed a Bayesian multilevel model to jointly estimate lifetime and past year intimate partner violence by age, year, and country. This framework adjusted for heterogeneous age groups and differences in outcome definition, and weighted surveys depending on whether they were nationally or sub-nationally representative. This study is registered with PROSPERO (number CRD42017054100).
“NEVER A VICTIM – The Definitive Guide to Women’s Safety,” written by Robert Kaiser, 2024.
NEVER A VICTIM is the result of over three decades of in-depth understanding of physical and sexual violence against women. This essential resource aims to empower you to trust your innate ability to protect yourself and stay safe. Spanning over 504 pages and over 110,000 words, it offers proven and reliable advice. The second part of this comprehensive book provides specific guidance on various physical and sexual crimes, including domestic violence and domestic abuse.