Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and poverty plague populations as twin social crises. Just as IPV has implications in terms of gender, race, magnitude, and deleteriousness—so does poverty. IPV cuts across demography but has concentrated burden for certain groups. In addition to the many dimensions of violence survivors may face, survivors may face economic abuse, as well as difficulty working or attaining an education. Poverty, measured in relative and absolute terms, is stratified by various demographic categories (e.g., disability, ethnicity, gender), with certain groups facing an enhanced prevalence of the issue. With these demographic disparities working in the background of the IPV-poverty connection, various inequality dynamics (e.g., social control, resource scarcity, bureaucracy) constrict survivors' options. This constriction can lead to deleterious outcomes: homelessness, staying with partner-violent people, or facing failure-to-protect prosecution. Having concentrated implications for female-headed families, these possibilities have been subject to policies that attempt to moderate and disentangle the IPV-poverty relationship. Public policies targeting IPV and poverty, constructed through federalism, separation of powers, and symbolic politics, are further implemented to target various IPV categories, including firearms, housing, immigration, healthcare, employment, and compensatory strategies for victims. The current study aims to answer the following research question: What are the intricacies of the relationships among IPV, IPV-related statutes, and poverty rates among female-headed families with related children at the state-level in the United States? Using secondary data and legal sources, the current study looks at the potential moderating effect of policy in the IPV-poverty relationship across the United States's major subnational units. Discussions of findings are provided accordingly.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2022

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Donley, Amy

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Applied Sociology; Domestic Violence Track

Identifier

CFE0009231; DP0026834

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026834

Language

English

Release Date

August 2022

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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