Very little is known about the actual living experiences of Malaysian women who are in a domestic violence relationship. This current study attempts to redress this shortfall by listening to the women s stories, understanding their home-life situations and ultimately offering ideas, strategies as well as information to prevent domestic violence in Malaysia. Underpinned by a feminist perspective, a qualitative approach was employed to explore the abused women s accounts in relation to domestic violence impacts, barriers to violence disclosure, as well as useful resources for support of women victims in dealing with domestic violence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 women who identified themselves as victims and survivors of domestic violence perpetrated by their husbands/ex-husbands. Via the analysis of thematic, six major themes were identified to be the impact of domestic violence, as described by the participants. The impacts include physical injuries, mental health problems, social isolation, a growing faith as well as adverse effects on the children and on the women s self-worth. The study also found that many of these abused women were reluctant to disclose abuse because they wanted to conceal those violence experiences from others because of Malaysian perception on disclosing marital affairs, they were concerned about the children s well-being, they felt partly responsible in provoking the violence, and they admitted to lacking knowledge on the provisions of support available for domestic violence victims in the country. From other aspect, the women also struggled to avoid negative labels given for being disrespectful to their men. In addition, the findings revealed four main themes related to the underlying issues on the needs and support of domestic violence service provisions that women drew on in their accounts: theme 1, unpleasant experiences when accessing the services; theme 2, the problems with procedures in disclosing and in the help-seeking process; theme 3, the usefulness of services and theme 4, women s needs and support mechanisms. As a review, the results gained from this present study prove the existence of domestic violence in Malaysian families. Indeed, the interference of cultural values as well as religious beliefs upheld by the Malaysian community was greatly associated with its occurrence. In relation to Malaysia, cultural as well as religious beliefs play a significant role in moulding its people. The results presented seem to add interesting knowledge to the existing literature, where battered Muslim women in Malaysia perceive their violence experiences as a motivation to surrender themselves to God and seek spiritual assistance as one of the impacts due to domestic violence problems. Further, the women s misapprehension of Islamic concepts such as disobedience and nusyuz (to the male partner) has made disclosing violence experiences difficult. Over and above this, the researcher found that the mechanisms of domestic violence resource provisions are worthy of investigation. The findings from this research demonstrate helpful and unhelpful provision of services identified by abused women, in particular relating to institutions in the nation. Prior to ending, this research proposes a number of recommendations for change in regards to formal supportive network resources, education on violence against women at the societal level, as well as the implication of the findings for the development of domestic violence social policy and practise in Malaysia.

Women and children who turn to domestic violence shelters for help witness about the violence they and their companion animal have experienced. There are strong emotional bonds between humans and animals, which domestic violence perpetrators can use to hurt or control their partner. In fear that the domestic violence perpetrators will harm the animal if the victim tries to leave the relationship, thus she remains in the relationship to protect the animals. The aim of this study was to investigate how animal welfare officers work to discover the link between animal abuse and human violence. Moreover, how animal welfare officers help the victims in such relationships. The study was conducted using an inquiry and telephone interviews. The result of this study showed that the majority of animal welfare officers in Sweden work to discover the link during animal welfare inspection. With education, guidelines and cooperation with other authorities, they have the possibility to help abused animals and humans. In conclusion, animal welfare officers have an important role in dealing with abused animals and humans. They might be the first ones to discover violence and can thereby help the victims away from the domestic violence perpetrator.

Men's violence against women in couple relationships is a global growing social problem that occurs in all countries regardless of religion, social class or social and economic conditions. The United Nations (UN) is constructing men's violence against women as a global pandemic that is constantly on the rise, and as the most widespread and socially accepted violation of human rights. Violence maintains individual positions of power and is thus a violation of women's human rights.The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how women exposed to violence describe their experiences of violence in hetrosexual relationships, and whether the normalization of violence affects a woman's decision to leave a violent relationship. The study was based on the documentary series Våldsam kärlek",(”Violent love”) which depicts the subjective experiences of violence by four women exposed to violence. Theories about the gender power perspective, the normalization process and the breakup process were applied in the study for a deeper understanding for the subject. The results from the study show that men's violence against women involves physical, psychological and sexual violence, where violence escalates gradually. The results from the study show that the most common reason for domestic violence against women is due to manly power imbalance between men and women in society, but also because the woman normalizes violence in everyday life, which makes the breakup from the relationship more difficult.

