Incidence Of Physical Violence Research Articles

Experiences of physical and emotional intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison of prepandemic and pandemic data in a longitudinal study of Australian mothers

ObjectiveThere is a lack of longitudinal population-based research comparing women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the Mothers’ and Young...

Effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on employers' reporting of client violence in non‐institutional social services in Sweden

AbstractSocial services in the welfare sector consist of women‐dominated jobs generally characterised by arduous working conditions, including exposure to client violence. Although there is a rather extensive research base on client violence in institutional social services, less is known about how client violence is handled in noninstitutional social services. Using longitudinal data obtained from the Swedish Work Environment Agency's register on work injuries caused by workplace violence, we examined the effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on the reporting of client violence in noninstitutional social services. We found that most of the reports about work injuries caused by client violence are filed by public employers and that most reports concern occupational groups performing direct care services in clients' homes. Moreover, although most reports include female employees and incidents of physical violence, reports concerning male employees are comparatively more likely to include physical violence, and reports concerning female employees are comparatively more likely to include threats. Taken together, our findings point to a much‐needed improvement of health and safety measures for care workers in noninstitutional social services in Sweden.

Incidence of Dating Violence in Middle Adolescence

Background: Middle adolescents interact more with the opposite sex so that mutual liking arises, interest in the opposite sex will continue to undergo a relationship called dating. Middle age is emotionally and mentally unstable so that if there are problems in dating it will cause or will experience dating violence.Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of dating violence in middle adolescents.Methods: This research is descriptive quantitative. The population in this study were middle adolescents in Ciparay District School, Bandung Regency, with a total sample of 295 respondents.Results: The results showed that the description of the incidence of physical violence was small (5.8%), threatening behavior was small (11.2%), sexual violence was almost half (37.6%), verbal emotional violence was almost half (30.2%), relational violence was small (18.0%), and in cyber violence most of 51.2%.Conclusion: The conclusion is that almost all adolescents are dating violence. Schools form a task force for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence.

Human rights violations among men who have sex with men and transgender people in South Africa.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender (TG) people face human rights violations (HRVs) which impact their access to critical interventions for HIV prevention, treatment, and related services. This study describes how Beyond Zero, a not-for-profit organisation in South Africa, built an HRV reporting system and discusses data on the HRVs experienced by MSM and TG people who accessed HIV prevention services between 01 January 2021 and 31 December 2021. This was a cross-sectional study using secondary analysis of programmatic data routinely collected as part of HIV prevention programmes for MSM and TG in 10 rural districts of South Africa. A total of 249 individuals reported having experienced HRVs. Of these, 113 (54.6%) were physical violations, 145 (58.2%) were psychosocial harassment, 15 (18.3%) were experienced within the workplace, and 59 (23.7%) were experienced at a healthcare or social services institution. Overall, 77% of the physical violations and 70.4% of the psychosocial violations occurred in the home and local community settings; 76.1% of the perpetrators of physical violence and 79.3% of the perpetrators of psychosocial harassment were known. Most incidents of physical violence (80.5%) and psychosocial harassment (92.4%) were not reported due to fear of homophobic or transphobic violence. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of documenting HRVs among MSM and TG people within HIV prevention programmes. Men who have sex with men and TG people should be systematically screened for HRVs and linked to legal or other services. Our findings present data on the nature of HRVs in 10 districts outside of the large urban centres where research documenting the lived experiences of MSM, TG people and other key populations is traditionally conducted in South Africa. This data contribute to addressing the gap in the literature on the needs of MSM and TG people in South Africa caused by the delayed inclusion of rural MSM and TG people in research.

Breaking the Code of Silence: The Importance of Control Systems and Empathy Toward Outgroups

This study used data from 654 new officers attending several training academies in the United States to examine changes in recruits’ attitudes toward the code of silence. The results of multivariate multilevel growth models showed that recruits’ experiences at the academies strengthened their adherence to the code. The results also showed that shifts in officers’ attitudes about the community, seriousness of the misconduct, expected discipline, and familiarity with agency policies were directly associated with changes in their adherence to the code, but changes in job satisfaction and perceptions of organizational justice were not. Female officers exhibited less adherence to the code in incidents of physical violence compared with male officers. The results confirm the need for reform in police training. Specifically, academy leaders should ensure that instructors and training materials present positive images of the community as well as strengthen social control systems which reinforce the importance of reporting coworker’s misconduct.

