The study reported in this article explored the perceptions of rural women on custody and visitation arrangements with abusive ex-partners. Data were collected from questionnaires and focus groups with 23 mothers who were recruited from domestic violence support groups. Most mothers reported experiencing ongoing abusive and controlling behavior by their ex-partners related to custody and visitation arrangements. Counseling and legal services were most frequently used, while visitation exchange sites and supervision visitation and support groups were considered the most helpful services. Recommendations for rural areas include improving methods for screening and monitoring custody cases within the court system and improving access to child visitation services.
ArajiS.BosekR. (2010). Domestic violence, contested child custody and the courts: Findings from five studies. In HannahM. T.GoldsteinB. (Eds.), Domestic violence, abuse and child custody (pp. 1–34). Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.
2.
BancroftL.SilvermanJ. (2002). The batterer as parent: Addressing the impact of domestic violence on family dynamics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
3.
BeebleM. LBybeeD.SullivanC. M. (2007). Abusive men’s use of children to control their partners and ex-partners. European Psychologist, 12, 54–61.
4.
BreidingM. J.ZiembroskiJ. S.BlackM. C. (2009). Prevalence of rural intimate partner violence in 16 US States, 2005. Journal of Rural Health, 25, 240–246.
5.
EastmanB. J.BunchS. G. (2007). Providing services to survivors of domestic violence: A comparison of rural and urban service provider perceptions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 465–473.
6.
EastmanB. J.BunchS. G.WilliamsA. H.CarawanL. W. (2007). Exploring the perceptions of domestic violence service providers in rural localities. Violence Against Women, 13, 700–716.
7.
FitzsimonsN.HagemeisterA. K.BraunE. J. (2011). Interpersonal violence against people with disabilities: Understanding the problem from a rural context. Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 10, 166–188.
8.
HayesB. E. (2012). Abusive men’s indirect control of their partner during the process of separation. Journal of Family Violence, 27, 333–344.
9.
HomostyJ.DohertyD. (2004). Resistance and change: Building a framework for helping rural women. Rural Social Work, 9, 106–117.
10.
JaffeP. G.LemonN. K. D.PoissonS. E. (2003). Child custody and domestic violence: A call for safety and accountability. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
11.
JohnsonM. P. (2006). Conflict and control: Gender symmetry and asymmetry in violence. Violence Against Women, 12, 1003–1018.
12.
JohnsonN. E.SaccuzzoD. P.KoenW. J. (2005). Child custody mediation in cases of domestic violence: Empirical evidence of a failure to protect. Violence Against Women, 11, 1022–1053.
13.
KernicM. A.Monary-ErnsdorffD. J.KoepsellJ. K.HoltV. L. (2005). Children in the crossfire: Child custody determinations among couples with a history of intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 11, 991–1021.
14.
PenceE.PaymarM. (1993). Education groups for men who batter: The Duluth Model. New York, NY: Springer.
15.
SainiM.Van WertM.GofmanJ. (2011). Parent-child visitation within child welfare and custody disputes contexts: An exploratory comparison of two distinct models of practice. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 163–168.
ShepherdJ. (2001). Where do you go when it’s 40 below? Domestic violence among rural Alaska native women. Affilia, 16, 488–510.
18.
StarkE. (2009). Rethinking custody evaluation in cases involving domestic violence. Journal of Child Custody, 6, 287–321.
19.
StoverC. S.Van HornP.TurnerR.CooperB.LibermanA. F. (2003). The effects of father visitation on preschool-aged witnesses of domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 1149–1165.
20.
ZorzaJ. (2010). Child custody practices of the family court in cases involving domestic violence. In HannahM. T.GoldsteinB. (Eds.), Domestic violence, abuse and child custody (pp. 1–32). Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.
