“No More Trapping Me!”: Communication Scholarship in the Service of Women Experiencing Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse

Abstract

Domestic violence (DV) and substance abuse (SA) are correlated issues that should be addressed simultaneously. However, many agencies do not address the simultaneous issues and there tends to be little interaction between DV and SA agencies for numerous reasons, including general procedural and philosophical differences. This study examined the efforts of a DV center and a SA center to collaborate. Findings indicate that the competing discourses can function dialectically in ways that survivors find empowering and that inter-agency support groups may be effective for simultaneously addressing DV and SA.

Keywords:

• Collaboration
• Domestic Violence
• Intervention
• Substance Abuse
• Treatment

Notes

[1] The Affordable Care Act also encourages collaborative, interdisciplinary teams to address health issues in communities. The Act includes substance abuse and domestic violence screening, prevention, and intervention. For more information, see http://housedocs.house.gov/energycommerce/ppacacon.pdf

[2] Pseudonyms are used for all participants and organizations in this study.

[3] It should be noted that, at that time, although both agencies provided services for men, the DV shelter and the SA treatment residence center only housed women.

[4] Messages communicated during the DV group (rather than within interviews) are only reported if the first author gained explicit consent from the DV group attendee to include the quote in reports.