By Karen L. Schucan Bird, Nicola Stokes, Carol Rivas

Background: Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) is a significant global problem that warrants a robust, multi‐sectoral response. The Covid‐19 pandemic highlighted that informal and social networks play a critical role in responding to victim‐survivors, alongside formal agencies and specialist services. Friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues are uniquely placed to recognise abuse, respond and refer to wider services, where appropriate. Seeking to harness this potential, interventions tailored towards such informal supporters are being developed and implemented around the world. Yet little is known about such interventions. By pulling together the research on such programmes, this evidence and gap map begins to advance the understanding of informal support interventions, pinpointing the range and type of interventions implemented around the world, and the extent of the available evidence. This provides valuable insights for policy makers and practitioners seeking to commission or develop interventions and research in this area, with a view to facilitating a holistic, societal‐wide response to domestic abuse. The evidence and gap map was a collaboration of academics and specialists, as well as domestic abuse researchers, with input and guidance from an Advisory Group.Objectives: This evidence and gap map aims to establish the nature and extent of the empirical primary research on interventions aiming to create or enhance informal support for victim‐survivors of domestic abuse, identifying clusters of evidence potentially suitable for synthesis, and gaps in the research base.Search Methods: The following bibliographic databases were searched for published studies from inception to 31st October2022: APA PsycINFO, Social Policy and Practice, ASSIA, PubMed, and Social Science Citation Index. Identifying grey literature was an important pillar of the search strategy and so websites of domestic abuse organisations, predominantly in the United Kingdom, were also searched. Similarly, a targeted search of specialist systematic review, policy and domestic abuse database was undertaken from inception to 10th July 2023.Selection Criteria: The evidence and gap map focused on any interventions that explicitly aimed to create or enhance informal social support for victim‐survivors of domestic abuse. Eligible interventions targeted the providers of the support (i.e., friends,relatives, neighbours or colleagues), the victim‐survivor, the relationship between them, and/or the wider community within which the informal support was provided. All study designs were included, reporting qualitative or quantitative data for samplesor victim‐survivors (adults who were/had been experiencing abuse in an intimate relationship) or informal supporters.Outcomes were not used as part of the eligibility criteria. Eligible studies needed to be published in English. Collection and Analysis: All studies included in the evidence and gap map were coded by two independent reviewers,using specialist systematic review software EPPI Reviewer. Details were collected about the study sample, study design,intervention and outcomes. Quality appraisal was not undertaken.Main Results: The EGM identified 47 primary studies of interventions that aimed to create, enhance or facilitate informal support for victim‐survivors of domestic violence and abuse. The overwhelming majority of evidence is drawn from the GlobalNorth, and there is dissonance between the small evidence base and the relatively larger number of informal support interventions implemented around the world. The EGM highlights the importance of diverse study designs and grey literature in this field. The body of research is unevenly distributed, with the greatest concentration of studies around interventions directed towards victim‐survivors, such as support groups or mentoring, and those tailored towards informal supporters, such as education and training. Most research reported on female, adult victim‐survivors with a particular emphasis on their mental health and wellbeing, and their help‐seeking behaviours. The reporting of such outcomes aligns with wider service user/provider priorities and highlights the imperative of DVA research to improve the lives of victim‐survivors. The EGM found little research focused on interventions targeting structural factors that shape informal support, such as social relationships or community norms, and a lack of data on specific population groups including victim‐survivors in the longer term, ethnic minority groups and men. There are major gaps in the research for informal supporters with limited data or outcomes for this group, and specific types of informal supporters (namely friends and family members) are notably absent from samples. TheEGM also highlights a gap in the research on community‐level outcomes.Authors' Conclusions: To our knowledge, this EGM is the first to provide a comprehensive and rigorous overview of the evidence on informal support interventions in domestic abuse. The EGM provides a valuable tool for policymakers, practi-tioners and researchers seeking to navigate the evidence around such interventions. Whilst the EGM provides a partial picture of interventions around the world, the studies offer insight into informal support for victim‐survivors of DVA and the potential effects of intervening. The suite of interventions covered by the EGM can inspire policymakers to broaden the response to domestic abuse beyond frontline services, identify stakeholders and commission pilot studies to further understanding of informal support interventions. The evidence base can be strengthened with additional studies examining interventions that target relationships and communities, as well as individuals, and assessing a wider range of population groups. At the sametime, the EGM offers pockets of rich data, such as outcomes on victim‐survivor mental health or interventions in faith‐basedorganisations, which can be utilised to inform current and future service provision.