School personnel experience violence, harassment during pandemic

While much of the focus on education during the pandemic has involved the effects on children in schools, it is also having a negative impact on teachers, administrators, social workers, psychologists and school staff, a news release from the American Psychological Association (APA) stated. Approximately one‐third of teachers report that they experienced at least one incident of verbal harassment or threat of violence from students during the pandemic, and almost 50% expressed a plan or desire to quit or transfer jobs, according to a survey conducted by an APA task force. Participants were asked about their experience with threats of violence (including verbal harassment, threats or cyberbullying) from students, parents/guardians, colleagues and administrators, as well as physical violence from students. They were also asked about their desire or intention to quit, retire early or transfer to another position in the school or school district. One out of every three teachers (33%) reported at least one incident of verbal harassment or threatening behavior from a student, and 29% reported at least one incident from a parent of a student. The numbers were even higher for school administrators: Approximately 37% reported at least one incident of harassment or threat of violence from a student and 42% reported the same from a parent. Approximately 14% of teachers reported incidents of physical violence from a student. And it wasn't just teachers. At least 18% of school psychologists and social workers, 15% of school administrators and 22% of other school staff reported at least one violent incident by a student during the pandemic. In response to the survey findings, the task force offered recommendations to address violence against school personnel, including supporting the mental health of school personnel as well as students and promoting trauma‐ informed practices.

Age at first exposure to violence and later mental health outcomes: A sex-disaggregated, multi-country analysis in sub-Saharan Africa

BackgroundA growing body of research has begun examining the relationship between a child's age at first exposure to violence and outcomes of mental wellbeing, though no studies have assessed these relationships in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region. ObjectiveGiven known gender and sex differences in violence exposure and mental health symptomology, this study conducts a multi-country, gender-stratified analysis of the relationship between age at first incident of physical violence and outcomes of wellbeing in SSA. Participants and settingThis study uses data from the Violence Against Children Surveys on 13–24-year-old males and females in five SSA countries (Kenya (2010), Malawi (2013), Nigeria (2014), Tanzania (2009), and Uganda (2015)). MethodsThe predictor of interest is a categorical variable indicating whether a respondent's first exposure to physical violence took place from 0 to 5, 6–11, 12 and older, or never. Outcomes of interest include: sadness, anxiety, suicide ideation, smoking, drug use, and alcohol use. Employing both country-specific and pooled data, gender-stratified, multiple logistic regressions are used to estimate the effect of age at first exposure to physical violence on the six outcomes of interest. ResultsFindings show significant variation across countries in age at first exposure to physical violence. For females, findings reveal no association between age at first exposure and outcomes of wellbeing; all periods were equally associated with poor outcomes. For males, results show increased likelihood of anxiety, suicide ideation, and alcohol use when the first violence exposure occurred from 0 to 5 years. ConclusionsThis study advances the literature on gender and sex differences in mental health symptomology, suggesting that boys and girls may exhibit different symptomology in response to comparable exposures to violence.

Cross-sectional survey of underreported violence experienced by adolescents: a study from Indonesia

BackgroundGlobal studies on adolescent victims of violence require serious attention due to the possibility that underreported cases may be higher than official records indicate. Since Indonesia expects to witness a demographic bonus, extensive research is needed to strengthen early detection, case handling, and prevention. Here, we report the outcomes of a survey on physical, verbal, and sexual violence experienced by adolescents in West Java, an Indonesian province inhabited by 18% of the country’s total population.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey in 2017 using the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Child Abuse Screening Tool for Children (ICAST-C) questionnaire for detecting child abuse; an expert panel translated, simplified, and validated it based on a theoretical framework that combines paediatrics, public health, and medicolegal perspectives. We aimed to cover a large sample size and explore three types of violence (physical, verbal, and sexual) that have high evidentiary value in the forensic context. The respondents were adolescents in the first and second grades of middle school (12 to 14 years old) and high school (15 to 17 years old) in seven cities/municipalities in the province, selected through several stages of simple random sampling (N = 3452). We analysed the samples through univariate (percentage), odds ratio (OR), comparison, correlation, and correspondence analyses.ResultsThe results showed that 78.7% of the adolescents experienced violence in 2017, comprising those who encountered at least one incidence of physical violence (43.1%), verbal violence (12.2%), and sexual violence (4.5%). Data overlap includes 14.3% who experienced one type of violence in 2017, 7.4% who experienced two forms of violence, and 1.4% who underwent all three kinds of violence. The offenders were mainly adolescents across all types of violence, except for being forced to engage in sexual intercourse. Several victims of sexual violence did not state who the offenders were. Further, several characteristics showed a higher chance of experiencing violence than other characteristics, especially for adolescents who were still in middle school and those who lived only with their mothers. Correspondence analysis suggested subtle differences between characteristics.ConclusionWe expect this study to help identify risk and protective factors that are essential to strengthening early detection efforts, decisive medicolegal examinations, case handling, and policy-making.

