Domestic Violence

Risk Assessment and Safety Planning

Addressing Domestic Violence Risk

In 2013, there were 1,703 calls to police for domestic
violence in Santa Barbara County1
The actual rate of violence is much higher, its estimated that about
46% of victims never report DV2

Domestic violence (DV) is the most common kind of trauma

exposure seen at CALM
Often present with other kinds of abuse
Due to the high prevalence, DV risk assessment and safety planning
are frequent concerns in our clinical work.

Domestic violence can present very differently in different

relationships. Batterers have different patterns of behavior,
and different levels of risk.
1)
2)

California Criminal Justice Statistics Center, http://oag.ca.gov/crime/cjsc-stats/2010/table14

Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 20062010. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vnrp0610.pdf

Typologies of Domestic Violence

Holzworth-Monroe & Stuart (1994) developed a threelevel typology of batterers that has generally held up
in subsequent research:
Family only
Dysphoric/Borderline
Generally violent/Antisocial

Understanding these three subtypes, patterns of

violence, and their different levels of risk can help to
inform your safety planning strategies.

Types of Batterers
Family Only Batterers (50%):
Lowest frequency and severity of violence, least likely to use
psychological/sexual violence, lowest rates of injury
Generally negative attitudes towards violence, most
remorseful, most likely to accept responsibility
Positive attitudes towards women, their marriage, and their
wives, most liberal gender role expectations
Generally lacking in other psychopathology
Alcohol involved in about 50% of incidents
Battery in these cases can be seen as a combination of a
lack of regulatory/communication skills, life stress, marital
stress (tend to be triggered by external stressors)
Also referred to as common couple violence, high-conflict
couples where the violence is initiated by either member of
the couple in different instances

Types of Batterers
Dysphoric/Borderline Batterers (25%)
Moderate frequency and severity, less likely to cause serious
injury or serious violence than anti-social batterers, primarily
within the family
In some cases, less predictable violence, may have long periods
without assault, interspersed with unexpected, intense violence
Most psychological abusive out of all the types
Most dysphoric, depressed/anxious, psychologically distressed,
and emotionally volatile of the three groups
High levels of psychopathology, including borderline or schizoid
personality disorder
More traumatic experiences in childhood, lower presence of
substance abuse
Highly dependent, afraid of abandonment, jealous, possessive,
obsessive, difficulty controlling their explosive anger
More widespread across social classes

Dysphoric Batterers - Cycle of Violence

Most typical of classic DV
pattern
Batterer experiences
feelings of inferiority,
shame, rejection, fears of
abandonment during
tension building phase
Acts out/splits/ projects
these emotions during
psychological abuse and
physical/sexual violence
During reconciliation,
batterer experiences a
backlash fears of
abandonment - makes
efforts to avoid loss of
relationship through repair
behavior

Power & Control

Carlson & Jones (2010), Continuum of conflict and control: in family-only violence
(type I), the violence is characterized by poorly regulated conflict. The increased
intensity/frequency in type II and type III batterers is characteristic of instrumental
violence designed to exert power and control the victim.

Power and Control

Psychological
BatterersControl
utilizes a number of strategies to maintain power
and
Intimidation
control over survivors; generally, these strategies serve
Threats and Coercion
purposes:
two
Emotional
Abuse
Minimizing/denying
, invalidating,
shifting affect of the batterer
Manage/discharge
the negative
blame
Maintaining the proximity/availability of the intimate

partner
Physical
Control
Lack of privacy
Violations of physical integrity
Restriction of movement
Direct violence
Use of children

Social Control
Isolation from family, friends, and other
supportive relationships
Economic Control
Restriction from accessing money, credit,
etc.

Risk Indicators Future

Lethality
Violence
Batterer Characteristics

History of witnessing DV in childhood

Unemployment
Prior history of violence against unrelated
individuals
Prior violations of bail, parole, or a nocontact order
Drug/alcohol problem, binge use
Personality dx with anger, impulsivity,
behavioral instability, hostility
Extreme minimization/denial of spousal
assault
Attitudes that support or condone spousal
assault

Abuse-related Factors

Batterer has threatened to kill the partner

or himself
Past history of sexual assault/rape
Presence or access to weapons, use of
weapons in previous assaults
Choked victim during assault
Not previously arrested

Previous severe acts of violence resulting in

injury
Recent escalation of violence
Confinement of victim
Assault while victim was pregnant

