1 Saf
SAFETY FIRST
The systems approach towards domestic violence
by the Dutch police: A state of the art
H.A. Helder Supervisor: Dr. P.G.M. Aarten Second reader: Dr. M.C.A. Liem March 2018
Master thesis
Crisis and Security Management
2 Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor dr. Pauline Aarten for her guidance, support and encouragement. Your positive attitude gave me the confidence I needed. Also, I would like to thank my colleagues from the Dutch national police. Without your support, feedback, the opportunity for an internship at the Central Unit of the Dutch national police and the introduction into the network of the police force this thesis would not have been possible. Lastly, this thesis would have been impossible without the support of my family and friends. Many thanks for all the encouragement.
3 Table of contents
1. Introduction ... 5
1.1 Problem outline ... 5
1.2 Research question and reader’s guide ... 8
1.3 Societal and academic relevance ... 9
1.4 Conceptualization of most important terms ... 9
1.4.1 Domestic violence ... 10
1.4.1.1 Family violence ... 11
1.4.2 Veilig Thuis ... 11
1.4.3 Integral approach ... 12
2. Theoretical Framework ... 14
2.1 Family systems theory ... 14
2.2 The myth of pure evil and the ideal victim ... 18
2.3 Victim-offender overlap ... 20
3. Method ... 22
3.1 Explanation of the method ... 22
3.1.1 Systematic review ... 22
3.1.2 Police input ... 22
3.2 Reflection on chosen methods ... 23
3.3 Protocol for the systematic review ... 24
3.3.1 Criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies in the review ... 24
3.3.2 Quality assessment ... 25
3.3.3 Search strategy for identification of relevant studies ... 26
4. Results ... 29
4.1 Results of the search ... 29
4.2 Characteristics of the included quantitative studies ... 30
4.3 Characteristics of the included qualitative studies ... 35
4.4 Assessment of the characteristics of the included studies ... 38
4.5 Quality of the included studies ... 39
4.6 Summary of the quantitative results ... 40
4.7 Summary of the qualitative results ... 42
4.8 Quantitative versus qualitative findings ... 43
4.9 Findings per topic ... 44
4.9.1 Training, specialization and knowledge ... 44
4
4.9.3 Risk assessments, safety assessments and safety plans ... 47
4.9.4 Collaboration with partners ... 49
4.9.5 Victim participation ... 50 4.9.6 Compassion ... 51 4.9.7 Dossiers ... 52 4.9.8 Other ... 53 4.10 Police perspective ... 54 5. Discussion ... 57
5.1 Results and family systems theory: extent of correlation ... 57
5.2 Reflection on the included studies ... 60
5.3 Practicality of the results ... 61
5.4 Strengths and weaknesses of the review methods ... 63
5.5 Implications for further research ... 64
6. Conclusion ... 66
7. Bibliography ... 68
8. Annexes ... 75
8.1 Annex I - Questionnaire for quality assessment of qualitative studies ... 75
8.2 Annex II - List of studies that could not be fully accessed... 77
8.3 Annex III - Data extraction forms ... 78
5 1. Introduction
1.1 Problem outline
Domestic violence could very well be the ultimate example of a social problem. Even though it is called domestic violence, it is never a private issue. The figures for the Netherlands are shockingly high: it is estimated that on an annual basis, 200,000 adults and 119,000 children are victim of domestic violence (Overheid.nl, 2016), and there are approximately 60 fatalities within a family context each year (Koenraadt & Liem, 2010). Two types of domestic violence stand out: partner violence and child abuse. Over 60% of the domestic violence cases is violence between current or former partners (Van der Veen & Bogaerts, 2010), and 58% of the domestic violence incidents involves a family with children (Ferwerda, 2007). Domestic violence is manifested in many ways. It can be physical, emotional or sexual. It can be financial exploitation, bullying, keeping someone in isolation, intimidation, the threat of harm, stalking, homicide and many more. It can be aimed at children, (ex-)partners, elderly, heterosexuals or homosexuals (Janssen, Wentzel, & Vissers, 2015). It can be an incident or happen on a structural basis. It occurs in all classes of society and anybody can be a victim, regardless their age, sex, religion, race, education, marital status or culture. Other social issues can be involved such as addiction to alcohol or unemployment (Janssen et al., 2015). So, it safe to say that domestic violence has many forms, types, shapes and occurs in all social classes. Or, as Stals concluded plainly: “domestic violence does not discriminate” (Stals, 2005).
For a long time, it was not self-evident to view domestic violence as a social issue. Domestic violence is the ultimate type of violence that occurs behind closed doors, and therefore used to be viewed as something that is private. Also in Netherlands, the idea that such problems were peoples’ own business was the prevailing belief for a long time. How parents treat their children was understood as a nurture and therefore a private issue. Politics did not address the problem of domestic violence. Also, police interventions were at a minimum level. Since a few decades however, this is changing. The Kabinetsnota “Privé Geweld, Publieke Zaak” in 2002 has been a turning point. After years of lobbying, domestic violence became one of the prime priorities to address (Janssen et al., 2015; Ministerie van Jusitie, 2002).
Simultaneously with the growing public attention, a change of perspective towards domestic violence is also visible in the policies of the Dutch national police. The police are often the first actor to respond to cases of domestic violence. Their programme Domestic Violence actively develops plans and strategies to improve the task of the police in the field of domestic violence (Koopman, 2017). Before the societal transition of identifying domestic violence as a social
6 issue, the involvement of police officers in cases of domestic violence was rather passive. Police officers would try to solve the direct threat if an incident was reported, but actual law enforcement and prosecution of the wrongdoer was often not the main priority. This changed into a more victim-oriented strategy and the urgency of criminal prosecution of the offender was acknowledged (Van der Knaap, El Idrissi, & Bogaerts, 2010). The safety-first principle was introduced. Today, this principle lies at the heart of police interventions in domestic violence case. (Koopman, 2017) and the process of strategy change is still ongoing. The police programme Domestic Violence aims to introduce a generic approach towards domestic violence, in order to have more responsive and more effective interventions. The police have the intention to transform their working process from a focus on investigation to a focus of security. This should be achieved in collaboration with partner institutions (Koopman, 2017). Whereas before child abuse and other cases of domestic violence all had different approaches and programmes within the police force, now these forms of violence are incorporated into one approach as much as possible. Even though these forms of domestic violence have many differences, some important characteristics overlap and make such incorporation suitable. Domestic violence tends to be systematic, the risk of recidivism is high, involved people tend to be dependent on each other and are characterized by increased vulnerability (Ten Boom & Witkamp, 2016). If the police are confronted with domestic violence, there is a certain risk that this incident is not an isolated event. The chance that violence will occur again is significant (Van der Knaap et al., 2010). This is why Lünnemann and Lünnemann (2016) find that a rapid response is necessary and should be focussing on two aspects: it should increase safety for victims and possible witnesses, and it should aim at breaking the cycle of violence between the involved parties (Lünnemann & Lünnemann, 2016). An integral working process should enhance the safety of the entire family. This is shown, for instance, by evaluations of domestic violence initiatives in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Haarlem (among others): an integral working process had positive effects on the family wellbeing and the feeling of safety as compared with previous domestic violence approaches (Naber, Bergwever, & Zoomer, 2001).