Campbell Systematic Reviews, Volume 21, Issue 2, 2025; 48p.

By Nicola Helps, Charlotte Bell, Chloe Schulze, and, Rodney Vlais

This paper summarises the literature on men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) and contributes to building a shared understanding of their role in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia. While MBCPs were never meant to be a panacea for domestic, family and sexual violence, their role and effectiveness in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence is often questioned.

Key insights

• There is variation across MBCPs in terms of program logical and theoretical frameworks, structure (e.g. duration, frequency and intensity) and focus.

• Most people who use violence will never engage with an MBCP service.

• MBCPs are a piece of the broader infrastructure required to address men’s use of violence. MBCPs are a specialist response often connected to criminal justice systems.

• Positive outcomes at the end of an MBCP are most likely to be incremental in terms of reductions in some aspects of the program participant’s violent and controlling behaviours, however, outcomes vary substantially between program participants.

• Behaviour change work is not complete at the end of MBCP participation.

• There is a risk in the limited perpetrator intervention landscape in Australia of an unrealistic expectation for MBCPs in their standard form to be effective for all people using violence.

Key conclusions

• MBCPs are conceptualised as one piece of the puzzle however are yet to be operationalised as part of a fully integrated system.

• MBCPs need to be better funded to provide tailored, holistic and timely services that can support meaningful behaviour change.

• MBCPs need to be embedded collaboratively within the broader domestic, family and sexual violence ecosystem so they can work together with other services.

• MBCPs are only one piece of the response to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Sydney: Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS): 2025. 35p.

By Anne Summers, Thomas Shortridge, Kristen Sobeck

Whichever way you look at it, many women are paying a huge economic price in addition to the physical, emotional and psychological damage done to them by domestic violence. It is no accident that employment and education – the pathway to better employment – are targeted by perpetrators as a prime means of depleting or even destroying women’s ability to be financially self-sufficient.

The data used in this report enables the authors, for the first time, to quantify the economic impact of domestic violence on Australian women. The report sets out in detail how large numbers of women have not attained a degree, have left the labour force, have reduced their working hours, or have taken time off work– all because of domestic violence.

The authors identify changes that need to be made across the following areas: paid domestic violence leave policie tthe operation of paid domestic violence leave multiple avenues of support are needed support to (re-)enter employment the Leaving Violence Program.

Sydney: University of Technology Sydney 2025. 52p.

By European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, FRA; European Institute for Gender Equality

  This report presents, for the first time, selected key results of the EU gender-based violence survey based on data from all 27 Member States. Across the EU-27, 114 023 women were interviewed about their experiences. The report focuses on the prevalence of various forms of violence against women in the EU. The EU gender-based violence survey also collected specific data about women’s experiences of violence, including on the consequences of violence and contacts with different services that provide assistance to victims, as survivors of violence. Data on both the prevalence of violence and the consequences of violence will be analysed in detail in the survey report that Eurostat, FRA and EIGE will publish in 2025. In this report, the results are presented in four chapters, starting with the overall prevalence of physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator. This is followed by two chapters that focus on violence perpetrated by women’s intimate partners and by other people (non-partners). The fourth chapter examines women’s experiences of sexual harassment at work. Finally, the report includes an annex that summarises the survey data collection methodology  

Vienna: FRA 2024. 48p.

