CSAM Domestic Violence & Mandated Treatment 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'strangulation' considered in the context of domestic violence risk assessment?
- A minor physical altercation with limited long-term consequences
- A significant predictor of future lethal violence requiring immediate risk escalation (Correct answer)
- An assault relevant only if it leaves visible marks
- A behavior that indicates mutual combat rather than DV
Correct answer: A significant predictor of future lethal violence requiring immediate risk escalation
Non-fatal strangulation is a major predictor of intimate partner homicide and significantly increases lethality risk assessment scores.
Question 2: Mandatory arrest policies in domestic violence cases were primarily intended to:
- Give officers discretion to mediate disputes on scene
- Remove officer discretion and ensure consistent law enforcement response to DV calls (Correct answer)
- Prioritize the victim's preference about whether to arrest
- Limit liability for police departments responding to DV incidents
Correct answer: Remove officer discretion and ensure consistent law enforcement response to DV calls
Mandatory arrest policies were enacted to ensure that DV was treated as a crime regardless of victim cooperation, removing officer discretion to 'just calm things down.'
Question 3: A BIP group member insists he only attended because the court ordered it and sees nothing wrong with his behavior. This stage of change is best described as:
- Contemplation
- Preparation
- Precontemplation (Correct answer)
- Maintenance
Correct answer: Precontemplation
Precontemplation is characterized by lack of recognition that a problem exists; the client sees no need for change.
Question 4: Which ethical principle is most challenged when a clinician is pressured by a court to disclose confidential DV treatment records?
- Beneficence
- Confidentiality and privacy (Correct answer)
- Nonmaleficence
- Justice
Correct answer: Confidentiality and privacy
Court requests for treatment records directly challenge the ethical duty of confidentiality and require careful navigation of subpoena law and privilege.
Question 5: Technology-facilitated abuse (e.g., GPS tracking, spyware) in intimate partner violence is best addressed in treatment by:
- Ignoring it since it is a law enforcement issue only
- Incorporating digital safety into comprehensive safety planning with victims (Correct answer)
- Advising victims to avoid all technology use
- Referring clients to IT professionals exclusively
Correct answer: Incorporating digital safety into comprehensive safety planning with victims
Digital safety planning, including device audits and privacy settings, is now a core component of safety planning given the prevalence of tech-facilitated DV.
Question 6: A perpetrator of domestic violence who also identifies as a victim of DV from a previous relationship should be:
- Enrolled in victim services instead of a BIP
- Assessed separately for victimization while remaining accountable in BIP for their perpetration (Correct answer)
- Exempted from accountability programming due to their trauma history
- Placed in couples counseling to address mutual violence
Correct answer: Assessed separately for victimization while remaining accountable in BIP for their perpetration
A history of victimization does not reduce perpetrator accountability; both dimensions should be assessed and addressed through appropriate separate services.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes the 'power and control wheel' as used in BIP contexts?
- A diagram illustrating emotional regulation techniques for anger management
- A framework illustrating how abusers use various tactics to maintain dominance over partners (Correct answer)
- A tool for measuring victim trauma levels after abuse
- A safety planning instrument developed for law enforcement use
Correct answer: A framework illustrating how abusers use various tactics to maintain dominance over partners
The Power and Control Wheel, developed by the Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, maps the interrelated tactics—isolation, intimidation, economic abuse, etc.—that abusers use to maintain control.
CSAM Domestic Violence & Mandated Treatment 5
What is 'strangulation' considered in the context of domestic violence risk assessment?