How could your practice as a forensic psychologist be shaped by the

characteristics of female victims of

Domestic Violence?
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Domestic violence is a controversial issue which makes its assessment quite difficult. Over the time, the
term has borne various definitions. Home Office describes it as an act of threatening, harassment or violence
of any kind (psychological, physical, sexual or emotional) between adults involved in a relationship or
previously involved in one, regardless of their sex gender.
The following essay is going to focus only on domestic violence toward women. Violence against women
includes also domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, human traffic, genital mutilation and forced marriage.
According to Campbell (1995) violence against women includes any verbal, physical or sexual act meant to
violate either body or identity of a woman regardless of her age, race, ethnicity or country. A lot of previous
studies were conducted on violent acts reported by women sheltered in special institutions or clinically
treated but these studies are not valid for the whole general population. This is primarily because most
women do not report an abuse either because they are scared or because in certain cases they do not realise
they have been victims of one. It seems that the prevalence for emotionally abused women is more than
double in clinical treated women than it is for the general population (Flury, Nyberg, & Riecher-Rssler,
2010). On the other hand, studies conducted in USA report a similar prevalence for abused women as for
men. National Family Violence reports 124/1000 abuses done by women while only 122/1000 done by men.
Moreover, these studies suggest that within younger population, women tend to be responsible for more
abuses then men are (Tolan, Gorman-Smith, & Henry, 2006). Furthermore, after analysing 522 studies,
Archer (2002) found an increased prevalence for abuses done by women within the age group 14-22 while
an increased prevalence for abuses done by men within the age group 23-49. However, men are seven times
more likely to be arrested (Loseke & Kurz, 2005). After reviewing 150 studies, Straus (2006) finds that there
is symmetry between both sexes when it comes to domestic violence. Apparently, the truth lies somewhere
in between, studies suggesting that although there seems to be equilibrium between men and women
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characteristics of female victims of
Domestic Violence?
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offending, when it comes to minor domestic violence women show an increased engagement while men tend
to engage in more severe domestic violence (Johnsons, 2006). It looks like not all women behave the same
after being abused by their partners. Some women leave the relationship as soon as it happens, others linger
in the relationship and others leave but only to return after a while. Researchers have identified some factors
that stop women from leaving an abusive relationship. They are social and cultural factors like lack of
financial support, specific religious beliefs, shame, anxiety, etc. (Caplan, 1985). On a wider scale, there are
five central features of domestic violence. It is a learnt behaviour and it is repetitive. Alcohol use, the victim
and the nature of relationship is usually not the cause. The level of dangerousness increases while being
separated. The victim responds in such way according to their own survival instincts (National Judicial
Institute on Domestic Violence, 2004). There are various factors that are linked with DV and researchers
came up with all sorts of lists to try to categorise them. Usually, the aggressor has a history of aggression or
victimisation (Capaldy & Gorman Smith, 2003), increased impulsivity and low self-esteem (Kantor &
Jasinsky, 1998). Another predictor is the psychopathological disorder which increases the risk for domestic
violence 13 times (Moffit & Caspi, 1999). The aggressor was raised in dysfunctional families with bad
parents and has been exposed to domestic violence (Capaldi & Clark, 1998).
It appears that the violence toward women varies a lot depending on the methodology used to assess it. After
interviewing 24.000 women across 10 countries with ages between 15 and 49, researchers have found up to
76% of them experienced physical or sexual abuse. Out of this percentage, 71% have been victims of their
intimate partners and 66% have never talked about this nor reported the abuses (Garcia Moreno, Jansen,
Ellsberg, Heike, & Watts, 2007).
Although DV represents a major issue at the moment, little research has been focused on trying to detect
earlier and prevent it. In order to achieve a decent outcome there should be used screening tools that are
reliable, valid and also benefit of good psychometric features. The most used tools in the practice are HITS
(Hurt, Insulted, Threaten Screen), WAST (Woman Abuse Screening Tool), PVS (Partner Violence Screen)
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characteristics of female victims of
Domestic Violence?
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and AAS (Abuse Assessment Screen). All of these tools have been analysed within a study that found that
none of them showed good psychometric proprieties (Rabin, Jennings, Campbell, & Bair-Merritt, 2009).
Hits is a four item screening tool found to be quite reliable, Cornbach Alpha 0.79 (Chen, 2002). WAST is a
eight item screening tool originally created for family physicians. After evaluating its reliability, some
studies have found good internal reliability of 0.91(Brown, 2000; Forsgarty, 2002) respectively a Cornbach
Alpha of .80 within Chens study (2002). PVS is a three item screening tool created exclusively for women
and used mostly in emergency cases due to its brief content. AAS is a five item screening tool created for
pregnant women and it has been mostly used on young and poor women. There are several other tools that
can be used, but due to their low validity and reliability, they do not make a great choice for assessing DV.
Some of them are Dangerous Assessment (Campbell, 1995), Psychological Maltreatment of Women
Inventory (Tolman, 1989), Risk Cheklist/Psychological Violence Inventory (Sonkin, 2000), Relationship
Conflict Inventory (Bodin, 1996).
Because abused women are not likely to disclose and admit they have been victims of their own partners, it
is a complicated task for the practitioner to persuade them to talk about it. In order to do so, the practitioner
should use the best practice and appropriate screening tools. This point has been highlighted by a study
conducted on 159 women who only came into a clinic for obstetric problems. After interviewing them, the
results revealed that 10% of them have been victims of domestic abuse (Jones & Boner, 2002). Another
piece of research conducted on 239 women who came into a clinic for gastro-intestinal problems echoed
those findings. After interviewing the women, it was revealed that 66% had been victims of domestic
violence (Leserman, 1996). A practitioner must identify as soon as possible which type of domestic abuse
the woman has been exposed to, followed by its consequences. There are various types of domestic
violence: emotional/psychosocial abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, etc. (Nurses
Association of Ontario, 2005). Therefore, screening procedures should be carried whenever evaluating
womens general health. When applying these screening tools, practitioners should be very cautious, should
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How could your practice as a forensic psychologist be shaped by the