Can Online Education Programs Solve the Cyberbullying Problem? Educating South Korean Elementary Students in the COVID-19 Era

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, public education has been forced to hold classes online, which increases the time students are on the internet at home. While this situation has significantly reduced the incidence of physical violence between students, cyberbullying has increased sharply, even among younger students. This paper examines a program developed to educate elementary school students on how to best respond to cyberbullying—a social issue that hinders the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The program was applied to students, and the educational effects were tracked. First, we analyzed education programs in South Korea and the United States that teach students how to cope with cyberbullying, extracted characteristic parts, and developed the online education program in accordance with the current situation in South Korea. Next, we conducted an online education preference survey through an independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA. As a result, regardless of gender and grade, most study subjects preferred online education. In addition, we conducted a paired sample t-test to determine the prevention and response effects of suggested online education programs. According to the test, the study subjects experienced less cyberbullying and victimization after participating in the online education program. Additional benefits were the students’ increased ability to defend against cyberbullying and a decreased need for defenders and assistants in warding off the cyberbullies.

HIV-related stigma in the UK then and now: to what extent are we on track to eliminate stigma? A qualitative investigation

BackgroundThe introduction of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s led to the perception that HIV was a chronic but manageable condition. Nevertheless, stigma remains one of the major hurdles for people living with HIV (PLWH) to accessing healthcare and biomedical preventions. Thus, Fast Track Cities has set a target of zero HIV discrimination by 2030 as part of its strategy to end HIV transmission.MethodsFifty-three participants from the United Kingdom, including PLWH (n = 21, 40%), health and social care workers (n = 24, 45%), and charity workers and activists (n = 13, 25%), were recruited. Semi-structured interviews investigated stigma and discrimination, focusing on both before and after the widespread use of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s. Data were analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsBefore effective antiretroviral treatment narratives were shaped by two main themes: 1) the media’s role in influencing public opinion and contributing to misunderstandings of HIV transmission; and 2) personal experiences of HIV-related stigma, which for PLWH included incidents of physical violence and aggression, as well as fears of their HIV status being publicised. Contemporary narratives on stigma experiences were organised around four themes: 1) discrimination in healthcare settings; 2) stigma amongst men who have sex with men (MSM); 3) stigma towards African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH; and 4) the limits of change in public HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. Contemporary narratives indicated a reduction in enacted stigma, but continued anticipation of discrimination and self-reported shame, particularly in MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH.ConclusionThe nature of stigma against those with HIV has evolved. The intersection of PLWH and minority groups (e.g. MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean persons) may enhance anticipatory and internalised stigma, with some suggestion that this may contribute to reduced engagement in HIV care and prevention services. Our findings indicate the need for further research in this area, as well as proactive interventions with community groups to enhance knowledge of HIV.

Identifying Intimate Partner Violence by Gender: Evidence from a List Experiment in Kenya

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) responds to economic policies and affects economic outcomes. Two common misconceptions are that IPV is predominantly unidirectional, and that physical violence perpetrated by women against men is marginal. We conduct the first list experiment with married couples to identify the incidence of physical violence on both men and women. We find that 14 percent of respondents agree with the statement my spouse regularly hits me.'' In contrast to survey evidence, we find no differences in the incidence of male-to-female and female-to-male violence. We provide supporting evidence that bidirectional IPV accounts for the lack of gender differences.

The Link Between a Husband's Trust in Informal Institutions and Domestic Violence Against His Wife: Evidence From Pakistan.