Relationship Factors
Extremely possessive, jealous,
Extreme controlling behavior
Attempts to leave, or knowledge that partner
plans to leave
Prior history of violence against partner or
children
More than one child together (increases
chances of staying in relationship)
Victim is concerned about future violence
Victim has a child from previous relationship
Recent separation
Threatened to harm children
Stalking behavior (spying, leaving
threatening notes/messages,
destroying property)
Victim believes hes capable of killing
her

Some counter-intuitive lethality findings

Compared to non-lethal batterers, lethal
batterers were more likely to:
Have higher educated fathers
Mothers who were stay-at-home moms

Less likely to:

Have come from homes with DV, alcohol abuse, or
physical abuse
Have an alcohol problem, previous convictions
Be intoxicated at time of event
Be unemployed
Have been previously violent (although 59% had
been)

Lethal vs. Non-lethal batterers

Possessiveness (3.5 times as likely)
Separated (2x as likely)
History of violence with previous partner
(2.5x as likely)
Previously strangled or choked victim
(2.5x as likely)
Hx of sexual assault (16x as likely)
Previously used weapon (9x as likely)

Formal Risk Assessment - WAST

Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) - used to determine the presence of
domestic violence in a relationship.
The first two questions have been validated to effectively screen for DV (the
WAST-short) on their own.
1. In general, how would you describe your
relationship?

A lot of tension
Some tension
No tension

2. Do you and your partner work out arguments

with:

Great difficulty
Some difficulty
No difficulty

4. Do arguments ever result in hitting, kicking, or

pushing?

Often
Sometimes
Never

5. Do you ever feel frightened by what your

partner says or does?

Often
Sometimes
Never

3. Do arguments ever result in you feeling down 6. Has your partner ever abused you physically?
or bad about yourself?
Often

Often
Sometimes
Never

Sometimes
Never

7. Has your partner ever abused you emotionally?

Often
Sometimes
Never

Formal Risk Assessment - ODARA

Used to determine the likelihood of physical violence recurring. Score each item 1 or 0. ? if
missing (available documentation indicates that an item might be present but the information
is unclear or incomplete

1. Prior domestic assault (against a partner or the children) in police records

2. Prior nondomestic assault (against any person other than a partner or the children) in police records
3. Prior sentence for a term of 30 days or more
4. Failure on prior conditional release; bail, parole, probation, no-contact order
5. Threat to harm or kill anyone during index incident
6. Confinement of victim during index incident
7. Victim fears (is concerned about) future assault
8. More than one child altogether
9. Victim has a biological child from a previous partner
10. Violence against others (to any person other than a partner or the children)
11. More than one indicator of substance abuse problem: alcohol at index, drugs at index, prior drugs or alcohol, increased drugs
or alcohol, more angry or violent, prior offence, alcohol problem, drug problem
12. Assault on the victim when she was pregnant
13. Victim faces at least one barrier to support: children, no phone, no access to transportation, geographical isolation,
alcohol/drug consumption or problem
_____ Raw total (sum of items scored 1)
Adjusted Score (see Table Adjusted scores for assessments with missing information)

Scores: 4 (41% recidivism), 5-6 (59% recidivism), 7+ (70% recidivism)

Creating Safety
Safety planning includes:

A detailed understanding of the abuse history

A plan to address the different factors that may limit safety or
independence.

Victims often underestimate the risk in

moderate-higher risk situations, using structured
tools and informing them of the risk may help to
take steps to securing safety
Higher risk cases require more care in safety
planning, and greater emphasis on escape
planning

Safety Planning
Safety planning is an ongoing process
throughout treatment
Most women are ambivalent about leaving,
especially if in long-term relationships
May fear for their safety, or doubt their ability to
survive independently
Also generally underestimate the risk theyre in
higher-risk cases
Resolving this ambivalence and educating them
about domestic violence/risk are part of safety
planning as well as treatment

Work towards confidence, self-worth,

empowerment, and respect their autonomy.

The SOS-DoC Intervention

S: offer Support and assess Safety

Support: talk in private; make eye contact; assure that the discussion will be kept
confidential unless the patient expresses plans to harm self or another person

Im sorry this has happened.

You have a right to be safe and respected.
The violence is not your fault.

Do you feel safe going home?

Are your children safe?

