Dangerous Exits: Escaping Abusive Relationships in Rural America by Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz. Rutgers University Press. 2008, 272 pp.
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Reviewed by Jennifer L. Hartman, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Using feminist methodology, Dangerous Exits: Escaping Abusive Relationships in Rural America (2009) highlights the often under-researched, over neglected area of how battered women living in rural areas leave abusive relationships. Acknowledging the global problem and related health risks of domestic violence, the foci of the book address the complexities and risk factors of separation and divorce sexual assault of 43 women in 3 rural Ohio communities. The book is the outcome of a National Institute of Justice grant.
While the use of these methods may limit the book’s external validity, it is an important step towards understanding the continued struggles of separation and divorce sexual assault. Conceding most official statistics underestimate crimes of interpersonal violence, including separation and divorce sexual assault, rural crimes have additional hurdles to overcome. Chapter 1 purposefully addresses the “inattention” provided to rural battered women and offers an original voice to these survivors. The authors hope to minimize the rural-urban divide and address the media’s idyllic image of small town U.S.A. DeKeseredy and Schwartz highlight how research that purports a rural “do-good” image can be stifling and dangerous to women in dire situations. That is, those that use the argument that rural folks take care of each other are misinformed; in fact it is this inclusiveness that may provide barriers to eliciting assistance for those wishing to exit abusive relationships.
With critical criminology as the defining theoretical principal, the authors attempt to understand the ways in which “sexist male peer group dynamics perpetuate and justify the sexual abuse of separated/divorced rural women” (p. 25). Chapter 2, “Thinking Theoretically about Separation and Divorce Sexual Assault” expands upon their theoretical model of how patriarchal male peer support perpetuates these abusive relationships.
Chapter 3, “The Study” describes the research methodology and process of obtaining project participants. After meeting with local shelter staff, advocates, criminal justice and metal health professionals, the authors created screen questions (presented in Appendix A) and developed a semi-structured interview schedule (presented in appendix B). To obtain a representative sample, the authors used a multitude of methods to solicit participation. These methods were carefully detailed in the text and provide, in themselves, an important contribution for other researchers in the field looking to do similar research.
Summary tables comparing separation and divorce sexual assault to nonsexual abuse are presented in chapters 4 and 5 (p. 62, 63). Similar to other studies focusing on leaving abusive relationships, this project reports multiple forms of victimization. Specifically, almost three-fourths (74%) of the women expressing desire to leave were sexually assaulted. Further, just under half (49%) reported being sexual abused while they were trying to leave or were leaving and 33% were victimized after they left (p.65). While these categories are not mutually exclusive, it is helpful to note, the rates are similar to other studies completed in non-rural areas.
Coupled with this victimization data, almost four-fifths of the sample (79%) reported their partners “strongly believed they should be in charge of the household.” This notion may explain why project participants provided examples of how misogynist behaviors of watching pornography, possession of guns/ weapons, forcing group sex, and consuming alcohol and drugs create the perfect storm of abusive behaviors.
Chapter 5 “The Consequences of Abuse and Women’s Social Support Experiences,” helps contextualize the barriers that rural women face. Similar to other research, DeKeseredy and Schwartz report how the participants’ mean income was at or near poverty levels thereby limiting their options to leave the abusive relationship. Further, participants shared how limited social support resources can be, and if accessed, how variable the delivery of services were. All of the sample participants reported “adverse post assault psychological conditions such as depression, sexual aversion, and fear” (p. 83) while also experiencing aspects of unsupportive communities. Participants elicited use of “good ‘ol boy” networks to limit or thwart outside help (p. 93). In fact, this lack of trust in social support agencies, was evident when just under one-third (28%) of respondents ranked police and courts as the “worst form of social support” (p. 94). Clearly, this data calls into question the current use and implementation of collective efficacy methods.