The introduction of a more integral approach by the police can be seen as the shift towards a systems approach. A systems approach towards domestic violence is a “focus in the family unit and attempt to explain individual behaviours within the context of interpersonal relationships, family systems, and larger societal systems, as well as how these relate to the formation and maintenance of family violence” (Hyde-Nolan & Juliao, 2012: 14). This approach is result of the realization that earlier views towards domestic violence are not fully comprehensive. It was
7 realized that focusing on a single actor (whether this is the victim or the perpetrator) was not sufficient(Van der Veen & Bogaerts, 2010). Also, experts in the field understood that it is not always clear who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. In situations in which only adults are involved, one cannot always speak of a complementary relationship in which one family member is controlling and intimidating another subordinate family member. Instead the violence can be characterized as having complementary and symmetrical dynamics, because the power of the involved persons is evenly matched in their relationship (Van Lawick, 2008). These concepts lead to the idea that the entire system, the family as a whole, should be part of an intervention (Gelles & Maynard, 1987).
For domestic violence, there is a close collaboration between the police, Veilig Thuis and the public prosecutor in cases of domestic violence (VNG, 2015). This collaboration is of crucial importance in a systems approach. However, these collaborative agreements are not enough for a comprehensive transition towards a more integral approach; more steps should be made in order to further develop the generic approach of the police. This research aims to establish what studies have been conducted into the effectiveness of such an integral approach. With the results, this thesis aims to translate academic insights on family interventions into guidelines for the police.
This thesis is based on the request of the Dutch national police (domestic violence programme) to make a state of the art on domestic violence and translate the results into guiding principles for the police practice. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide guidelines based on academic research to the Dutch national police. The results of this thesis can contribute to the realisation of the generic approach and ensure that the working process of the police is based on academic knowledge. An approach that is based on research-based practice can contribute to the credibility of the police. Results from systematic research can be used for tactical and strategic decisions (Lum, 2009). Lum advocates the translation of police research into practice and argues for the use of scientific evidence of what works best in police practice. According to her, “information-based decision making can provide legitimacy, transparency, and structure to police-citizen communications and interactions, all of which are important requirements for effective policing in modern democracies” (Lum, 2009: 2).
The thesis will be a state of the art into the systems approach to domestic violence, in order to find out what the current state of academic research is on effective police interventions for domestic violence. An appropriate method for such a state of the art is a systematic review. A systematic review is a study that collects and interprets available evidence on a particular topic.
8 This strategy helps to assemble all relevant studies and research for the established research question in a structured and as unbiased as possible manner (Harris, Quatman, Manring, Siston, & Flanigan, 2014). An important component of a systematic review is the assessment of the quality of the included studies. With the results of this review a state of the art into family interventions in domestic violence can be constructed. The next step is a translation of these results into police routine: the best principles in these studies are deducted and translated into guidelines.
The conduct of a systematic review into domestic violence is not new, however, such reviews have not yet focused on the police perspective. Systematic reviews have for instance been conducted into domestic violence treatment of batterers (Babcock, Green, & Robie, 2004), the prevalence of domestic violence against women (Alhabib, Nur, & Jones, 2010) or into the consequences of exposure to domestic violence for children (Lourenco et al., 2013). These examples illustrate that there are reviews into domestic violence that concentrate on the possible role – victims, offenders, witnesses–, section of the population – children, adults, elderly –, gender – men, women– or possible treatments. Nevertheless, an important aspect is left behind: the actors or type of intervenor. In particular, the role of the police has been neglected. Therefore, this thesis aims to focus on results which contain useful elements on family interventions for the police. This has resulted in the subsequent research question.
1.2 Research question and reader’s guide
What are (inter)national effective family interventions with regards to domestic violence and to what extent can they be translated into guidelines for the Dutch police?
The objective of this thesis is to uncover what research on interventions on domestic violence systems approach is out there and secondly, how this could help police practice. The thesis can fill the gap between academia and police practice in the field of domestic violence. When it comes to the police, the change towards a generic approach has been launched, but it lacks an academic foundation. This thesis could provide this scientific foundation, through a systematic review.
The thesis starts with an exploration on domestic violence and conceptualization of other important terms. Next is a theoretical chapter in which the systems theory is discussed in further detail. The theoretical framework is further enhanced with an exploration of the myth of pure evil and the notion of the ideal victim. This chapter is followed by a description of the research methods. This includes the protocol containing a detailed step-by-step explanation for the
9 systematic review. Then the actual review follows, in which the results of the assembled studies are presented. These results are linked to the theoretical framework in the same chapter. The police perspective on the results, deducted from a discussion with some employees, is considered in the discussion chapter. Lastly, the answer to the research question and implications for practice and further research are covered in the conclusion of this thesis.
1.3 Societal and academic relevance
Domestic violence is a societal problem in its very essence. The one place and situation where a person should feel safe is in his/her own private situation. This research can contribute to better insight into the approach towards domestic violence. It is the most frequent form of violence in the Dutch society; if the aim is to substantially reduce the amount of violence then interventions in domestic violence should be the first and main priority (MOVISIE, 2009).
The societal relevance is not only derived from the topic of domestic violence, but also because it involves the Dutch National police. The police force stands in the middle of society. It serves the public and has to provide safety to every individual. A side effect of this important task is that the actions of the police are under a lot of attention in the media. This research can contribute to an improvement of police actions. Guidelines that are based on scientific insights can help police officers when they have to react on a domestic violence incident. It can contribute to efficiency and credibility of their task.
Nowadays there is a lot of research on domestic violence. However, often this is not specified to the police practice. The police are one often the first actor to respond, and estimated figures of cases of domestic violence are high1, so research into an effective intervention strategy is
necessary. Next to that, the use of a systematic review is quite unique in the field of social sciences – especially when qualitative studies are also considered. Also, the translation of police research into practice is relatively rare. By combining all of these aspects, and by building on recent developments in academic research into domestic violence, this thesis can help to fill a research gap.