By Cintya Lanchimba, Juan Pablo Díaz-Sánchez and Franklin Velasco

Introduction: This econometric analysis investigates the nexus between household factors and domestic violence. By considering diverse variables encompassing mood, depression, health consciousness, social media engagement, household chores, density, and religious affiliation, the study aims to comprehend the underlying dynamics influencing domestic violence. Methods: Employing econometric techniques, this study examined a range of household-related variables for their potential associations with levels of violence within households. Data on mood, depression, health consciousness, social media usage, household chores, density, and religious affiliation were collected and subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. Results: The findings of this study unveil notable relationships between the aforementioned variables and levels of violence within households. Positive mood emerges as a mitigating factor, displaying a negative correlation with violence. Conversely, depression positively correlates with violence, indicating an elevated propensity for conflict. Increased health consciousness is linked with diminished violence, while engagement with social media demonstrates a moderating influence. Reduction in the time allocated to household chores corresponds with lower violence levels. Household density, however, exhibits a positive association with violence. The effects of religious affiliation on violence manifest diversely, contingent upon household position and gender. Discussion: The outcomes of this research offer critical insights for policymakers and practitioners working on formulating strategies for preventing and intervening in instances of domestic violence. The findings emphasize the importance of considering various household factors when designing effective interventions. Strategies to bolster positive mood, alleviate depression, encourage health consciousness, and regulate social media use could potentially contribute to reducing domestic violence. Additionally, the nuanced role of religious affiliation underscores the need for tailored approaches based on household dynamics, positioning, and gender.

Front. Psychiatry, 2023, 13p.

By Nicola Helps, Charlotte Bell, Chloe Schulze, Rodney Vlais, et al.

While men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) were never meant to be a panacea for domestic, family and sexual violence, their role and effectiveness in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence is often questioned.

This evidence brief provides a summary of the literature on MBCPs, focusing primarily on their role in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia. It synthesises what is known about MBCPs based on available peer-reviewed and grey literature and practice-based evidence.

A shared understanding of the role and capability of MBCPs is critical for their impact. Expecting significant, transformational change from a single intervention is unrealistic. There is now a growing appreciation and understanding that MBCPs are one piece of the puzzle in a wider system of accountability for people who use violence. Yet the potential outcomes from such collaborative practice are often limited or undermined by how MBCPs have been implemented, or by inadequacies in the broader systemic infrastructure upon which the intended behavioural change relies.

Key findings

• MBCPs are conceptualised as one piece of the puzzle however are yet to be operationalised as part of a fully integrated system.

• MBCPs need to be better funded to provide tailored, holistic and timely services that can support meaningful behaviour change.

• MBCPs need to be embedded collaboratively within the broader domestic, family and sexual violence ecosystem so they can work together with other services towards improved outcomes for victims and survivors including children, as well as improved outcomes for meaningful behaviour change, accountability, increased visibility and risk management.

• MBCPs are only one piece of the response to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Alexandria, NSW: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS), , 2025. 35p.

By Sandra Aguilar-Gómez and Andrea Salazar-Díaz

Every year, 245 million women are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Climate change is hypothesized to exacerbate this figure through its disruptive impact on household livelihoods, among other channels. However, little causal evidence exists on this aspect of the climate-gender nexus, partly due to measurement challenges that have contributed to gaps in the literature. In this paper, we use three different IPV data sources to examine the effect of drought in Mexico and the role of agricultural vulnerability in intensifying these effects. We find robust evidence of increases in all measures of IPV in response to local precipitation deficits: as unanticipated exposure to days without rain in the previous month rises, more injuries linked to IPV are recorded in the public health system, police reports increase, and more 911 calls related to IPV are made. The effects are stronger in regions highly dependent on agriculture, particularly when the shock occurs during the growing season. In a country where most agricultural income and land are controlled by men, our results align with theoretical predictions from male-backlash IPV models and extractive violence models. We also find that the impact of drought on IPV is more pronounced in municipalities with low state capacity, though potential differences in reporting behavior between IPV measures complicate comparisons. Our findings underscore the need to design gender-sensitive disaster relief policies, strengthen trust in reporting mechanisms and helplines, and reduce the social acceptability of IPV

WORKING PAPER No IDB-WP-1653, Inter-American Development Bank Gender and Diversity Division . 2025. 43p.

By United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UN Women

In this publication, the term “femicide” is used to refer to all types of gender-related killings of women and girls as described in the “Statistical framework for measuring the gender-related killing of women and girls (also referred to as “femicide/feminicide”)”.

