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Service provision for domestic violence (DV) survivors has been a long-standing staple of shelters in the United States. Although shelter services provide numerous benefits for survivors, barriers tied to acquisition remain a pressing concern when combatting DV. Nevertheless, there has been minimal research exploring barriers to service acquisition on a cross-national level. As such, the current research cross-nationally examines perceptions of shelter staff regarding acquisition barriers as well as the effectiveness of local agencies to meet survivor needs and differences in populations served in the United States (specifically Texas) as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Data collection stemmed from self-report surveys originally constructed in English and translated into Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian. Results underscored differences between populations served, perceptions of local agencies assisting survivors of DV, and barriers tied to cultural and financial concerns. Implications, limitations, and future directions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses processes of control and resistance in the context of power struggles at a battered women's shelter. It is said that poor women at the shelter used the moral rhetoric of empowerment in order to resist gendered power relations. Other topics include the nature of intersectionality, the roles of race and class in power relations, and the facilitation of group meetings at the shelter. Interactions between counselors at the shelter and women victims of domestic abuse are addressed.

The article discusses spaces created by and for women in Boston, Massachusetts during the women's movement of the 1970s. According to the author, these spaces did not create significant language to the city compared to concurrent major infrastructure projects, but they did increase women's access to the city and to services and resources which allowed them to develop alternative identities independent of men. It is suggested that while urban gendered spaces do not create or guarantee women's rights, they help to assert and institutionalize them. Topics discussed include reproductive rights, women's health centers, women's shelters, and feminist bookstores.