1.4 Conceptualization of most important terms
Some clarification on the most important terms is necessary for better understanding and interpretation of the results. The concepts domestic violence and integral approach are
1 It is estimated that on an annual basis, 200,000 adults and 119,000 children are victim of domestic violence in
the Netherlands (Overheid.nl, 2016) and there are approximately 60 domestic homicides per year (Koenraadt & Liem, 2010).
10 discussed, as well as a brief explanation of Veilig Thuis and other important partners that the police works with in cases of domestic violence. This explanation of how domestic violence is treated in the Netherlands is useful for an understanding of why certain findings are relevant or not, and can help place the findings and discussion in the right context.
1.4.1 Domestic violence
This research reviews both national and international studies. However, because the results of the thesis are aimed at the Dutch situation, a definition of domestic violence that is applicable for the Netherlands is used for this thesis. The working definition is the definition that is used by the government in the Kabinetsnota Privé Geweld, Publieke Zaak. The Dutch police uses the same definition (Nationale Politie, n.d.) and since one of the goals of this thesis is to provide guidance for the police, this definition seems suitable.
The definition that is used by the police and the Dutch government: “Huiselijk geweld is geweld dat door iemand uit de huiselijke kring van het slachtoffer wordt gepleegd” (Ministerie van Jusitie, 2002; Nationale Politie, n.d.). Its translation is the working definition for this thesis:
Domestic violence is violence committed by somebody from the victim’s domestic sphere.
The word domestic in domestic violence does not refer to the location of the violence. It refers to the relationship between the victim and the wrongdoer. Because of the focus on family interventions and a systemic approach, this thesis mainly concentrates on domestic violence within families. The definition that is used is an appropriate working definition because it is broad; it includes all forms of domestic violence. This is in accordance with the broad definition of domestic violence that is generally used in the Netherlands (Janssen et al., 2015). Using this broad definition means the chances of missing relevant studies in the extraction phase of the systematic review are reduced. Despite the focus on domestic violence within families in this thesis, the use of a broad definition leaves room to incorporate other types of domestic violence as well. Since many types of abuse are included in the review, the following list is a quick overview of the main forms of domestic violence2 :
▪ Physical abuse ▪ Sexual abuse ▪ Emotional abuse
2 Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
11 ▪ Economic or financial abuse
▪ Verbal abuse
This can take shape in isolation, intimidation, coercion, threats, use of male privilege, stalking, child abuse, honour violence, and many more types of violence (Women Against Abuse, 2015).
1.4.1.1 Family violence
In this thesis, the focus lies on domestic violence within families. In its most basic form, family violence refers to violent or abusive acts of one person in the home, directed to one or more persons (Kashani & Allan, 1998: 3). The main subtypes of family violence are intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse. Hence, these are the two categories of domestic violence that are concentrated on in the review. The characteristic which differentiates intimate partner violence from other forms of domestic violence is that this violent interaction occurs between (possibly former) spouses or partners (World Health Organization, 2012). The study of IPV is often framed in relation to imbalances of power between men and women as a result of gender inequities. This can be explained by the fact that IPV is the most common form of violence against women (Bourey, Williams, Bernstein, & Stephenson, 2015). At the same time, child abuse is any form of threatening or violent interaction with a physical, psychological or sexual nature to an underaged person, by his/her parent, caregiver or another person whom the child depends on. Child abuse is any form of abuse that is threating or violent to the child, including neglect or the child being a witness of domestic violence (Rijksoverheid, n.d.). For child abuse, the relationship of dependency between the involved persons applies even more than for other types of domestic violence (Janssen et al., 2015).
1.4.2 Veilig Thuis
In the Netherlands, the Public Prosecutor, the Dutch national police and Veilig Thuis work in close collaboration in cases of domestic violence. These organisations are the so-called chain partners of the Dutch national police concerning domestic violence. Veilig Thuis is the organisation which registrates cases of (suspected) domestic violence and child abuse, gives advices on such cases, and acts if necessary. There is an important document that lies down the arrangements for cooperation and sets out the responsibilities of the actors together and individually. This document sets out three important types of activities that the actors have agreed on: (1) to report to each other incidents of domestic violence, child abuse or related worrying situations, (2) to provide each other with information and provide feedback on the follow-up of a reported incident, and (3), to calibrate and coordinate joint or sequential actions
12 so that chances for the realization a safe situation are maximized (for both the short and the long term) (VNG, 2015: 8).
The Dutch police must report almost all domestic violence incidents to Veilig Thuis. Veilig Thuis has a leading, coordinating role in this collaborative agreement. It has several tasks and legal obligations. Some of their activities include: investigation of possible unsafe situations; support and give advice to professionals, bystanders, and people that ask for help; construct a safety-plan and ensure it is implemented; documentation and file creation; and more (Baeten, Eijkern, Simon, & Pattje, 2014; VNG, 2015). The most important tool of Veilig Thuis is the triage. The aim of triage is that Veilig Thuis decides on necessary steps that have to be taken based on the content of the incoming notification and on a risk assessment. It includes the gathering of information, an analysis or assessment, and decision-making. In many cases, the police provide Veilig Thuis with a lot of the necessary information for the triage. Veilig Thuis then can conclude that no follow-up is needed, that they themselves take up the case, or that they delegate a case to (for instance) the local instances. (Baeten et al., 2014).
So, it is safe to say that Veilig Thuis is a big actor in the field of domestic violence. When reviewing the actors that are involved in domestic violence interventions, Veilig Thuis sort of represents the field of social work, whereas the police and the public prosecutor represent the judiciary. In this thesis, the social work actors or social services are taken together and jointly represent the social field. For the Dutch situation, it means actors such as Slachtofferhulp, Bureau Jeugdzorg, GGZ Nederland, Sociaal wijkteam, psychologists, the many local organisations that operate in this area, and many more are labelled as social services. If the concepts of social work or social services are used, the focus in on Veilig Thuis in particular, but also the other actors that are preoccupied with the provision of social aid are included.
