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.

The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding on how Swedish media describes intimate partner violence from a social constructionist perspective. This was done by analysing the way this violence is projected in three Swedish newspapers namely Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter & Expressen. Our study focused on heterosexual relationships and investigated how some sample of Swedish newspapers described the image of “men and women as perpetrators; gender construction”, “the presentation of the violence” and “the way society treats intimate partner violence victims (male/female)”. The theoretical approach in this analysis was based on social constructionism with a special focus on gender. In order to address the research objectives, a content analysis was performed and some comment and analysis on themes were given. The research findings revealed that both men and women could be perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence with a main focus on woman as victims from media.

Annually, nearly 7 million women and 5.5 million men experience some form of intimate partner violence, which has serious health impacts. IPV has also been shown to limit the impact of early childhood home visiting interventions. Given the positive impacts of home visiting, reducing IPV in that setting could alleviate the negative impacts of IPV and improve mother and child outcomes as well. The analysis performed are from data from a randomized trial of an intimate partner violence intervention that was embedded into the Nurse Family Partnership, an evidence-based home visiting program. The intervention focused on identifying IPV, and for women without severe IPV, improving relationship skills including communication patterns and conflict resolution. The goal of this analysis is to examine how changes in partner and history of IPV moderate the relationship skills outcomes. This study aims to fill the gap in knowledge regarding the relationship between a home visiting intervention and relationship skill outcomes in women enrolled in the home visiting program, the Nurse Family Partnership. The purpose of the study is to discover whether the relationship skills differ in participants with stable vs. unstable partnerships and with those who experienced IPV before the start of the study. Women were randomized to NFP as usual (n=105) or NFP+, which included NFP plus the IPV intervention (n=133). Participants were surveyed at baseline, and at one and two-year follow-up with 81% retention over 2 years. Standardized assessment tools assessed relationship quality, communication, problem solving, partner support, relationship decision making, and psychological maltreatment. Marginal modeling was conducted to examine whether the intervention accounted for any change in relationship variables and whether the impact is moderated by history of IPV and changes in partnership. Multilevel modeling of the outcome variables showed some main effects of time such that conflict resolution improves for the intervention group (p<0.05). There is one clinically significant three-way interaction showing reduced relationship danger in the intervention for women with a history of IPV (p<0.06). There were no significant interactions for the partnership change moderator.

Objectives To examine the associations of Intimate partner violence (IPV) with stress-related sleep disturbance (measured using the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test [FIRST]) and poor sleep quality (measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]) during early pregnancy. Methods This cross-sectional study included 634 pregnant Peruvian women. In-person interviews were conducted in early pregnancy to collect information regarding IPV history, and sleep traits. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated using logistic regression procedures. Results Lifetime IPV was associated with a 1.54-fold increased odds of stress-related sleep disturbance (95% CI: 1.08–2.17) and a 1.93-fold increased odds of poor sleep quality (95% CI: 1.33–2.81). Compared with women experiencing no IPV during lifetime, the aOR (95% CI) for stress-related sleep disturbance associated with each type of IPV were: physical abuse only 1.24 (95% CI: 0.84–1.83), sexual abuse only 3.44 (95%CI: 1.07–11.05), and physical and sexual abuse 2.51 (95% CI: 1.27–4.96). The corresponding aORs (95% CI) for poor sleep quality were: 1.72 (95% CI: 1.13–2.61), 2.82 (95% CI: 0.99–8.03), and 2.50 (95% CI: 1.30–4.81), respectively. Women reporting any IPV in the year prior to pregnancy had increased odds of stress-related sleep disturbance (aOR = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.17–3.67) and poor sleep quality (aOR = 2.27; 95% CI: 1.30–3.97) during pregnancy. Conclusion Lifetime and prevalent IPV exposures are associated with stress-related sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality during pregnancy. Our findings suggest that sleep disturbances may be important mechanisms that underlie the lasting adverse effects of IPV on maternal and perinatal health.