Globally, approximately 51,100 women and girls were killed by their intimate partners or other family members during 2023. Higher than the 2022 estimate of 48,800 victims, this change is not indicative of an actual increase as it is largely due to differences in data availability at the country level. The 2023 figure means that 60 per cent of the almost 85,000 women and girls killed intentionally during the year were murdered by their intimate partners or other family members. In other words, an average of 140 women and girls worldwide lost their lives every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative...

P.18 When considering possible risk factors, it should be noted that fewer victims (11 per cent) and perpetrators (20 per cent) of femicides are under the influence of alcohol than in the case of male homicides (25 and 30 per cent respectively). Some studies point to the drug intoxication of victims as a homicidal risk factor,13 but in the case of femicides in France, this does not seem to be the case, with 3 per cent of victims and 5 per cent of perpetrators of femicide being under the influence of drugs at the time of the crime.

Vienna: UNODC, 2024. 36p.

By Siobhan Lawler

As gatekeepers to restorative justice (RJ) programs for domestic and family violence (DFV) and sexual violence, stakeholders in referring agencies perform the critical role of assessing the suitability of cases for entry into these programs. This article draws on interviews with 47 stakeholders in an RJ program for DFV and sexual violence in the Australian Capital Territory to better understand stakeholder decision-making about referrals. Findings show stakeholders’ decisions around which matters to refer to RJ centre on assessments of victim‑survivors’ safety and offender accountability. Many stakeholders are risk averse when deciding whether to make a referral, which may inadvertently reduce opportunities for victim-survivors to benefit and achieve their justice goals.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 707, Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2025. 15p.

By Megan Steele-Baser; Alyssa L. Brown; Denise V. D’Angelo; Kathleen C. Basile, Rosalyn D. Lee, ; Antoinette T. Nguyen, & Cynthia H. Cassell

Intimate partner violence (IPV) can include emotional, physical, or sexual violence. IPV during pregnancy is a preventable cause of injury and death with negative short- and long-term impacts for pregnant women, infants, and families. Using data from the 2016–2022 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System in nine U.S. jurisdictions, CDC examined associations between IPV during pregnancy among women with a recent live birth and the following outcomes: prenatal care initiation, health conditions during pregnancy (gestational diabetes, pregnancy-related hypertension, and depression), substance use during pregnancy, and infant birth outcomes. Overall, 5.4% of women reported IPV during pregnancy. Emotional IPV was most prevalent (5.2%), followed by physical (1.5%) and sexual (1.0%) IPV. All types were associated with delayed or no prenatal care; depression during pregnancy; cigarette smoking, alcohol use, marijuana or illicit substance use during pregnancy; and having an infant with low birth weight. Physical, sexual, and any IPV were associated with having a preterm birth. Physical IPV was associated with pregnancyrelated hypertension. Evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies that address multiple types of IPV are important for supporting healthy parents and families because they might reduce pregnancy complications, depression and substance use during pregnancy, and adverse infant outcomes

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024, 6p.

By Australia Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services

This report examining financial abuse in Australia provides a comprehensive analysis of the issue, identifies key challenges within legislation, regulation, and financial institutions, and puts forward 61 recommendations to prevent and mitigate financial abuse.

The report highlights that financial abuse is a widespread issue with a direct cost to victims estimated at $5.7 billion—a figure higher than Australia's total scam losses in 2023.

It calls for legislative amendments, enhanced support services for victims, improved identification and response mechanisms within financial institutions, and greater collaboration between government agencies and stakeholders.

Key findings

Financial abuse is a prevalent issue in Australia, often occurring alongside other forms of domestic and family violence.

The financial toll on victims of financial abuse is estimated at $5.7 billion.

Current legislative and regulatory frameworks have significant gaps.

Financial institutions have made some progress in implementing measures to address financial abuse but require further action to provide comprehensive support for victims.

The rise of online financial platforms presents both opportunities and challenges in tackling financial abuse.

Vulnerable groups, including older Australians, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and those in regional and remote areas, face unique challenges and barriers in accessing support and protection from financial abuse.

Key recommendations

Establish a mechanism for co-design with victim-survivors of financial abuse in developing reforms to mitigate the prevalence and impact of financial abuse.

Amend the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 to recognise the unique threats posed by financial abuse and strengthen protections for victims.

Review the intersection between financial abuse and the superannuation system.