1.4.3 Integral approach
An integral approach towards domestic violence includes offering a coordinated, coherent set of activities aimed at prevention, reception facilitation, assistance and aftercare of victims, perpetrators and children. It includes all those affected by the so-called cycle of violence. It requires cooperation between agencies at the policy level, which aims at the realization of a comprehensive approach at the implementation level. Involved agencies together work at prevention and/or early interventions in cases of (possible) domestic violence. Naber et al. (2001) have established four key elements of an integral approach: (1) preventive education and information provision (2) balanced and conclusive supply of assistance and treatment to victims and offenders, (3) active and coordinated interventions by police and the judicial branch
13 of government, (4) facilitation of aftercare (Naber et al., 2001: 78). Agencies and authorities of various fields are involved in an integral approach, for example education, mental and physical health care, social services, the police, the judiciary and local and regional governments. It concerns all partners who are in any possible way involved in domestic violence and are able to play a role the approach towards it (Naber et al., 2001). These partners are from various fields and disciplines, making collaboration between them complex. However, for each incident of domestic violence they share one goal: the violence has to stop. The idea of ‘safety first’ prevails all interventions, policies and protocols. This is recognized by the Dutch National police and is the leading principle in each of its policy documents (Koopman, 2017).
14 2. Theoretical Framework
Several perspectives on domestic violence are reviewed. Firstly, domestic violence is described from a family-systems-theoretical point of view. This perspective on domestic violence lies at the basis of the integral approach the Dutch police aims to pursue. The theoretical framework is complemented with the myth of pure evil by Baumeister and the idea of the ideal victim by Christie. The concepts of these scholars explain why a systems-theoretical perspective towards domestic violence is appropriate; as they describe how the division between good and evil and between victim and offender are not as black-and-white as they are often perceived. The chapter ends with an elaboration on the victim-offender overlap, a notion that complements the previous mentioned theories.
2.1 Family systems theory
Domestic violence from a systems-theoretical perspective
The family systems theory views domestic violence as a phenomenon which occurs within the interaction between family members, rather than the act from one family member against another. The systems-theoretical perspective perceives domestic violence as something that should be seen in its context. The family is viewed as a system; it is a coherent entity that functions within its societal context. For a systems approach towards domestic violence it is important to identify patters of interactions and behaviour. The problematic behaviour should not be disconnected from the context in which they occur. Rather than perceiving the continuation of violence as an individual behavioural product, this theory views the violence as a systemic product (Janssen et al., 2015; Straus, 1973).
This contextualising perspective means that the approach towards domestic violence does not exclusively concentrate on the individual. Not the prosecution of the offenders or the provision of support to victims and witnesses are key themes in this approach. The main focus in this approach is on the change of patterns of the entire family as a system. The underlying relationships and the circumstances which influence the incorrect functioning of the family should be identified and altered. (Janssen, Wentzel, & Vissers, 2015: 35-40).
Hyde-Nolan and Juliao (2012) discuss this systems-theoretical perspective in more detail. They describe three sub-theories within the family and systems theory. They identified the Family Systems Theory, the Family Life Cycle Theory and the Microsystem Factor Theories.
Family Systems Theory posits, just like the systems-theoretical perspective by Janssen et al., that individuals should be observed in terms of interactions and relationships within his/her
15 family, instead of in isolation. The Family Life Cycle Theory is based on the idea that in order to understand families, transitions in the family experience must be studied. Domestic violence can occur because next to individual development, individuals have to adapt to two specific family circumstances: (1) development in any generation of the family may have an impact on other members of the family, and (2) families frequently have to reorganize to accommodate growth and change of their members. Changes in the life cycle are serious transitions points and can result in the experience of stress by the family system. If the family is unable to re-establish the balance between stability and change, the system may become dysfunctional. An example is divorce or separation between partners; if the family system is inflexible and cannot adapt to this new situation, this can be a cause of domestic violence in a family.
Lastly Hyde-Nolan and Juliao elaborate on Microsystem Factor Theories. A microsystem comprises the interactions between the individual and the immediate setting3 in which the
developing individual interacts with other individuals. These theories accentuate tensions that intrinsically exist within the family as a social structure (Hyde-Nolan & Juliao, 2012).
A systemic approach is not suited for every type of domestic violence. It is mostly suitable to forms of violence within families. This means it is more appropriate for IPV and child abuse by a family member than it is for exploitation by a nurse or teacher for instance (Cooper & Vetere, 2005).
An approach which is based on the family systems theory has several implications for the involved family. One of the basic principles underpinning this theory is the intergenerational aspect. The prevalence of family violence is very high (Fearon & Hoeffler, 2014). Family violence can be an unwanted family legacy; there is a significantly increased chance that domestic violence will spread from generation to generation if a family is confronted with IPV, child abuse or another form of domestic violence. So, domestic violence does not only deal with the cycle of violence but also with a generational cycle (Carroll, 1977). Carroll (1977) calls this the intergenerational transmission of family violence. As a consequence, a child that is victim of domestic violence, is more likely to experience domestic violence in his/her adult life, either as victim, offender or both (Janssen et al., 2015). This intergenerational feature implicates that for an integral approach, all generations must be part of the intervention, and extra attention for the safety of the involved children should be paid. Special attention to
3 In the case of domestic violence, this immediate setting is often home. But the setting can also be at school,
16 children is not only required because of the generational risk factor, but also because the family systems theory holds that violence affects all involved persons. For instance, IPV has influences the entire family, also children, although the violence itself occurs between the two involved partners. Foremost, witnessing domestic violence as a child is also considered child abuse. Next to that, children are often both witness and victim in families in which domestic violence plays a role (Dijkstra, 2001).
Risk factors for IPV are dependency; isolation; lack of social skills; problematic divorce; stress as a result from multi-problems within the family; alcohol and drugs use; earlier abuse; behavioural problems in the childhood; cultural tolerance of violence; and psychiatric problems and mental issues (Janssen et al., 2015). The risk factors for child abuse differ to a certain extent. Family circumstances that negatively influence the chances of child abuse are: low educational level of the parents; unemployment of parents; more than three children in a family; one-parent families. Also interaction between parents and children have an impact on the risk of child abuse. The chance on child abuse increases if parents have (unrealistic) high expectations of their children; if children cannot fulfil these expectations; if parents have do not acknowledge the complexity of raising children; if parents have ambivalent feelings concerning their own childhood; and if parents are too little resistant to violence (Dijkstra, 2001; Janssen et al., 2015). The systemic approach aims at the entire range of risk factors, both for IPV and child abuse, by inclusion of the entire family. It does so by helping family members to be autonomous; recognizing and acknowledging the needs of each other; empowering and mobilising people’s own power; enlarge mutual involvement; improve daily functioning of family members; and strengthening the network of the family members. The entire family is the client, as opposed to solely the victim, offender or witness (Janssen et al., 2015).