Safety: identify risk markersincreasing severity and frequency of violence,

weapons used or available, threats to kill, forced or threatened sexual acts, life
transitions (e.g., pregnancy, separation, divorce), drug and alcohol abuse, and
history of violence and/or suicide attempts

O: discuss Options, including safety planning

and follow-up

Provide information about legal tools (e.g., restraining orders, mandatory arrest,
police/911) and community resources (e.g., womens shelters, support groups,
legal advocacy); promote safety planning and offer safety planning handout

If you decided to leave, where could you go?

Can you keep clothes, money, and copies of keys and important papers in a safe place?
Where could you go in an emergency? How would you get there?
Many women call a womens shelter to learn more about it. Would you like to use our office phone?

The SOS-DoC Intervention

S: validate patients Strengths

Identify and validate patients strengths

You have shown great strength in very tough circumstances. I can see that you care deeply about
your children. It took courage for you to talk with me today about the violence.

Do: Document observations, assessment, and

plans

Subjective observations: record what the patient said; use quotation marks to
document exact words
Objective observations: describe the behavior and injuries you observed, use
drawings and photographs describing location and type of injuries; for
photographs, include a ruler for scale, and patients face, if possible, for identity
Assessment: your assessment of potential partner violence
Plans: describe safety planning and follow-up plans

C: offer Continuity

Offer a follow-up appointment and assess barriers to access

Do you have transportation? Will your partner try to prevent you from returning?

Physical Safety
Violent incidents
If possible, remove weapons from the home, place barriers
to access, or relocate weapons to safer areas of the house.
Consider "safe zones" in the home, areas without weapons,
or areas where a door can be locked and a telephone
accessed.
During conflict, avoid the kitchen, garage, and enclosed
spaces like bathrooms or closets
Avoid wearing scarves or necklaces
Talk to neighbors or other people that live nearby. Explain
the situation, ask that they call the police if they hear loud
conflict, or arrange a signal (for example, a drawn blind) to
indicate you need the police to be called).
If necessary, contact HAVEN and secure a cell phone that
will allow 911 to be called, store in-house.

Physical Safety
Safety planning with children
Educate/coach children not to intervene/avoid conflict
should it occur.
Identify places the child can go during conflict, including
locations within the house or neighbors houses.
Teach and review emergency procedures with children,
including calling 911, help them to memorize their phone
number and address
Develop a "code word or signal for the implementation of
safety plan.
Practice escape routes with the children, refer to it as
emergency planning.

Physical Safety Escape Planning*

Plan an escape route before violence occurs
and practice it.
Identify 2-4 places to go or people to turn to
Plan routes, and safe/public places along the route of travel

Pack a go bag, include:

Clothing
Cash/credit cards (secure extra copies)
Legal documents (identification, birth certificates, social security cards,
insurance cards, copies of restraining or custody orders)
Important items that cant be replaced (for example, old family photos)
Important phone numbers
Best if not stored in home or car, if found, explain away as an
emergency bag

Identify where pets will be placed

*A woman is at greatest risk when leaving, its best to develop a plan to leave
when alone vs. leaving during acute violence

Physical Safety legal strategies

Restraining orders & custody are in civil court
evidentiary standard is lower, easier to support case

Document all incidents of abuse

Call 911 recorded shouts, etc. are used as evidence
Take pictures of injuries following incidents or 2-3 days
following (takes time for bruises to appear)
Use flash, ruler, insure victims face is in the picture

Take photos of destroyed property or disarray

Identify witnesses that saw/heard events, as well as children
present, or children that live in the home and werent present
Keep copies of medical records

If police are on scene, they will collect much of this

evidence
Get badge numbers, names, and report #

Physical Safety legal strategies

Arrest
Most effective strategy to deter further abuse (results in the
biggest drop in recidivism)
If police dont see probable cause, theyre supposed to inform
the victim while alone that they can request a private person
arrest (citizens arrest).
Be aware that if the arrested person is undocumented, they will
be deported regardless of prosecution (may happen fairly
quickly)

Restraining Orders
Civil:
Emergency Protective Order (5-7 days)
Temporary Restraining Order (up to three weeks)
Permanent Restraining Order (3-5 years)

Criminal

Physical Safety - Restraining Orders

Physical Safety - Restraining Orders

Emergency Protective Order (EPO)
Requested of judges directly by police, can be provided at scene
Survivor can also file a police report later and request one (may
be harder to secure if evidence, such as injuries, are not clear)
Lasts 5-7 days, designed to create enough time to file a
Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)