Implement a mandatory requirement for providers of financial services, products, and government agencies to include a "quick exit" button on webpages.

Co-design standard operating guidelines for the referral of reasonably suspected financial abuse to financial institutions.

Amend the Social Security Act 1991 to remove the requirement for victims to have left their home to qualify for crisis support payments, lengthen the application time frame for crisis payments, and ensure access to "special circumstances" waivers for victims subjected to perpetrator manipulation.

e Senate Printing Unit, Parliament House, Canberra, 2024, 230p.

By Sophie Gillfeather-Spetere, Amy Watson

Designed for use by policymakers, practitioners and advocates, this guide synthesises findings from 20+ reports to outline key actions for consistent and effective policy responses supporting children and young people experiencing violence. It includes four principles that outline ways of working to underpin reform and eight priority areas for action.

The report finds that policies and service systems are failing to meet the needs of children and young people, particularly those with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, those from culturally and linguistically diverse families and LGBTQ+. The guide calls for significant policy and practice reforms that centre children and young people’s voices, acknowledge the profound and diverse impact of violence on their lives and move away from a reactive system to one that prioritises primary prevention.

Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety, 2024. 84p

By Cristina Bellés-Obrero, Giulia La Mattina, Han Ye

The prevalence and determinants of intimate partner violence (IPV) among older women are severely understudied. This paper documents that the incidence of IPV remains high at old ages and provides the first evidence of the impact of access to income on IPV for older women. We leverage a Mexican reform that lowered the eligibility age for a non-contributory pension and a difference-in-differences approach. Women's eligibility for the pension increases their probability of being subjected to economic, psychological, and physical IPV. The estimated effects are found only among women in the short-term and are more pronounced for women who experienced family violence in childhood and those from poorer households. In contrast, we show that IPV does not increase when men become eligible for the non-contributory pension. Looking at potential mechanisms, we find suggestive evidence that men use violence as a tool to control women's resources. Additionally, women reduce paid employment after becoming eligible for the pension, which may result in more time spent at home and greater exposure to violent partners.

WORKING PAPER No IDB-WP-1640, Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, Gender and Diversity Division , 2024. 74p.

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

This publication was prepared as part of the Organization for Security and Co-operation’s (OSCE) Gender Issues Programme project “WIN for Women and Men: Strengthening Comprehensive Security through Innovating and Networking for Gender Equality”, in co-operation with the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This mapping is based on a combination of a desk review and interviews with key stakeholders in each of the five countries in Central Asia. The results of the mapping are presented first as regional trends and tendencies, followed by findings per country. Programs aimed at changing the violent behaviour of perpetrators are important elements in preventing gender-based violence and ending impunity. The aim of this document is to look into existing programs and trends and offer a set of recommendations for further engagement in Central Asia.

Vienna: OSCE, 2024. 27p.

By: Dr. Jeffrey L. Edleson

The purpose of this manual is to help you make informed decisions about doing evaluation, and to provide you with concrete ideas for evaluating a specific program or group of programs.

In a clear and simple style, the issues, elements, and procedures of beginning evaluation are examined. You will learn how to develop goals and outcome objectives that will focus your program and facilitate productive evaluation. Benefits and drawbacks of program evaluation are laid out, along with guidelines for assessing your agency’s ability to conduct an evaluation. The basic evaluation process is mapped out in step-by-step fashion, complete with sample forms and questionnaires. Throughout this manual you are encouraged to focus on how your study results will be used. Finally, you will learn the most effective ways to present your findings to various audiences when your evaluation is finished.

If you are being asked to cooperate with an outside evaluator, this manual will help you know what questions to ask about the proposed evaluation. It will give you a basis on which to decide, if you have a choice, whether to open your program to the evaluation. If you don’t have a choice, you will gain insights that will help you determine whether you are being fairly judged by an outside evaluation and how to gain some control over the process.

Evaluating Domestic Violence Programs is based on 14 years of a unique collaboration between research and services. Whether your program is new or long established, you can gain a more intimate knowledge of it through the kind of evaluation explained in this manual. This knowledge can help you increase your effectiveness as an administrator.