The two main starting points for any systematic approach are (1) the violence stops and (2) a safe home situation for children and adequate attention to their well-being are guaranteed (Dijkstra & Baeten, 2003). The family systems theory-based approach towards domestic violence is accompanied with a few more requirements. First, since the theory also incorporates an intergenerational aspect, the approach is focusing on the entire family and the relationships between the involved family members in order to break the cycle of violence. Correspondingly, attention to prevention and aftercare are important. If possible, the social network of the involved parties should be involved (Dijkstra & Baeten, 2003; Ministerie van Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport, 2004).
17 Focus on adequate and early signalling of domestic violence is another component that should be explicitly present. Next to that, the (individual) needs of the involved family should be leading during the approach. This means the intervening actors should perform their task on a demand-driven basis and should be client-oriented (Dijkstra & Baeten, 2003; Ministerie van Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport, 2004).
Also, collaboration with chain partners is necessary to be able to provide adequate help to the involved family members. Institutions that are involved in the approach have different tasks and expertise. With joint operation, more can be achieved than if these institutions work separately from each other.4 Next to that, involved institutions should be familiar with each
other’s work so that they can refer to each other in case another organization is better able to deal with a particular (aspect of) the case. Related to this issue is the prerequisite that the involved chain organisations ensure expertise of their employees and continuing development of these professional skills. A systemic approach also requires availability of assistance; assistance should be provided as soon as possible, to support clients and to ensure clients stop prematurely. The approach should be easily accessible, so that internal motivation for a change in lifestyle is enhanced (Dijkstra & Baeten, 2003; Ministerie van Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport, 2004).
An approach in which the entire family context is taken into account, implicates that diversity is also considered. Culture, family structure and composition, religion, gender are all aspects that influence the social context in which a family operates, and therefore partly determine the course of interventions (Dijkstra & Baeten, 2003; Ministerie van Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport, 2004).
The starting points of a systemic approach are the following according to Baeten and Dijkstra (2003): Intervenors should aim to change the patterns of behaviour and interactions between family members. The involved persons have to acknowledge that they are responsible for their own actions. The intergenerational aspect is considered and embedded in the approach; victim, offender, and witnesses, i.e. all family members, are included. Beliefs and experiences of these parties are identified. In particular attention is being paid to the well-being and the safety of children. And lastly, the intervenor acts impartially and does not judge family members.
18 In a nutshell, the aspects and characteristics of a family systems theory-based integral approach for family violence are
▪ Explicit attention to signalling
▪ Intervention is accessible, approachable and available ▪ Client-oriented
▪ Intergenerational perspective ▪ Expertise of professionals ▪ Chain collaboration
▪ Aim to change patterns of interaction and behaviour
▪ Identification of (and approach based on) the characteristics that determine the family context (culture, etc. (Dijkstra & Baeten, 2003; Ministerie van Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport, 2004).
To conclude, factors such as patterns of behaviour and the interactions among individuals and the family play an important role in the cause and maintenance of domestic violence. The mechanisms that cause the violence are sustained by the whole family system. In order to break the characteristic vicious circle, change in the family system is necessary (Straus, 1973). The systems approach also fits with the growing realization that there is not always a strong distinction line between victims and offenders of domestic violence. The classic ‘man beats wife’ idea is not always so clearly apparent. This phenomenon is called diffuse victimization. This does not only refer to the blurry distinction between victims, witnesses and perpetrators; but also, to the overlap between them. The findings of the two following scholars illustrate this idea of diffuse victimization.
2.2 The myth of pure evil and the ideal victim
Firstly, Baumeister sets out the myth of pure evil, a myth that concerns the cause of evil. This myth defines how perpetrators of crimes are perceived nowadays, due to how they are depicted in society. He sets out how in society people have this idea of a classic villain in a movie concerning perpetrators of evil. Baumeister noticed and described a set of common beliefs concerning the root of evil and exposes how these features are a myth rather than reality. He identifies several features on what people think of evildoers:
▪ The harming of another person is intentional;
▪ Perpetrators of evil are people who enjoy the harm they inflict; ▪ Victims are good and innocent;
19 ▪ Evildoers are ‘not like us’, they are alien, the enemy, the outsider. The common idea that conflicts are good versus evil and ‘us versus them’ is closely linked to this feature; ▪ Often evil is presented as something that has always been that way, so the perpetrator was evil since the start. It is not the case that he was a good person at first but turned evil due to an upsetting experience;
▪ Another meaning of evil is chaos, the loss of social order; ▪ Perpetrators often have poor self-control;
▪ Perpetrators often are narcissists.
Not all components are always there, some images are stronger present in societal beliefs than others. Nevertheless, (a composite of) these images together constitute the myth of pure evil, and the belief in this myth allows people to justify violence (Baumeister, 1996, 2012).
A similar myth has been identified by Nils Christie. He theorized about the ideal victim, as opposed to ideal perpetrator in the myth of pure evil by Baumeister. He establishes several components that characterize the ideal victim at a social level:
▪ The victim is fragile and weak;
▪ The victim was performing a respectable action; ▪ The victim cannot be blamed for anything; ▪ The offender is bad;
▪ The offender is a stranger to the victim;
▪ The victim is able to claim the status of being an ideal victim and is more successful in receiving publicity than the opponent
The ideal victim is an individual or a group of similar persons who are legitimized to be a victim. Somehow a petite old lady is more legitimized to be a victim than a strong male student; even though the latter has an increased chance of becoming a victim. And with this ideal victim comes an ideal offender. But domestic violence shows that most offenders are non-ideal. They are not distant to the victim. Therefore, Christie argues for a change in perspective; when it comes to social life, blame and guilt are vital, but offenders and victims are likely not (Christie, 1986).
The perspectives on perpetrators and victims by Baumeister and Christie help to clarify why an integral approach is recommended. They show how complex the circumstances of violence are, and how stereotypes of victims and offenders are incorrect. Victims and offenders can be evenly matched in power to each other, and/or an offender can be a victim and vice versa. Therefore,
20 domestic violence requires an all-inclusive approach. An approach is needed that considers the entire situation in which the violence can occur, or the whole picture. The issue that is discussed in the following paragraph demonstrates the need for the systemic perspective towards family violence some more: it discusses the problem of a victim-offender overlap.
