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This paper's aim is to examine the relationship between intimate partner violence, childhood abuse and psychiatric disorders among 118 female drug users in treatment in Barcelona, Spain.

Secondary analysis of a cross‐sectional study of the psychiatric, behavioural and social risk factors for HIV. DSM‐IV disorders were assessed using the Spanish Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders; the Composite Abuse Scale assessed intimate partner violence and the Child Maltreatment History Self‐Report assessed childhood physical and sexual abuse.

The odds of experiencing intimate partner violence were 2.42 times greater among those with any depressive disorder (95 per cent CI 1.13, 5.20), over three times greater for those who reported ever attempting suicide (OR 3.20; 95 per cent CI 1.29, 7.94), met criteria for borderline personality disorder (OR 3.05; 95 per cent CI 1.31, 7.11), had been abused in childhood (OR 3.38; 95 per cent CI 1.45, 7.85) or currently lived with a substance user (OR 3.74; 95 per cent CI 1.29, 10.84). In multiple logistic regression, only living with a substance user (OR 3.42; 95 per cent CI 1.08, 10.86) and a history of childhood abuse (OR 2.87; 95 per cent CI 1.05, 7.86) remained significant in the model examining intimate partner violence victimisation.

The small sample size, together with the fact that the study was not originally powered to examine differences in intimate partner violence may have increased the possibility of type II errors.

Histories of psychiatric disorders, intimate partner violence and childhood abuse are common in female substance users in treatment. Research suggests that such histories result in poorer treatment outcomes. Histories of intimate partner violence and childhood abuse should be identified and addressed in substance abuse treatment to enhance treatment outcomes.

A variety of strategies have been developed with the goal of improving justice responses to intimate partner violence. Among these are increasing demands for specialized training of justice professionals. This paper sets out to describe the development of a specialized training program for police officers, drawing attention to the role played by a strong partnership and collaborative approach.

Focus groups were held in the winter of 2008 with 30 police officers employed by a municipal police agency who had participated in specialized training on intimate partner violence.

As part of a follow‐up to the delivery of training, focus groups examined the impact of specialized training on the preparedness of officers and drew attention to existing challenges in policing intimate partner violence from their perspective. Drawing on earlier studies, the paper makes an important contribution to the law enforcement training literature, illustrating that key to successful development and delivery of specialized police training are extensive partnership and collaborative approaches throughout the initiative.

The paper is limited by the missing voices of victims and whether or not they perceive a difference in officer response to intimate partner violence as a result of specialized training. In addition, the sample size is relatively small and thus the findings may not be generalizable to a larger sampling. Further, this paper is based on follow‐up only one year after training was implemented at the pilot stage. The work does not tell whether specialized training makes a difference over time or whether training is more effective when continuous. Therefore, the analysis must also be extended to police files, highlighting police responses to such calls.

Policing services have had to make intimate partner violence a priority. Given the number of calls to police for intervention and the risk of danger, more attention has been placed on specialized training, collaboration across academic and community sectors, as well as changes to legislation. This training is meant to complement existing police training initiatives and enhance awareness about some of the complex issues involved in police intervention.

With its focus on the voices and experiences of police officers responding to intimate partner violence calls, the paper addresses a gap in the literature.

This research explores the experiences of self-identified queer victims of intimate partner violence, their personal encounters with violence-response organizations, and the extent to which their gender/sexual identity impacted their willingness to disclose their abuse.

Eleven respondents were recruited from online queer social networking sites and were interviewed via e-mail or Skype.

All respondents identified as gender variant or had an abusive partner who identified as gender variant. All study participants reported having experienced physical abuse. Several reported sexual and emotional abuse. Respondents reported a reluctance to seek institutional support and intervention. Several respondents were unable to recognize abuse as abuse until much later. When asked about whether or not they sought intervention, most respondents in this study described a sort of isolation, where they perceived that they were facing prejudice and stigmatization, and risked being dismissed and delegitimized. Several respondents sensed that there simply were no organizations that were sensitized and available to queer-identified victims. Even if they had pursued help from existing institutions, several respondents communicated a doubt that they could truly be of service, since these institutions likely operated with heteronormative narratives and practices. Collectively, the respondents in this study describe experiences as victims of IPV that are clearly mediated by homophobia and cissism.

