Safety Including Health Factors Contribute the Female Victims to Escape from Domestic Violence: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Domestic violence is one of the public health problems, and most of the victims are female. This vulnerable group can no longer bear the suffering caused by the atrocities committed by their husbands. The various abuses that the victim experiences not only impact their health but can also threaten the level of safety of everyone in the family system. This research aims to identify the safety factors including health aspect that contribute to the female victim’s violent actions being separate from their husbands. In line with the qualitative approach, in-depth interviews with 15 female informants of domestic violence were conducted around the state of Penang and this analysis using NVIVO 8 software. The results found that the theme of victim safety factors, including injury and social systems, especially children, motivates victims to free themselves from domestic violence and seek help for personal protection. The findings of this study have yielded several recommendations in the context of social work interventions to increase the positive health and social well-being of family system life, especially among female victims of domestic violence. Keywords: Female victim of domestic violence, Public Health Issues, Safety, Social work intervention.