Intimate Partner Violence Against Pregnant Women

There are millions of examples of children who not only witness intimate partner violence (IPV) but also has been victimized. ( Christoff, Murrell & Henning, 2007) Children exposed to these kinds of violent behavior at such a young age also show signs of these behaviors, many violent, as adults. Evidence shows that witnessing violent behavior as a child correlates to patterns of abuse into adulthood as well. (Murrell et al., 2007) Over the years there has been a growing recognition that young people who witness IPV is has much of the same impact as a child victimized of abuse. This often damages their long term social and emotional well-being. Having a safe place outside of the home along with a supportive

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as sexual, physical or psychological abuse by a current or past spouse or partner and is one of the largest public issues the Unites States faces today. It is estimated that roughly 15.5 million children live in a household effected by IPV in the United States (Gustafsson, Coffman, Cox 2014). Children who are effected by IPV are more likely to have behavioral issues along with their development being negatively impacted (O'Campo, Caughy, Nettles 2010). It is important to research IPV to see how it can be minimized as much as possible along with seeing how people are effected by IPV.

This section will discuss the topic intimate partner violence against women as discussed by other scholars and authors. Various books will be analyzed to understand the topic better. The section will also explain the main issues independently analyzing different literature and will also discuss the similarities and differences. The issue has emanated a lot of public concern as more young women continue to suffer in silence with the fear of speaking out against their partners. Some women, however, are courageous and have opted to speak about the issue in public without fear of being judged or criticized. Careful analysis of the different books will help to determine the different perspectives that different authors understand

Millions of adults each year in the USA are affected by intimate partner violence (IPV). “The National Violence Against Women (NVAW) survey conducted from November, 1995 to May, 1996 indicates that each year an estimated 8.5 million intimate partner victimizations occur among the US population ages 18 and older” (Fang & Corso, 2008, p. 303). “As recognition of IPV as a serious societal problem increases, more attention has been directed to risk and protective factors for IPV perpetration, especially the link between child maltreatment, victimization and future perpetration of IPV” (Fang & Corso, 2008, p. 303). More than 80 percent of all victims are maltreated by one or both parents. Several studies have found that children who have experienced child maltreatment (neglect, physical abuse, or sexual abuse) are more likely as adults to conduct IPV. Of these children, 54 percent suffered neglect, while almost a quarter, 23 percent, suffered physical abuse and nearly 12 percent of the victims were sexually abused (Fang & Corso, 2008).

The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another in timate partner.”(President’s Proclamation 2016). Domestic violence includes verbal, physical, sexual, or psychological attacks, even economic coercion. Bancroft et al. (2002 p.1)have claimed that 7 million or more children being exposed by acting of domestic violence each year in United States. Many of this cases are caused by witnessing violence between their caregivers, particularly conflicts between their parents.In part,since 2003, UNICEF,in coorperation with CPFC,Save the children Sweden and plan International,has been working on a

Abuse can come in many forms, including those that we cannot physically see. Intimate partner violence can occur physically, sexually, and psychologically and emotionally. Physical violence includes the use of physical force, such as slapping, hitting, kicking, grabbing, throwing, use of a weapon, and the like, with the intention to cause harm, injure, or kill (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Sexual violence describes violence that uses force to compel a person to engage in sexual activity against their will or ability to decline. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). And lastly, psychological and emotional violence involves harming the victim through the use of threats or coercive tactics such as, but not limited to, humiliating, controlling, isolating, or stalking (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Similarly, there are two major forms of intimate partner abuse: intimate terrorism and situational couple violence (Leone, Lape, and Xu). Intimate terrorism describes a pattern of abuse in which one partner exercises a cycle of continuous power and control over their significant other by means of physical or coercive actions that trap their victim in the relationship while, in contrast, situational couple violence refers to violence that it provoked by a specific conflict (Leone, Lape, and Xu). Overall, it is clear that intimate partner abuse occurs in a variety of ways and to varying degrees of

National study reporting that among pregnant women in the United States, homicide is the second most predominant cause of traumatic death. Research indicates a number of other poor health and mental consequences for both mother and child when IPV occurs during pregnancy. In practice, fewer than 10 percent of health-care practitioners consistently screen for IPV. Social workers have the opportunity to influence the issue of IVP and pregnancy at various levels comprises the delivery of effective services to survivors. Social work practice is beneficial, therefore, in assessment, intervention, referral, prevention, policymaking, and research processes are related to IPV and pregnancy. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of this study on the scope and impact of IPV during pregnancy and to identify best practices for social workers for intervention. Iovanni &Miller, (2001) discuss the focus on recent development in the criminal justice system’s handling of the domestic violence cases. During the 1070s and early 980s the victims’ rights movement and the women’s movement took a stance against the criminal justice system as a whole. As a result of the battered women’s shelter movement exposed how widespread and common DV was and demonstrated that women who are battered are not pathologically ill. The article analyses the

In the present literature review, the effects of intimate partner violence on children are primarily discussed. The overlapping of exposure to intimate partner violence and targeted child abuse are discussed thoroughly as well in relation to the impact these types of violence have on the development of children. The main body of the present literature review focuses on the prevalence of intimate partner violence, the overlapping of intimate partner violence and child abuse, outcomes for these children as a result of either witnessing and/or experiencing abuse, and potential mediating factors that could contribute to these finding. The second part of the literature review focuses on specific issues and difficulties concerning this research.

