\u201cI hear very rarely about incidents of physical and sexual violence where the exertion of power and control didn\u2019t come first,\u201d says Catherine Cerulli<\/a>, director of both the\u00a0University of Rochester<\/a>\u2019s Susan B. Anthony Center and the\u00a0Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization<\/a>. \u201cAs the level of severity increases toward physical and sexual violence, it\u2019s almost always accompanied or preceded by emotional abuse, where the abuser tries to control the victim\u2019s time and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n IPV may also manifest as economic abuse. Cerulli has had clients who had to call their abusers from the grocery store to obtain permission to buy themselves feminine hygiene products. Others have had their social service benefits for housing and food taken away by their abuser.<\/p>\n Economic abuse may also include interfering with a person\u2019s ability to earn an income or hold down a job. For example, a perpetrator may engage in behavior to try to get the victim fired, showing up at the workplace to call, harass, annoy, or alarm\u2014not just them but their coworkers as well.<\/p>\n Catherine Cerulli has been working in a variety of roles on issues surrounding domestic violence and child abuse for over three decades:<\/p>\n Not only is Cerulli the director of both the University of Rochester\u2019s Susan B. Anthony Center and the Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization, she is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In 1995, as an assistant district attorney in New York\u2019s Monroe County, she created a special misdemeanor domestic violence unit.<\/p>\n (Photo:\u00a0Frank Gallagher)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cerulli:<\/strong> Intimate partner violence occurs between people in an intimate relationship who might be married, formerly married, dating, formerly dating, or individuals who don\u2019t necessarily have an ongoing romantic relationship but may share common children. It can manifest as emotional abuse, psychological abuse\u2014including coercive control\u2014economic abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and sometimes using the children as a tool to get what the abuser wants.<\/p>\n Cerulli: <\/strong>Broadly defined, domestic violence includes elder abuse, sibling abuse, child abuse, intimate partner abuse, parent abuse, and can also include people who don\u2019t necessarily live together but who do have an intimate relationship. Conversely, intimate partner violence is more specific; essentially, it\u2019s a specific form of domestic violence.<\/p>\n Cerulli: <\/strong>I vacillate between the two. There is a framework that some survivors who work on community-based research with me have shared: a person may go through the journey of being a victim first. Later, once they get to a safe space in their life, they become a survivor and can thrive. That\u2019s a model we use: victim\u2014survivor\u2014thriver.<\/p>\n Cerulli: <\/strong>Early US data suggest that IPV\u00a0rose\u00a0during COVID-19 for some segments of the population due to increased risk factors: homelessness, unemployment, stress, and some communities\u2019 lockdown provisions, which required survivors to be in close contact and monitored by their perpetrators.<\/p>\n When people had to shelter in place during COVID, it was very difficult for victims to escape their abuse, to go and stay with family members or friends, or even go to a hotel. Shelters were struggling with how to function during the pandemic and some social supports were cut off. Unless organizations and agencies could pivot during the pandemic to meet with survivors safely, it could put victims at greater risk.<\/p>\n Cerulli:\u00a0<\/strong>Studies have been contradictory. Some found that more victims report abuse during pregnancy, or upon the birth of the baby. Yet, a University of Rochester study<\/a> concluded that IPV occurred before, during, and after a pregnancy, and that pregnancy did not appear to create the abuse, but that it may take on different forms.<\/p>\n One of the most interesting findings was that far fewer women reported IPV in the\u00a0weeks after the baby was born, when some violence actually stopped. I would suggest that\u2019s because following the birth, visitors may be coming into the house, or there\u2019s more care given through post-birth visits for the baby and the mother. This may be a window of opportunity for intervention.<\/p>\n But there is no denying that bringing a child into a relationship where there is already abuse\u2014either emotional, physical, sexual, or economic\u2014that that extra person in the home can increase stress and could raise the level of abuse, depending on other risk factors.<\/p>\n Catherine Cerulli created a resource for health care providers<\/a> about how to identify, protect, and support victims and survivors of intimate partner violence. Published by the Joint Commission, an independent, nonprofit organization for health accreditation, her work is part of the University\u2019s TRANSFORM Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cerulli: <\/strong>Abusive relationships often start the way non-abusive relationships start: two people meet, they get together, and there\u2019s excitement. They spend a lot of time with each other, exchange frequent phone calls and texts. But after a while, there comes a point in healthy relationships where some of that initial excitement fades, and people reengage with their family and their friends. At that point, they start to enmesh the new partner into their already existing social networks. That\u2019s when the road divides: abusive relationships often start with controlling the victim\u2019s social networks\u2014limiting with whom and when they can spend time away from the abusive partner. The abuser may start monitoring the victim\u2019s telephone calls and texts. Sometimes abusers put monitoring devices in cars and on telephones, or spyware onto computers to see what websites their victims use. They start to insert themselves in all aspects of the victim\u2019s life. This isolation can be a precursor to more abusive behaviors that can be physical or sexual.<\/p>\n Cerulli: <\/strong>I\u2019d be looking to see if their new relationship turns the corner, whether the couple starts to go out together with friends. They shouldn\u2019t be completely in their own bubble once the newness of the relationship wears off. I\u2019d also pay attention to cues such as who is paying for things, who is taking the lead, who is controlling the finances for the couple, who is deciding where they go, what movie they watch, whom they spend time with.<\/p>\n A friend of mine, who is a domestic violence counselor, taught me a useful framework: There are healthy and safe relationships; there are unhealthy relationships; and then there are outright dangerous relationships. If we spent more time educating adolescents about how to spot and leave unhealthy relationships, we may have fewer people getting into the actually dangerous ones.<\/p>\n Cerulli: <\/strong>Finding yourself in an abusive relationship can be a frightening revelation. People often blame themselves, which they shouldn\u2019t. There are many options for help that might start with counseling to work on a safety plan, which might include steps on how to leave the relationship.<\/p>\n You most definitely want to partner with your local domestic violence service provider. Call 911 if there\u2019s an imminent risk to your safety. You can also get help from your doctor\u2019s office or a faith leader who is trained in understanding the dynamics of IPV. You might seek help from your employer\u2019s employee assistance program,\u00a0which may offer short-term counseling and link you with care.<\/p>\n But the most important thing as you decide to leave an abusive relationship is safety\u2014be sure that you have covered your bases for a safety plan, know what that process is going to be, and know when you\u2019re going to execute that plan.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Catherine](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/inline-catherine-cerulli.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRochester Voices<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Q&A with Catherine Cerulli<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What is intimate partner violence? <\/strong><\/h3>\n
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What\u2019s the difference between intimate partner violence and domestic violence?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Victim or survivor\u2014which term should we use?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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How did COVID-19 affect intimate partner violence?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Is it true that intimate partner violence increases during pregnancy?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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How health care providers can address intimate partner violence<\/h2>\n
What are early warning signs of possible violence?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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According to the <\/strong>Pew Research Center<\/strong><\/a>, 35 percent of American teens have been in a romantic relationship. What\u2019s the best way to protect teenagers in new relationships?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Where can victims and survivors find help?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nResources for victims of intimate partner violence<\/strong><\/h3>\n
National<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Local<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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For University of Rochester employees and household members<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"Black](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fea-woman-hand.jpg\")
Rochester team casts light on a hidden problem in domestic violence cases<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"little](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/fea-child-welfare-system.jpg\")
American child welfare system has lost its way, says Rochester historian<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"white](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/fea-mount-hope-covid-families.jpg\")
How does the pandemic affect families who were already struggling?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n