Chapter 12: Interpersonal Violence

Interpersonal Violence

• Definition of violence: Any form of behaviour by an individual that intentionally threatens or does cause physical, sexual or psychological harm to others or to her/himself.

• Definition of Interpersonal Violence: Any incident of threatened, attempted, or actual harm between 2 or more people.

• The WHO identifies 2 sub-categories of interpersonal violence

1. Family & intimate partner violence

   1. Child maltreatment

   2. Intimate partner violence

   3. Elder abuser

2. Community violence

   1. Acquaintance violence

      1. Ex: violence in the workplace

   2. Stranger violence

      1. Ex: Stalking, sexual assault

Domestic (Family) Violence

• Domestic violence: is a concept which encompasses a wide spectrum of violent/aggressive behaviours against current or former partners and/or family cohabitants.

  • Ex: child neglect, elder abuse, spousal abuse

• Definition: “All acts of physical, sexual or psychological violence that occur within the family or domestic unit, irrespective of biological or legal family ties, or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence as the victim”.

• The aforementioned forms of violence often co-occur.

Physical Violence

• The intentional use of someone’s brute strength against someone else.

  • Ex: pushing or punching someone, beating a person using an object.

• Physical violence against minors: any action that causes pain or physical discomfort to the minor. The perpetrator aims to discipline the minor or control their behaviour.

Sexual Violence

• Sexual violence: means any sexual act or act targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened or attempted against a person without the person’s consent.

  • Ex: sexual assault, sexual harassment, non-consensual condom removing, & sexual exploitation.

  • Similar term: sexual abuse, that is a sexual behaviour characterized by an inequality in power.

Psychological Violence

• A broad term which encompasses a wide range of actions that often lead to the deterioration of the victim’s self esteem:

  • Verbal abuse (humiliating, cursing, verbally terrorizing the victim)

  • Misuse of power & control over the victim

    • Ex: withholding the partner’s salary, or restricting the victim’s diet, appearance or social life.

Child Maltreatment

• Child maltreatment: the abuse & neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age.

• Includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence & commercial or other exploitation, which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.

• Exposure to intimate partner violence, or other forms of domestic violence, is often considered a form of child maltreatment.

Negative Impact of Family Violence to Children-Victims

• Similarly to adults, children experience fear, shame, guilt, and unworthiness; when accumulated, they result in the deterioration of the child’s self-esteem.

• Research findings indicate a strong correlation between victimization in early life and victimization in adult life. No causal link has been established, though.

• Children who witness violent incidents in the domestic context may face difficulties such as: low school performance, inability to concentrate, aggressiveness, alienation and lack of sociability, high levels of stress, fear, and anger.

The Extent & Nature of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

• Intimate Partner Violence: a subtype of family/domestic violence.

• Definition: Acts of physical, psychological and/or sexual violence & other forms of controlling behaviour against a current or former intimate partner (including dating relationships).

• Prevalence in Canada

  • Young women disproportionately represented as victims in all age groups & types of IPV.

Stages of Intimate Partner Violence

• Every relationship is unique; nevertheless, violent relationships often develop in distinct stages:

  • The honeymoon phase: flattering & extremely attentive partner.

  • Overtly controlling/abusive behaviour: extremely demanding partner, actual violence occurs psychological often followed by physical.

  • A period of contrition: usually follows incident of physical violence: the perpetrator expresses remorse & gives…

• Cycle of abuse theory: Abusive relationships exhibit a predictable cycle of behaviour characterized by 3 stages:

  1. The tension-building stage

  2. The acute-battering stage

  3. The contrition stage

• According to Walker, the incidents are repeated following this pattern, but the seriousness of violence steadily increases.

• This vicious circle leaves the victim feeling helpless, socially isolated, & incapable of stopping the violence.

Battered Woman Syndrome

• Battered woman syndrome: A psychological condition that results from the accumulation of psychological responses experienced by female victims of persistent IPV, including depression, low self-esteem, self-blame, powerlessness & helplessness. Walker linked it to the continuation of the violent relationship.

• Learned helplessness: a concept that inspired the BWS conceptualization: A psychological condition in which individuals learn to accept their current conditions or situation as unchangeable regardless of their actions (“nothing can be done”). It is believed to trigger other mental health conditions, such as depression.

• According to Walker, female victims of domestic violence are often:

  • Financially controlled by the abusive partner.

  • Isolated from family & friends.

  • Subjected to unpredictable assaults.

  • They “learn” helplessness & they believe that there is nothing they can do to escape or change the situation.

Other Health Risks

• History of domestic violence victimization is related to several issues, such as sleep disorders, eating disorders, chronic pain, cardiac conditions.

