Forensic Psychology of Spousal Violence

195 Pages·2016·2.058 MB·English

by  Mauro Paulino

Forensic Psychology of
Spousal Violence
Mauro Paulino

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Foreword
Domestic violence occurs when one family member, household member, or
intimate harms another. The harm inflicted can be physical, emotional, psy-
chological, or even economic. A single occurrence of domestic violence is not
the norm; rather, the realization of one instance suggests that related behavior
is longstanding and ongoing. As an existing framework within a relationship
dynamic, it is both simple and horrific.
Each case of domestic violence is different, but historical and psychologi-
cal similarities, even patterns, are hard to miss. It is most often the result of
accumulated as opposed to situational rage, and it is often the result of a power
imbalance. Things become uneven when one or both parties want complete con-
trol over the other or where one or both feel powerless over the other. There
are of course many exceptions, but power and control are the most common
themes—rendering an abusive dynamic from tools and experiences forged in
relationships past and present.
Domestic violence is commonly associated with social isolation, chronic
arguing, jealousy, and the fear of inadequacy made real through betrayal or aban-
donment. It also frequently occurs in association with drug and alcohol abuse.
It arrives as a mechanism for control, punishment, and emotional expression—
when the abuser feels angry, weak, or frightened.
Sometimes the victims will receive medical attention, and sometimes they
will suffer injuries left untreated. All of this will occur over a period of years,
while they are trapped inside of a relationship with bars made of fear, money,
and shame. If they are fortunate, they will eventually find a means of escape; if
they are not, then they may die miserable and alone, perhaps as the result of a
violent altercation that is most likely to occur in the kitchen or bedroom.
Domestic violence, it must be understood, involves some of the more violent
and aberrant behaviors that behavioral analysts will need to examine—often
more—than one sees in relation to serial murderers. Indeed, this examiner has
analyzed his share of such cases in 20 years of research and forensic practice—
from an abusive husband who cut off his wife’s head during an argument, in
front of their 5-year-old daughter; to an abusive husband who beat his wife
nearly to death with a hammer, leaving her brain damaged, during a bitter cus-
tody dispute; to yet another abusive husband who bit and choked his wife to
death during one of their usual rough sex encounters, while both were high on
meth. All of this and more have featured prominently in this examiner’s domes-
tic homicide casework.
vii
viii Foreword
It is well known that domestic violence, including spousal abuse, is a regu-
lar occurrence in the United States, to say nothing of the rest of the world. We
need more professional awareness about domestic violence to help us recognize
when the evidence is before us demanding a response. But we also need tools
that help us understand it more clearly, so that our response is informed and
indeed helpful. Otherwise we will be incompetent when we respond, if we don’t
miss the indicators entirely. This work is a step in that direction and, as such, is
a valuable reference for the forensic behavioral analyst.
Brent E. Turvey
Forensic Solutions LLC, Sitka, Alaska, United States
Acknowledgments
Mariza, Portuguese fado singer and one of the most acclaimed stars of “world
music,” sings in a unique way the fado song “Rain,” in which one of the lyrics
is “There are people who remain a part of us, and become part of our own story,
while there are others whose names we hardly remember.” So this is the time
to thank those who are part of my story because, after all, we are not isolated
islands.
Let’s start at the beginning with my sincere thanks to Elsevier Academic
Press for embracing this project, which in addition to the scientific sharing also
has a social mission. It is unthinkable not to stress and emphasize the profes-
sionalism, diligence, and quality of the entire team, from the conception and
planning of the book to its birth. A very special thank you to Dr. Elizabeth
Brown, Dr. Joslyn Paguio, and Dr. Lisa Jones.
To Professor Brent Turvey, an unavoidable worldwide name in the field of
forensic science and a great traveling companion, my thanks for giving me the
honor of writing the preface of this work. The clairvoyance and scientific rigor
of his contribution is again commendable.
Thank you, Professor Vicente Garrido, for the precious willingness to close
this book in the best possible way. His extensive experience is manifested in his
relevant considerations.
Thank you João F. Lino for the brilliant work of translation, who always
sought to maintain the logic and meaning of the text when looking for the best
language match, never losing track of the deadlines. Thank you very much!
The research done and shared in this book has the important contribution of
a teacher who accompanied me for many years in academic and investigative
roads and who has a remarkable “manliness” that some people don’t have—my
friend, lecturer, and mentor Silva Pinto, for once again giving me the privilege
of teaming up with you. He is a person of immeasurable value. His attention to
detail, zeal, and always relevant and enriching criticism are essential and pro-
mote growth for those he is in contact with, as well as for projects where he is
involved. Words are few to express my gratitude and appreciation for the many
hours that you have worked with me.