For most women, pregnancy is a time of joy and happiness for the life she is about to bring into this world. Unfortunately, this is not the case for women who experience intimate partner violence during such a precious milestone in their life. Intimate partner violence during pregnancy refers to violent acts including physical, sexual, or psychological/emotional violence or threats of sexual violence committed by an intimate male partner such as a husband, boyfriend, or common law partner that are inflicted on a pregnant woman. Intimate partner violence can affect women during pregnancy and during the postnatal period with devastating effects on both the women and the unborn child. Domestic violence against women is more

Pregnant women who have been sexually abused as children need to be assessed during pregnancy to make sure they are at their healthiest, which includes psychologically, physically, and emotionally. Healthcare workers should assess the women for any concerns they may have about their past issues with sexual abuse. Their past is affecting their present state of well-being. Women who have been abused as children are less likely to take care of themselves for fear of pain or being in the presence of a gynecological

Although IPV occurs in all racial and socioeconomic groups there are some risk factors that increase the risk of intimate partner violence such as being of the female gender, unmarried, low socioeconomic class, young age, uninsured, history of and/or experiencing abuse in childhood, and unintended pregnancy (Bunn, Higa, Parker, & Kaneshiro, 2009; Gottlieb, 2012). Many women believe that during pregnancy the abuse will go away, but unfortunately often it does not (Smith, 2008). Abuse during pregnancy is dangerous to not only the health of the woman but also to that of the fetus. According to Smith (2008), women who are subjected to intimate partner violence during pregnancy are more likely to have pregnancy complications such as preterm labor, miscarriage, infants with low birth weight, sexually transmitted infections, fetal death, late entry into care, and use drugs and alcohol (Smith, 2008). Also there is an increase risk of domestic homicide if abuse is to occur

Domestic violence also greatly impacts the family structure and the relationships between the members. Domestic violence threatens both the relationship between the child and their mother and the child and their father. Children who are exposed to domestic violence do not have an emotionally available parent to foster their development and have a 30-60% higher risk for being abused by the perpetrator (NCADV, 2007); when the father is the perpetrator of the violence, he often knows little about his children, their interests, and progress in school (Crosson-Tower, 2009, p. 84). The mother’s parenting style may also be damaged from domestic violence; the perpetrator may not allow the mother to take care of her children properly or soothe them when they are upset, which can cause the children to believe their mother does not care for them. When a mother is constantly traumatized by domestic violence, it can be more difficult for her to be present and attentive in her children’s lives due to depression, anxiety, and lack of sleep (Centre for children and families in the justice system, 2009). Domestic violence has an impact on the ability for a family to function. The perpetrator may sow divisions between the members of the family by turning them against each other, or favoring one child over the others. There may also be role reversals in families who experience domestic violence; parentification of the children and infantilizing of the mother may

Domestic Violence is a problem sweeping the nation. This problem can affect anyone from anywhere but is generally acting out upon children and adult women in abusive relationships. Domestic violence is emotionally and physically scarring for anyone involved, and as a result could take multiple intervention meetings to begin to understand the issue, alleviate the associated problems, and to assist the victim in getting back on his or her feet. The consequences of abuse include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and self-harm. Children may begin to act differently to their usual behavior - withdrawal is very common, as is self-harming (Khan, 2012). There are two ways that people can consider interventions for victims of

Domestic violence affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men (NCADV, 2015). Although the devastating effects that domestic violence has on women are well known, there is a population of domestic violence victims that we tend to overlook. These are the children of the women and men who are in domestic violence situations. Children are the invisible victims when it comes to domestic violence. There are many statistics being thrown around when it comes to the number of children who are exposed to domestic violence; they range from as little as 200,000 to even 3-18 million (Sousa et. al., 2011). A 2001 study discovered that in 75% of the cases in their study, children were present in the home during the assaults (Hutchison & Hirschel, 2001).

Domestic violence is also associated with other mental health problems such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Women who are abused suffer an increased risk of unplanned or early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. As trauma victims, they are also at an increased risk of substance abuse. According to a U.S. study, women who experience intimate partner abuse are three times more likely to have gynecological problems than non-abused women. From Violence against Women: Effects on Reproductive Health, Outlook, vol. 20, no. 1 (September 2002). Other evaluations have shown that there are significant obstetric risk factors associated with domestic violence. Abused women are more likely to have a history of sexually transmitted disease infections, vaginal and cervical infections, kidney infections, and bleeding during pregnancy. These can also be all of which are risk factors for pregnant women. Abused women are more likely to delay prenatal care and are less likely to receive antenatal care.