Assessing for Family Violence
Unfortunately, in the US and Canada there is no universal way to assess for family violence across family law practitioners, social workers, and psychologists. Some professionals have more training than others and it can often be difficult for a parent to figure out what to look out for. In this article, we review some of the research conducted on assessing for family or interpartner violence in court and the impact it has on development. We will start off by acknowledging how difficult it can be to identify domestic violence and abuse. Then we will recognize that children who suffer from family violence experience trauma differently than adults. After that, we will review one evidence based approach at assessing intimate partner violence called SAFeR.
Acknowledging Domestic Violence and Abuse
Before we begin, it's important to understand that the terms domestic violence or domestic abuse refers to a pattern of behaviour which uses intimidation, fear, and coercion to harm a partner. Sometimes abuse can be easily recognized by people around us and other times it may be covert and difficult to identify. Obvious forms of abuse include physical and sexual violence. With respect to a separation, it's common to use children as a technique to harm a partner or use money to evoke fear to a former partner. However, covert forms of abuse may be more difficult to identify. Such forms of abuse include belittling partners, threatening self-harm if the partner leaves, interfering with partners' work or education, stalking, harming pets, strict household rules, monitoring access to computers, restricting communication to family and friends, and restricting access to transportation.
While the effects of domestic violence is difficult during a marriage, it is also important to acknowledge that most victims also experience post-separation abuse (Ornstein & Ricke, 2013). Post-separation abuse consists of behaviours that abusers use to reassert their power and control following a separation, divorce and/or custody dispute. Post-separation abuse consists of (i) withholding financial support including child support, insurance, medical expenses and using court action to deplete a victims resources following a separation; (ii) discrediting a victim as a parent through creating false accusations of bad parenting, or using one's social status as an immigrant, person of a minority, or level of education and income; (iii) undermining the victim's ability to parent; (iv) disregarding the children's needs; (v) disrupting a victim's relationship with his/her/their children through forcing them to pick sides.
According to the Battered Women's Support Services of Vancouver, following a separation, divorce, and/or custody dispute abusers also tend to engage in legal bullying tactics such as
(Abshoff & Lanthier, 2008; Bemiller, 2008; Coy, Scott, Tweedale, Perks, 2015; Martinson & Jackson, 2017).
Understanding the Harmful Effects of Trauma Developmentally
Children growing up in an abusive home, often experience exposure to multiple traumas that can have longstanding impacts on childhood development. When the caregiving relationship becomes the source of trauma, children experience a loss of safety within their homes and within their bodies. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful impacts of trauma when considering brain development.
Young children exposed to trauma have been shown to have a reduced size of their cerebral cortex, which is a fatty tissue around there brain essential for developing high-order cognitive functions such as sensation, perception, memory, association, and voluntary physical action. Exposure to repeated traumas during this critical developmental period of development may have long lasting impacts on a child's intellectual aptitude, the ability to form relationships, and learning how to regulate emotions.
Since this brain region is also involved with perception, children who are exposed to trauma have a tendency to altered ways of perceiving the world around them and often blame themselves for not being able to prevent a frightening event. Young children depend on their parents for emotional and physical protection and comfort. Research has shown that these neurological changes during the developmental period have longstanding impact from childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. The following figure below showcases common changes in behaviour that children demonstrate in response to chronic trauma exposure due to familial abuse:
Acknowledging Domestic Violence and Abuse
Before we begin, it's important to understand that the terms domestic violence or domestic abuse refers to a pattern of behaviour which uses intimidation, fear, and coercion to harm a partner. Sometimes abuse can be easily recognized by people around us and other times it may be covert and difficult to identify. Obvious forms of abuse include physical and sexual violence. With respect to a separation, it's common to use children as a technique to harm a partner or use money to evoke fear to a former partner. However, covert forms of abuse may be more difficult to identify. Such forms of abuse include belittling partners, threatening self-harm if the partner leaves, interfering with partners' work or education, stalking, harming pets, strict household rules, monitoring access to computers, restricting communication to family and friends, and restricting access to transportation.
