This retrospective, descriptive, exploratory medicolegal study examined the Forensic Risk Score (ETR-Escore Técnico de Risco), a structured, literature-informed, lesion-centered forensic risk classification framework, in 103 confirmed femicide cases in Brazil. Cases were coded from anonymized official and forensic documentary data. The mean victim age was 34.0 years. Sharp-force injury, firearm injury, and asphyxia/strangulation accounted for 85.4% of lethal mechanisms. Vital or multiple vital topography was documented in 93.2% of cases. High and Critical ETR classifications represented 58.3% of the sample. The ETR is presented as an exploratory forensic classification framework, not a validated predictive model.
This article examines recommendations from Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) in submissions to Australian federal parliamentary inquiries that considered family violence. Our findings outline commonalities in what these organisations recommended under four themes, and show how these themes all centre self-determination. In so doing, we explore how ACCOs craft demands for structural change that emphasise the inseparability of First Nations women's experiences from the experiences of First Nations peoples more broadly. We highlight that these demands are not new but align with long-standing calls from First Nations women and communities made over many years for action on these demands.
The aim of this mixed methods study was to examine motivators and characteristics of sexual violence disclosures and relationships with mental health. A representative national sample of male and female Icelandic adult survivors (N = 473) took part in a survey. Disclosure was common, especially among women, and psychological symptoms were greatest among late disclosers. Motivators of disclosure included violence itself, trauma and recovery, and social context and movements. Social context and movements disclosures related to lower psychological symptoms. Further research is needed to understand how disclosing related to social movements, such as #MeToo, could potentially confer mental health benefits.
Unnecessary interventions during childbirth are recognized as forms of disrespect and abuse, increasing maternal and neonatal risks. We assess the prevalence and associated factors with experiences of obstetric violence (OV) among women assisted in public primary healthcare in southern Brazil. A total of 60.9% (95% CI [55.0-67.0]) of women reported some type of OV during childbirth and/or prenatal care. After adjustments for confounders, women ≥30 were less likely to experience OV, whereas vaginal delivery was associated with a 115% higher prevalence of OV than cesarean delivery. These findings highlight the need for effective strategies to prevent and address this practice.
This study examined whether social relationships buffer dating violence victimization. We hypothesized that (a) richer social relationships reduce loneliness, (b) lower loneliness decreases partner fixation, and (c) reduced fixation lowers victimization risk. A web-based survey of Japanese women in their 20s living alone (N = 519) assessed social interaction, social support, loneliness, partner fixation, and psychological aggression. The results of structural equation modeling showed that richer social relationships were associated with lower loneliness, which reduced partner fixation and indirectly buffered psychological victimization. These findings suggest that maintaining social relationships may mitigate dating violence victimization.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence (SV) survivors must navigate fragmented and burdensome service systems to address their needs. Co-located service models bring multiple services into one location to facilitate coordination and collaboration and enhance survivor outcomes. However, limited research has examined the implementation or effectiveness of these models. This study describes a formative evaluation of six IPV/SV co-located centers and offers lessons learned regarding the feasibility of evaluation activities and methods. Findings suggest that the evaluation activities were generally feasible. Nonetheless, methodological challenges as well as facilitators and recommendations for enhancing feasibility and minimizing burden are discussed.
Survivor storytelling has been a critical component of anti-trafficking work for decades. However, people with lived experience of trafficking have experienced a range of harms through public storytelling engagements, including but not limited to gatekeeping, mental health impacts, tokenizing, and economic exploitation. Using a mixed methods survey with trafficking survivors in the United States and Kenya, this study explored motivations for public storytelling, prior experiences doing this work, and recommendations for ensuring that storytelling practices align with survivors' needs and goals.
Contributing to a growing body of research, this article examines the lived experiences of post-separation coercive control, including litigation abuse and financial abuse, among female victim-survivors involved in family law proceedings in Australia. Drawing on qualitative data provided by 14 female victim-survivors, this article explores how perpetrators exploit legal systems to perpetuate abuse and how system-level structures and processes may enable such abuse, undermining victim-survivors' economic stability, emotional well-being and safety. The findings underscore the urgent need for systemic reform to recognize and disrupt post-separation coercive control in family law proceedings, ensuring safer and more equitable outcomes for victim-survivors.
Obstetric violence is reported worldwide; we aimed to explore women's childbirth experiences, including those recalled many years later, through their own accounts and those of companions, fostering meaningful participant involvement. Totally, 86 students and teachers from 5 Argentinean adult schools participated in group interviews; 18 more contributed to refining the emerging analytical categories. Within "the birthing scene," we analyzed discursive elements ("script") and their manifestations in space ("choreography"). Findings show how these cultural patterns shape interactions, limiting women's options for action and for memory. We propose script and choreography can leave deep marks on women's life paths, exceeding the scene as a mental load.
After viewing a cartoon video vignette, girls and boys ages 12-17 in peri-urban Kathmandu, Nepal, were asked how a girl character felt and reacted to street harassment. Using survey questions, interviews, and focus groups, researchers address four themes: awareness of harassment, a desire to confront harassers, the need to rely upon adult intervention, and desire for social change. Findings indicate that even young girls are affected by the patriarchal project of restricting movements and dress of females. Girls' desire to confront harassers and for social change is encouraging, but generational power differentials leave them dependent on finding allies among adults.
