Events & exhibitions

When “Stay at Home” Isn’t Safe: Domestic Violence during COVID-19

  • Monday, June 8, 2020
  • Online on Zoom
Covid-19 virus illustration

Although communities have been asked to stay home to stay safe, home is a dangerous place when you face domestic abuse. Spikes in intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse have been noted across the country and around the world since the onset of the COVID-19 stay-at-home directives as victims and witnesses of IPV and child abuse find themselves isolated within their homes and confronted with difficult decisions about when and how to seek care or shelter. In this Radcliffe webinar, scholars, public officials, community activists, and medical professionals join to discuss domestic violence in the midst of this public

Event Video

Covid-19 virus illustration

SPEAKERS

Jacquelyn Campbell, professor, Anna D. Wolf Chair, and national program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing


Melissa DuBose, associate judge, District Court, Rhode Island Judiciary


Sharon Imperato, clinical innovation projects and training director, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center


Neena McConnico, program director, Child Witness to Violence Project, Boston Medical Center


MODERATOR

Janet Rich-Edwards, faculty codirector of the science program, Radcliffe Institute, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, and associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Jacquelyn C. Campbell is a professor and the Anna D. Wolf Chair at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Her major area of research is violence against women and associated physical and mental health outcomes, including intimate partner homicide, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, HIV/AIDS, and abuse during pregnancy. Campbell is committed to the collaborative development and testing of interventions for women exposed to violence in the health care, VA, advocacy, and judicial systems in the United States and globally. She developed and tested the Danger Assessment tool that gauges risk of domestic violence lethality and collaborated on evaluating interventions based on it, interventions that can help end health inequities for marginalized women. Campbell has mentored a group of interdisciplinary scholars in research on violence against women; they have collaborated in conducting more than 12 research studies and producing more than 250 publications and seven books, including Assessing Dangerousness: Domestic Violence Offenders and Child Abusers, Third Edition (Springer Publishing Company, 2017) and Family Violence and Nursing Practice, Second Edition (Springer Publishing Company, 2010). Campbell earned a PhD at the University of Rochester. She is a Maryland registered nurse and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Melissa R. DuBose is an associate judge in the Rhode Island Judiciary’s District Court. Currently sitting in Kent County, DuBose presides over a hybrid criminal and civil calendar. As part of the latter, she considers a large volume of pro se petitions filed by parties seeking domestic restraining orders in addition to motions filed by parties to vacate said orders. Prior to being appointed to District Court in 2019, she served as senior legal counsel at Schneider Electric specializing in corporate compliance, ethics, and fair trade. A lifelong Rhode Islander, she earned her BA in political science from Providence College and served over a decade as a Providence Public Schools history teacher. While teaching full time, she went on to earn her JD from Roger Williams University School of Law. Upon earning her law degree, she was appointed special assistant attorney general and assigned to the criminal division. As a prosecutor, she had extensive experience in prosecuting domestic violence cases and working with survivors of domestic violence and advocacy groups. DuBose lives in Providence with her partner and two sons.

Sharon Imperato is a licensed mental health counselor who is trained in rape crisis in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where she has been working in the field of sexual trauma for almost 20 years. She is the clinical innovation projects and training director at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center; in this position, she collaborates with other professionals and organizations to develop transformative experiences for survivors of sexual violence. Imperato is also an experienced trainer and has facilitated trainings on such topics as how to appropriately respond to disclosures of sexual violence; advanced clinical skills; and the dynamics of male sexual victimization and treatment for groups as varied as students, military personnel, law enforcement, clinicians, advocates, and other professionals.

Neena McConnico, who is the program director for the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center and an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has extensive experience working with underserved populations as a mental health provider and teacher in early childhood, elementary, and college settings. She has also worked with schools and early childhood education systems to create and implement trauma-informed practices and systems of care. McConnico, who has made it her mission to advocate for and uplift marginalized youth and families who have experienced adversity, has served as a panelist and provided testimony for state hearings and congressional briefings and has also consulted on the Boston Defending Childhood Initiative, helping to plan and implement citywide initiatives focused on coordinated responses to violence exposure. McConnico has published and provided trainings to cross-disciplinary entities on the local, state, and national levels on the impacts of violence exposure on children; vicarious, historical, and systemic trauma; and promoting resilience. She received the 2015 Women of Excellence Award from Massachusetts Youth Villages. McConnico earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, is a licensed mental health counselor, and holds a dual bachelor’s degree in psychology and early childhood education. 