  • Domestic abuse has also been related to an increased risk of suicide attempt or suicide.

Secondary Victimization

• It is also known as re-victimization.

• Secondary victimization occurs when the victim suffers further harm not as a direct result of the criminal act but due to the manner in which institutions & other individuals deal with the victim. Secondary victimization may be caused, for instance, by repeated exposure of the victim to the perpetrator, repeated interrogation about the same facts, the use of inappropriate language or insensitive comments made by all those who come into contact with victims.

Femicide

• Femicide is the most severe manifestation of gender-based violence.

• It is deeply rooted in & a manifestation of power imbalances in society, which promotes an unequal status for men & women. Femicide is broadly defined as the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender, & can take different forms, such as the murder of women as a result of intimate partner violence; the torture & misogynist slaying of women; killing of women & girls in the name of honour.

• Nowadays, there is a debate about whether femicide should be acknowledged as a distinct crime in several criminal codes.

• Supporters of the efforts to name femicide suggest that “the gender-neutral term of homicide overlooks the realities of inequality, oppression & systematic violence against women”

• Opponents of such efforts suggest that the term would introduce a gender-based inequality, & they suggest that the term homicide suffices for the definition of any case of murder.

• Femicide: the killing of women motivated by hatred, contempt, pleasure or a sense of ownership that occurs in contexts of overall gender oppression.

• The phrase intimate partner homicide restores a sense of gender neutrality to the killing of women, who indeed are often killed by their intimate partners or in family settings.

Typology of Male Spousal Assaulters

• Family-only assaulter

  • Engages in abusive behaviour exclusively in the household.

  • Violence not that frequent and/or serious.

  • Absence of generalized antisocial behaviour.

  • Cognitive distortions.

  • Poor coping, communication skills.

  • Absence of serious psychopathology

  • No criminal record

• Dysphoric/borderline assaulter

  • Engages in moderate to serious forms of Intimate Partner Violence (including sexual & psychological violence).

  • Mental health conditions, such as dysphoria/depression.

  • Borderline personality disorder, which is frequently associated with spousal assaulters: Unstable relationships, affect & self-image, fear of abandonment & rejection, “black & white” thinking, risky & self-damaging…

• Generally violent/antisocial assaulter

  • Frequently violent in intimate relationships.

  • Moderate to severe violence.

  • Generalized antisocial behaviour outside of relationships, criminal record.

  • Substance abuse problems and/or psychopathic characteristics.

• Fowler & Westen (2011) identify 2 major subtypes of abusive men:

  1. Psychopathic men who use instrumental violence in & out of their interpersonal relationships.

  2. Men with borderline personality features & an insecure attachment history that manifest in patterns of anger & jealousy.

Borderline Personality Disorder (DSM-5)

• A persistent pattern of impulsivity, unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image & affects that begins in early adulthood.

• Individuals crave control and fear abandonment and rejection by their partners.

• If they perceive the relationship as threatened, they experience intense jealousy and humiliations.

• Indications: intense and unstable personal relationships (idealization and devaluation), impulsivity related to behaviours that can be self-damaging, chronic feelings of emptiness, anger and anger management issues, and suicidal behaviour/gestures/threat.

The Extent & Nature of Sexual Violence

• Sexual violence: A threatened, attempted or actual sexual act against another person without their consent.

• Contact & non-contact behaviours

  • Ex: violation of one’s sexual privacy, sexual communications.

• Victim unwilling to consent & coerced, threatened or physically forced to engage in unwanted sexual acts.

• Victim even unable to consent

  • Ex: being under age, being unconscious

Internet Sex Offenders

• Limited research findings

• They view & post child pornography & try to lure victims

• Young age

• Unemployment

• Disproportionately Caucasian

• Greater empathy to the victim/increased likelihood of sexual deviancy

Sex Offenders: Child Molesters

• Child molester: A significantly older adult, who engages in sexual activity, with a person who is below the legal age of providing consent.

• Types:

  • The intra-familial child molester (parental role)

  • The extra-familial child molester (abuse children outside of the family)

  • The fixated child molester (pedophilia, primary sexual interest: sexually immature children)

  • The regressed child molester (exploits readily accessible children)

The Deviant Sexual Preference Hypothesis

• A theory of sexual violence that posits that men who engage in sexually deviant & violent behaviour are motivated by a recurrent & intense pattern of deviant sexual preferences.

• Paraphilia: Recurrent & intense sexual urges, fantasies, or behaviours to bizarre or inappropriate stimuli.

• Presence of deviant (or “high risk”) sexual fantasies: some findings indicate their role in offending (they increase the risk or “facilitate” the offending behaviour).

