Barriers to Services
Like other types of crime, IPV victims often do not seek formal help from the police or medical services, but rather they use family and friends as their primary source of support. One issue with using families is that many victims and offenders come from families where domestic violence is happening, which can undermine their ability to leave their perpetrator. In addition, there can be shame associated with being a victim, especially if the victimization has been occurring for some time. There can be social shaming toward victims because nonvictims do not understand why they would not have left right away, rather than potentially staying for years in an abusive relationship.
In addition, many victims believe that the police, and the criminal justice system as a whole, are not effective. As discussed in previous modules, this attitude is more common among minorities, immigrants, and communities that have negative histories with law enforcement. This includes Latina populations, where there are intersections of cultural barriers, language barriers, and a distrust of law enforcement (O’Neal & Beckman, 2017).
There are also issues around victims calling the police, particularly in areas that arrest both partners if they were mutually violent. Men, in particular, are hesitant to call the police because police are much more likely to arrest the man, even if he was the victim. In addition, victims are less likely to call or cooperate with the police if the incident was minor, even if it was part of a larger IPV relationship.
When offered services, some victims do not get a lot of information about the services, or they find them difficult to access. Further, they sometimes find that the services have run out of money to help them, creating a “black box” of victims’ services (Hamby, Finkelhor, & Turner, 2015).
The LGBT+ community has additional barriers to services, including the legal definition of IPV not including same-sex couples, the potential of “outing” themselves if they seek help which can lead to social, economic, and family consequences, and negative attitudes about the LGBT+ community from service providers and law enforcement (Brown & Herman, 2015). In addition, there are few shelters for men, and even fewer for gay men.
Conclusion
Best practices in breaking the cycle of domestic violence involve empowerment of victims. Victims who have access to financial resources, mental health, social services, and legal protections and who feel empowered to make changes to their lives are likely to break free of their violent relationships. This is important to break the intergenerational cycle of violence as well. Services need to be survivor- defined, which emphasizes the client choice, partnership, and sensitivity to the unique needs, contexts, and coping strategies of individual survivors (Goodman et al., 2016).