Activists play a crucial, yet under-examined, role in challenging the discourses that normalize gender-based violence in Canada. This article draws on semi-structured interviews with 13 diverse leading activists to explore the intra-community stressors they face. Adopting an intersectional lens, it examines the emotional, physical, interpersonal, and structural challenges that arise from limited funding, competition, and addressing a challenging topic (GBV). Many activists are also survivors navigating personal trauma. Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) participants report additional burdens tied to settler-colonial dynamics playing out in the sector. This study centers activists' lived experiences to illuminate the complexities of anti-violence advocacy in Canada.
This study adapted the Social Abuse Scale into Turkish (SAS-T) and investigated the psychometric properties with 183 adults. Construct validity was tested via correlations with three valid and reliable scales. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was .944, and Bartlett's test yielded χ2(435) = 6340.62, p < .001. Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors explaining 72.42% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha reliability values for Surveillance/control, Intrusions into privacy and boundaries, Disempowering in social and personal spaces subscales, and total scale were .962, .946, .928, and .978, respectively. Findings indicate SAS-T is a valid and reliable instrument. Clinical implications are suggested.
The objective of this research was to test whether emotional dependency predicts dating violence against women. This study employed a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design. A total of 2060 women participated in the study. The Dating Violence Questionnaire (CUVINO) and the Emotional Dependency Questionnaire (CDE) were administered to the participants. The predictive model was found to be reliable. OR (odds ratio) estimates indicated that women with higher levels of plan modification, fear of loneliness, and borderline expression were more likely to experience moderate and severe dating violence. Emotional dependency is a significant predictor of dating violence against women.
Despite the growth of research in the United Kingdom exploring adolescent partner violence (APV), the perspectives of adults working with young people have been excluded. This exploratory study used interviews with safeguarding leads, pastoral workers and service practitioners to understand their perspectives on APV. Thematic analysis generated four themes: (a) a lack of conceptual clarity; (b) multiple oppressions and harmful relationship norms; (c) inadequate prevention and support; and (d) collaborative intervention. The findings, analysed through an intersectional lens, highlight the complexities of APV and the need for greater clarity, tailored support and collaboration between young people, their guardians and professionals. Theoretically, this advances current scholarship by situating the drivers of APV within interlocking systems of oppression, thereby embedding individual experiences within wider structural power relations. These findings extend the literature by evidencing the limitations of rigid victim-perpetrator labels and advancing a more nuanced, intersectionally informed understanding of relationship harm, particularly in the context of alternative provision.
The 2025 human egg farm case in Georgia, where Thai women were kidnapped, forcibly subjected to repeated egg harvesting, and held under coercive medical control, exposed a disturbing form of reproductive exploitation: forced surrogacy. This article defines forced surrogacy as the imposition of reproductive labor, including egg harvesting, embryo implantation, and/or gestation, without meaningful consent. It argues that existing international crimes fail to capture its unique harms and calls for its recognition as a standalone crime against humanity under the International Criminal Court Statute.
In a landmark study in 1998, Miles-Doan highlighted the significant influence of social factors on community-level domestic violence (DV) rates. While subsequent research has examined neighborhood effects, many studies have been constrained by limited data. This study analyzes data from all 564 municipalities in New Jersey to explore the relationship between socioeconomic factors and police-reported DV incidents from 2011 to 2020. Results indicate that poverty, lack of affordable housing, and education levels contribute to DV rates. However, multivariable analyses identify population density and income as the most significant factors, suggesting that addressing housing issues may effectively reduce local DV rates.
South Asian communities in the United States are diverse, with distinct cultural values and family norms. Social workers often face challenges engaging South Asian clients due to limited cultural understanding, especially around mental health, domestic violence, gender roles, and immigration issues. Based on experience in a South Asian domestic violence agency, this article examines key cultural factors influencing clients’ experiences. It identifies barriers to service access and offers practical strategies to enhance cultural competence, addressing stigma, engaging family systems, and building trust. The goal is to support inclusive and effective social work with South Asian individuals and families.
This study explores barriers and facilitators to initial and continued engagement with law enforcement (LE) among Latina survivors of intimate partner violence. Semi-structured interviews with survivors (N = 40) were analyzed via qualitative case analysis. Participants with no LE engagement (n = 7) anticipated negative consequences and lacked encouragement to report from informal supports. Participants who contacted LE but disengaged (n = 18) experienced systemic hurdles to continued engagement, negative responses from LE, and personal risks. Participants who continued engagement (n = 15) received mixed responses from informal supports and more positive responses from LE. Positive interactions with LE facilitated continued engagement even when informal support was lacking.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a preventable public health problem with documented negative effects on well-being. The perinatal period represents a time of increased stress for partners, which can increase the likelihood of IPV. Economic support policies, like paid family leave (PFL), may reduce family violence, including IPV. Using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, we examine the association between receipt of PFL and IPV for women employed during the perinatal period. Results indicate reduced odds of IPV for employed women who received PFL. PFL may reduce IPV victimization for women employed during the perinatal period.
This study assessed how barriers to treatment, stigmatization, and coping strategies may be associated with help-seeking for intimate partner violence (IPV) and whether these characteristics could yield profiles to predict differences in informal and formal help-seeking. Hispanic females (N = 236) completed an online questionnaire assessing IPV, barriers to treatment, stigmatization, coping strategies, and help-seeking behaviors. A Latent Profile Analysis generated four profiles based on background characteristics (e.g., stigmatization) to predict informal and formal help-seeking. The results from pairwise comparison tests indicated significant differences between profile membership and informal and formal help-seeking behaviors for IPV among Hispanic women.