• Initial sexual experience

  • Deviant, strong stimulus value

• Classical conditioning

  • Initial sexual experience

    • Ex: non consensual viewing of a naked person

  • Pleasure is linked to the inappropriate stimulus

• Operant conditioning

  • Once a deviant pattern of arousal has been established, it is enhanced by sexual fantasies.

  • The relationship between sexual offending & paraphiliac disorders is poorly understood; the same applies to the relationship between sexual offending & deviant sexual fantasies.

Cognitive Theories of Sexual Offending

• Schemas: A cognitive structure that helps us organize general information into meaningful categories, & process & interpret the information in new settings & experiences.

• A schema contains “beliefs or attitudes that follow a similar theme or pattern that has developed as a result of trying to make sense of early life experiences”.

• Schema-based model of sexual assault: Sexual offending is precipitated by dysfunctional schemas about sexuality & sexual behaviour interacting with environment variables.

  • Ex: schemas about masculinity & consent developed by young men.

• Implicit theory: A set of beliefs or shemas used to explain, predict, & interpret interpersonal phenomena.

• An idea about why people behave in a certain way.

• Implicit theories are reinforced through an anecdotal process of selectively attending to evidence that is consistent with existing beliefs (not tested or analyzed).

• Ex: The rape myth (e.g. drunkenness signals consent), that is an inaccurate and/or stereotypical attitude or belief regarding sexual violence & victims of sexual violence.

• Such dysfunctional schemas are learned & reinforced.

The Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression

• It is an integrated causal model of sexual violence.

• The risk for sexually violent behaviour is influenced by 2 distinct pathways that work independently or together.

• Hostile masculinity pathway: A general cognitive framework characterized by hostile attitudes & beliefs that accept violence against women (narcissistic personality, aggressive attitudes toward sexual relationships, sexual dominance).

• Impersonal sexual orientation pathway: Men high in this pathway often come from an abusive home environment. They do not view sex as a form of emotional intimacy & tend to prefer casual, promiscuous sexual encounters. They may view sex as a game or competition with winners & losers.

Sex Offender Recidivism & Risk Factors

• 2 categories of risk factors:

  1. Sexual deviancy-deviant sexual interests: “enduring attractions to illegal or highly unusual sexual acts”.

     • Sexual pre-occupation, sexual interest in prepubescent children, sexual sadism or sexualized violence, multiple sexual paraphilia, absence of emotionally intimate relationships with adults.

  2. Antisocial lifestyle factors

     • Antisocial personality traits, impulsiveness, hostility & anger, employment difficulties, criminal history.

The Extent & Nature of Stalking

• Stalking is obsessional following and/or a form of obsessional harassment; an abnormal or long-term pattern of threat or persecution directed toward a specific individual.

• Another definition: Stalking is a pattern of repeated contact with a person that is unwanted & causes the person to reasonably fear for their safety or the safety of people known to them.

• Obsession: Recurrent & persistent thoughts, urges, or impulses that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive & unwanted.

• Canadian Criminal Code “Criminal Harassment”

  • Repeatedly follow another person from place to place.

  • Repeatedly communicate with, directly or indirectly, the other person.

  • Beset or watch a place where the other person is living or working.

  • Engage in threatening conduct directed at the other person or family members.

• Prevalence rates

  • Women: 3-5% (annual); 15-17% (lifetime)

  • Men: 1-2% (annual); 5-7% (lifetime)

• Characteristics of stalkers

  • Most stalkers are male (80-90%) & engage in different stalking behaviours (unwanted phone calls, following the victim, showing up at the workplace, etc.)

  • Older than the average offender (mid-late 30s on average)

  • Higher education level compared to the average offender.

  • Former intimate partners of the victim (according to police data).

  • Most of the victims know the perpetrator; Stranger cases approximately 25%.

  • Interpersonal & mental health difficulties.

Cyberstalking

• Like traditional stalking, it involves a range or pattern of interrelated behaviours.

• Its 3 major categories are:

  1. Hyper-intimacy (cyber-communication, pornographic messages, exaggerated messages of affection).

  2. Threat (Ex: intimidating e-mails, electronic sabotage)

  3. Real-life transfer (physical intrusions into victim’s life that emerged from online encounters).

Stalking, Violence, & Risk Factors

• Higher incidence of violence observed when perpetrators:

  • Are under 30 & lower-educated

  • Are stalking former spouses or intimate partners

  • Threaten to hurt their victims

  • Have a history of substance abuse

• Traditional predictors of general violence (gender, prior criminal history, & past history of violence) are not associated.