Female Survivors Of Domestic Violence Research Articles

What are the experiences and psychosocial needs of female survivors of domestic violence in Afghanistan? A qualitative interview study in three Afghan provinces

ObjectivesThis study aimed to qualitatively explore (1) the experiences of female survivors of domestic abuse and mental health problems in Afghanistan; (2) how female survivors of violence and abuse, male...

Arrest Web Entanglement: Female Domestic Violence Survivors' Experiences with Police Intervention and Coercively Controlling Male Partners.

Although U.S.-based mandatory and preferred arrest laws and policies were created to promote domestic violence survivors' safety, at times they have contributed to the wrongful arrest of women defending themselves against their abusive partners. While these laws and policies are the subject of broad critique, less considered are domestic violence survivors' descriptions of the events that unfold after police officers respond to a domestic violence incident and before they make an arrest. This is an important area of inquiry as these events may highlight how the circumstances leading to wrongful arrest decisions are more complex than the laws and policies alone. Data from the present study came from the author's larger in-depth qualitative investigation of 33 cisgender women's descriptions of their legal and child protection systems involvement. The women were recruited from an antiviolence intervention agency receiving referrals from communities with mandatory and preferred laws and policies. The women had agency contact due to their use of force or alleged use of force. The respondents were diverse across race, age, class, ability, U.S. citizenship status, and sexual identity. The author analyzed the 33 women's 51 interview transcripts and extensive fieldnotes using rigorous iterative analysis and constructivist grounded theory. The analysis revealed that seven of the 33 women, all of whom identified domestic and sexual violence survivorship histories, described a patterned series of events that unfolded after the police arrived at the domestic violence incident and before the police made an arrest. In this study, the author details three of the seven women's stories to demonstrate how a series of events, including police prearrest questioning and their coercively controlling male partners' tactics, facilitated the women's entanglement in what the author refers to as an "arrest web." Their incremental disentanglement from the arrest's impact is also explored. Broad system-focused implications are discussed.

“I faced so many barriers”: Access to support for deaf female survivors of domestic violence in the UK

“I faced so many barriers”: Access to support for deaf female survivors of domestic violence in the UK

Переживание личностью опыта домашнего (партнерского) насилия

<p><strong>Relevance.</strong> Domestic violence is becoming an increasingly relevant problem in our time. Despite the removal of taboo, this problem still remains understudied, especially in the context of phenomenology. The study considers different approaches to the problem of abusive relationships, types of violence, as well as constructs such as experience (F.E. Vasilyuk) and relationships (V.N. Myasishchev). <strong>Purpose of the study.</strong> This article presents the materials of the study, which aims to describe the peculiarities of a personality's experience of domestic violence. The study involved 108 people, among whom there were 79 women and 29 men (the average age of respondents was 30 years). <strong>Methods.</strong> Results were based on an online questionnaire and the Measurement of Maladaptive Guilt Questionnaire, as well as an in–depth phenomenological interview with female survivors of domestic violence. Data were processed using frequency, comparative (U–Mann–Whitney test) and correlation analysis, and factor analysis (principal component method). <strong>Results.</strong> It was found that the reliving of this experience in the respondents is presented on 3 levels of attitudes, and consequences such as loss of self and increased existential guilt were noted. <strong>Conclusions.</strong> The findings of the study indicate the potential for the application of phenomenology in psychotherapy with survivors of domestic violence.</p>

Perceived Paternal Acceptance–Rejection among Female Survivors of Domestic Violence

Perceived Paternal Acceptance–Rejection among Female Survivors of Domestic Violence

Transcendental Meditation for Women Affected by Domestic Violence: A Pilot Randomised, Controlled Trial

Abstract Purpose Domestic and family violence is a major public health issue impacting one in three women worldwide. The implications of such violence are considerable. Transcendental Meditation® (TM) represents a promising treatment option for women impacted by domestic violence given its demonstrable effects on mental and trauma-related symptoms. This study set out to compare the effectiveness of TM to group support, on quality of life, perceived stress and mood in female survivors of domestic violence. Methods This 16-week pilot randomised controlled trial recruited women from metropolitan Adelaide, who survived any type of domestic violence in their lifetime. Outcomes included health-related quality of life, severity of depression, anxiety and perceived stress, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and subjective experience. Data were analysed by intention-to-treat using linear mixed-effects models. Results Forty-two women were randomly assigned to the TM (n = 21) and support (n = 21) groups. Adjusting for random effects, TM was shown to be significantly more effective than support at improving Australian Quality of Life (AQoL-8D) utility scores (p = .011), and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) severity scores for depression (p = .029), anxiety (p = .017) and stress (p = .021) over the 16 weeks. There was no statistically significant time-group interaction effect for PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) total symptom severity scores. Conclusions TM is shown to have promising effects on quality of life, perceived stress and mood among women exposed to domestic violence, suggesting that it may represent an effective alternative to group support. Trial Registration ACTRN12620000467932 (09/04/2020).