Although the focus of the study was the emotional abuse of women in close relationship, I argue that the patterns and processes in the abusive relationship, the positioning of both players show a close resemblance to abuse and violence on a macro-political scale. When I as a psychotherapist was continuously confronted with an increasing number of female clients relating stories of emotional abuse in close personal relationships, I started questioning the historical context, culture, societal beliefs and time-frame that constructed women to be in such a position. World wide voices are heard questioning the constant abuse of the other, the weaker, the different, and the marginalized, and much has been written about physical abuse, but the question was as to how this macro-phenomenon informs upon the emotional life of the individual woman. When it comes to abuse in close relationships, the victim usually is the female and not the male partner, which makes abuse a woman’s problem. As a result, I was interested in the truths of the woman in the abusive relationship and approached this research from the position of the other and not the oppressor. Feminist standpoint theory formed the basis of my epistemological and methodological thinking. This I practically implemented in my choice of method and my approach to interpretation of the research information. I undertook a qualitative study, utilizing descriptive methods to represent the stories of women from emotionally abusive relationships. The research was historical and location-specific, and led to the description of what I termed the Traditional Afrikaans Family and a legitimizing ecology for emotional abuse against women in close relationships. The experiences collected tell about emotional abuse as relayed by more than forty women in therapy. The data formed the background for the reconstruction and representation of four case studies and a thematic analysis pertaining to the positioning of both partners in an emotionally abusive relationship. A critical deconstruction of the mechanisms of power, domination, and control are explained. In doing so, emerging patterns in the abusive relationship were noted and described. Of particular interest to psychotherapists will be the description and analysis of the process of emotional abuse as played out in close relationships. In conclusion, I argued that emotional abuse in close interpersonal relationships is constructed in the interactions between the partners and within a legitimising context that warrants the male to dominate. The abusive behaviour emerges as a result of the patriarchal male wanting to establish or re-establish his dominant position while the female partner attempts to position him as someone that respects her as a person in her own right. / Thesis (DPhil (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Psychology / unrestricted

[pt] Esta dissertação tem como objetivo refletir sobre a construção e o desenvolvimento dos relacionamentos afetivos heterossexuais entre os jovens, tendo como base ilustrativa a série da Netflix Areia Movediça. A partir da representação do relacionamento amoroso entre os personagens principais da série, Maja e Sebastian, foi proposto um debate sobre as transformações sofridas pelo amor romântico na contemporaneidade, a forma como as juventudes lidam com essa área da vida e, por fim, como a interlocução desses dois aspectos pode resultar em uma relação abusiva. Para isso, a pesquisa é dividida em três partes. Na primeira, discutem-se as juventudes e a importância da prática de se assistir a séries na perspectiva dos jovens. Na segunda, há uma breve introdução a Areia Movediça, com o objetivo de contextualizar o leitor. Por meio da análise das cenas, são debatidas temáticas intrínsecas ao universo juvenil consideradas tabus, até se chegar ao tema dos relacionamentos amorosos. Na terceira parte, discutem-se a desigualdade entre gêneros e como ela atua na construção dos relacionamentos abusivos, a partir da história sobre o amor vivido pelos protagonistas de Areia Movediça. / [en] This thesis aims to reflect upon the construction and development of teen romantic heterosexual relationships having the Netflix s Quicksand series as background for the analysis. Maja and Sebastian s relationship helps shed light into the transformations romantic relationships have underwent in modern times, and on how teenagers deal with this aspect of their lives. Quicksand shows us that the combination of romance and teenagers may eventually trigger abusive relationships. In order to elaborate on those topics, the research has been divided into three different parts. The first part debates youth and the relevance of watching television series for teens. The second part is a short introduction on Quicksand. Scene analysis reinforces themes intrinsic to the teen universe that are still considered taboo. The third part reflects on gender inequality and its role in the construction of abusive relationships as depicted in the Quicksand protagonists love story.