HUS 1318 - Domestic Abuse and Family Violence

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Credit(s): 1
Contact Hours: 17
Effective Term Fall 2016 (520)

Course Description

This course is designed to educate human services workers for the evaluation, counseling and outreach skills necessary for working with victims of domestic violence. The dynamics of partner violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and sexual abuse will all be explored.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse and family violence from a theoretical standpoint by:
    1. describing the theoretical paradigms that have been offered to explain domestic violence.
    2. explaining the different definitions of what constitutes domestic violence, the causes of domestic violence, and implications for interventions and policies.
    3. describing the behavioral characteristics of abusers.
    4. researching the psychological impact of domestic violence on victims.
    5. discussing the healthcare implications of domestic violence.
    6. explaining the relevance of factors such as family history of violence, substance abuse, and medical and mental health in cause and continuation of violence.
  2. The student will critique the legal system’s response to domestic violence and the impact of legislation on programs and services by:
    1. identifying and recognizing ethical issues in family law as it pertains to domestic violence.
    2. identifying the benefits and shortcomings of the various legal remedies that are available to victims of domestic violence.
    3. exploring mandatory reporting and state and federal requirements (to include the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994).
  3. The student will be able to demonstrate effective clinical assessment and intervention techniques in working with victims of domestic abuse and family violence by:
    1. reviewing and discussing various assessments to identify the signs of abuse.
    2. explaining how culture, race, and ethnicity affect the phenomenon of domestic violence and how interventions may need to be modified in order to be more culturally relevant for domestic violence victims from different ethnic groups.
    3. modeling effective screening, assessment and support techniques for intake, counseling, safety planning and termination.
    4. comparing and contrasting the effectiveness of various techniques of intervention/advocacy for social awareness/improvement.
    5. assessing case study/presentations of domestic abuse and family violence.
    6. describing therapeutic interventions appropriate for victims of domestic and family violence.
    7. explaining the role of prevention programs in helping to stop the cycles of violence.
    8. identifying appropriate community resources and agencies involved in the area of family and domestic abuse.

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

C&I Approval: 11/20/2015, BOT Approval: 03/15/2016, Effective Term: Fall 2016 (520)

Related Programs

  1. Human Services (HUMSVC-BS) (640) (Active)
  2. Human Services (HUMSVC-TR) (670) (Active)
  3. Social and Human Services (HUS-AS) (640) (Active)