Agency has traditionally been equated with resistance and assumed to be universal. More recently, black and postcolonial feminist theories have emphasized contextualizing and differentiating agency with the end goal of uncovering the complex dynamics of oppression and subordination, particularly in matters related to violence against women. In this vein, I share the cases of fifteen Latina immigrant survivors of domestic violence in their search for nonviolence, autonomy, and citizenship at a US legal nonprofit organization in Texas. I show how both legislation and nonprofit organizations created to assist battered immigrants formally and informally frame survivors' agency, which is not only structurally and situationally constrained, but often compliant and unintended. By looking at the nuances of agency in this context, I reveal the ways in which some women are able to negotiate these constraints and complete their citizenship application process successfully, while others, often the most destitute ones, tend to be weeded out of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The domestic violence movement purports to empower survivors of abuse, yet battered women's shelters in the U.S. have rules and practices which may serve to discipline women into complying with stereotypical white, middle class, heterosexual norms of femininity. This research relies on qualitative interviews with thirteen workers from anti-violence organizations in the U.S., on examination of written shelter rules and documents, and on recent writings by progressive antiviolence organizers. Evaluation of mainstream shelter rules and practices suggests that the ideal shelter client is a stereotypically submissive, "feminine" woman who unquestioningly obeys extensive and intrusive rules about personal behavior, remains emotionally open to authorities, and efficiently performs her household chores. Women who fail to meet this ideal may be perceived as inappropriate clients at risk of being lost to the "culture of poverty," which supposedly encourages them to be dependent, lazy, dirty, devious, and unlikely to function adequately in the job market. Analysis of shelter practices reveals an embedded "culture of poverty" ideology which pathologizes survivors of abuse seeking emergency housing. Shelter workers endeavor to reform individual women, while the structures that perpetuate poverty and abuse are left intact. Rather than empowering women, battered women's shelters may serve the latent function of disciplining women to comply with norms of middle class, heterosexual femininity. Some communities are now developing innovative antiviolence strategies that exist outside of the mainstream shelters and do not rely on culture of poverty ideologies. In addition, some shelter administrators have begun to rethink their structures and provide greater autonomy to residents. This paper traces the problems with traditional disciplinary shelter models and describes some evolving efforts to address violence in a liberatory fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fair Housing Act was enacted in order to protect certain groups against discrimination in housing. The Act extends this protection to any "dwelling," but its coverage is not well defined for nontraditional sleeping facilities such as homeless shelters, substance abuse treatment facilities, or tent cities. Courts have applied the Fair Housing Act to any residence-defined by one court as "a temporary or permanent dwelling place, abode or habitation to which one intends to return as distinguished from the place of temporary sojourn or transient visit." Courts have generally focused on occupants' length of stay as the determinative factor in examining the scope of the dwelling requirement in the Act. Homeless shelters and battered women's shelters have long been operated on a single-sex basis, and some shelters place restrictions on familial status. However, current law is still unclear on whether such facilities are subject to the prohibition on familial status and sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The Ninth Circuit recently declared a single-sex men's homeless shelter to be in violation of the Fair Housing Act. If adopted by other circuits, this holding would require the restructuring of many shelters to accommodate both sexes, expose shelters to costly litigation likely resulting in closures and reduced services to the homeless, and reduce further the privacy and security of shelter guests. In this Comment, I argue that courts' focus on length of stay is too narrow and present an alternative test for dwellings under the Fair Housing Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005 focuses on safe and independent housing for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). The focus on housing in the latest version of VAWA suggests recognition by Congress that removing barriers and increasing access to safe housing is critical to our nation's response to IPV, and that this type of systems-level response is necessary to reduce the link between IPV and subsequent homelessness. This study examines the current state of transitional housing programs (THPs) and discusses future program considerations, including the need for evaluation studies that consider the possible impact that transitional housing programs have on the rates of violence toward women and their children, and on women's ability to achieve economic stability after separating from their abusive partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the results of a survey of North Carolina domestic violence programs that found that substance abuse problems are common among program clients, yet only half of the programs had policies concerning substance-abusing clients, and one fourth had memoranda of agreement with substance abuse treatment providers. Most programs with shelters asked clients about substance use; however, one third of the shelters would not admit women if they were noticeably under the influence of substances while seeking shelter residence, instead referring them to substance abuse programs. Approximately one tenth of the domestic violence programs did not have any staff or volunteers with training in substance abuse issues. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health implemented the Collaborative for Abuse Prevention in Racial and Ethnic Communities (CARE) project in two Latino communities, in the city of Chelsea and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. One goal of CARE was to build collaborative networks of service providers to provide culturally competent services. Networks of existing community-based agencies that provide a variety of different services regarding violence against women were established in both locales. This article describes the CARE model, network formation, initial attempts to build collaboration and cultural competence, outreach and education activities, and organizational-level changes resulting from the establishment of the networks. The challenges, successes, and lessons learned in implementing this network model are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Domestic Abuse Education Project (DAEP), in Burlington, Middlebury, and St. Albans, Vermont, is a group based domestic abuse intervention program, based in a pro-feminist and cognitive-behavioral approach for domestic violence intervention and prevention. A pre and post-test instrument was developed and implemented to determine short-term change in attitude of participants and motivating factors to change behavior, after completing the twenty-seven session program. After the program, participants reported a positive change in attitudes regarding their abusive behavior and stereotypical beliefs about women. Participants were also more motivated to change their behavior by the effect abuse has on their family relationships. However, many participants continued to agree that insecurity, jealousy, and alcohol and drug use can cause violence. The positive changes in attitude and motivational factors show that this is an effective model in changing underlying batterer attitudes that provide rationale for abusive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is provided in which the authors discuss the risks associated with the stay-at-home, or shelter-in-place, public health mandates in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on the increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. An overview of shelters for victims of domestic abuse during the pandemic is provided.

Domestic violence reportedly affects more than 5 million Americans each year, more than 85% of whom are women. Many of these women turn to their faith-based communities for support and guidance, but little is known about how the church members they turn to perceive or understand domestic violence. This article reports the outcomes of three focus groups in three diverse communities of faith in the African American community that resulted in a better understanding of how church leaders and congregants view spirituality and religion and how they converge with domestic violence. Implications for research and practice are presented for domestic violence intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considers the relationship between sexual identity and place by examining how the battered woman identity regulates access to domestic violence shelters in the U.S. Definitions of battering and battered women; Discussion on the problem of domestic lesbian violence; Description of the screening process used by domestic violence shelters; Problems for lesbians and bisexual women in predominantly heterosexual domestic violence programs.

Provides information for case managers in the United States on regulations that influence service delivery to victims of domestic battery. Description of services provided by women's centers; Understanding of referral questions that may support referrals to domestic violence services; Grassroots movements associated with the women's movement; Crisis intervention; Adolescent services on dating relationships; Access to health and community services.

Examines services offered to battered women at women's shelters in three states in the Southern United States. Methods of the study; Services available to battered women in these states; Which groups of women are most likely to receive assistance; Investigation of why some groups, including women of color, lesbian women, and mentally ill women, were less likely to receive care.