Peningkatan Resiliensi Psikologis Penyintas Kekerasan Rumah Tangga Melalui Psikoterapi Positif

Domestic violence has a huge impact on survivors who act as wives and husbands as perpetrators of violence. Domestic violence has make survivors trapped in an endless cycle of violence, this is caused by a learned feeling of helplessness and great disappointment towards their partner while still hoping that their partner's behavior changes. The impacts experienced by survivors of domestic violence can be in the form of traumatic experiences, threats, restraints, feelings of helplessness which ultimately lead to maladaptif behavior such as having the belief that they feel helpless in addition to the physical impact they feel. Resilience is needed so they can quickly recover from the experience of violence. In this study, there were five female survivors of domestic violence whose ages ranged from 23-44 years and were still married. We measured the resilience of these participants using a modified Resilience Scale which was built based on the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale 25 (CD-RISC 25) and was given positive psychotherapy intervention to increase their resilience score. The process of measuring resilience in survivors was carried out three times, pre-test, post-test and one week after the intervention was given. Using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test as an analytical procedure, it was found a significant effect after being given a positive psychotherapy intervention on survivor's resilience (z=-2.032, p <0.05). Resilience observed increased in survivors is in the form optimistic thinking, increased self-confidence, eliciting positive memories and emotions towards oneself, had a new source of hope and energy to deal with everyday problems.

The spiritual experiences of women victims of gender-based violence: A case study of Thohoyandou

This article reports on interviews conducted with 11 women at the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP), a centre located in Sibasa, Thohoyandou, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The centre provides support and advocacy to female survivors of domestic violence. The participants were victims of gender-based violence and the study aimed at exploring the spiritual experiences of women assaulted by their partners. Interviews were conducted over 4 days and were held on the TVEP premises. This article discusses how women of faith found meaning and support through their religious beliefs when experiencing violence in intimate spaces. Furthermore, the article drew insights from spiritual perceptions held by women that make them feel safer and assist them to find ways to cope with violence in intimate relationships. However, the study found that women prayed for divine intervention and change in their families and for God to help their husbands by removing all evil spirits from their lives. It was found that apart from prayer, the women do not have any other spiritual resources to combat gender-based violence. The authors suggest the deconstruction of harmful religious discourses (such as ‘God has made man to rule over woman’) towards healing religious discourses (such as ‘all people are equal in God’s eyes’) as a type of ‘intervention’ in the lives of the interviewees.Contribution: The article contributes towards understanding the harmful impact of religious discourses on the lives of women who are vulnerable towards domestic violence. Religious discourses that are either harmful or healing are here identified through the stories of women who have been violated in their intimate relationships, thus contributing to the body of knowledge in gender studies and to religious and social sciences in general.

MORE THAN A HOUSE: A GENDER ANALYSIS OF LAHSA’S THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA) HOUSING POLICY

Homelessness is a chronic problem worldwide, including in the United States. The country’s biggest homeless population occupies major cities like New York and Los Angeles. The fight against homelessness in L.A. has been going on for years, with the homeless population flooding places like Venice Beach, Echo Park, Hollywood, and its most famous homeless encampment, Skid Row. One of the groups constantly vulnerable to the threat of homelessness are women, and the intersection between women's homelessness and domestic violence remains to be a challenging subject. Enriching previous scholarship, this paper critically analyzes housing programs targeting female domestic violence survivors in Los Angeles. In order to get an in-depth examination, the focus is directed to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Housing Policy managed by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). The paper employs gender theory to examine the program’s shortcomings. Using Jeff Hearn’s conception of the ‘public men,’ this paper proposes that the program’s limitations stem from the prevailing patriarchy, which cultivates from home and extends to public policy through the domination of men. Furthermore, the policy is insufficient in combatting women's homelessness due to the absence of programs such as trauma centers, financial security & education program, and childcare unit that are vital to address the unique experience of domestic violence survivors. Thus, evaluation of the housing policy is immediately needed to overcome the problem of homelessness due to domestic violence.

