Beyond Rope Ladders & Padlocks:

A New Approach to Safety Planning

Sherry Hamby & Sarah ClarkSewanee, the University of the South

Presented at the Ending Domestic & Sexual Violence: Innovations in Practice

& Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH, November, 2011

sherry.hamby@sewanee.edu

Common Instruments & Tools

This review focuses on published instruments

and tools.

You will see their content is rather narrow.

Although many advocates do address these

risks, they do so largely without guidance from

published documents or the nation’s premier

resources on domestic violence.

Existing Dangerousness Assessments:

Ask Only About Physical Harm The most frequent topics covered by popular

dangerousness/lethality assessment tools are (Laing, 2004; Websdale, 2000) : prior victimization;

batterer’s drug & alcohol problems;

batterer’s obsessiveness & jealousy;

batterer’s threats to kill the victim or her children;

batterer access to & familiarity with weapons;

batterer’s violence outside the home;

stalking;

batterer’s suicidal ideation & behavior;

partners are separated, or victim is fleeing.

3

A Typical Safety Plan—

Nat’l Coalition Against Domestic Violence

If you are still in the relationship:

Think of a safe place to go if an argument occurs - avoid rooms with no exits (bathroom), or rooms with weapons (kitchen).

Think about and make a list of safe people to contact.

Keep change with you at all times.

Memorize all important numbers.

Establish a "code word" or "sign" so that family, friends, teachers or co-workers know when to call for help.

Think about what you will say to your partner if he\she becomes violent.

Remember, you have the right to live without fear and violence. 44

…Focuses on leaving & physical safety If you have left the relationship:

Change your phone number.

Screen calls.

Save and document all contacts, messages, injuries or other incidents involving the batterer.

Change locks, if the batterer has a key.

Avoid staying alone.

Plan how to get away if confronted by an abusive partner.

If you have to meet your partner, do it in a public place.

Vary your routine.

Notify school and work contacts.

Call a shelter for battered women.

If you leave the relationship or are thinking of leaving, you should take important papers and documents with you to enable you to apply for benefits or take legal action. 55

The State of Safety Planning Bottom line: Many safety plans

devote more space to rope ladders and

padlocks than to providing guidance

on dealing with the financial, legal,

and social risks faced by virtually all

battered women.

In addition to leaving advocates to

figure out how to do this on their own,

one at a time, over and over again,

what other consequences does this

narrow focus have?

66

What Gets Left Out of

Existing Services?

Physical Risks Posed to Others

Concern for others can constrain coping:

Children

Family members

Friends—especially those who offer shelter

Pets

Others, such as coworkers, advocates, etc.

Ex: Across 6 studies, 48% of women in

shelters reported their pets had been

harmed, 45% said they had been

threatened, and 26% said the welfare of

their pets delayed their decision to leave

(Hamby, in preparation).8

Financial Risks Financial dependence is often the most

commonly mentioned reason for staying

(e.g., Cruz, 2003).

Many areas of potential loss:

Lower standard of living

Loss of savings

Cannot afford neighborhoods with low crime or good schools

Would have to drop out of own schooling

Job loss

Loss of health insurance

Loss of car/transportation

Doesn’t have security deposit, rent, furniture for even a terrible

apartment in a terrible neighborhood. 9

Legal Risks

Dual arrests are on the rise

(Hirschel & Buzawa, 2002)

Arrest of batterer unlikely to lead

to jail time—will be back home

& madder than ever

If disclose abuse to

authorities, may be reported to

CPS for “exposing” children to

dv

D-I-V-O-R-C-E risks

Risks losing custody of children

Risks unfair divorce settlement10

Social Risks

Stigma—Almost all of the social

statuses associated with leaving a

violent relationship are stigmatized:

“victim”

“divorced”

“single mother”

Loss of friendships, extended

family, support of

minister/congregants

Children’s loss of

friends, schools, sports

May stigmatize entire family in

many communities

11

Who Gets Left Out of Existing

Services?