Domestic Abuse Project 1997

By: Leslie Tutty, Jennifer Koshan, Deborah Jesso, Cindy Ogden, Jacqueline G. Warrell

The serious nature of intimate partner violence and the harm to women and their children has been acknowledged in numerous documents (Statistics Canada, 2005; Tutty & Goard, 2002). The costs to society for charging abusive partners and providing treatment in the hope of stopping domestic violence are substantial (Bowlus, McKenna, Day & Wright, 2003; Greaves, Hankivsky, & Kingston-Reichers, 1995; Healey, Smith, & O‘Sullivan, 1998).

The criminal justice system is an institution that deals with a high number of cases of domestic assaults yearly. While there is no separate domestic violence offence, abusers are subject to a variety of charges, from common assault to uttering threats to murder, that would apply to anyone regardless of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. Nevertheless, the dynamics and the intimate relationship between the accused and the victims in domestic violence cases, has severely challenged the criminal justice response that typically deals with crimes committed by strangers.

Beginning with the development of the court in Winnipeg in 1991, specialized domestic violence courts have become increasingly available across Canada with the goal of more effectively addressing the criminal justice response to domestic violence. The extensive effort involved in creating such specialized justice responses should be acknowledged. To date, however, few evaluations have been published that assess whether these initiatives make a difference, exceptions being the work of Ursel in Winnipeg, the Yukon Domestic Violence Treatment Option (Hornick, Boyes, Tutty & White, 2005: funded by NCPC), some courts in Ontario (Moyer, Rettinger & Hotton (2000), cited in Clarke, 2003; Dawson & Dinovitzer, 2001), and Tutty and Ursel in the Canadian prairie provinces (Ursel, Tutty, & LeMaistre, 2008).

Calgary‘s model developed in early 2000 with the input of key players from not only the criminal justice institutions such as police services, the Crown Prosecutor offices, probation, Legal Aid and the defence bar, but also community agencies that offer batterer intervention programs and support, shelter and advocacy for victims. The model was innovative, with the initial emphasis on a specialized domestic violence docket court with the aim of speeding up the process for those charges with domestic abuse offences to both allow low risk offenders to take responsibility for their actions and speed their entry into treatment.

Such actions were thought to better safeguard victims, both because their partners were mandated to treatment much earlier, and to prevent repercussions to victims who, if the case proceeded to court, might be required to testify. Crisis intervention theory has long posited that the sooner one receives intervention, the more likely the counselling will be effective (Roberts & Everly, 2006). Also, the safety and wishes of the victims are taken into consideration by the court team early on in the process, while the assault is still fresh in their minds and they are not influenced by the accused to the same extent as they might be later on.

RESOLVE Alberta, March 2011

By: Nur Hasyim, Aditya Putra Kurniawan, and Elli Nur Hayati

This reports investigates the issue of violence against women using a different perspective, as opposed to studying women as the victims, the current study presents a perspective from the perpetrators of violence, namely men. The study explores how Indonesian men perceive themselves, and based upon the elaborations from the sources of the study, a strong value of male patriarchy is present among Indonesian males. With patriarchal values strongly embedded within most Indonesia men, it becomes plausible to assume that Indonesian men are susceptible to conduct violence against women. On the other hand, male hegemonic awareness becomes a large problem for men when they observe a situation that contradicts their assumptions, for example when women demonstrate to become more advanced in their education and career. In this context, men that are tied up in patriarchal cultures will view such events as threats or even a disaster.

Jambon IV Kompleks Jatimulyo Indah Yogyakarta 55242. 2011

By: Mugisho Ndabuli Théophile

Domestic violence is a branch of Gender Based Violence (GBV). Domestic violence is directed towards family members, particularly the wife and so it is rampant in the world. This research delves in the beliefs and attitudes towards male domestic violence in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It also provides a comprehensive understanding of some different factors, forms, reasons and consequences of such violence in the province.

This research used qualitative approach with focus group and in-depth interviews with adult men in the mentioned province. There were organised two focus groups and two in-depth interviews. Fourteen men participated to these interviews. The researcher selected them with the help of the provincial authorities.

