This study examines the situation of women (N = 124) who had presented themselves to an anti-violence center in Italy in the previous 3-5 years. At follow-up, 37.3% had no contact with the perpetrator, 22.7% had stayed with him, and 39.8% had “forced” contact. Almost half of the sample was still subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV). Compared to women with “no contact,” the risk of IPV was 5.9 times higher for women who stayed with the perpetrator, and 10.5 times higher for women with “forced” contact. These results confirm that ending IPV does not depend exclusively on women’s choices.
AndersonD. K.SaundersD. G. (2003). Leaving an abusive partner. An empirical review of predictors, the process of leaving, and psychological well-being. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 42, 163-191.
2.
BellM.GoodmanL.DuttonM. A. (2007). The dynamics of staying and leaving: Implications for battered women’s emotional wellbeing and experiences of violence at the end of the year. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 413-428.
3.
BennettL.RigerS.ScheweP.HowardA.WascoS.2004). Effectiveness of Hotline, Advocacy, Counseling, and Shelter Services Victims of Domestic Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19, 815-829.
4.
Blasco-RosC.Sánchez-LorenteS.MartinezM. (2010). Recovery from depressive symptoms, state anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in women exposed to physical and psychological, but not to psychological intimate partner violence alone: A longitudinal study. BMC Psychiatry, 10, Article 98. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/10/98
5.
BrownridgeD. (2006). Violence against women post-separation. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11, 514-530.
6.
BybeeD.SullivanC. M. (2005). Predicting re-victimization of battered women 3 years after exiting a shelter program. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(1/2), 85-96.
7.
CarranoT. (2017). I centri anti-violenza [Anti-violence centers]. In RomitoP.FollaN.MelatoM. (Eds.), Violenze su donne e minori: una guida per chi lavora sul campo. Nuova edizione [Violence against women and children: A guide for those working in the field. New version] (pp. 168-172). Roma, Italy: Carocci Editori.
CreazzoG. (2003). Mi prendo e mi porto via: le donne che hanno chiesto aiuto ai centri antiviolenza in Emilia-Romagna [I am picking up and leaving: women who asked for help from shelters in Elmilia-Romagna]. Milano, Franco Angeli.
11.
CreazzoG. (2010). Affrontare la violenza alle radici. 15 anni di storia della Casa delle donne contro la violenza di Modena [Confronting violence at the roots: 15 years of history of the “House of women against violence in Modena”], Editografica, 2010.
12.
CreazzoG. (2013). Se le donne chiedono giustizia [If women demand justice]. Bologna, Italy: Il Mulino.
13.
European Employment Services – Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (EURES-ANSA). (2012). Il femminicidio in Italia nell’ultimo decennio. Dimensioni, caratteristiche e profili di rischio. Indagine istituzionale [Femicide in Italy in the last decade. Dimensions, characteristics and risk factors. Institutional investigation]. Retrieved from http://www.eures.it/il-femminicidio-in-italia-nellultimo-decennio/
14.
FleuryR.SullivanC.BybeeD. (2000). When ending the relationship doesn’t end the violence: Women’s experiences of violence by former partners. Violence Against Women, 6, 1363-1383.
GloorD.MeierH. (2014). “Der Polizist ist mein Engel gewesen.” Sicht gewaltbetroffener Frauen auf institutionelle Interventionen bei Gewalt in Ehe und Partnerschaft. [“The police officer was my angel.” How victimized women experience intervention in partner violence] Project NRP 60, final report, p. 366.
17.
Istat. (2015). La violenza contro le donne dentro e fuori la famiglia [Violence against women inside and outside the family]. Roma, Italy: Istat.
18.
ItzhakyH.Ben PoratA. (2005). Battered women in shelters: Internal resources, well-being, and integration. Affilia, 20, 39-51.
19.
JohnsonM. P. (2008). A typology of domestic violence: Intimate terrorism, violent resistance, and situational couple violence. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.
20.
JohnsonM. P.LeoneM. J.XuY. (2014). Intimate terrorism and situational couple violence in general surveys: Ex-spouses required. Violence Against Women, 20, 186-207.
21.
KellyL. (1988). Surviving sexual violence. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
MertinP.MohrP. (2001). A follow-up study of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression in Australian victims of domestic violence. Violence and Victims, 16, 645-654.
25.
MonteroI.Martín-BaenaD.Escribà-AgüirV.Vives-CasesC.Ruiz-PérezI. (2015). Factors associated with the cessation of intimate partner violence in women attending primary care in Spain. Journal of Family Violence, 30, 453-460.
PeledE.EisikovitsZ.EnoshG.WinstokZ. (2000). Choice and empowerment for battered women who stay: Toward a constructivist model. Social Work, 45, 9-25.
28.
PenceE.PaymarM. (1993). Education groups for men who batter: The Duluth model. New York: Springer.
29.
Pico-AlfonsoM. A. (2005). Psychological intimate partner violence: the major predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder in abused women. Neuroscience and Biobehavioralreviews, 29, 181-193.
30.
Pico-AlfonsoM. A.Garcia-LinaresM. I.Celda-NavarroN.Blasco-RosC.EcheburúaE.MartinezM. (2006). The impact of physical, psychological, and sexual intimate male partner violence on women’s mental health: Depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, state anxiety, and suicide. Journal of Women’s Health, 15, 599-611.
31.
PirroneM. (2017). L’affidamento dei figli nei casi di violenza in famiglia [Child custody in cases of domestic violence]. In RomitoP.FollaN.MelatoM. (Eds.), Violenze su donne e minori: una guida per chi lavora sul campo. Nuova edizione (Violence against women and children: A guide for those working in the field. New version) (pp. 221-230), Roma, Italy: Carocci Editori.
32.
RadfordL.HesterM. (2006). Mothering through domestic violence. London, England: Jessica Kingsley.
33.
RadfordL.HesterM.HumphriesJ.WoodfieldK. (1997). For the sake of the children: The law, domestic violence and child contact in England. Women’s Studies International Forum, 20, 471-482.
34.
RomitoP. (2008). A deafening silence: Hidden violence against women and children. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
StaggsS.RigerS. (2005). Effects of intimate partner violence on low-income women’s health and employment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 133-145.
40.
StarkE. (2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
41.
SullivanC.BybeeD. (1999). Reducing violence using community-based advocacy for women with abusive partners. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 67, 43-53.
42.
TolmanR.RaphaelJ. (2000). A review of research on welfare and domestic violence. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 655–682.
43.
TolmanR.WangH.-C. (2005). Domestic violence and women’s employment: Fixed effects models of three waves of Women’s Employment Study data. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 147-158.
44.
WeldonS. L. (2002). Protest, policy and the problem of violence against women: A cross-national comparison. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