Thesis advisor: Natana DeLong-Bas / The Syrian Civil War and its displacement of individuals has led to a dramatic increase in intimate partner violence (IPV) among refugee women. Statistics display that 99% of IPV survivors undergo financial control and exploitation, making it difficult to leave these toxic relationships. In 2016, UN Women created a cash-for-work initiative in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan intended to provide Jordanian and Syrian refugee women with protection through financial empowerment. The initiative was quickly successful, showing a 20% decrease in intimate partner violence. My research over the past year builds on this logic to explore digital social entrepreneurship as a manner of addressing IPV within the Syrian refugee population in Jordan. I argue that digital social entrepreneurship, ICT startups with a greater social mission, is key to addressing many of the MENA region’s most pressing issues post Arab Spring, as well as beneficial to empowering women. My analysis culminated in a policy recommendation for a cross sectional program to give refugee women in Jordan the resources they need to establish their own digital, socially conscious firms and establish a place for themselves and their families in both the Jordanian and Syrian post civil war economy. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Islamic Civilization and Societies.

Thesis advisor: V. Paul Poteat / Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs in LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) relationships at rates equal to or even higher than cisgender heterosexual relationships (Walters, Chen, & Breidig, 2013). The health consequences of IPV are well documented (Kwako et al., 2011). Trauma-informed care (TIC) is one service approach receiving increasing support for use with IPV survivors (Warshaw, Lyon, Phillips, & Hooper, 2014). Nevertheless, there is little research exploring the association between TIC and health among LGBTQ IPV survivors. Immobilization is prevalent for IPV survivors for whom fight or flight may increase risk of violence during traumatic situations (van der Kolk, 1989). TIC might be well-positioned to counter these immobilizing effects in effort to facilitate mobilization and better health for IPV survivors. The relationship between TIC and health through mobilizing mechanisms has not yet been tested. This study examined several mobilizing mechanisms as mediating the relationship between TIC and health including: 1) lower social withdrawal; 2) lower shame; 3) greater emotion regulation; and, 4) greater empowerment. Among 227 LGBTQ adults, structural equation modeling analyses tested the relationship between TIC and health, and the mediating effects of lower social withdrawal and shame, and greater emotion regulation and empowerment on the relationship between TIC and health. Results indicated that the direct effects of TIC on mental and physical health were not significant. Indirect effects of TIC on mental and physical health through the set of mobilizing mechanisms were not significant. However, TIC did predict greater empowerment and emotion regulation and lower social withdrawal. Lower social withdrawal and lower shame also predicted better mental health, while lower shame and emotion regulation predicted better physical health. Practitioners need to uncover additional services and resources beyond TIC that could improve health among LGBTQ IPV survivors. Research should continue to examine the potential effects of TIC in addition to how it is applied in the context of evidence-based treatment programs that are adapted for sexual and gender minorities. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Lisa Goodman / As domestic violence (DV) shelters have proliferated across the country over the last three decades, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of rules to which shelter residents must adhere. This qualitative content analysis study represents the first research to explore IPV survivors' experiences living with emergency DV shelter rules. Eight clusters emerged from interviews with 11 survivors: 1) Entering the shelter in a vulnerable state; 2) Perceiving staff-resident relationships as empowering or disempowering; 3) Making sense of the rules in the context of these relationships; 4) Experiencing staff enforcement as collaborative or hierarchical; 5) Experiencing the rules' impact on daily life; 6) Coping with rules; 7) Coping in the shelter generally; and 8) Making recommendations. Results suggest that less boundaried staff-resident relationships, less restrictive rules, and flexible, consistent, and collaborative enforcement lead to more positive experiences for residents. Recommendations are made for shelter practice and future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Lisa A. Goodman / For survivors of intimate partner violence, the very act of seeking help from a domestic violence (DV) shelter can incur enormous costs. One such cost involves what this study calls “parenting surveillance:” that is, DV advocates can observe, monitor, evaluate, and sometimes control survivors’ parenting—activities given added weight