The dynamism of men’s beliefs and attitudes towards domestic violence in this province is of paramount importance to understand. The research found that South Kivu men believe that asserting power and masculinity in the family in general, particularly to the wife is their right. This connectivity promotes the widespread of GBV in the province. The participants also revealed that society fosters men’s power and masculinity over family members. This actually makes domestic violence become a culture in the area.

In combating domestic violence through means of education, awareness raising and law reinforcement and its fair implementation, families can be harmonious. This is possible if society motivates men to use their power and masculinity in a constructive way, and if the victims are helped to restore their self esteem, regain hope and break the silence.

Mugisho Ndabuli Théophile 2011

By: Nisha Prichard

This study set out to examine the decision-making process in care proceedings brought before the Children’s Court involving allegations of domestic violence as a child maltreatment concern in accordance with NSW Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act, 1998. The growth in understanding of domestic violence as a specific category of child maltreatment has seen increased attention and involvement of an array of professionals in the child protection field including statutory caseworkers, solicitors, and other external services working with children and families. Court decisions encompass risk assessment and immediate and long-term safety planning. They also involve professionals navigating both shared and individual language in the process of assessment. What constitutes the specific risk of domestic violence, and decision-making in cases involving domestic violence is often contested in care and protection matters. This study utilised qualitative methodology, specifically applying a case study approach involving both a prospective and retrospective review of cases. The retrospective review followed a series of cases from the commencement of the court case, to the finalisation of orders. A parallel retrospective review of archive cases and court files from Community Services was undertaken.

Central to this study was examination of the role of professional stakeholders, their assessments and contribution to court decision-making. The findings in this study highlight that much professional decision-making occurs prior to proceedings. The decisions made in all reviewed matters were found to be the result of the coalescence of professional knowledge, interpretation and interagency collaboration. Professionals developed discourses of risk, compliance, insight and safety in their assessments. Such assessments formed a narrative of domestic violence characterized by an emphasis on summarising patterns within key incidents, evaluating the parent’s ongoing relationship dynamics and parenting capacity. Significantly, in this narrative, an inability to separate from a violent partner was indicative of a lack of maternal protectiveness. Additionally, childrens’ age and gender influenced the assessment of the impact of violence on individual children. These interpretations informed the court’s evaluation of evidence of domestic violence and its impact on children as well as the proposed interventions and care plans necessary to ensure children’s safety.

The University of New South Wales, 31 August 2015

By: Tracey Michelle Pyscher

As a society, we do not openly discuss domestic violence and yet its reality is front and center for children and youth whose lives are deeply shaped by it. At best, the school landscape is bleak for many, if not all, HDV youth (i.e. youth with histories of domestic violence and youth currently living with domestic violence). We know little to nothing about how HDV youth navigate school from their perspectives—how they engage with and resist educational discourses and practices and thus take up subject positions. What we do know from popular, psychological literature is that HDV youth are often objectified as troubled and deficient and this shapes their identities and experiences in school.

In this study, I discuss the challenges HDV youth face when they navigate normative and hegemonic interactions in school. I also analyze the resistive identities and performances HDV youth take up in response to interactions perceived as violating. The study is situated in a public, urban middle school and outlines how HDV youth make sense of their daily interactions with school peers and staff. The study is told through the subjective voices of three female middle school HDV youth—Jen, Mac, and Shanna. Their stories along with the voices of their caregivers offer a counter-narrative to the dominant discourses often shaping the representations of HDV youth.

Data analysis is grounded in the theoretical conceptions of critical sociocultural theory (Lewis, Enciso, & Moje, 2007), resistive ambivalence (Pyscher, 2015; Pyscher & Lozenski, 2014), and Scott’s (1990) conceptualization of hidden and public transcripts. I seek to better understand and theorize the intersections of actions, identities, practices, and discourses that HDV youth use in educational interactions. The methodological foundation of this study is fourfold: critical discourse studies (Gee, 2014), critical ethnography (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 1995), geosemiotics (Scollon & Scollon, 2003), and mediated discourse analysis (Jones & Norris, 2005). Implications include the possibility of creating more liberating educational practices for youth with histories of domestic violence and marginalized youth in general. I conclude by suggesting that we consider creating more transgressive and humane school cultures that embody carnivallike practices.

University of Minnesota, March 2016