We emphasize the need for an “intersectional awareness” in scholarship and organizing surrounding IPV. We critique the state’s gender-based practices of violence intervention and propose alternative possibilities for more inclusive intervention and organizing on behalf of queer victims of violence.

The body of literature that exists on IPV among LGBTQ persons is small, and much of this literature is focused on how patterns of IPV differ from heterosexual violence. In exploring IPV among self-identified queer victims, we depart from most research on IPV in that our analysis is not so much concerned with the gender or sex assignment of the victim, but rather the gendered context in which the violence is playing out.

Domestic abuse or intimate partner violence is a term that describes a pattern of abusive behaviours, often experienced concurrently and linked to gender-based violence. This study aims to explore through the literature the potential to design effective digital services that work for victims, survivors and those who provide domestic abuse support services.

This study is based on a systems or service design thinking methodology which was adopted during a Scottish Government-funded Technology Enabled Care (TEC) pathfinder project on domestic abuse. This methodology is the basis for the Scottish Approach to Service Design which is based on the Design Council Double Diamond. During the first phase, known as the discovery phase, desk-based research is conducted by the service design team to inform their approach to the later phases (the second half of the first diamond is define whilst design and deliver form the second diamond). Time is spent during discovery to unpack the complexity whilst the approach takes a pragmatic worldview.

Technology has yet to be shown to provide an effective solution to any aspect of the victim or survivors’ experience or support services albeit these are often over-stretched and under-funded even without the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital abuse is increasing with perpetrators adapting new technologies. Digital developments should be grounded on ethical design principles.

This study is the result of the desk-based research during a TEC project considering the potential role of technology in tackling domestic abuse. Limitations include only including evidence from the literature; interviews were conducted but are not reported here. Another limitation is the pragmatic rather than academic nature of the approach; it was to be a foundation for service re-design. So hopefully useful for new practitioners to immerse themselves in the topic area but with no claims to be reproducible as would be the case in a formal review.

All the evidence shows the authors need to keep trying different approaches, different forms of engagement and ways to empower survivors. Could technology support health-care practitioners to consistently use sensitive routine enquiry? Perhaps enable independent domestic violence advisors to attend more multidisciplinary team meetings in local community settings? Meanwhile, digital abuse is increasing with perpetrators adapting new technologies. Technology has not yet provided a digital solution which is practical and meets the needs of the broad intersectional population affected by domestic abuse nor those who provide support. If the future is to be based on digital developments it must be grounded on ethical design principles.

This desk-based review collates the current national and international policy and research literature whilst focusing on digital developments which support those affected by domestic abuse.

Woman's use of violence has been mainly conceptualised through woman's experiences of victimization. However, more recent perspectives emphasise the female agency, responsibility and meaning of woman's violence. Listening to the voices of victims of women's abuse is a powerful way of learning about woman's use of violence and its impact on the victims. We conducted focus groups with 41 men from four countries who experienced female-perpetrated abuse. Four major types of abuse were identified: psychological abuse and coercive control followed by physical violence and sexual violence. Psychological abuse ranged from verbal assaults and gaslighting to provoking physical altercations and reporting false accusations. Patterns of control included deliberate isolation, threatening false accusations and financial domination. Men reported that women initiated physical violence for various reasons, including jealousy and rage. Some women used different objects that could seriously hurt, including knife, while others slapped, bit, punched or kicked. Several men reported female-perpetrated sexual abuse. Woman's use of violence in the intimate relationship should be treated seriously. A more gender-inclusive approach to partner abuse is required that can focus on a better prevention of abuse for all victims.