2.3 Victim-offender overlap
Baumeister and Christie showed how stereotypes of the perpetrators and victims dominate in society, and how these stereotypes are far from reality. For both theories the core notion is that the perceived clear black and white distinction between victims and perpetrators is not there in the real world. There is a grey area in which populations of perpetrators and victims overlap. In many cases, intent or malice are not the distinguishing factors that separates perpetrators from victims (Van Dijk, 2007). A possible explanation for this overlap is that victims and perpetrators have similar traits and mutual routine activities. The sharing of these factors generates opportunities for both victimization and offending (Tillyer & Wright, 2014). If domestic violence is understood as violence that occurs in an intimate setting, rather than violence that is the result of an imbalance in power, than the idea of a victim-offender overlap becomes plausible (Janssen et al., 2015; Tillyer & Wright, 2014). These understandings coincide with the perspectives on domestic violence as described in the beginning of this chapter.
Besides the victim-offender overlap, there are other factors that illustrates the complexity of distinction between victims and offenders. For instance, research has found that persons who have been a victim of abuse are more likely to become an offender at some point than others. At the same time, persons that have been a victim once, are more likely to encounter (other) multiple offenders (Cox, Dijk, & Veen, 2010). Chances of repetition are high for this type of violence (Janssen et al., 2015). Next to that, the distinction between good and bad is not always straightforward. Something that is evil from one point of view can be a good or a normal action in another person’s opinion (Baumeister, 2012). Lastly, the complementary dynamics which can characterize a relationship as described by Van Lawick (2008) shows how victims and offenders are sometimes difficult to distinguish. She describes how domestic violence is not always the result of an imbalance in power and how family members can be mutually violent towards each other (Van Lawick, 2008). It is important to be aware of the difference between mutual violence, when both involved initiate violence, and violence for purposes of self-defence (Gelles & Maynard, 1987). The above described phenomena (victim-offender overlap, ideal victim and pure evil offender) are mostly applicable to partner violence as opposed to child abuse; the extent of dependency and vulnerability in the last situation leaves less room for a
21 grey area between victim and offender. For child abuse a family systems approach is the correct fit as well. Because in cases of family violence children are involved as victim and/or as witness, and the chance of intergenerational transmission is high, the starting point from any approach should be that the approach is systemic. This means that problems are integrally reviewed and solved. This requires attention for the entire family, including (and foremost) the involved children (Dijkstra & Baeten, 2003; Janssen et al., 2015).
Taking all of these factors in consideration, the conclusion is that violence is not solely an outcome. Instead, it is part of an continuing process of family relations (Gelles & Maynard, 1987). Therefore, focusing on the entire context, rather than a single component, needs to be part of an intervention. This makes the systems approach a suitable strategy to many cases of domestic violence.
22 3. Method
3.1 Explanation of the method
As stated before, the main method to answer the research question is the systematic review. This thesis is primarily a systematic review, since the main goal of this research is to discover what scientific knowledge on the subject already exists. For extra validation of the results of the systematic review input from some police employees is added, so that the practicality of the results is ensured. In this chapter the methods are described, and a reflection on strengths and weaknesses of the chosen methods is included. The final paragraph contains the actual protocol for the conduct of the systematic review.
3.1.1 Systematic review
To be able to answer the research question, the first step is to systematically review what research that has been done into family interventions for domestic violence.
A systematic review is a research method which collects all studies that meet certain pre-established eligibility criteria to answer a research question. The aim of a systematic review is to increase our understanding of the available evidence, its weaknesses and its strengths (Da Costa & Jüni, 2014). Because of the explicit and systematic way of collecting the data, the findings are reliable and as unbiased as possible. With the selected studies, the research question can be answered (Harris et al., 2014).
The first step for the systematic review is the creation of a protocol. This protocol contains the in- and exclusion criteria and the search strategy for the review. The protocol is described in chapter 3.3. The next step is the actual conduct of the review. During the data extraction phase, the titles and abstracts have been scanned to determine which studies are potentially suitable for the research question. A list concerning the hits of the search can be found in Annex IV. For each of the selected studies, a data extraction form has been filled in. These forms can be found in Annex III. After the actual data extraction, the findings are presented and analysed for their quality and content. The results are discussed on their link to the family systems approach and on the practicality for the police approach, before reaching a conclusion.
3.1.2 Police input
With the results of this systematic review, a series of best principles can be deducted. These principles might be useful for the police when they encounter situations of domestic violence or shape policies regarding this subject. In order to be certain of the practicality of these principles and be able to make the transformation from scientific research to applicability in
23 practice, discussing the detected best principles with experts in the field is desirable. Therefore, the results of the analysed studies have been discussed with several employees within the police organization. Two police employees with policy-making tasks have been asked for their input, just as three operational police officers. The duration of these talks has varied from 30-120 minutes. During these meetings, the recurring topics have been presented and open questions have been asked to find out their professional ideas on the findings.
These meetings were necessary to talk about the possibilities for the police practice. Such discussions help to gain insight into reality. Also, it is a test for the feasibility of the advice and it can help for additional validation of the results. With the police input, based on their beliefs, perceptions and opinions, the results from the analysed studies have been transferred into findings that are relevant for the police practice. Using these insights, the conclusions that are conducted from international research have been translated into findings that are applicable for the Dutch situation.
3.2 Reflection on chosen methods
There are some possible pitfalls for the chosen method. For the systematic review, some extent of subjectivity in inevitable during the screening of studies, even though the aim is that a systematic review is as objective and unbiased as possible. Also, a meta-analysis might be impossible in cases of significant methodological diversity and heterogeneity of data (Mallett, Hagen-Zanker, Slater, & Duvendack, 2012). Next to that, the quality and conclusions of this systematic review depend on the quality and quantity of studies that are found. If not enough or no adequate studies, it may be difficult to be able to make some substantive conclusions in the review. However, this does not mean there are that deducting relevant conclusions is impossible. The result that not enough adequate studies have been conducted into this topic is also a conclusion, a conclusion that (still) can initiate new processes at the police organization and/or in the academic world. A final possible pitfall is that results from studies are overgeneralised. To illustrate this with an exaggerated example: if a study evaluates a family intervention by social workers for a group of three families that are part Chinese minority living in South-Africa, it is unlikely that the results can be copied directly to the case of the police in the Netherlands. Generalisation is not really possible in this case, because many factors do not correspond with the scope of this research. However, it could be that some best principles can be derived from the study. So, the results from studies must be interpreted carefully, and studies which are as narrow in scope as the illustrative example might be considered as irrelevant for this study.