Domestic violence is the most common and most least reported crime in the United States. Shelters for abused women provide protection from harm when the victim's safety is in jeopardy. The staff of the shelter provide counseling and support in many areas; however, they are not likely to be adequately trained in providing health care or to sufficiently screen those who are injured or ill. The health program described in this article has been organized by nurses in the community concerned about the health needs and problems of the clients served at the local shelter. The nurses involved volunteer their time and skills to assess and screen all those housed at the shelter. They also provide advice and health education to the clients and the staff. The nurses' commitments are reaffirmed by the success of the program and they encourage other nurses interested in the welfare of the victims of domestic violence to become involved with their local shelter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a study which explored the social class diversity in sheltered living facilities for battered women. Battering of women occurs in all social classes and can affect any woman. However, shelters house primarily women who are from the lower and working classes. Shelters often are staffed by women who come from the middle or upper classes, or by those who appear to because of their educational attainment and values. A lack of understanding of class differences often inhibits interaction between shelter staff and residents of the shelter. These differences can surface as ways the staff might judge or evaluate the shelter resident and her potential to make it, instead of an understanding of and respect for class diversity. Although class is one of the most important social divisions, social scientists and the general public disagree on who belongs in what class. No definition of class is without its faults. The development of class structure among black Americans has not followed the same pattern as that of white Americans. Instead, the black class structure has emerged as a result of limited opportunities to obtain higher class positions. Battered upper-class and middle-class women, who have more resources than working-class or lower-class women, usually find safety that does not include shared living space with strangers, secondhand dishes and clothing, or other conditions common to shelter life.

Examines how husband's mental state, antagonism between the disputants, and victim injury affect officers' inferences and referral decisions to battered women shelters and outpatient mental health centers in Georgia. Study of Stalans and Finn; Officers' referral to shelters when wives are injured or are not intent on hurting abusive husbands.

Focuses on the role of battered women's shelters in the U.S. as a response to the problem of violence against women in society. Examination of the battered women's movement and the shelters the movement has spawned; Contradictions between feminist ideology and reality; Role of the shelter itself as a social world.

The article focuses on battered women, an emerging problem in Israel that needed attention and social work intervention. Battered women are not provided with police and legal protection, as well as social services. The problem of battered women cuts across all social classes, both in Israel and the U.S. It defines the battered wife syndrome. Statistical information related to battered women is included. Erin Pizzey who opened the Chiswick Aid, a model for shelter services in other countries, describes the severe struggle to bring the problem of abuse women to public attention. It describes Israel's first shelter, Nashem Lemahar Nashem.

The article examines and evaluates the effectiveness of Diversion of Violent Emotions (D.O.V.E.) and other programs to protect women against domestic violence in Phoenix, Arizona. This study reviews the history of wife assault and the methods used for treating offenders. A new awareness of wife assault has resulted in the establishment of shelters and programs of intervention for women. Law enforcement agencies did not consider domestic violence a criminal act until the early 1980s. Lawmakers were pressured to provide new legislation and adopt mandatory or presumptive arrest policies for wife assault. The City of Phoenix instituted a presumptive arrest policy in 1985 and created the program D.O.V.E. to divert first time offenders from the courts into counseling. This study includes demographic information on violent men, their history of domestic violence assault, and arrests. Intervention programs such as D.O.V.E. show high rates of short-term success for men who remain with the victims and complete the program.

The underground railroad was an informal, clandestine series of escape routes for runaway slaves. Historical data are cloudy on many facts about it. Those who know of the underground railroad think of it as a relic from a less humane time, outmoded and outdated, like grotesque public lynchings, involuntary lobotomies, chain gangs and Alcatraz. Most members of modern society would be shocked to think that such an underground institution could exist today, or even that anyone would consider a need for one. But such an underground railroad does exist today. It has operated successfully for most of the last decade. The passengers on the new underground railroad are women who have been battered or abused by violent husbands and now seek refuge in the informal network of shelters for battered women. The growth of shelters for battered women increased very dramatically during the late 1970's. The United States does not authorize an institution of slavery as it did during 1830-1865, when the original underground railroad flourished. So in many ways the new underground railroad seems different than its predecessor.

The article discusses feminist activist ethnography in relation to the author's research with women in the New York City battered women's shelter Angel House. Topics include a research subject's experience of bulimia, the use of a life history methodology in the context of U.S. welfare reform, and the role of empathy in political activism by ethnographers.