The global and national push to strengthen informal institutions' role in increasing rural households' access to justice has often met with skepticism in South Asia. This is because the impact of such initiatives on women's welfare is debatable in many contexts due to reports of informal institutions' hostile and oppressive behavior toward women. This study contributes to this debate by presenting the first empirical evidence of gender difference in trust in informal village institutions. The study also tests the relationship between a husband's trust in informal institutions and his tendency to commit physical violence against his wife. It uses the Pakistan Rural Household Panel Survey datasets of more than 2,000 households from three provinces (Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) of Pakistan. Trust in local political institutions is measured by (a) respondent's reliance on village institutions for handling general community affairs and maintaining law and order and (b) respondent's perceptions of local government's effectiveness in dispute settlement and ensuring public security. Men's and women's trust in informal village institutions and their perceptions of these institutions' legitimacy do not significantly differ in most cases. Women exhibit a greater trust and confidence in informal institutions that hold regular resident meetings than in those that do not. The results also reveal a significant negative relationship between a husband's trust in informal institutions and the incidence of physical violence against his wife. Greater trust in informal institutions has a significant positive correlation with a husband's psychological well-being, his relationship with family, and his perceptions of institutional legitimacy. The findings imply that well-performing informal institutions work as an indirect deterrent for domestic violence in the study areas of Pakistan.

Quality improvement in forensic mental health: the East London forensic violence reduction collaborative

Ward-based violence is the most significant cause of reported safety incidents at East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). It impacts on patient and staff safety, well-being, clinical care and the...

Evaluating the reliability and validity of secondary reporting to measure gender-based violence in conflict and disaster

BackgroundAccurately identifying the magnitude of gender-based violence (GBV) in humanitarian settings is hindered by logistical and methodological complexities. The ‘Neighborhood Method’, an adapted household survey that uses primary and secondary reporting to assess the prevalence of GBV in humanitarian settings, reduces the length of time and cost associated with traditional surveys. Primary female adult respondents disclose incidents of physical violence, intimate and non-intimate partner rape for themselves, other females in their homes (standard reporting) and other women and children in their social networks (secondary reporting). This study examines the reliability and validity of this inclusion of secondary reporting to determine the comparability of the Neighborhood Method to a traditional survey approach.MethodsDrawing on data from 1180 women reporting on 3744 females in respondent households and 15,086 in neighboring households across four humanitarian settings (Ethiopia/ Somalia, Liberia, Sri Lanka, and Uganda), reliability of secondary reporting was measured through intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Cohen’s kappas. Validity was assessed using two-sample z-tests for differences between standard versus secondary reporting.ResultsPrevalence estimates comparing a respondent’s household with a neighboring household show closer agreement (ICC: 0.999–0.986) than self-reports vs. secondary reporting on a female counterpoint in a neighboring home (ICC: 0.939–0.98). Kappa statistics analyzing the reliability of two separate neighbors reporting on a third neighbor showed moderate agreement beyond chance alone (κ = 0.45 for physical violence and 0.48 for rape). Prevalence rates corresponded between standard and secondary reports (i.e. showed no statistical difference) in 18 out of 24 compared populations.ConclusionsFor prevalence of GBV, secondary reporting about neighbors can serve as a useful adjunct to standard survey methodology. Findings offer important initial insights into the consistency and accuracy of secondary reporting as a tool for field epidemiologists in humanitarian settings.

A Cash Plus Program Reduces Youth Exposure to Physical Violence in Zimbabwe.

Violence against children and adolescents, a highly prevalent problem, is a clear violation of child rights and has detrimental effects on later life outcomes. Programs that alleviate poverty address a structural determinant of child vulnerability and can thereby reduce child abuse. This paper investigates whether the Government of Zimbabwe's Harmonized Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) Program, which combines cash transfers with complementary services, affects youth exposure to physical violence. The analysis uses data from a non-experimental impact evaluation and a difference-in-differences approach. Results show a 19-percentage point decline in the incidence of physical violence among youth four years into the program. HSCT-induced enhancements in beneficiary households' purchasing capacity and food security, improvements in caregiver subjective well-being, and reductions in youth participation in economic work for pay could be mediating the program's effects on youth abuse. This paper adds to the relatively scarce evidence on the impacts of anti-poverty policies on young people's susceptibility to physical violence in developing countries.

Physical Violence During Mandatory Psychiatric Treatment: Prevalence and Patient Characteristics

This study explores variables that predict physical violence in 614 (forensic) psychiatric inpatients. All violent incidents that occurred in a Dutch forensic psychiatric hospital between 2014 and 2019 ( N = 3,713) were coded with the Modified Overt Aggression Scale+ based on daily hospital reports and patients’ medical records. Binary logistic regression analyses examined which patient variables could differentiate between patients with and without physical violence during treatment and between patients with single and multiple incidents of physical violence. Variables included in the analyses were gender, legal status, borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, psychopathy (Psychopathy Checklist–Revised [PCL-R] score), self-harm during treatment, impulsivity, intellectual disability, and length of stay. A clear association was found between self-harm and inpatient physical violence on all outcome measures and in all analyses. Adequate monitoring of self-harm is advised as a strategy to early identify patients with a high risk to threaten ward safety.