24 3.3 Protocol for the systematic review
3.3.1 Criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies in the review
Types of studies: studies on the effectiveness of a systems approach towards domestic violence will be collected. Concerning the operationalization of domestic violence, this review uses the definition that is used by the Dutch police itself: “Domestic violence is violence committed by somebody from the victim’s domestic sphere. The word ‘domestic’ does not refer to the location of the violence, but refers to the relationship between the offender and the victim.” (Nationale Politie, n.d.). Since the aim of this systematic review is to identify a possible role for the police, their own definition of domestic violence is most suitable. Domestic violence is considered in any form there is since the police aims to use a generic approach as much as possible. Studies which review a police approach towards domestic violence that might contain elements of a systems approach are also considered.
Studies that contain best practices on the systems approach are included. Both qualitative and quantitative studies are considered for this review. Systematic reviews tend to focus on quantitative studies, but because of expected difficulty to find empirical studies that are suitable for the police organization, also qualitative studies are assessed. Effectiveness of interventions can also be qualitatively assessed; therefore, the inclusion of qualitative studies adds to a comprehensive review.
Concerning the participants: this is not limited to the police as actor only. There are no exclusion criteria concerning the participants. Studies that evaluate the systems approach towards domestic violence that focus on social work rather than the police are included as well. Research will presumably often focus on social workers concerning the systems approach. There might very well be useful elements in these studies which can be implemented into the police practice. Although they both have different tasks, essentially a police officer encounters the same situation as a social worker. And since there is a close collaboration between social workers and the police in domestic violence, their responsibilities might sometimes overlap. This means that findings may be of multiple value. Also concerning the subject/population of the studies there are no exclusion criteria. Studies that have focused on victims, perpetrators, families, or a combination of these can be useful; as long as the principles derived from these studies can be linked to the systems approach.
Types of area or country of origin: even though the results have to be transformed into guidelines for the Dutch police, this review also considers studies from outside the Netherlands.
25 The circumstances abroad might differ, but the Dutch case might be able to learn from international experiences. Consequently, studies from all over the world are considered. However, only studies in the Dutch or English language are under review due to limited knowledge of other languages on the author’s side.
Time frame: there are no exclusion criteria concerning the time frame. A time frame could reduce the volume of literature, but this seems unnecessary. A set period of time might lead to the exclusion of important findings. Also, similar reviews have not been conducted yet, so this research would not have to build upon another review and see what studies have been published since then.
Types of publications: there are no exclusion criteria concerning the types of publications, so journal articles, (sections of) books, reports and other types of publications are all considered. Nevertheless, they must meet a certain quality standard. The only exception to the exclusion criteria is that grey literature (unpublished work) is not considered because it is difficult to retrieve.
3.3.2 Quality assessment
For the assessment of the strength of empirical studies, the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale (SMS) is used. This scale contains five levels among which the robustness of the research methods is categorized. Since SMS level 3 is the centre’s standard, studies with the score of level 3 and higher are taken into account in this review (Madaleno & Waights, 2014). The Scientific Methods Scale holds the following levels:
▪ Level 1: a pre-post comparison of a group which received intervention, or cross-sectional comparison of treated groups with untreated groups. Studies in this level are without the use of control variables.
▪ Level 2: here adequate control variables are used to account for the changes or cross-sectional differences of the conducted comparison.
▪ Level 3: the outcomes of the group who did receive an intervention or treatment and the group who did not receive an intervention/treatment are compared. Why the comparator group is chosen as similar to the treated group is justified. Studies in this level are controlled observational studies.
▪ Level 4: the comparison has a quasi-experimental design. The study contains a controlled trial so that the compared groups differ only in their experience to the random allocation of the intervention or treatment.
26 ▪ Level 5: studies with this level contain explicit randomized control trials (Farrington, Denise C. Gottfredson, & Welsh, 2002; What Works Centre for Local Growth, 2016). To critically appraise findings from qualitative research, another instrument has been used. The quality assessment tool for qualitative studies is derived from a study by Hawker, Payne, Kerr, Hardey and Powell (2002). Their quality assessment tool consists of nine questions concerning clarity, ethics, bias, and more. For each of the question, the answer can be ‘good’ (4 points), ‘fair’ (3), poor (2) or very poor (1 point), which means a study can score maximum 36 points. The total amount of points is linked to categories (high, medium or low quality) that help to label and qualify the study. (Hawker, Payne, Kerr, Hardey, & Powell, 2002). Studies that are of low quality according to this tool are not considered in this review. This assessment instrument can be found in annex I.
A possible pitfall can be that there are no or too little studies which fulfil the requirements. In that case studies which meet less strict requirements are accepted; not meeting the previously set requirements does not mean that these studies cannot have relevant advice. The results can be useful for the narrative analysis when the qualitative studies are reviewed.
3.3.3 Search strategy for identification of relevant studies
The following methods have been used in order to identify all relevant studies for this systematic review:
▪ A search in the selected electronic databases with selected search terms:
First, titles and abstracts were screened. On the basis of this screening a decision has been made which studies are eligible for the review. After this stage of initial scanning, full-texts of the eligible studies are examined in order to select the relevant studies. Also included here are internet searches on relevant websites using the key words.
▪ Cross-referencing bibliographies:
This refers to the creation of a snowballing effect by checking the references in the selected studies. By scanning these titles, a further selection for potentially interesting studies took place.
▪ Network of Dutch police:
Contacts from the network of the Dutch police have been asked for additional relevant material
Databases: The search for appropriate studies has bene conducted in these databases and websites:
27 ▪ WorldCat ▪ JSTOR ▪ Web of Science ▪ Picarta ▪ PubMed ▪ WODC
▪ Catalogue of Police Academy ▪ Movisie
WorldCat, and Picarta are databases or search catalogues. Together they cover more than 10,000 library catalogues. Catalogues from all over the world are included (Library Univerity Leiden, n.d.-b).
Web of Science is a database which comprises the articles of 9,500 scientific journals (Library Univerity Leiden, n.d.-a). JSTOR and PubMed are also digital libraries with an extensive scope of academic studies. The large reach of all of these databases makes them suitable for an extensive academic review. The use of these databases helps to ensure many scientific journals and books are included. This contributes to preventing that the findings of the systematic review are one-sided or incomplete.
The catalogue of the Police Academy is added because it is the national expertise centre of information in the field of policing. Research into domestic violence is often not specified to the police, but given their expertise, the Police Academy is an appropriate source to find the studies that do.
The publications on the websites of the Research and Documentation Centre of the Ministry of Justice and Security (WODC) is added because they focus particularly on the Dutch situation and have often conducted research into the police performance. Lastly, the website of Movisie is added because it is the Netherlands centre for social development. It has a lot of expertise on domestic violence: the combat and prevention of domestic violence is one of their five central themes.
