Australian-first research on women who abuse their partners and children has found women’s violence is underpinned by different motivations and dynamics to those of violent men.
Led by researchers at the University of Melbourne and Curtin University in collaboration with not-for-profit organisations Baptcare and Berry Street, it is the first Australian research to examine women who use force, with the findings to be used to better tailor intervention programs.
Released on Wednesday by the federal Department of Social Services, which funded the research, the national survey of 278 people who work with abusive women and their victims, found: “Women’s use of force was seen as often being a situational use of force when threatened and instrumental as a means to an end.
“The most commonly reported behaviours of women’s use of force were: verbal abuse (86.3%), emotional abuse (73%), protection of self or others (67.3%) and physical abuse (65.5%),” it found.
“It was concerning that almost a third (31.7%) of respondents considered women who withdraw from all sexual activity as a form of force. This was unexpected and concerning, given current discussions of women’s sexual agency and men’s obligation, or lack thereof, to sex.”
The majority of respondents said women did not access their services frequently to specifically address their use of force. However, most respondents said that women had disclosed their use of force and took responsibility for their actions.
“This contrasts with heterosexual men’s use of violence in intimate relationships where denial and minimisation are common barriers to engagement,” the research found. “This underlines how a different assessment and intervention approach is required when working with women who use force as it is not the same as men’s use of force.”
The lead researcher, Dr Margaret Kertesz, said there was limited knowledge, skills and experience within the domestic and family violence, child protection and welfare workforces to address women’s use of force.
Kertesz said the research was commissioned after family organisations such as Baptcare found “there was a group of women who are using force, but there was no way to send them for help”.
“It’s not appropriate to send women to men’s behaviour change programs, or even to groups that are just copied from those types of programs, because the underpinning issues are different,” she said.
The differences prompted Baptcare to adapt one of the programs being used in the United States called the Positive Shift Program. The need to evaluate that program led to the broader research project.
The research found most women who use force are themselves victim-survivors of domestic and family violence and childhood abuse. Motivations for the use of force by women most commonly include self-defence, retaliation, anger and stress.
The Australian Institute of Criminology researcher Hayley Boxall said the findings show women who have been reported for domestic and family violence behaviours were often responding to threatened or actual abuse.
“However, this threat may not be immediately obvious, like a family member or partner raising their fist in your face,” Boxall said. “Instead, it could be a look, a glance, a tone of voice that can set someone on edge, trigger a fight or flight response and make them likely to strike out. Critically, women’s threat perceptions are not only affected by violence that may already be happening within their relationships, but also prior experiences of abuse.”
Sixty per cent of women in the Positive Shift Program had been abused by one or more prior partners, Boxall said. “My own research has shown that 80% of women reported to the NSW police for violence towards their partner had been reported as a victim of domestic violence previously.
“However, we also need to be mindful that there is no one lived reality or reason for violence and abuse – not all women who are abusive towards family members and partners are seeking power or protecting themselves,” she said.
“Women share many of the same emotional states and motivations for violence as men – which can include rage, fear of abandonment, a need for control and dominance and revenge. We should always keep this in sight when we are designing interventions, and avoid the pitfalls associated with saying that domestic and family violence ‘looks’ a particular way.”
Jemma Mead is the general manager of the western region at Drummond Street Services, a community support organisation, and said women who use force “generally do so because they want power, rather than because they have power”. Drummond Street Services has been given government funding to develop a model for changing women’s behaviour.
“What we found was that the women who come to our service seem to be willing and able to find ways to heal the harm that they’ve caused, particularly with family members such as their children,” Mead said.