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Question 1
Domestic violence and substance abuse often co-occur but do not cause each other.
They seem inter-connected because both severity of injuries and lethality rates increase when co-occurrence happens.
A significant correlation exists between domestic violence and chemical dependency and, depending on whose research you cite, you will note rates of co-occurrence anywhere from 50-96%. However, little has been done to help battered women with chemical dependency issues to address their need for both safety and sobriety.
Intervention strategies addressing both the domestic violence and substance abuse problems are relatively new; many have only been developed in the past 10 years. Model programs exist in WA State, Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa as well as in a handful of other states. Here in Alaska, SAFE in Dillingham has a partnership with the local chemical dependency treatment center and has developed the SISTR program for women addressing both DV and substance abuse issues. AFS in Palmer has provided integrated support groups for several years and is enhancing services for chemically battered women as well as for adolescents this year. AWRC in Anchorage is another Alaska program that addresses both DV and addiction issues.
Many victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of abuse begin or increase their use of alcohol and other drugs in response to abuse or as a way to medicate the physical and emotional effects of domestic violence or other forms of victimization. It is important to note that while this is true for about 2/3 of victims with multiple abuse issues, a recent federal study indicated about a third may have begun using alcohol or other drugs prior to experiencing abuse. Whether abuse is experienced before or after alcohol or drugs are involved, steps must be made to reassure all victims that any violence directed toward them by a partner is not their fault. In order to ensure safety and sobriety we must hold batterers accountable for their behavior and not blame victims whether they were drunk, sober, abstinent, on medication or tricked into using a substance.
Many victims first begin using substances that are prescribed by their physicians. Others are forced to use by their partners who are seeking to gain or maintain power and control. Recovery efforts are often sabotaged by their partners who find it harder to control a person who is not using.
According to the New York State OPDV Model County Policy:
“Alcohol and other drug use and addiction do not cause men to perpetrate abuse in their intimate relationships, and substance abuse treatment alone is unlikely to stop the violence.
1 Victims with drug-dependent partners consistently report that during their partner’s recovery the abuse not only continues, but often escalates, creating greater levels of danger than existed prior to their partners’ abstinence. In the cases, in which victims report that the level of physical abuse decreases, they often report a corresponding increase in other forms of coercive control and abuse—the threats, manipulation, and isolation intensify.”
2
The New York State Model Protocol also states:
“Abusers who are also alcohol or other drug-involved need to address the alcohol/other drug problem separate from, and in addition to, being subject to appropriate criminal or civil justice sanctions for their abusive behavior. Not only is this a critical strategy to enhance victim safety, but abusers’ continued use of coercive and violent acts against their partners is often a precipitant to relapse. Addictions self-help groups and substance abuse treatment programs were not designed to address battering and are not equipped to enforce abuser accountability, a role more appropriate to the criminal and civil justice systems.”
Getting Safe and Sober: Real Tools You Can Use ©Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault 2005