Effect of art psychotherapy using marbling art on depression, anxiety, and hopelessness in female survivors of domestic violence with PTSD

This study examined the effect of art psychotherapy using marbling art on depression, anxiety, and hopelessness in female survivors of domestic violence with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study was carried out with eight female survivors of domestic violence using an art psychotherapy method with 14 structured marbling art sessions. Quantitative data were collected using the Beck Hopelessness, Depression, and Anxiety scales and qualitative data were gathered using the formal examination of marbling artwork, participants’ verbalizations, and the descriptive method. Descriptive data were presented using frequency, percentages, and arithmetic mean and the non-parametric Wilcoxon Test was used for group comparisons. A statistically significant improvement was found in the participants’ pretest-posttest depression, anxiety, and hopelessness scores. Descriptive analysis revealed that participants reflected their experiences of domestic violence in their marbling works resulting in common themes such as anger, irritation, anxiety, fear of the future, coping, and hope. Thus, art psychotherapy using marbling art had a positive effect in reducing the level of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness in women survivors of domestic violence with PTSD. This therapy helped them to uncover their buried traumatic experiences through the creation of metaphoric and imaginative marbling artworks, which were later turned into expressions/narratives.

Dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms: Validation of the Chinese version of the posttraumatic diagnostic scale for DSM-5 across multiple trauma samples

The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale for DSM-5 (PDS-5) is an updated DSM-5 version of the PDS, a widely used measure for PTSD. The PDS-5 has recently been shown to possess sound psychometric properties and awaits cross-cultural validation. The present study aimed first, to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the PDS-5; second, to evaluate alternative factor models of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms with multiple trauma samples. Data were collected from five samples of Taiwanese trauma-exposed individuals (total N = 903): 138 burn injury survivors, 403 earthquake survivors, 181 trauma-exposed young adults, 91 trauma-exposed undergraduates, and 90 female domestic violence survivors. The Chinese PDS-5 possessed excellent internal consistency (α s = .94–.95) and satisfactory five-week (r = .80) and one-year temporal stability (r = 0.76). Convergent, concurrent, and discriminant validity were also established. Consistent with recent studies, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the best fit of a seven-factor Hybrid model, followed by a six-factor Anhedonia model across multiple trauma samples.

Professional Self-Positioning of Indian Social Workers in Response to Domestic Violence.

This article explores the self-positioning of Indian social workers who work with female survivors of domestic violence (DV). We know from previous research about the experiences of persons who have encountered DV, but more studies on the point of view of the professionals is needed. Relying on positioning theory and discursive analysis as a framework, we analyzed interviews (N = 18) concerning the practices, emotions, and attitudes of social workers. Positioning theory enables scholars to approach the situation of encountering a survivor as a social event, which consists of the meaning-making activities of social workers. Professionals self-position themselves as one or a combination of the following: (a) a challenger of gendered oppression, (b) an advocator of women’s rights, (c) a facilitator of women’s empowerment, and/or (d) a self-reflector of personal emotions and attitudes. The findings suggest that the event of DV intervention is a discursive and contextually situated moral practice in which the distribution of rights and duties to say and do things is of particular interest. The act of self-positioning is constructed in relation to sociocultural settings. Social workers may take several positions during the meetings with survivors. Positions build our understanding of how social workers in violence-specific units make sense of DV, illustrating how the act of self-positioning may also define to the position of the survivor. Social workers experienced boundaries, and possibilities in responding to DV were explored. The study reveals that barriers should be addressed at a wider level by funders and policy makers to enhance the continuity of work and the implementation of women rights legislation in India.

Using Visual Art Workshops with Female Survivors of Domestic Violence in Portugal and England: A Comparative Reflection

ABSTRACT This paper provides a reflection on the use of visual art workshops in an interdisciplinary feminist project with female survivors of domestic violence living in refuges in England and Portugal. The paper discusses the fieldwork in each location with attention to the interaction between participants, between participants and the researcher/s, and the cultural and institutional structures influencing the research and the images produced. Despite some key differences in the context, the analysis highlights key resonances and commonalities amongst the objects that survivors of domestic abuse depicted in each location. We use the feminist notion of ‘giving voice’ as an analytical tool throughout the paper. The paper argues that ‘giving voice’ was not unproblematically accomplished by using visual methods and suggests that our understanding remained partial and often reliant on verbal narratives accompanying the visual images produced. We also highlight issues of power emerging when exhibiting art generated through the study.

Empowerment, stress and depression among female survivors of domestic violence

Empowerment, stress and depression among female survivors of domestic violence

Multiple Losses: The Psychological and Economic Well-Being of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence.

This study advanced knowledge regarding the mechanisms through which intimate partner violence relates to psychological and financial distress with a sample of diverse low-income women. Data were collected from 147 female domestic violence survivors who were abused by a male partner within the past 6 months. Three hierarchical regression analyses revealed that psychological, physical, and economic abuse were predictive of posttraumatic stress, depression, and economic self-sufficiency among survivors. Guided by the Conservation of Resources Theory, the loss of financial, work, and interpersonal resources also predicted these three outcomes, above and beyond abuse experiences (i.e., economically controlling behaviors, economic sabotage, and interpersonal resource loss were unique predictors). In addition, bootstrap mediation analyses showed that interpersonal resource loss partially mediated the relationship between psychological abuse and mental health outcomes. Together, these findings can be used to inform future interventions to promote the financial and psychological well-being of survivors.