To all the organizations (CIG, thanks to Dr. Marta Silva; APAV, thanks
to Dr. João Lázaro, Dr. José Félix, and Dr. Daniel Cotrim; Associação de
Mulheres contra a violência, thanks to Dr. Maria Macedo; Casa Sant’Ana,
thanks to Dr. Susana Simões; Centro de Saúde de Setúbal, thanks to Dr. Helena
ix
x Acknowledgments
Salazar; Espaço Vida, thanks to Dr. Sónia Paixão, Dr. Mónica Gomes, Dr. Rita
Tibério, Dr. Fernanda Pereira, Dr. Isabel Pereira, and Dr. Helena Oliveira; GNR,
thanks to Dr. Carla Pereira, Comandante Albano Pereira, Tenente-coronel João
Nortadas, and Sargento Luís Pereira; Rede Integrada da Intervenção na Vio-
lência na Amadora, thanks to Dr. Ana Costa and Dr. Rute Gonçalves; SEIES,
thanks to Dr. Joana Silva and Dr. Isabel do Carmo; UMAR, thanks to Dr. Elisa-
bete Brasil and Dr. Sónia Soares; Pelo Sonho – Cooperativa de Solidariedade
Social, thanks to Dr. Margarida Saramago, Dr. Ana Rufino, and Dr. Hugo San-
tos) that opened doors and accepted in serving as a link between the partici-
pants and the investigation. These people have all my deepest and most genuine
thanks in unveiling part of their life story. Without their availability, partnership,
and flexibility it would have been impossible to finish the investigation. Thank
you so much!
Thanks to everyone with whom I have the chance to learn, grow, and
develop excellent professional and/or personal relationships and whom I hope
I will never disappoint or offend: Dr. Carlos Anjos, Dr. Carlos Calado, Dr. Car-
los Casimiro Nunes, Dr. Carlos Farinha, Dr. Fernando Viegas, Dr. Fernando
Vieira, Dr. Ferreira dos Santos, Dr. Horácio Lopes, Dr. Mário João, Dr. Pedro
Alves, Dr. Ramiro Sousa, Dr. Rui do Carmo, Dr. Alexandra André, Dr. Dobrila
Nikolíc, Dr. Fátima Almeida, Dr. Joana Teixeira, Dr. Manuela Martins, Dr. Maria João
Reis, Dr. Matilde Fernandes, Dr. Matilde Sirgado, Dr. Olindina Graça, Dr. Raíssa
Santos, Dr. Rita Annes, Dr. Sandra Correia, Dr. Sofia Gouveia, Dr. Tâmara
Rodrigues, Dr. Vanda Abreu, Engenheira Manuela Annes, Engenheiro Fred-
erico Annes, Major Frederico Galvão, Professor Carlos Fernandes, Professor
Duarte Nuno Vieira, Professor João Pinheiro, Professor Leandro Almeida,
Professor Mário Simões, Professor Ana Sani, Professor Cristiana Palmela
Pereira, Professor Cristina Soeiro, Professor Dália Costa, Professor Filo-
mena Ponte, Professor Sónia Quintão, Professor Teresa Magalhães and
Sr. Rui Gonçalves.
To the students and trainers that I had the opportunity and delight to talk to
and train as a public speaker and thinker regarding the familiar violence theme.
In other books I’ve written, I would always write “even if words are not
enough to describe how grateful I am for everything they’ve done for me, I leave
here a deep and heartfelt thank you to my grandparents who are all alive.” During
the making of this book, the misfortune of life robbed me one of the pillars of my
existence, but this is also an opportunity to materialize the love and longing that
remains. A very special thanks to my maternal grandmother, Maria Rosa, whose
name deserves to be recorded here. It was such a privilege to have you in my life.
To my other grandparents (which is still a privilege to have you with three alive),
my mother, my father, and brother, I thank all of you. Each of you knows to what
extent you’ve contributed and it was important to end this and other steps.
To my stability and my other half, Andreia Baptista, a kind thank you for
completing and unconditionally pushing me forward to do more and better,
fighting beside me. Together, united, firm and persistent…forever!
Acknowledgments xi
To all my friends who built strong bonds of love and brotherhood, which are
the family I chose and adopted me also in your lives. Thank you to the Sousa
family (on both sides of the Atlantic), Rocha family, and Silva family. Without
underestimating the rest, Andreia Catarino and Nelson Garcez deserve, for all
the reasons and a few more that your name be a part of these thanks, for all that
is now possible is because you fully and genuinely fomented my growth. Words
are not enough!
To this range of more restricted people who know me beyond the suit and
tie, my apologies for the time and attention that I did not give you at some
point so that these pages were written and other projects were implemented;
my apologies for the quick telephone conversations or short SMS; my apology
for several weekend plans that were unfulfilled. I am sure you share my joy in
this publication and support me in the upcoming challenges. These pages are
scarce to cover the gratitude and love I have for you. To all of you my thanks for
making real what my friends Nelson and Sérgio (to you also my thanks) intone:
Life is good for me!
Mauro Paulino
Mind | Institute of Clinical and Forensic Psychology, Lisbon (Portugal)
February 22, 2016
Introduction
Claude Bernard, in his book An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medi-
cine states that “every man has, at first glance, ideas about what surrounds them
and is driven to interpret in advance the nature of the issues before meeting them
by experience. This trend is spontaneous (…) [of which] it has always been, and
always will be the first move of a researcher spirit” (1978, p. 41).
