The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which women seeking services of a shelter for battered women in the Southwestern United States were similar to the existing picture of battered women. Supplemental questions were asked concerning the effects of substance abuse, marital status, and child abuse. Information was gathered from records of a sample of 100 women who sought shelter between September 1984 and August 1987. Results were compared with previous studies by Gayford (1975), Giles-Sims (1983), and Walker. Results suggested women in this study were similar to battered women who had been studied previously. No significant relationship was found between the use of drugs and/or alcohol and the type of abuse a woman experienced, between marital status and employment status, nor between the occurrence of child abuse and a woman's willingness to involve the police. Implications and recommendations for future research were presented.

Battered women's perceptions of gender roles within the family were studied. Twenty white, working-class women who were victims of domestic violence were interviewed. It was determined that battered women have very traditional views of gender roles in the family and these views affected the choices that they made within their relationships and their ability to escape these abusive relationships.

Research has documented an association between sustained overt psychological abuse and women's self-concept and psychological distress. However, the focus on overt domination and control limits our understanding of its impact and is a weakness addressed in this study. Women in distressed relationships who had sustained severe psychological abuse from a partner and either no, moderate, or serious violence met inclusion criteria.

M.Cur. / South Africa is called the Rainbow Nation with a variety of cultures and ethnic groups. The population currently is estimated at over 40 million, of whom 73% are women and children (Government Gazette, 1997:11). According to the Government Gazette ( 1997: 11) major disparities and inequalities exist between the different population groups, with reference to their socio-economic position. This inevitably led to major problems such as poverty and violence. One of these problems of violence seems to be domestic violence as stated by the South African Police Service (1998 : 10). They confirmed that the number of incidents of domestic violence in which especially women, children and the elderly are the victims, appear to be continually on the increase in South Africa. The South African Police Service (1998: 1) states that domestic violence is a serious crime against society, which can lead to repeated victimisation and repeated offending and sometimes eventually spirals into fatality. Domestic violence became a topic of interest to the researcher because of the number of women that came under her attention while working in the community services. Evaluation of the service delivery and understanding of domestic violence by community members and health care workers showed poor results with some still clinging to myths coming from cultural beliefs. According to Hague and Wilson (2000 : 157) the most common explanation for domestic violence continues to be a lack of compliance by the wife, coupled with historically long-lived ideas about the breadwinner's rightful authority. The goal of this study was to explore and describe the lived experience of abused women subjected to domestic violence and to describe guidelines for psychiatric nurse practitioners to support abused women who are subjected to domestic violence, in facilitating their mental health and optimising their ability to terminate the abusive situation. In conducting this research the framework of the Theory for Health Promotion in Nursing (Rand Afrikaans University, 2000) were used, which dealt with the internal and external world experience of the abused women. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was used specific to domestic violence for this study. In-depth, semi-structured phenomenological interviews were conducted with abused women subjected to domestic violence who met the sample criteria. To ensure trustworthiness, the researcher made use ofGuba's (DeVos, 1998: 348-350) model of trustworthiness. Data analysis was done according to Tesch's (DeVos, 1998 : 343 -352) method. The results of this study showed that abused women who are subjected to domestic violence suffer a great deal of trauma and degrading due to physical or mental abuse of a loved one. Their trauma was evident by the experience of negative psychological dynamics that contributed to the shattering of the self. The degrading of the person eventually leads to the shattering of other relations and at the end to the realisation that they are victims.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Management Sciences(Peace-building), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / This study examines gender based violence in a mining community and uses the case study of Trojan Nickel Mine in Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe. Studies have shown that Mashonaland Central has the highest incidence rate of gender based violence in Zimbabwe. Mining communities are more susceptible to incidences of gender based violence because of their cultural heterogeneity which engender and generate conflict. The research examines gender based violence within the confines of several theories and conceptual frameworks such as social-learning theory, sex-role theory and ecological framework. It reveals that no factor can be singled out as the cause of gender based violence, but argues that patriarchy whose norms are embedded through culture contributes the most in constructing attitudes and perceptions which legitimize gender based violence. The study also identifies religious practices and the environment as playing key roles in encouraging gender based violence. The study in the end constructs an intervention model based on the ‘catch them young theory’ where young boys were trained on non-violent strategies of reducing gender based violence. This is against the background that men play an influential role in communities as decision makers and policy makers. This intervention targeted changing the behavior and attitude of boys over women and girls.

This study tested the applicability of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change in predicting early termination, appropriate termination, and ongoing treatment of Hispanic battered women residing at domestic violence shelters. Self-efficacy, decisional balance, and acculturation were examined in relation to the applicability of this model with the Hispanic women population. One hundred and eight women residing in two shelters for survivors of domestic violence, located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, were asked to provide information regarding the problems in their relationships, the pull and the strain of their relationship, their level of temptation to stay in the abusive relationship, and how confident they felt that they would not return to their abuser (The Process of Change in Abused Women Scales- PROCAWS). In addition, the women were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their level of acculturation. This study confirmed the stage of change profiles found in a population of battered women as well as in other clinical populations and the results suggest that this model is applicable to Hispanic populations. The results indicated that the women in this sample could be meaningfully grouped according to their level of involvement in different stages of change. Furthermore, this study provided support for the validity of this theory by finding significant relationships among the profiles of change and the intervening variables that moderate movement across the stages of change. The women in this study differed with regard to their level of temptation to stay in their relationships and the amount of cons they to making changes. The findings also confirmed that the Transtheoretical Model can be used to predict termination status from domestic violence shelter programs. Although there were no significant differences in termination status among the women with different stage of change profiles, a trend existed that women in earlier stages of change terminated earlier and women in later stages of change terminated appropriately. Overall, the results of this study provide evidence for the applicability of the Transtheoretical Model and the usefulness of the PROCAWS in identifying profiles of change that can potentially guide treatment interventions and predict early termination with the Hispanic population.