Restrictions
Restrict the batterer from going near the home or workplace,
daycare or schools of children, communicating with survivor
Move out order require the batterer to move out of a shared
home
Give temporary custody of children to survivor or specify
visitation

Physical Safety - Restraining Orders

Physical Safety - Restraining Orders

Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
For recent abuse
Filed with the court (legal aid has clinics that can assist, there are also self-help
centers at the court house)
Must be enacted within 2 days of filing
Batterer must be served papers no cost to survivor
This can be a problem if hes deported or absconds, case cant move forward
If he shows up at residence police can be called and serve order

Lasts up to three weeks, until a hearing for a permanent order

If issued, judge will generally follow survivors wishes for custody/visitation (can
request no contact, supervised visitation, etc.)

Restrictions on batterer:

Continues protections of EPO (home, work, custody), and:

Requires batterer to turn over firearms within 48 hours
Gives the survivor control of a shared vehicle
Give control of pets to survivor
Requires batterer to pay certain debts, prohibits the selling or transfer of specific
property

Physical Safety - Restraining Orders

Permanent Restraining Order
Decided at a hearing around 20 days following the TRO
If batterer doesnt show and has been served, case will proceed without
him, if survivor doesnt show, TRO will be terminated.
Generally done without lawyers, legal aid will be present in court if
needed
Does not address divorce, child support, or community property, must
be addressed in family court

Custody/Visitation:
If family already has an open Family Court case, will send them to
mediation/family court judge for resolution
If no family court case, the judge will generally decide custody/visitation
at the hearing
If the batterer has a criminal case pending, will usually continue the TRO
until the resolution of the criminal case (if a criminal restraining order is
issued, it wont address custody).

Custody
Generally, its easier for the survivor to secure
custody through the TRO process, following recent
abuse than later through the family court
DV counts strongly against custody/visitation

Can set up supervision, safe drop-off/pickup, etc.

Batterer can always come back to family court later
and attempt to regain some time or visitation

Physical Safety Following Separation

33%-50% of all lethal DV occurs while leaving or separated,
the first three months are the highest risk period(Dobash et. Al.
Change locks or install extra security
Get caller ID, require callers to show ID, screen calls
Keep doors/windows locked and shut (create barriers that allow
time to call 911)
If in rural area, keep gas tank half-full
Inform daycare/school, work, provide copies of the order and
photo if available
Be aware of routines, try to change them
Try to structure life to avoid areas where batterer may be
(change banks, etc.)
Carry a copy of the restraining order, and custody order at all
times

Physical Safety Following Separation

If its a felony case, can request that the Department of
Corrections Office of Victim & Survivor Rights and
Services notify of release

Must be made in writing (CDCR Form 1707), can be obtained from VictimWitness

If property needs to be retrieved, request a civil

standby

Can be requested by anyone, a restraining order isnt required

Bring a copy of the TRO if is specifies control of property
Police will accompany survivor to home to allow her to get items
Will only stay for about 15 minutes
If the other party objects to her taking any items that are not clearly hers, the
police will not allow them to be taken
Best to take important items when initially separating

Financial Security

If unmarried, she has rights to all property/money belonging to her

If married, everything is community property from marriage date
When leaving, take what is needed to survive, but keep track of where it goes, in marital
dissolution hes entitled to half

Secure and store extra copies of ATM cards, credit cards, banking
information
Create new bank account with only survivors name, develop funding
Can use automatic withdrawal from paycheck to begin to funnel money into new account
May be able to keep from credit rpt. (if not married, he has no access)
Can also potentially use a trusted family member to be account holder

Develop a plan for addressing basic needs such as food, clothing, utilities,
shelter
Be aware of support services
Identify people that they may be able to ask for financial or practical assistance

Restraining orders can specify control of home, care, certain property

Housing support available through DVS, St. Vincents, VW will help pay for
relocation
Restraining orders may specify custody, but she will have to file separately
for child support

Reducing further violence

What works?
Arrest
A small effect size, past arrest, is cognitive
behavioral therapy/group treatment (26
court ordered weeks is the standard)

Generally, following program participation,

60% do not re-offend according to spousal
report and arrest records up to 5 years later

References
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emotionally aggressive behavior, and general violence in batterers. Journal of
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Fonagy, P. (1999). Male perpetrators of violence against women: An attachment
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