Understanding Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2020

By Patricia Chapin, Fleet and Family Services

Domestic violence is a complex issue that requires an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of a violent relationship. Twenty years ago, the gold standard for intervention in abusive relationships was based on the power and control model. However, more recent research in the field indicates that there are several types of abuse in domestic violence incidents, with three types of abuse consistently emerging in the research: Intimate Partner Terrorism, Violent Resistant Offender, and Situational Partner Violence.

The Intimate Partner Terrorist (IPT) has a need for coercive control in the relationship and often includes more serious acts of violence along with other tactics of control such as intimidation, isolation, coercion and threats, economic control, and emotional abuse. The IPT believes that they have the right to have power and control over their partner. The Violent Resistant type is described as usually reacting to, and resisting, the IPT’s violent attacks. The third type of domestic violence abuse is Situational Partner Violence (SPV). Unlike IPT, which is 90% male offenders, SPV is just as likely to be initiated by the female (48%) as the male (52%) partner, generally involves less severe types of violence, and does not include the power and control dynamic. SPV offenders do not believe they have the right to have power and control over their partners—they are just trying to have control over their own needs and wants and it can spill over into their relationships and onto their partners.

SPV is one of many tactics a couple may use to deal with conflict in their relationship. For example, a couple may have a communication style of one pursuer and one retreater—one person wants to talk about an issue and the other avoids the conflict or emotionality of the discussion. Imagine the retreater decides to leave the area and the pursuer thinks “not this time” and blocks the door. It is possible that this incident of unhealthy conflict resolution could escalate to domestic violence in multiple ways. One way might be unlawful restraint. Another outcome may be physical violence. If the retreater really wants to leave and tries to move the pursuer out of the way, the pursuer may fall and injure themselves. This hypothetical incident has both an “act” of abuse and an “impact” (the physical injury).

Unlike IPT, where statistically violence becomes progressively worse in severity and frequency over time, there are no statistics suggesting that is the case with SPV. Despite this statistic, individuals with SPV are most likely not happy with the state of their relationship, and things frequently stay the same without some form of intervention. Intervention for SPV may include being referred to the Family Advocacy Program for an incident and/or Couples Counseling for enhancement of coping strategies, conflict resolution, and communication skills.

Even if you are not experiencing domestic violence in your relationship, you may find counseling and education on Healthy Relationship Behaviors, Conflict Resolution or Communications helpful, and Fleet and Family can assist you there as well.