Intimate Partner Violence: The Influence of Job Opportunities for Men and Women

AbstractThis study examines the association of unemployment variation with intimate partner violence using representative data from thirty-one developing countries, from 2005 to 2016. It finds that a 1 percent increase in the male unemployment rate is associated with an increase in the incidence of physical violence against women by 0.50 percentage points, or 2.75 percent. This is consistent with financial and psychological stress generated by unemployment. Female unemployment rates have the opposite effect, a 1 percent decrease being associated with an increase in the probability of victimization of 0.52 percentage points, or 2.87 percent. That an improvement in women's employment opportunities is associated with increased violence is consistent with male backlash. The study finds that this pattern of behaviors emerges entirely from countries in which women have more limited access to divorce than men.

Smoking-related violence in a mental health setting following the implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free policy: A content analysis of incident reports.

Smoke-free policies in mental health settings are important to protect health but are often impeded by staff concerns that physical violence may increase. We aimed to address the literature gap about the frequency, nature, and management of physical violence in relation to smoking. We compared the antecedents and containment of smoking-related incidents of physical violence over a two-year period, (12months when an indoor-only smoke-free policy was in place, followed by 12months after a new comprehensive smoke-free policy was introduced) using incident reports completed by staff in a large mental health organization in London, UK. Sixty-one smoking-related incidents occurred during the indoor-only smoke-free policy period; 32 smoking-related incidents occurred during the comprehensive smoke-free policy. We identified four antecedent categories for physical violence: i) patient request to smoke denied by staff; ii) during a supervised smoking break; iii) staff response to a patient breach of the smoke-free policy iv) asking for, trading or stealing smoking materials. The antecedent pattern changed across the two policy periods, with fewer incidents of denying a patient's request to smoke and a greater number of incidents involving staff responding to breaches occurring after the introduction of the comprehensive smoke-free policy. The prohibition of smoking breaks removed this source of violence. Timeout and PRN medication were the most common containment interventions. Understanding the context of smoking-related violence may inform clinical guidelines about its prevention and management.

Students’ views on the need for hostile environment awareness training for South African emergency medical care students

Background. South Africans experience high levels of contact crime, including assault, robbery and hijacking. Emergency medical services (EMS) are frequently called to the scene of such incidents. Their presence in these potentially hostile environments increases the risk of South African (SA) paramedics and paramedic students becoming victims of crime and violence. A 2015 study showed that ~66% of SA EMS staff reported being assaulted while on duty. During a 10-month period in 2016, Western Cape Province recorded >40 incidents of physical violence against their EMS personnel. Questions are being asked about how well prepared EMS staff are to operate in potentially hostile environments. Objectives. To explore emergency medical care (EMC) students’ experiences of violence and crime and their views on the need for hostile environment awareness training (HEAT) as part of their undergraduate degree programmes. Methods. A self-designed, non-validated, cross-sectional online survey questionnaire was used to document the experiences, views and opinions of 113 undergraduate EMC students from 4 SA universities. The questionnaire consisted of 24 closed-ended questions with pre-set Likert scale options focusing on documenting participants’ experiences, views and opinions regarding hostile environments and the need for HEAT. Results. A high percentage of participants (92%) indicated feeling unsafe while engaging in clinical learning shifts; 63% specified that they had personally witnessed violence against EMS crews, and 32% indicated that they had been assaulted while on duty. Unsurprisingly, 81% of the respondents felt that there is a need for inclusion of HEAT in the undergraduate curriculum. Conclusions. Participation in clinical learning shifts in the current SA prehospital EMS environment increases the risk of exposure to potentially hostile environments. Consequently, students feel unsafe and support the inclusion of HEAT as part of their undergraduate degree programmes.

Health of Women Surviving Intimate Partner Violence: Impact of Injury and Fear.

This study examined associations between experiencing physical violence and stalking perpetrated by an intimate partner, and the number of health problems women reported. The sample of 2,626 women who survived intimate partner violence (IPV) was extracted from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2010. Results showed associations between greater number of health problems and the following seven factors: injury, fear, poor mental health, advanced age, less education, lower income, and marriage; no association was found between number of health problems and number of incidents of physical violence, stalking, or both (in preceding year). The results imply that IPV has long-term adverse impacts on women's physical health.