In this sense, this book is a corollary of the need for evolving from the first
instances resulting from reflections shared between colleagues and practice of
either clinical or forensic sciences to the scientific understanding of the problems
of women victims of conjugal violence.
Thus, although we recognize that domestic violence is also perpetrated
against men by women, as well as in homosexual relationships, at the heart of
our work is a focus on spousal violence perpetrated by men over women.
We will talk about a secret and muted violence that escapes public scrutiny
and is rarely discussed. Meloy (2003) considers that one of the great paradoxes
of human existence is the fact that the majority of interpersonal violence occurs
between people who are related to each other. Within the family, many homes
are marked by violence, with the idea of “home” being “(...) one of the most
dangerous places in modern societies. In statistical terms, regardless of sex and
age, a person will be more subject to violence at home than in the street at night”
(Giddens, 2001, p. 196).
The chapter “The Phenomenon of Spousal Violence,” is devoted to the phe-
nomenon of domestic violence. It begins with a historical summary on mar-
riage, followed by a conceptual review of the key terms, from violence in the
broad sense to, more specifically, the phenomenon we seek to discuss—domestic
violence.
The chapter “Statistical Data Regarding Spousal Violence,” refers to statis-
tics on domestic violence, highlighting two studies performed by the author. It
is a matter of sensitive study because of the difficulty in determining the exact
prevalence, since the precise knowledge of this problem is hindered by several
aspects, such as silence, the feeling of inability of the victims to act, the lack of
their rights, the proximity between the aggressor and the victim (eg, emotional
ambiguity, fear of new attacks), as well as disparate terminology used in inves-
tigations (Matos, 2003). It is considered that the increased visibility of violence
in the couple hardly is due to a real increase in occurrences because spousal
violence is not a new phenomenon, but is of late better known due to the fact
that women are denouncing more cases of violence (Esplugues, 2008).
xiii
xiv Introduction
Chapter “The Different Forms of Spousal Violence,” focuses on the differ-
ent forms of domestic violence taken into account, regarding understanding and
pedagogical issues, organized through a presentation on physical, psychological,
or emotional violence and sexual violence. It should be noted that in reality these
categories are often mixed, not arising as a single case and/or isolated. There are
also a few remarks on scenario simulation and dissimulation of violence, which
deserve the most attention in the forensic setting.
The consequences of the abuse(s) are discussed in the chapter “The Con-
sequences of Spousal Violence,” which focuses mainly on the psychological
impact. We have decided to also explore a widely mentioned topic in the lit-
erature, specifically the battered woman syndrome (Duros et al., 2009; Kaser-
Boyd, 2004), which has been the target of criticism due to methodological flaws
and conceptual inaccuracies. Controversy also occurs with respect to the theory
of cycles of violence, despite its usefulness for understanding domestic violence
(Follingstad, 2003; McGrath, 2009; Walker, 2009a).
Chapter “Characterization of Spousal Violence Victims,” constitutes the core
of our analysis on the topic. Using the contributions of forensic victimology as
a starting point, it focuses on personality characteristics, the molds for under-
standing the victim relative to the violence, and the importance of accountabil-
ity in the process of change. There are also a few dedicated lines to the issue of
Stockholm syndrome as well as the main characteristics of the offender.
Chapter “Spousal Homicide,” turns to the extreme manifestation of violence
in the context of a relationship with two adults who share, or no longer share,
their lives and bodies, through marriage or consensual union. We are talking
about spousal homicide.
Due to the importance that it assumes, there have been several theoretical
and explanatory approaches to domestic violence, which are briefly explored
in chapter “Explanatory Models of Spousal Violence.” It is worth reminding
that despite the various existing theoretical approaches, domestic violence is
recognized by the World Health Organization as a public health problem and
therefore requires scientific approaches and not merely ideological ones. The
phenomenon of domestic violence does not need a fencing of unfounded argu-
ments but a combined effort for the sake of those who suffer.
Thus arises a paradigm shift regarding intervention in domestic violence, and
therefore we present in the chapter “Considerations Referring to Spousal Vio-
lence Intervention,” a number of considerations on the subject of intervention
that include costs, family and school contributions, the importance of special-
ized training, the role of shelters, and the need for psychological intervention, in
addition to the social aspects.
In chapter “Tips on Investigating in the Domain on Domestic Violence,” we
can find topics of methodological tips of scientific research, in order to obtain
consistent results that enable a better understanding of this phenomenon and
a consequent effective intervention, adjusted to the real needs of each specific
biography.
Introduction xv
Speaking of biography, in the chapter “Reality,” the reader will find several
real stories told in the first person, including minors exposed to interparental
violence. The stories collected for this book drive us to seek to do more and bet-
ter in the intervention of this social scourge.
Throughout this book, we want the rigor of scientific writing to not impede
the enjoyment of reading it. This may as well contribute to another step in the
increase of knowledge in the field of domestic violence, one of the most serious
problems of contemporary society.