characteristics of female victims of
Domestic Violence?
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carry it into a private and safe environment and should be very clear when explaining the meaning and
purpose of the questions asked. The practitioner should also reassure total confidentiality of the data
disclosed. Also, the questions asked should be formulated according to the womans level of education in
order to avoid misunderstandings. If the responses are positive, leading into admitting she has been a victim
of domestic abuse, practitioners next steps are very important. First, he should believe everything she
discloses; followed by trying to identify the aggressor and the type of abuse the woman has been exposed to.
Next, he should he should evaluate any potential health problem and make sure of the victims safety. After
all this steps have been properly followed, he should next elaborate a treatment plan (Registered Nurses
Association of Ontario, 2005). The procedure should start with a short commentary about the common
presence of this issue and over the fact that most women choose not to disclose and are being reticent when
asked about certain aspects of it. If the woman has admitted that she has been exposed to domestic violence,
the practitioners next questions should be: do you feel safe now? Next, he should ask her what her needs
are at the moment (Kearsey, 2002).
An important area that needs improvement in this field is risk assessment for domestic violence. The
strategy should change from trying to fix the problem to trying to prevent it from happening. Also, the
practice should focus more on all the risk factors, not only on the victims behaviour. When it comes to risk
assessment for domestic violence it is safe to say that it still has to further develop (Hoyle, 2008). According
to Hoyle (2008), risk management should focus more on the perpetrator and try to rehabilitate and help them
change their violent behaviour. With the right help, this is achievable and it is the best scenario, both parts
being safe.
In relation to screening tools for DV it should be mentioned that they are not expected only to have good
psychometric proprieties but they also should be easily and quickly applied in busy environments. After
analysing some of the existing reviews it appears that PVS is the shortest and the WAST is the longest and
HITS score calculation might take several minutes, therefore the last two tools are rather difficult to use in a
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How could your practice as a forensic psychologist be shaped by the

characteristics of female victims of
Domestic Violence?
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busy environment. Another weakness for HITS would be the fact that does not identify sexual abuse, which
is the source of most health complications. Another good strategy would be to try and identify the type of
abuse beforehand. Since emotional abuse is a predictor for physical abuse, identifying forms of emotional
abuse would be the first step in preventing physical abuse, hence, early intervention. The AAS is an
important tool in the obstetric population because it contains questions about abuse during pregnancy.
Although WAST is quite long, it includes questions about all types of domestic violence along with threats
and fear for future abuse, making it one of the best screening tools to use in this practice. Apart from certain
limitations in terms of reliability and validity, using screening tools is quite complicated because of the
barriers that arise when asking certain questions. Some of these barriers can be the fear of opening
Pandoras box, a biased belief that the victim is the cause for the partners precarious behaviour or not
acknowledge that some acts are being abusive, failing to see them as abusive behaviours. Also, limited time
can be a barrier, thus a limitation of these tools (The Medical Subcomitee of the Delaware, 2002).
In the last five years, there have been created and tested many screening tools but they have not been
assessed in terms of psychometric data. The little evidence there is related to this aspect is not enough to
consider screening tools as reliable and valid as they are seen at the moment by practitioners and the public.
Risk assessment is very important in order to prevent fatal outcomes or future abuse but there is too little
evidence supporting the good practice of actuarial tools which are usually used. Although DV represents a
major issue at the moment, little research has been focused on trying to detect it earlier and prevent it. In
order to achieve a decent outcome there should be used screening tools that are reliable, valid and also
benefit of good psychometric features. As a final recommendation for practitioners working with abuse
women would be not to administer them any medication as this might put the victim in a rather passive state
and might diminish her motivation to choose the best path.

How could your practice as a forensic psychologist be shaped by the

characteristics of female victims of
Domestic Violence?
1218556

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