12

Not all victims need shelters

Denise Richards Brooke Mueller Taylor Armstrong Phil Hartman

Rihanna Madonna Tina Turner 13

Not all victims are economically

disadvantaged or lacking housing

Celebrities obviously do not

represent the norm, but they will

have to stand in for all the

unknown lawyers, accountants,

physicians, psychologists, social

workers, nurses, teachers,

computer technicians, journalists,

artists, physical therapists,

veterinarians, and all of the other

women who don’t fit the stereotype

of “battered woman.”14

The VIGOR: Multiple

Criteria Decision Making

for IPV

Types of Problems Addressed with

MCDM Selecting routes for nuclear waste transport

(Chen, Wang, & Lin, 2008).

Promoting recycling (Gomes et al., 2008)

Understanding stock trading (Albadvi et al., 2007)

Deciding best locations for emergency vehicles (Araz et

al., 2007)

Understanding “medical tourism”—when people will

decide to have surgery abroad (Bies & Zacharia, 2007)

…and dozens of other applications in environmental

sciences, engineering, agriculture, and finance

(Hajkowicz, 2008) 16

What Do These Problems Have

in Common with Battering?

Multiple facets to the problem

“Success” can be evaluated on multiple criteria

Not all criteria easily evaluated with dollars or

some other uniform metric—involve value

judgements (originally developed as an

alternative to cost-benefit analysis).

Multiple options to choose from, and these

options vary in how well they meet different

criteria. 17

Using MCDM Principles to Create the

VIGOR: Victim Inventory of Goals,

Options, & Risks

6 other experienced advocates reviewed the

VIGOR and provided extensive feedback, paid

$100 honorarium.

Pilot study with over 100 individuals who have

been victims of battering

Students in an undergraduate research seminar

helped further streamline and simplify the

wording. 18

Pilot Study: Risks, Strengths, Options

as Perceived by Victims of Battering 102 people (98% female) with histories of intimate partner

victimization were recruited from 2 domestic violence programs (1

shelter, 1 support group) in 2 Southern states.

Wide age range: 28% 18-25, 25% 26-30, 27% 31-40, 20% 41+

Ethnically and racially diverse: African-American

(54%), White/Caucasian (26%), Hispanic (11%), Native American

(9%), and other (1%).

58% reported income < $12,000 per year.

Most had children (91%), mean 2.14 children per participant.

They provided their perceptions of their risks and resources in a semi-

structured format. Responses were coded using a boot-strapping

method and analyzed. Participants were given a $25 gift card to thank

them for their participation. DV agencies were paid $25 per interview

to compensate them for staff time. 19

Step 1: Identify Risks

47.6

16.5

53.4

46.644.7

27.2 27.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Fear of

physical

harm to self

Fear partner

will murder

them

Financially

insecure

Concern for

children*

Lack Social

Support

Lose

custody

Family

rejection

20*Concern for children includes concern for their physical, emotional, and social well-being

Step 2: Identify Strengths

54.4

48.545.6

41.7 41.7 40.8 39.8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Family

support

Church

Community

Religious

faith

Have

friends

Shelter Personal

Strength

Have a job

*Personal strength refers to a sense of being capable and having the ability to persevere.21

Step 3: Identify Options

49 47.1

37.3 35.331.4 31.4 30.4 29.4

25.5 23.519.6 18.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

22

Novel OptionsReported by single or few respondents

Increase internet security

(myspace, facebook, email)

Get a dog

Apply for a gun permit

Sleep with a knife under

pillow

Find new friends/confidants

Exercise

Change locks (5%)

Step 4: Make Choices Based on

Risk Priorities & Options

In MCDM, an option has “strict dominance” if it is

better than others on some criteria, and at least as

good on all others.

The result: NOT a generic checklist of safety

precautions, BUT a personalized plan that links

coping responses to specific risks.

Fleeing on an emergency basis with few

belongings and possibly not even with your

children, will not minimize many risks faced by

typical battered women. 24

Conclusion

Can improve our response to the most disadvantaged

women as help them address multiple needs.

Victims who are seen as poor copers or in “denial” may

be prioritizing other risks.

Holistic advocacy, using MCDM, has the potential to

considerably broaden the population that seeks help from

domestic violence advocates, as many perceive advocacy

is primarily about free shelter.

Next steps: Further testing of revised version (Beta

11.0!) with traditional dv agency clients and also hope to

evaluate with less disadvantaged women.

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