Women in distressed relationships who had sustained severe psychological abuse and either no, moderate, or severe violence from their partner were included (N = 93). Men's and women's alcohol use did not differ with level of violence. Different patterns were found in the moderate violence group regarding women's beliefs about their partner's substance problem, men's psychological abuse, and the relationship of men's and women's quantity of alcohol use and times intoxicated. Uncertainty resulting from moderate violence may strengthen the emotional impact of psychological abuse. Even when psychological abuse is exacerbated by violence, women may use active coping techniques rather than drinking to cope with abusive relationships. The findings suggest that an inordinate focus on alcohol abuse may be ineffective in combating the problem of domestic violence.

This longitudinal study examined factors influencing the relationship between sustained partner violence and depression/suicidality among ethnically diverse, low income, community women. The sample at Wave 1 consisted of 303 African American, 273 Euro-American, and 260 Mexican American women in long term relationships with a household income less that twice the poverty threshold. There were no ethnic differences on frequency of partner violence, depression, or suicidality. The moderate relationship between partner violence and women's depression, confirmed previous findings. Frequency, but not recency, of violence predicted depression and suicidal ideation for African Americans and Mexican Americans, even after controlling for earlier depression or ideation. Recent violence did not predict Euro-American's depression or suicidality after controlling for initial scores. Causal and responsibility attributions for partners' violence did not mediate the relationship between violence and depression or suicidality in any ethnic group. However, African American women's attributions of global effects for violence mediated the relationship of violence on depression and suicidal ideation. Poverty level and marital status moderated the relationship between violence and the number of times women seriously considered and actually attempted suicide. Frequent violence was most lethal among the poorest women and marriage provided the least protection for women in the most violent relationships. Specifically, poverty status moderated violence on consideration of suicide for African Americans and Euro-Americans and suicide attempts among Mexican Americans. Marital status moderated partners' violence on suicidal ideation and attempts for Mexican Americans and consideration of suicide for Euro-Americans, but was not a moderator for African Americans' depression or suicidality. Women with different ethnic backgrounds appear to differ in the ways partner violence contributes to their depression and suicidality. Policy implications include the need to offer suicide intervention, particularly for low income women seeking services for violence. Mental health professionals should routinely inquire about partner violence when women present with depression or suicidality. Further, sensitivity to ethnic differences is recommended when confronting women's attributions regarding violence.

M.Sc. / The present study explores the personal narratives of three battered women who have been involved in the killing of their batterers, with regards to the processes of the perpetuation of abuse and victimising patterns in contexts of the battering - relationships, the criminal justice system and the prison system, which contribute to the co-creation of the women's sense of self and identity. The narratives unfold from a prison setting, where these three women are serving long-term sentences. The narratives are described within a social constructionist perspective. Two-tape recorded conversations of an hour and a half were held with each of the participants in this study. The conversations included a written dialogue from the women. In-depth interviews were used to guide the emerging narratives. The reflections of the researcher are linked to the analysis of the co-created narratives. The narratives suggest that the recognition of these women as victims of violence is clouded by the need for larger systems, namely, the criminal justice system and the prison system to identify the women as perpetrators of violence. The prison system parallels the battering relationship in positioning the women as victims. Suggestions around the treatment of- battered women who kill in prison, include communally validating the experiences and feelings of these women through the processes of group therapy. Re-categorising the women in prison, as battered women who kill, rather than murderers so as to recognise the context of the battered women is suggested. Community service is considered as an alternative to long term imprisonment. Community outreach programs from prison to share knowledge of battered women who kill is also suggested. Government policies, where possible, should be made accessible and government sponsored shelters should be established so as to recognise battered women who kill as victims of violence. Children of battered women who kill should be given assistance and provided with necessary treatment. Empirical research is needed in order to determine the prevalence of battered women who kill. Comparative studies are needed to determine whether these findings can be generalised to the general population of battered women who kill.

D.Litt et Phil. / The study explored strategies abused women use to overcome power and control in their intimate relationships, using their own self-agency. Data was collected through the technique of triangulation in which three women who were legally divorced, wrote their own stories, after which each was individually interviewed by the researcher to get information about the process of leaving and staying away from their abusive relationships, and clearing up and moving on with their lives. Grounded theory was used to analyse the stories, the individual interviews, and the focused group discussion to generate information about the process of leaving abusive relationships on a more abstract level. The study is based on the epistemological underpinnings of post-modernism and feminism. The categories of open coding were generated from the research process and the data: These are abuse, emotional absence, dependence, resistance, use of absolutes, expectations, idealism, independence, decision-making, empowerment, recovery, innate strength and resources, self-esteem, culture and religion, introspection, verbal conceptualisation, hope, spirituality, and absence of social justice. Participants used a broad range of empowerment strategies in the process of leaving their abusive marital relationships and showed that leaving an abusive relationship is a recursive process of leaving and returning, for which women cannot be blamed. They had to make a paradigm shift to establish a basis for leaving, use their internal and external resources to make it on their own, and utilise aspects of psychological, social, racial/cultural, and religious forms of empowerment to advocate on their own behalf. The process of decision-making enabled them to gradually reclaim control over their lives. The empowerment of abused women was not necessarily equivalent to their full recovery from abuse, even though this was a pivotal point in the recovery process that began long before the women left their relationships. The results show that those women who had innate strength and were able to use it to access community resources, were more likely to leave abusive relationships. The women who participated in this study managed to leave their abusive marriages, despite having their lives threatened; each of them grew and developed personally and transformed their lives. Each has realised that there is life after abuse.