While the effects of domestic violence is difficult during a marriage, it is also important to acknowledge that most victims also experience post-separation abuse (Ornstein & Ricke, 2013). Post-separation abuse consists of behaviours that abusers use to reassert their power and control following a separation, divorce and/or custody dispute. Post-separation abuse consists of (i) withholding financial support including child support, insurance, medical expenses and using court action to deplete a victims resources following a separation; (ii) discrediting a victim as a parent through creating false accusations of bad parenting, or using one's social status as an immigrant, person of a minority, or level of education and income; (iii) undermining the victim's ability to parent; (iv) disregarding the children's needs; (v) disrupting a victim's relationship with his/her/their children through forcing them to pick sides.
According to the Battered Women's Support Services of Vancouver, following a separation, divorce, and/or custody dispute abusers also tend to engage in legal bullying tactics such as
- Refusing to file court documents, filing documents late and filing incomplete or inaccurate documents, particularly with respect to financial information
- Self-representing when not necessary
- Bringing vexatious motions
- Refusing to follow court orders
- Delaying proceedings by seeking repeated adjournments or changing lawyers repeatedly
- Refusing to negotiate
- Drawing the children into family law case
- Threatening and/or physically assaulting victim during the family court process.
(Abshoff & Lanthier, 2008; Bemiller, 2008; Coy, Scott, Tweedale, Perks, 2015; Martinson & Jackson, 2017).
Understanding the Harmful Effects of Trauma Developmentally
Children growing up in an abusive home, often experience exposure to multiple traumas that can have longstanding impacts on childhood development. When the caregiving relationship becomes the source of trauma, children experience a loss of safety within their homes and within their bodies. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful impacts of trauma when considering brain development.
Young children exposed to trauma have been shown to have a reduced size of their cerebral cortex, which is a fatty tissue around there brain essential for developing high-order cognitive functions such as sensation, perception, memory, association, and voluntary physical action. Exposure to repeated traumas during this critical developmental period of development may have long lasting impacts on a child's intellectual aptitude, the ability to form relationships, and learning how to regulate emotions.
Since this brain region is also involved with perception, children who are exposed to trauma have a tendency to altered ways of perceiving the world around them and often blame themselves for not being able to prevent a frightening event. Young children depend on their parents for emotional and physical protection and comfort. Research has shown that these neurological changes during the developmental period have longstanding impact from childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. The following figure below showcases common changes in behaviour that children demonstrate in response to chronic trauma exposure due to familial abuse:
In going through this website, we aim to provide you resources to best understand your experiences in trauma. If these experiences sound similar to yours and you notice changes in your child(ren)'s behaviour consider reaching out for support. You don't need to be alone in this.
Useful Information for Assessing Family Violence
To help support you protect yourself and avoid falling victim to legal bullying tactics in court, we developed the following suggestions to help you in your search for a lawyer, social worker, or any other family law practitioner.
When working with family law practitioner, it is important to work with a practitioner that takes a trauma-informed perspective. A trauma informed perspective means that you are looking for a family law practitioner that will consider how your past experiences may impact you and your children at the present moment.
Recently the Battered Women's Justice Project in Minneapolis developed an approach to assess for interpartner violence and ways to assess the impacts in children called SAFeR. SAFeR is a mnemonic device that stands for:
Useful Information for Assessing Family Violence
To help support you protect yourself and avoid falling victim to legal bullying tactics in court, we developed the following suggestions to help you in your search for a lawyer, social worker, or any other family law practitioner.
When working with family law practitioner, it is important to work with a practitioner that takes a trauma-informed perspective. A trauma informed perspective means that you are looking for a family law practitioner that will consider how your past experiences may impact you and your children at the present moment.
Recently the Battered Women's Justice Project in Minneapolis developed an approach to assess for interpartner violence and ways to assess the impacts in children called SAFeR. SAFeR is a mnemonic device that stands for:
- Screen for interpartner violence;
- Assess the full nature and context of interpartner violence;
- Focusing on the effects of interpartner violence
- Respond to interpartner violence provide recommendations, decisions, and interventions.
The Battered Women's Justice Project has developed the first research-based practice guideline to support and enhance procedure decision-making processes by family court progressions specialized in domestic abuse-related custody matters. When working with a lawyer, make sure that they are capturing your experience of abuse.