Skip to main content

Understanding the Risk of Domestic Violence During and Post Natural Disasters: Literature Review

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Issues of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Humanitarian Emergencies

Part of the book series: Humanitarian Solutions in the 21st Century ((HSIC))

Abstract

This chapter explores the impacts of domestic violence (DV) on women and their increased vulnerability during disasters along with opportunities for resilience and change. It reviews the research literature and historical findings on DV occurring in the context of disasters in industrialized countries, in particular Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. The findings from previous research are synthesized in order to examine the trends and causes of increased DV in disasters. Also discussed are the impacts of disasters on DV services and practitioners in the welfare sector and the complex challenges of researching DV in a disaster context. The chapter concludes with a discussion of significant research gaps, most notably a near absence of victims’ own accounts and voices.

In Australia, the term domestic violence (DV) is used more frequently than intimate partner violence (IPV). In this chapter, they will be used interchangeably unless there is reason to distinguish between them.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams, P., & Adams, G. (1984). Mount Saint Helen’s Ashfall: Evidence for a disaster stress reaction. American Psychologist, 39(3), 252–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anastario, M., Lawry, L., & Shehab, N. (2009a). Increased gender-based violence among women internally displaced in Mississippi 2 years post-Hurricane Katrina. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 3(1), 18–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anastario, M., Shehab, N., & Lawry, L. (2009b). Responding to gender-based violence in disasters [Letter to the Editor]. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 3(3), 138–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. L. (2011). Opportunities and challenges of battered women’s shelters in the aftermath of a disaster. In D. S. Miller & J. D. Rivera (Eds.), Community disaster recovery and resiliency: Exploring global opportunities and challenges (pp. 63–78). Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. L., Jenkins, P., & Wachtendorf, T. (2010). Shelter in the storm: A battered women’s shelter and catastrophe. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 28(2), 226–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buttell, F. P., & Carney, M. M. (2009). Examining the impact of Hurricane Katrina on police responses to domestic violence. Traumatology, 15(2), 6–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemens, P., Hietala, J., Rytter, M., Schmidt, R., & Reese, D. (1999). Risk of domestic violence after flood impact: Effects of social support, age, and history of domestic violence. Applied Behavioral Science Review, 7(2), 199–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. (1989). Violence against women in the aftermath of the October 17, l989 earthquake: A report to the Mayor and City Council of the City of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enarson, E. (1999). Violence against women in disasters: A study of domestic violence programs in the United States and Canada. Violence Against Women, 5(7), 742–768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enarson, E. (2012). Violence against women. In E. Enarson (Ed.), Women confronting natural disaster: From vulnerability to resilience (pp. 71–85). Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fothergill, A. (1999). An exploratory study of woman battering in the Grand Forks flood disaster: Implications for community responses and policies. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 17(1), 79–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frasier, P. Y., Belton, L., Hooten, E., Campbell, M. K., DeVellis, B., Benedict, S., Meier, A. (2004). Disaster down east: Using participatory action research to explore intimate partner violence in Eastern North Carolina. Health Education & Behavior, 31, 69S–84S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harville, E. W., Taylor, C. A., Tesfai, H., Xiong, X., & Buekens, P. (2011). Experience of Hurricane Katrina and reported intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(4), 833–845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, R. (2009a). Domestic violence reporting and disasters in New Zealand. Regional Development Dialogue, 30(1), 79–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, R. (2009b). ‘Everything became a struggle, absolute struggle’: Post-flood increases in domestic violence in New Zealand. In E. Enarson & P. G. D. Chakrabarti (Eds.), Women, gender and disaster: Global issues and initiatives (pp. 99–111). New Dehli: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, R., Wilson, T., Smith, W., & Johnston, D. (2010). “If there was a dire emergency, we never would have been able to get in there”: Domestic violence reporting and disasters. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 28(2), 270–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, P., & Phillips, B. (2008). Battered women, catastrophe, and the context of safety after Hurricane Katrina. Feminist Formations, 20(3), 49–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockie, A. (2007). Domestic violence and disasters. Women’s Rights Law Reporter, 28(1), 49–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrow, B. H. (1997). Stretching the bonds: The families of Andrew. In W. G. Peacock, B. H. Morrow, & H. Gladwin (Eds.), Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, gender, and the sociology of disasters. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson, D., & Zara, C. (2012). The way he tells it: Relationships after Black Saturday. Wangaratta: Women’s Health Goulburn North East.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson, D., Lancaster, C., & Stewart, A. (2011). A numbers game: Lack of gendered data impedes prevention of disaster-related family violence. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 22, 42–S45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Picardo, C. W., Burton, S., Naponick, J., & Katrina Reproductive Assessment Team. (2010). Physically and sexually violent experiences of reproductive-aged women displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society, 162(5), 284–288, 290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosborough, S., Chan, J. L., & Parmar, P. (2009). Responding to gender-based violence in disasters: Grappling with research methods to clear the way for planning. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 3(1), 8–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher, J., Coffey, S., Norris, F., Tracy, M., Clements, K., & Galea, S. (2010). Intimate partner violence and Hurricane Katrina: Predictors and associated mental health outcomes. Violence and Victims, 25(5), 588–603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark, L., & Ager, A. (2011). A systematic review of prevalence studies of gender-based violence in complex emergencies. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 12(3), 127–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taft, C. T., Monson, C. M., Schumm, J. A., Watkins, L. E., Panuzio, J., & Resick, P. A. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, relationship adjustment, and relationship aggression in a sample of female flood victims. Journal of Family Violence, 24(6), 389–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2007). Indicators to measure violence against women: Report of the Expert Group Meeting. Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2012, February 14). Gender, women and health: Gender and health in disasters. http://www.who.int/gender/other_health/disasters/en/. Accessed 14 Feb 2012.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. James .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sety, M., James, K., Breckenridge, J. (2014). Understanding the Risk of Domestic Violence During and Post Natural Disasters: Literature Review. In: Roeder, L. (eds) Issues of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Humanitarian Emergencies. Humanitarian Solutions in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05882-5_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics