Course Curriculum:

A Domestic Violence Class for Women

What is Domestic Violence (DV)?

Domestic Violence is defined by the DOJ as "a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner". The definition is constantly developing as the topic of DV is understood. There is a push for domestic violence to include more than just intimate partners, but anyone that is residing within the home. Domestic violence shows up in many forms such as physical, emotional, financial, sexual and psychological abuse.

Statistics about DV

1 in 3 women and 1 in 10 men over the age of 18 experience DV
DV is responsible for 1500 deaths annually in the US
DV affects 10 million people in the US yearly
Its estimated that DV Costs the US 12 billion dollars annually

Misconceptions/ Stereotypes

Men can't experience DV by women
Domestic Violence is only physical abuse
Victims always have the opportunity to leave
Domestic violence doesn't happen that often.

Purpose

For a long time women were never seen as possible perpetrators of domestic violence so there has been a lack of programming to assist women who do offend. Women tend to commit domestic violence for different reasons in comparison to their male counterparts. Women commit DV due to anger, not being able to get attention from a partner, self defense and retaliation, while men typically engage in this behavior due gain power and control. With the difference in these motives, there shouldn't be a one size fit all approach to a DV course, so it is essential that there is a course that is tailored to women's wants and needs from this program.

Goals and Description

The goal of this project is to create a course curriculum that can be used in domestic violence classes led by and for women. This curriculum would be centered around gender responsive programming and focus on assisting these women in a way that they need rather than the one size fits all approach. It would be ideal for this program to be run out of a women's shelter so that along with the courses, these women have direct access to resources that they can seek out if needed. This course would be something that women could volunteer to take and would be a course split into four sections. There would be availabilty for in person and online classes so that women with different needs can access information that might be important for them

▪️ The Curriculum ▪️

Section One: Identifying Violence, its Causes and Ways to Deescalate

This section will look similar to the set up of typical DV courses in the way that it will explain stressors that can push people to cause violence, identifying different types of abuse, the affects of abuse on victims, and ways to stop abuse either before it happens or during the incident. It's important for the women in this course to know that they aren't inherently violent and that there are ways to manage these complex emotions before too much damage is done

Section Two: Mental/ Physical Health Resources and Getting Help

Mental and physical issues are very common within women who commit crime so informing these women how to get in touch with certain resources can be a good tool for their tool box. There will be descriptions of different types of therapy, which ones will be beneficial for certain situation, and ways to go about gaining access to these resources in the most affordable way. This section will also touch on how trauma can affect mental/ physical health.

Section Three: Substance Abuse and Resources

Another issue that is also very common within women who commit crime is drug use, so similarly to last section, there will be general discussion about this topic. There will be info about long term and short term physical/mental affects, resources to access, and good information to know if they are surrounded by others who use. SUDs is a very sensitive topic and has to be addressed with care which means there has to be an openminded and judgement free environment.

Section Four: Parenting, Coming Back Together , and Taking Accountability

This section would be the end of the course and it is preparing these women to reunite with their family and heal from the incident that made them gravitate towards this course in the first place. This section offers resources to help the women in the group that might be parents. This section will offer techniques to handle kids as a parent that is easily agitated and resources that mothers might need like food/clothes and ither essentials for kids. Outside of children, this section will point women in the right direction towards healing the wounds that might still linger on them and their families.

Bair-Merritt, M. H., Crowne, S. S., Thompson, D. A., Sibinga, E., Trent, M., & Campbell, J. (2010). Why Do Women Use Intimate Partner Violence? A Systematic Review of Women’s Motivations. Trauma Violence & Abuse, 11(4), 178–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838010379003

Domestic Violence. (2024, December 10). https://www.justice.gov/ovw/domestic-violence

Elmquist, J., Hamel, J., Shorey, R. C., Labrecque, L., Ninnemann, A., & Stuart, G. L. (2014). Motivations for Intimate Partner Violence in Men and Women Arrested for Domestic Violence and Court Referred to Batterer Intervention Programs. Partner Abuse, 5(4), 359–374. https://doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.5.4.359

Huecker, M. R., King, K. C., Jordan, G. A., & Smock, W. (2023, April 9). Domestic Violence. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499891/

Myths About Domestic Violence | Annapolis, MD. (n.d.). https://www.annapolis.gov/601/Myths-About-Domestic-Violence

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