Is Length of Shelter Stay and Receipt of a Protection Order Associated With Less Violence and Better Functioning for Abused Women? Outcome Data 4 Months After Receiving Services

Abstract

To provide differential effectiveness on length of stay at a shelter and receipt versus non-receipt of a protection order (PO), and outcomes of violence, functioning, and resiliency, in 300 abused women (150 first-time users of a shelter and 150 first-time applicants for a PO) who participate in a 7-year study with outcomes measured every 4 months. Four months after a shelter stay or application for a PO, abused women staying 21 days or less at a shelter reported similar outcomes compared with women staying longer than 21 days. Similarly, women receiving and not receiving a PO reported overall equivalent outcomes. Seeking shelter or justice services results in similar improved outcomes for abused women 4 months later, regardless of length of stay at the shelter or receipt or no receipt of the PO. Contact with shelter and justice services results in positive outcomes for abused women and indicates the urgent need to increase availability, accessibility, and acceptability of shelter and justice services.

Help‐seeking amongst women survivors of domestic violence: a qualitative study of pathways towards formal and informal support

“…All the women in the study were eventually ‘successful’ help‐seekers in terms of accessing specialist DVA services and we can learn from their trajectories. Women's narratives of help‐seeking need to be heard by policy makers and health‐care funders, to inform interventions that facilitate earlier access to services, as highlighted in a recent longitudinal study from the USA reporting a ‘drastic improvement in functioning and resilience and decrease in abuse for all women’ who connected with DVA services . Our study shows that only after connecting with a DVA agency did many women feel that disclosure of abuse and help‐seeking via other formal or informal avenues was legitimized.…”

“…Informal and formal support for women experiencing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can play a vital role in improving safety, physical and mental health outcomes . Over three quarters of women experiencing DVA disclose the abuse at some point, but disclosure may be limited and come after a long period using private strategies, such as placating or reframing their experiences, to cope within the abusive relationship . Women experiencing abuse tend to have small networks with weak interconnections, partly as a result of coercion from the abusive partner, giving limited opportunities for disclosure .…”

“…Women experiencing abuse tend to have small networks with weak interconnections, partly as a result of coercion from the abusive partner, giving limited opportunities for disclosure . Specialist DVA services providing advocacy and safe housing can result in improvement in functioning and resilience and a decrease in abuse, but women experience many barriers to accessing these services, such as feelings of shame or denial, lack of trust in others or fear of repercussions such as the perpetrator finding out or family members seeking revenge . Other barriers to disclosure include a past history of abuse in the family and poor previous experiences of help‐seeking …”

A Risk Assessment Tool to Predict Sustained PTSD Symptoms Among Women Reporting Abuse

“…Nationally and worldwide, 30% or more of women are likely to have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). 2 , 3 While many of those women will not experience chronic PTSD symptoms, 4 , 5 a substantial number will. Johnson and Zlotnick, 4 in a prospective study, found that 46.8% of 147 residents of a shelter had PTSD symptoms 6 months after seeking assistance, associated with more severe baseline PTSD symptoms and fewer personal and social resources.…”

Predictors and Outcomes of Community Agency Use in Abused Mothers

“…For that reason, decreases in abuse and risk for murder are especially important variables for professionals working in this field. Previous analysis revealed that women are at a significantly decreased risk for incidents of violence 4 months after applying for a protection order or after staying at a shelter for abused women (McFarlane, Symes, Maddoux, Gilroy, & Koci, ). All women in this study have reached out for assistance to these two aforementioned ways as a prerequisite for joining the study, so we would expect to see a decrease in violence and risk for murder at 24 months post seeking help as well.…”