This study examines the relationship between age, physical violence and non‐physical abuse within the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). It tests the hypothesis that while the prevalence of physical violence is lower among older women, other forms of intimate partner violence are not related to age. The study uses data from the Michigan Violence Against Women Survey to measure physical violence and two forms of non‐physical abuse: psychological vulnerability and autonomy‐limiting behavior. Findings support the hypothesis that the rate of physical abuse is negatively related to age but the rate of nonphysical abuse is not. By expanding the definition of IPV to include other forms of abusive behavior, the study finds that older women have IPV prevalence rates similar to younger women. This raises the question of whether batterers alter their means of power and control by emphasizing non‐physical abuse rather than continuing to use physical violence that exposes them to formal and informal social controls and sanctions.

The feasibility and prevalence of reciprocal, hierarchical and paternal patterns of family aggression hypothesised by Dixon and Browne (2003) were explored within a sample of maltreating families. The psychological reports of 67 families referred to services for alleged child maltreatment that evidenced concurrent physical intimate partner violence and child maltreatment were investigated. Of these, 29 (43.3%) cases were characterised by hierarchical patterns, 28 (41.8%) by reciprocal patterns and 10 (14.9%) by paternal patterns. Significant differences in the form of child maltreatment perpetrated by mothers and fathers and parent dyads living in different patterns were found. In hierarchical sub‐patterns, fathers were significantly more likely to have been convicted for a violent and/or sexual offence than mothers and were significantly less likely to be biologically related to the child. The findings demonstrate the existence of the different patterns in a sample of families involved in the child care protection process in England and Wales, supporting the utility of a holistic approach to understanding aggression in the family.

The increasing rate of imprisonment of women in the United States and the over‐representation of women victims of violence in the corrections system confirms that there are long‐term, often substantially debilitating consequences to women victims of intimate partner violence, sexual violence and youth maltreatment and injury, including incarceration. As part of a study funded by the National Institute of Justice, the authors pursued an exploration of the personal risks, resiliencies and life opportunities that make a difference in the lives of women who have ended up incarcerated. The findings of this study about the prevalence and consequences of youth maltreatment and adult victimization and the mitigating factors, which may have had an impact on the life trajectories of adult incarcerated women will be reviewed. Recommendations will be given for preventive and interventive policy and practice measures that stand to reduce the negative consequences of victimization, particularly those that can prevent incarceration.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a social issue that continues to haunt humans globally. Despite the magnitude of research that has been conducted, the Sustainable Developmental Goals target 5.2, and the South African proposed National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, South Africa experiences high incidences of IPV. In heterosexual couples, violence incidences are a concern that requires further research by scholars because cohabiting relationships are an increasing phenomenon within the African context. This study attempts to theorize from an African philosophical stance, focusing particularly on the African psychological perspective. In this chapter, The authors illuminate the nature and forms of violence that manifest in cohabiting relationships. This research explores participants’ experiences of IPV in cohabiting relationships.

This enquiry has been conceptualized using a qualitative constructivism paradigm with in-depth, unstructured one-on-one interviews. Interviews were conducted with 10 participants between the ages of 18 and 24 years recruited from the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme in Vhembe District in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to generate themes while narrative analysis was used for the participants’ stories. Participants shared their self-reflections on their IPV experiences, deciding to leave their relationships, and threats from their partners when they tried to leave the relationships.

The reality of domestic violence does not disappear when people enter the digital world, as abusers may use technology to stalk, exploit, and control their victims. In this chapter, we discuss three unique types of technological abuse: (1) financial abuse via banking websites and apps; (2) abuse via smart home devices (i.e., “Internet of Things” abuse); and (3) stalking via geo-location or GPS. We also argue pregnancy and wellness apps provide an opportunity for meaningful intervention for pregnant victims of domestic violence.

While there is no way to ensure users' safety in all situations, we argue thoughtful considerations while designing and building digital products can result in meaningful contributions to victims' safety. This chapter concludes with PenzeyMoog's (2020) “Framework for Inclusive Safety,” which is a roadmap for building technology that increases the safety of domestic violence survivors. This framework includes three key points: (1) the importance of educating technologists about domestic violence; (2) the importance of identifying possible abuse situations and designing against them; and (3) identifying user interactions that might signal abuse and offering safe interventions.