In sum, while a lot of the data presented in this book are not exclusive to rural communities, it is clear there are specific considerations to regional variations. Dangerous Exits provides unique context and issues associated with domestic violence victims in rural areas. Specifically, fewer comprehensive and trustable service options are available to rural survivors of separation and divorce sexual assault than their urban counterparts. In chapter 6, “Where Do we Go From Here” the authors challenge future research to not only replicate their findings via quantitative data collection means, but also to further consider the relationship between separation and divorce sexual assault, patriarchy, and male peer support.
This timely easy to read book is perfect for criminologists, rural sociologists, women’s studies scholars and students, practitioners, activists and policy makers. I believe it will make a wonderful companion book to an upper level undergraduate or graduate level course.
Serial Survivors: Women’s Narratives of Surviving Rape by Jan Jordan. Leichhardt, New Zealand: The Federation Press. 2008. 232 pages.
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Reviewed by Hannah Scott, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Serial Survivors analyzes the stories of the victims of one (of two) serial rapists active in Auckland, New Zealand, operating over a period of years. The author documents the reflections of women regarding the events that led up to their attack, the actual victimization experience, how they were treated by first responders, hospital staff, later detectives, court staff, prosecutors, and defence attorneys, and their support network. Jordan ‘s book offers insight not only to the experiences of being raped, beyond the relatively short assault period, but also offers insight into the additional effects carried by those who experience this form of group trauma and the public attention that it can bring. The women in this book are truly the heroes of this very tragic story. These women offer insights into their offender, responses from family and friends, and their interactions with the police, the court system, and the media frenzy around the case.
The testimonies of the women in this book are at once heartbreaking, uplifting, raw, courageous, honest, insightful, eloquent, and sad. For example, the women shared not only share stories of what most would later come to accept as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but the nature and forms that it came in. Particularly poignant are some of the descriptions of the dreams that followed after the assault and how these dreams also caused stress even though many were aware that they were something that they had to endure in the recovery process.
Jordan also captures the emotional responses that women have throughout the process and how these states of mind change over time. This lies in stark contrast to the stereotypes many hold about how victims should act, feel, and so on. Even though we learn that these women did, to some degree, have similar experiences they all uniquely responded to their situation. The book illustrates what happens when the responses of those involved are supportive, as well as what can happen when the system falters. The words in these pages offers insight into the complicated and long term effects of victimization and documents the keen resilience that these women all share, in working through life after victimization. These women offer tremendous insight into how to protect victims, and thereby protect the most valuable evidence and eye witness testimony in any criminal investigation.
Jan Jordan has qualitatively captured the experiences of a very small group of victims in an area that traditionally has been very difficult to study. The analysis of these women’s experiences is carried out with dignity and respect, clearly demonstrating for those who are unconvinced that the trauma experience moves way beyond the actual victimization experience. A key theme throughout this book is the idea that victims of criminal activity can both be taken for granted in some cases, but also offer the single most important contribution to the apprehension of the offender.
One of the many considerable strengths of Jordan’s analysis lies in the treatment of the offender throughout the text. What is often difficult in these types of study, especially those dealing with serial crimes, is managing to keep the victims in focus while relegating the offender’s actions to the periphery. Jordan successfully does this by using several techniques letting the victims define their experiences, rather than the offender.
This book is an excellent choice for those who are interested in studying or working with victims and, in particular, those who have suffered through sexual victimization. There is also keen knowledge here for those who wish to gain insight to the serial offender. Additionally, the author notes the process of how the sample was obtained and how the research was conducted, ensuring respondent dignity and respect. Jordan also reflects on the effects this process had on her, as researcher, while carrying out this necessary work. She courageously offers snippets of her own journal entries documenting some of her own responses to what she was hearing and observing.
This book is a must for all those who are working with victims of sexual assault, including members of police services, court systems, and medical professions. It is also an excellent illustration of how to conduct research in sensitive areas. I am guarded in suggesting that this be offered in a course as a required reading, as the wisdom found in this book could offer a number of serious triggers for students still dealing with the effects of such trauma. Offering it as a choice may be a suitable strategy. Those who choose to read this study will be challenged not to be touched by the words within.
Hannah Scott
Faculty of Criminology, Justice, and Policy Studies
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada