FAMILY AND EMPLOYMENT CONSEQUENCES OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

In this report, we examine how being violently victimized by an intimate partner influences the chances that a woman divorces or separates and moves; changes employment; or is re-assaulted by an intimate partner.1 Previous research suggests that a high proportion of divorced women had previously experienced marital violence and that violent partners interfere with women’s employment.

Thus, it is crucial to consider the ways intimate partner violence is associated with marital dissolution and changes in a woman’s employment trajectory. We also consider the ways these consequences are influenced by injuries resulting from the violence and by the victim’s self-defensive and help-seeking behaviors during and following the assault. Recognizing exposure reduction and retaliation effects as competing predictions, we assess whether women who attempt to reduce their exposure to violence are more or less likely than other victims of partner violence to be re-victimized.

Victims’ experiences and characteristics are compared to those of non-victims as well as other crime victims. Through these comparisons we assess the extent to which intimate partner violence uniquely affects individual lives to determine if certain marital and employment outcomes are unique to victims of intimate partner violence.

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http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/209295.pdf