DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE - PowerPoint Presentation

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Dr. Jorge Argueta, DBA, MA, CADC

Avance Inc. (773) 293-1770

Slide2

GOAL

The primary goal of this presentation is to help counselors, advocates and other social service providers better address the safety and recovery needs of women impacted by Domestic Violence and their own, or another’s substance use, misuse or addiction.

Slide3

Statistics

1 in 4 women will be assaulted by an intimate partner

(US DHHS)

74% of women in substance abuse treatment have experienced sexual abuse

(Covington; Kubbs, 2000)

_______________________________________________

“Nearly 75% of wives of alcoholics have been threatened and 45% have been assaulted by their partners”

(AMA, 1994)

________________________________________

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Scope of the Problem

A correlation between substance abuse and DV occurs in 44% to 80 % of

reported

DV incidents depending on what research you cite

(Mackey, 1992)

Over 1/2 of reported DV cases involve drinking

(Drug Strategies, 1998)

1 study found in 94% of DV calls to police --assailant had used ETOH alone or ETOH w/cocaine, marijuana or other drugs w/in 6 hrs of assault

92% of assailants and

42% of victims had used alcohol or other drugs on the day of the assault

(Brookhoff et al, 1997)

Slide5

DV and Substance Abuse

A NIDA study noted 90% of women in drug treatment had experienced severe DV from a partner during their lifetime

(Miller, 1994)

Similar findings have been noted on monthly client service reports from the Alcohol/Drug Help Line Domestic Violence Outreach Project in Washington State

(Bland, 2003)

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Basic concepts

Substance abuse (SA) and Domestic Violence (

DV

) overlap and often concur

There are multiple causes for both SA and

DV

There is little evidence that one causes the other or vice versa

Active substance abuse by the perpetrator of

DV

or by the victim threatens the safety of the victim

Domestic Violence impairs addiction recovery and threatens sobriety

Workers on

DV

and SA fields will be more effective if they consider the Safety, Sobriety and Justice issues when dealing with their clients

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Relationship between SA and DV?

If most of the victims of DV are women

And most of the batterers are men

But some of the victims/survivors of DV have SA problems

And some of the perpetrators of DV have SA issues

And about 50-85% of incidents involve drug usage

Therefore……

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Does alcohol or other drugs cause DV

?

Alcohol or other drug usage does not cause violence but it may serve as

(1) An excuse.

(2) A cognitive disrupter.

(3) A power motive.

(4) Situational.

(5) A chemical agent.

(6) Effective across generations.

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The relationship

Using alcohol or other drugs may increase the possibility an abuser will engage in violent behavior – because

It reduces inhibitions

Distorts perceptions

Use can be used as an excuse for violence

User might get a sense of power, grandiosity

Both alcohol abuse and domestic abuse tend to follow parallel escalating patterns

But it does not fully explain the behavior

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Violent while using

It is more about the expectations that about the effects of the drug in the brain.

Experiment on alcohol and aggression.

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Violent while drinking

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The compounded effects

Safety is strongly compromised when DV, substance abuse or chemical dependence co-occur

Together, severity of injuries and lethality rates climb for chemically dependent battered women

(Dutton, 1992)

While these problems frequently co-occur, most research indicates neither causes the other

Individually, each can be chronic, progressive and lethal; together they are especially dangerous

Slide13

DV and Substance Abuse

Are different problems requiring different interventions

Denial serves different purposes:

Victims fear for their safety or may be coerced into denying the truth / Batterers avoid accountability and may

falsely

blame their behavior on their partner, substance abuse or anger

Alcoholics/addicts fear they won’t survive without using and deny to avoid pain

Slide14

Domestic Violence and SA

Involve power and control dynamics

Impact entire families, often harming 3 or more generations

Thrive in silence and isolation

Carry great societal stigma and shame

Limit freedom for members of our community resulting in oppression

Slide15

Substance Abuse and DV

The Women’s Action Alliance found 60-75% of women seeking shelter services over a 15 month period developed problems with their original coping mechanisms: alcohol and drugs

(Roth, 1991

A recent study of IL DV shelters reveals 42% of service recipients abuse alcohol or other drugs

(Bennett & Lawson, 1994).

1 in 4 women in an IA shelter/safe home sample had a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol dependence and another 1 in 4 had alcohol or other drug problems

(Downs, 2002).