Qualitative study to explore the health and well-being impacts on adults providing informal support to female domestic violence survivors

ObjectivesDomestic violence (DV) is hazardous to survivors' health, from injuries sustained and from resultant chronic physical and mental health problems. Support from friends and relatives is significant in the lives...

Domestic violence survivors and their experiences during legal process

BackgroundMany victims of domestic violence do not seek recourse to the needed medical and legal services. The aim of this study was to determine the difficulties faced by and experiences of female survivors of domestic violence during their medical and legal proceedings. MethodWe designed our study using a qualitative approach to understand the experiences of survivors during the legal process as well as their feelings and attitudes towards domestic violence through in-depth interviews. The data obtained from the participants were analyzed and synthesized using a thematic analysis procedure. ResultsMost of our participants reported different types of domestic violence, citing feelings of fear and loneliness during these experiences. They reported feeling dissatisfied with their complaints being ignored by the police and the perpetrators remaining unpunished. They complained of the complex procedures and negligence of staff in health-care centers such as hospitals, and they reported being shifted to several different places. ConclusionWe believe that an assessment of such female survivors in terms of specific standards set by specialists will help make improvements to the legal process. Education programs should be organized for professionals dealing with survivors of domestic violence. Special health-care services with fast proceedings must be established in health-care centers.

Psychometric evaluation of the German version of the revised spontaneity assessment inventory (SAI-R)

Spontaneity has been defined as an adaptive response to varying situational conditions. In this regard, it may be considered as a major contributor to well-being and mental health which could play an essential role within the context of psychotherapy. Despite its potential importance empirical research on spontaneity has been lacking until recently. As a remedy, the present paper introduces the German translation of the Revised Spontaneity Assessment Inventory (SAI-R; Kipper and Shemer, Group Psychother Psychodrama Sociom, 59(3):127–136, 2006) as a qualified self-report measure of spontaneity. The German version of the 18-items SAI-R has been applied both in a non-clinical (n = 467 students) and in a clinical sample (n = 40 female survivors of domestic violence) and has been psychometrically analysed. The total score of the questionnaire, which shows to be well accepted and feasible, reveals high reliability. Evidence of its validity and sensitivity to change are demonstrated. Thus, this study provides preliminary evidence indicating that the German version of the SAI-R may be a reliable and valid measure for the assessment of spontaneity.

Is Perception of Social Support hinging on Demographic Factors and Types of Abuse Inflicted on Wife? A Survey Study Employing Malaysian Sample

Contemplating that the momentousness of social support in family abuse cases which is evident and discernible, as well as acting in response to the present-day calls in the literature for investigations into social support in intimate partner violence, expressly wife abuse, inspection of social support's difference based on demographic factors encompassing levels of education, ranges of salary, numbers of children and sources of conflict has been noticeably salient contributing to the purpose of ranging the levels of need for social support in different groups of afore-known. By the same token, this study has as well scrutinized the perception of social support hinging on different types of abuse which has methodically been dissected to the department of psychological, physical, sexually as well as financially. In line with the purpose mentioned, a total of two hundred representative female survivors of domestic violence taken from all over the country were assessed through a single-time questionnaire survey by using Social Support questionnaire and Conflict Tactic Scale Questionnaire. By materializing mean comparison method of statistics, the research findings have apparently divulged that there was no remarkable mean difference in social support based on any aforesaid demographic factors. Likewise, different forms of wife abuse were not noteworthy contributing to the mean difference of social support among them. Accordingly, these results have indicated that social support has undoubtedly been paramount to helping the female survivors of abuse in healing process regardless of their different background. Following these results, elucidation of phenomenon has been manoeuvred for discussion.

Depression among female survivors of domestic violence in thohoyandou,South Africa.

This study aimed to investigate depression among female survivors of domestic violence. 112 female survivors of domestic violence who came to a trauma centre in Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province to seek help were selected as participants in the study. The participants‟ ages ranged from 15 to 65 years. The questionnaire used has items on demographic variables of the participants such as age, marital status, level of education, employment status, number of years married, number of children and also items on depression. A topic guide was also used to interview the participants on depressive symptoms. A significant number of the physically abused women were suffering from depression (z=2.8434, p<0.05) compared to the general population. This study provides data that can be used to motivate the implementation of intervention programmes to address domestic violence against women. Such programmes should include the implementation of cost-effective intervention aimed at reducing the depression caused by domestic violence on women.Key words: Depression, female survivors of domestic violence, South Africa.