through their mandated reporter role. Although parenting surveillance has long been a feature of state intervention into family life, particularly for low-income women of color, it is largely unexplored in the DV shelter system. This is a striking gap for several reasons: First, most DV programs are committed to supporting survivors’ autonomy and empowerment, seemingly at odds with surveillance. Second, shelter surveillance may echo abusive dynamics from which survivors are attempting to escape. Third, survivors consistently cite fears of losing control of their parenting as a barrier to help-seeking. It is critical to understand the extent to which parenting surveillance prevents programs from achieving their own goals, potentially harming survivors, and obstructing their ability to seek help. Using a community-based participatory research approach, this qualitative-descriptive study aimed to explore survivor-mothers’ experiences of parenting surveillance among 12 residents of four shelters. Qualitative content analysis of the data that drew upon constant comparison techniques yielded six clusters: survivor-mothers (1) want and find support in their programs; (2) experience and witness parenting surveillance; (3) describe negative psychological responses to surveillance; (4) report varying effects on parenting and help-seeking related to surveillance; (5) cope with and resist surveillance; and (6) offer recommendations for improvements to DV shelters. Results suggest that although surveillance is a structural phenomenon, survivors perceived and experienced it differentially, based on their own identities and prior experiences, and the nature of their relationships with advocates. For advocates, ameliorating the damaging effects of surveillance involves both pragmatic and relational shifts grounded in empathy for survivor-mothers’ subjective experience of parenting in the context of their histories, identities, strengths, and vulnerabilities. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Background: The perpetration of intimate partner violence by women remains a controversial issue with historical focus on males as perpetrators and females as victims. The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004) in the United Kingdom emphasised the importance of arresting domestic violence perpetrators regardless of gender and this has resulted in significant arrests of female perpetrators of IPV. This has been paralleled by a growing interest in understanding these offenders. Central to this, is gaining an understanding of the aetiology of this population of offenders and their motivations for perpetrating IPV. Investigating this empirically may inform understanding of females’ pathways into perpetrating IPV and may also inform treatment pathways and risk management of these offenders. Design/Methodology: Aims are addressed separately in two journal articles. In journal article 1, systematic searches of bibliographic databases, in addition to hand searches of various articles was conducted to identify any association between personality psychopathology and the perpetration of IPV in females. Journal article 2 describes an empirical investigation of motivation in 8 female IPV perpetrators through semi-structured interviews. The data was transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The results of the systematic review revealed an association with personality psychopathology and female perpetration of IPV, in particular cluster B traits. In relation to motivations the results revealed the value of considering offence supportive cognitions which underpin females’ motives for IPV, in addition to the context of women’s lives and the dynamic of the relationship. Conclusions: The relevance of personality psychopathology identified in journal article 1 is discussed in relation to assessment and intervention, in addition to limitations of the synthesis and clinical and empirical utility. The offence supportive cognitions identified in journal article 2 are discussed in relation to other offending behaviour groups, in addition to their clinical implications in the development of assessment and management of this population and of the development of effective interventions.

Forskning kring våld i nära relationer handlar ofta om fysiskt våld. Fysiskt våld uppfattas som mer allvarligt än psykiskt våld. Psykiskt våld har visats vara mer vanligt och skadorna går inte att upptäcka med blotta ögat. Studiens syfte var att undersöka uppfattningar om psykiskt våld i nära relationer. Etthundrasextionio högskolestudenter, varav 88 kvinnor läste en av två fiktiva vinjetter om psykiskt våld i en nära relation där förövaren var antingen man eller kvinna. Därefter svarade de på en enkät relaterat till vinjetten med frågor från mätinstrumentet Opinions on Domestic Violence Scale (ODVS). Tvåvägs variansanalyser för oberoende mätningar visade att kvinnorna uppfattade situationerna mer allvarligt än männen. När en kvinna blev utsatt för våld uppfattades det mer allvarligt. Resultaten var i linje med tidigare forskning om fysiskt våld. Det är av värde att fortsätta undersöka psykiskt våld i nära relationer för att våldet ska upphöra.