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Important Gender Differences in Substance Use, Abuse and Dependence

Women often initiate use as result of traumatic life event, such as past physical or sexual abuse

(Ashley et al., 2003; Weiss et al., 2003)

Women are often drawn into use by partners

(Ashley et al., 2003)

Women use for different reasons – for example, young women use to improve mood, increase confidence, lose inhibitions, enhance sex or lose weight, while young men use for sensation seeking or to enhance social status

(Weiss et al., 2003; National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2003)

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Safety Concerns

Alcohol and other drug use may be encouraged or forced by an abusive partner or perpetrator as a mechanism of control

(Bland, 1997; Illinois Dept. of Human Services, 2000)

Substance use and misuse can impair judgment and thought processes (including memory) making safety planning more difficult

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Safety Concerns

Acute and chronic effects of alcohol and other drug use may prevent one from accurately assessing levels of danger

Under the influence, one may feel an increased sense of power and erroneously believe self-defense against physical assaults is possible, not realizing the impact of substances on gross motor functioning and reflexes

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Some differences

A woman* with substance abuse problems and survivor:

Alcohol could help her to deal with her

DV

She needs to be empowered

A man* with substance abuse issues and perpetrator:

Alcohol brought his violence to the surface

His

DV

could continue despite his abstinence

Needs to work powerlessness issues

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Intervention

Safety issues can seriously affect the woman's ability to maintain sobriety. Make safety as well as sobriety a top priority. Treatment should focus on both issues.

When a woman is harmed, she may be more likely to use substances to cope. She may seek to reduce her physical and/or emotional pain. She may be coerced into use by her partner

Staying in a abusive relationship might not be good for her happiness but it might be for her safety

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Intervention

Noncompliance issues should take into account the batterer's ability to sabotage substance abuse treatment through threats or fear.

Couple or family counseling can be very dangerous for victims of domestic violence.

It is important to stress that abuse is not the victim's fault. Counselors may need to address domestic violence and substance abuse with different interventions.

Confrontational techniques are often not effective with victims of domestic abuse.

Some examples of words to avoid with these women are

codependency, enabling,

and

powerlessness.

It is important to avoid

codependency

and

enabling.

because these concepts do not hold the batterer fully accountable for his behavior.

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INTERVENTION (cont.)

Some 12 Step groups' concepts can pose problems for women.

Whenever possible, domestic violence victims should be referred to gender-specific treatment and support groups..

Victims respond best to gender-specific empowerment and self-discovery. Emphasize strengths and healthy decision-making.

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Common Concept

In Addiction Field

In Domestic Violence - Women

In Domestic Violence - Men

Person needing help

Recovering alcoholic or drug abuser

Survivor/Victim

Non-Abusive/Non-coercive

Goal of treatment

Recovery from alcohol or drug addiction

Attaining Safety/Healing from effects of abuse

Accepting responsibility for choice to be violent

Form of treatment or intervention

Treatment from in-patient, out-patient or hospital setting

Provision of information and support with goal of safety and empowerment - possible groups

Intervention with accountability / Provision of information to support choice of non-violence

Help/Support

Self-help

Peer Support

Legal and social accountability / Peer accountability

Core issue for client to accept

Powerlessness

Empowerment

Abuse of Power

Model

Medical model (individual is sick)

Socio-political model (society is sick)

Socio-political model (society is sick)

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Locus of change

Social service mission (individual change)

Social change mission (societal change)

Social change mission (societal change)

Role of control

Loses control over substances

Is controlled by partner's use of violence and coercion

Selective use of violence / need violence to maintain control

Family function

Family as dysfunctional

Family engaging in adaptive strategies to protect themselves

Battering is functional - the batterer gets what he wants

Type of behavior

Enabling

Protecting self from harmful consequences

 

Co-dependent / Co-alcoholic

Socialized female behavior / Adaptive survival strategies

 

Impediment to change

Addicted to substance

Trapped in relationship by fear and lack of support

Intentional behavior supported by attitudes of male privilege and lack of accountability

Slide25

Resources

Safety and Sobriety, Best Practices in Domestic Violence

and Substance Abuse

, DV/SA Interdisciplinary Task Force, IL DHS

http://tigger.uic.edu/~lwbenn/taskforce/

http://www.dhs.state.il.us/max/rfp/BestPractices.PDF

Getting Safe and Sober

,

Real Tools You Can Use

by Debi Edmund and Patti Bland for the Alaska Network on DV/SA