Janet Rich-Edwards is an epidemiologist focused on the intersection of a woman’s health and that of her children, investigating social and biological pathways through which health and disease processes develop. She is a faculty codirector of the science program at the Radcliffe Institute, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, director of developmental epidemiology for the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an associate professor in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a codirector of the Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology track at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she directs an advanced course in reproductive epidemiology. Rich-Edwards’s epidemiology analyses, the fruit of collaborative teams, draw from large cohorts. She founded two new cohorts within the Nurses’ Health Study II and cofounded a subcohort of 68,000 nurses with data on physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, which has enabled unique analyses of the impact of childhood abuse on chronic disease outcomes. Rich-Edwards earned an MPH from the University of North Carolina and an SCD from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.


Local Boston Area Organizations:

Advocacy/Support/Prevention:

  • Casa Myrna
  • Boston’s largest provider of domestic violence awareness efforts and of shelter and supportive services to survivors
  • Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)
  • Free, confidential support, and services to survivors of sexual violence ages 12 and up and their impacted family and friends
  • Transition House 
  • Cambridge-based organization focused on developing prevention tools and providing holistic support for individuals experiencing domestic violence or intimate partner violence
  • Elizabeth Stone House
  • Partners with adult and child survivors of domestic violence and related trauma—mental illness, housing instability, and substance misuse—to achieve safety, stability, and overall well-being
  • REACH
  • Shelter, hotline, and community-based direct services based in Waltham, Massachusetts, providing domestic violence survivors with the help they need to achieve permanent safety and independence

Policy:

  • Jane Doe Inc
  • MA statewide coalition that brings together organizations and people committed to ending sexual assault and domestic violence

Hotlines and Webchat:

  • Safelink: Statewide Domestic Violence: 24/7 Crisis Hotline: 877-785-2020
  • Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) hotline and webchat:
  • Visit website at barcc.org, call 24/7 hotline at 800-841-8371, or chat online 9 AM–11 PM at barcc.org/chat.
  • Counseling, legal advocacy, and case management:Survivors receive services remotely, either online or by phone. BARCC encourage survivors looking to begin services to submit a request online or by phone at 617-492-8306, and the service access team will explore individual needs.
  • Workshops online: Virtual survivor support workshops
  • Medical advocacy: Survivors at the hospital may connect with an advocate over the phone.
  • Incarcerated survivor support:BARCC’s hotline for incarcerated survivors is available seven days a week.

National Organizations:

Advocacy/Support/Prevention:

  • DangerAssessment
  • National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
  • Dedicated to mobilizing and raising voices to support efforts that demand a change of conditions that lead to domestic violence such as patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism
  • National Network to End Domestic Violence
  • Social change organization dedicated to creating a social, political, and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists
  • Me Too Movement
  • Supports survivors of sexual violence and their allies by connecting survivors to resources, offering community organizing resources, pursuing a “me too” policy platform, and gathering sexual violence researchers and research
  • MenHealing
  • Organization providing resources and programs for men age 18 and older who have experienced sexual trauma during childhood or as adults
  • myPlan
  • National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA)
  • Oldest national victim assistance organization and recognized leader in victim advocacy, education, and credentialing
  • RAINN
  • Nation’s largest anti–sexual violence organization; operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local organizations and providers

Policy:

  • Futures Without Violence
  • Works on programs, policies, and campaigns that empower individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and children around the world 
  • Office on Violence Against Women
  • Provides federal leadership in developing the national capacity to reduce violence against women and administer justice and strengthen services for survivors of domestic violence
  • Families First Coronavirus Response Act
  • Provides many workers new rights to paid sick time and paid family leave to use for certain coronavirus-related health and family caregiving reasons, including for quarantine and/or childcare
  • Workplaces Respond to Sexual and Domestic Violence
  • Resource center to support workers experiencing violence during the pandemic

National Hotlines:

Culturally Specific Resources:

  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline: 888-843-4564
    Youth Talkline: 800-246-7743
    Senior Helpline: 888-234-7243
  • Serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning people by providing free and confidential peer support and local resources; hours vary, available via phone and online chat
  • StrongHearts Native Helpline: 844-762-8483
  • Safe, anonymous, and confidential service for Native Americans experiencing domestic violence and dating violence; available via phone Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5:30 PM CST
  • The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community
  • Also known as Ujima; a national, culturally specific services issue resource center providing support to the black community in response to domestic, sexual, and community violence
  • Latinos United for Peace and Equity
  • National arm of the Georgia based Caminar Latino; creates opportunities for Latino families affected by violence to transform their lives and communities
  • Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence
  • Serving pan-Asian survivors of domestic and intimate-partner violence
  • Asosyasyon Fanm Ayisyen nan Boston (Association of Haitian Women in Boston)
  • Empowers Haitian women by helping them develop their individual and collective capacity to improve social, economic, and political status, including through domestic violence prevention advocacy programs
  • MAPS
  • Works with Portuguese-speaking victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, offering crisis intervention, safety planning, information, guided referrals, medical and legal advocacy, supportive listening, and related services
  • The Network/La Red
  • Survivor-led social justice organization that works to end partner abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, SM, polyamorous, and queer communities
  • 24-hour hotline: 617-742-4911 (800-832-1901, toll free)
  • Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts
  • Enables adults in eastern Massachusetts to overcome racial and social barriers, economic inequities, and sexual and domestic violence and gain opportunities for employment and economic development; provide culturally specific DV/SV support to survivors of color
  • Phone: 617-459-2420

Reading: General

  • Battered Wives (Volcano Press, 1976), by Del Martin
  • But I Love Him: Protecting Your Teen Daughter from Controlling, Abusive Dating Relationships (HarperCollins, 2000), by Jill Murray
  • Chain Chain Change: For Black Women in Abusive Relationships (Da Capo Press,1995), by Evelyn C. White
  • Getting Free: A Handbook for Women in Abusive Relationships (Seal Press, 1986), by Ginny NiCarthy
  • Police Wife: The Secret Epidemic of Police Domestic Violence (Sugar Hill Books, 2017), by Alex Roslin
  • I Love a Firefighter: What the Family Needs to Know (Guilford Press, 2011), by Ellen Kirschman
  • In Love and in Danger: A Teen’s Guide to Breaking Free of Abusive Relationships (Da Capo Press 1998), by Barrie Levy
  • Mejor Sola Que Mal Acompañada: Para La Mujer Golpeada/For the Latina in an Abusive Relationship (Seal Press, 1993), by Myrna M. Zambrano
  • Naming the Violence: Speaking Out about Lesbian Battering (Seal Press, 1986), by Kerry Lobel
  • Saving Beauty from the Beast: How to Protect Your Daughter from an Unhealthy Relationship (Little, Brown, 2003), by Vicki Crompton and Ellen Zelda Kessner
  • Surviving a Stalker: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Yourself Safe (Da Capo Press, 2000), by Linden Gross
  • The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics (SAGE Publications, 2011), by Lundy Bancroft
  • The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to Recognize It and How to Respond (Adams Media Corp, 1992), by Patricia Evans
  • When Love Goes Wrong: What to Do When You Can’t Do Anything Right (HarperCollins, 1992), by Ann Jones and Susan Schechter
  • When Violence Begins at Home: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Ending Domestic Abuse (Hunter House, 1997), by K. J. Wilson
  • Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men (Berkley Books, 2002), by Lundy Bancroft
  • Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence: Does She Call It Rape? (Northeastern University Press, 2002), by Lori B. Girshick

Reading: Life after Abuse

  • Healing the Trauma of Domestic Violence: A Workbook for Women (New Harbinger Publications, 2004), by Edward S. Kubany, Mari A. McCaig, and Janet R. Laconsay
  • It’s My Life Now: Starting Over after an Abusive Relationship or Domestic Violence (Routledge, 2000), by Meg Kennedy Dugan and Roger R. Hock
  • The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are (Hazelden Publishing, 2010), by Brené Brown
  • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala, 2002), by Pema Chödrön
  • When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Heal the Wounds of Witnessing Abuse (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004), by Lundy Bancroft 


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