With these databases and websites, a balance has been found between large academic databases, Dutch renowned research organisations and the incorporation of a police perspective on studies. Terms to search: The search terms focus on the topic for this review (domestic violence), the theoretical lens (systems perspective) and the actual implementation (the intervention and its
28 effectiveness). A selection of the keywords must be present in the title or the abstract of a study. For the search terms Boolean operators have been used: for instance, fam* for the inclusion of both the words family and families, or system*, to include system, systems and systemic.
English key words:
▪ Domestic violence OR domestic abuse OR partner violence OR family violence OR intimate violence
▪ System(s) OR system-oriented OR systemic OR family OR integral ▪ Intervention OR strategy OR effectiveness OR approach
Dutch key words:
▪ Huiselijk geweld OR partnergeweld OR familiaal geweld
▪ Systemische OR systemisch OR Systeemgerichte OR familiegericht OR familie OR integraal ▪ Interventie OR aanpak OR strategie OR werken
29 4. Results
4.1 Results of the search
In total, the literature search resulted into 101 potential results. After the detection of duplicates, 87 studies were left. Also, 13 studies of the potential results could not be included due to limitations of access. A list of these studies can be found in Annex II. This means that 74 studies have been assessed more thoroughly. On the basis of screening the abstract, introduction and conclusion, 42 of these studies were excluded. Mostly these researches were excluded because either they were theoretical studies, and/or they were books written from the authors’ own personal experience as a professional in the field rather than it being empirical studies. Some studies were conducted in the 1970s and 1980s and their results were often (though not always) outdated. Another 32 studies have been fully assessed; resulting in 11 eligible studies. Most of the 21 excluded studies here did not meet the set criteria on the quality assessment, others were not relevant enough. Out of the 11 eligible studies, 5 studies are (primarily) quantitative studies and 6 of the studies are useful for a narrative analysis. The subsequent flowchart (figure 1) is a visual representation of the undertaken exclusion steps during the literature search.
Figure 1
5 quantitative studies & 6 qualitative studies 11
Included studies 32
Fully assessed studies 74
Thoroughly assessed studies without access problems 87
Eligible studies after deducting duplicates 101
30 4.2 Characteristics of the included quantitative studies
In the subsequent table (figure 3) the characteristics of the included quantitative studies are set out. The included categories in this table are the aim of the study, research strategy and design, population, sample size, control group, intervenor, type of domestic violence, place, time frame, study characteristics, and intervention. The outcomes of the studies are not included; they are described in chapter 4.6.
The first column sets out the aim of the study, containing a description of what has been researched. In the second column the research strategy of the study is stated. Are studies primarily quantitative studies or can the strategy be characterized as a mixed methods strategy? The strategy of data gathering is shortly explained. The third column contains the research design. The identified research designs are based upon the types of research design as categorized by Ranjit Kumar (Kumar, 2011). The fourth column contains the population of the study. It shows the object of the studies. The fifth column states the sample size. The sixth column describes the control group, the group to which the population is compared with. The seventh column contains a description of the intervenor. Since this review had no restrictions in the search for solely the police as intervening actor, studies into other intervening actors have been included as well. However, the results should be applicable for police practice. Therefore, a distinction between type of intervenors is useful. The eight column elaborates on what type of domestic violence the particular study has focused. This can be broad – domestic violence in general, or family violence–, or can be more specific (for instance: stalking). This again means something for the results of the particular study. The ninth column states the place of the researched approach. This is necessary because some studies might demographically differ too much from the Dutch situation for the results to be valuable. The tenth column states the time frame. This is about period of time connected to the data that the studies have collected, not the time frame of the study itself (the year of publication can be found in the first row of the table). The eleventh column, labelled study characteristics, contains some more information regarding the study. For instance, if the study examined one or more hypotheses, these hypotheses are set out. The twelfth column contains a description of the approach, intervention or training itself. And lastly, the final column contains a short account on the quality of the included studies. For the quantitative studies it means the score on the SMS scale is included. A brief elaboration on the quality assessment is added to the score on the SMS scale. For an explanation of the levels on the SMS scale, see chapter 3.3.2.
31
Characteristics of qualitative studies
1. Bruinsma, Van Haaf and Römkens (2008):
Onderzoek naar de mogelijke meerwaarde
van AWARE voor de politie 2. Hester and Westmarland (2005): Tackling domestic violence: Effective interventions and approaches
3. Corcoran and Allen (2005): The effects of a police/victim assistance crisis team approach to
domestic violence.
4. Ruff (2012): Does training matter? Exploring police officer
response to domestic dispute calls before and
after training on intimate partner violence 5. Tierolf, Lünnemann and Steketee (2014): Doorbreken geweldspatroon vraagt gespecialiseerde hulp: onderzoek naar effectiviteit van de aanpak huiselijk geweld in de G4
Aim Evaluation of the
effectiveness of AWARE- approach (in comparison to regular domestic violence / 112-protocol). AWARE is ‘Abused Women’s Active Response Emergency’
The key aim was to evaluate the Crime Reduction Programme Violence Against
Women Initiative (CRP). The study aims to
identify ‘what worked’ to support victims and tackle domestic violence.
The effects of the use of a crisis team is
examined. Policemen participated in training experiences intended to provide them with interpersonal skills necessary to constructively affect deteriorating family situations. Exploration of police officer intervention before and after training on responding to intimate partner violence. It compares formal intervention, and informal strategies
Discover effects and results of the domestic violence approach and social services
trajectories in the four biggest cities of the Netherlands (G4)
Research Strategy
Mixed methods. Dossier analysis,
interviews with involved police officers, alarm station and victims
Mixed methods. Interviews with partner agencies, project staff, and victims. Focus groups, questionnaires. Analysis of quantitative police data
Quantitative research. Crisis team cases have been compared with cases from the same high-crime sector of the city which did not have the crisis team response (randomly selected) Quantitative research. Examination of all 2007 and 2008 domestic violence calls documented by the police and content analysis of these files.
Mixed methods. Quantitative: inquiries during three moments. Participants were adults and children confronted with family violence. Qualitative research (interviews and expert meetings) to discover the experience of involved persons
Research Design
Case-control study A priori hypotheses are tested therefore confirmatory research
Evaluation study; a combination of social research and monitoring and operational research
Experimental design (control group design)
Before-and-after experimental design
Impact study and in-depth case study
