Battered Women in Rural America

Abstract

Battered women in rural America are a neglected population. This article addresses the plight of these women and points to the unique sociological factors and religious beliefs that make them a difficult group to reach. Implications for counselor education programming are presented.

Trajectories of non-intimate partner and intimate partner homicides, 1980-1999: The importance of rurality

“…Even if this is not entirely the case, scholars had emphasized the existence of good "ol" boy's networks in rural communities between patriarchical criminal justice officials and abusive local men making the reporting/prosecuting of intimate partner violence less likely (Websdale, 1998). Krishnan, Hilbert, and Pase (2001) and Lewis (2003) had also commented on the informal social norms in rural areas against speaking out publicly about abusive domestic relationships (see also Navin, Stockum, & Cambell-Ruggaard, 1993) and rural women's perceptions of the criminal justice system services for domestic abuse as less helpful when compared to urban women (Shannon et al, 2006). Additionally, telephone subscription rates had been reported as being very low in rural areas (Websdale, 1998), thus increasing the difficulty for victims for reporting intimate partner violence in a timely fashion (if at all).…”

Separation and/or Divorce Sexual Assault in Rural Ohio

“…Furthermore, in rural sections of Ohio and other states, there is widespread acceptance of woman abuse and community norms prohibiting victims from publicly talking about their experiences and from seeking social support (Krishnan, Hilbert, & Pase, 2001;Lewis, 2003;Navin, Stockum, & Campbell-Ruggaard, 1993). For example, one of our respondents said the following: Consider, too, the response that another respondent got from social service providers.…”

Toward a gendered Second Generation CPTED for preventing woman abuse in rural communities

“…What is to be done about the plight of many rural women described by DeKeseredy and his colleagues, Gagn é (1992) , Websdale (1995aWebsdale ( , b, 1998 , and other researchers (for example, Navin et al , 1993 ;Krishnan et al , 2001 ;Logan et al , 2004Logan et al , , 2005? Here, we contend that some key principles of Second Generation Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) can be modifi ed to help reduce violence against women.…”