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Legal protection of the victims of domestic violence In my thesis I focused on such a sensitive and very actual topic as domestic violence, especially from the perspective of existing legislation on protection of victims and also from the perspective of possible approaches to the possible solutions of this phenomenon. Despite the development of the legislation in recent decades the occurrence of domestic violence is still a major problem of modern society, mainly because of the fact that it usually takes place in private situations between the offender and the victim in a domestic environment "behind the closed doors" and the concerned persons are usually in close relationship. In my thesis I tried to focus on the phenomenon of domestic violence mainly from the perspective of the victims and their legal protection. I tried to define domestic violence by defining the necessary concepts, and also from the perspective of existing legislation of this phenomenon, including a description of previous development. In the introduction to my thesis I pay particular attention to the description of the characteristics, types and forms of domestic violence, its usual consequences. I also describe the victimological aspects and focus on the concepts of "victim" and "offender". Marginally I also describe...

Domestic violence is a pervasive problem. Approximately one quarter of all women will be assaulted by a partner in their lifetime. It is difficult to predict how resilient a woman will be after being abused, and how severe the negative consequences may be. The present study sought to identify variables that are the strongest predictors of traumatic symptoms after experiencing domestic violence, and also test social support as a moderator of these trauma symptoms. One hundred and twenty two women incarcerated in a local south Florida county jail participated in the study. They were administered the BWSQ-3, DAPS, and AAS-R. Types of abuse experienced, number of abusive relationships, time in abusive relationship, and severity of injuries were all found to be significant predictors of clinically significant trauma symptoms; types of abuse experienced and severity of injuries contributed over and above the other variables. It was observed that approximately 71% of women identified as having a secure attachment style sought help outside the relationship for the abuse. It was also determined that women with a secure attachment style significantly differed from those with a preoccupied or fearful attachment style in the rates at which they sought help. The final analysis indicated social support effectively moderates the resulting trauma symptoms after being abused; women who have experienced mild to moderate abuse, who also have adequate social support, had lower rates of clinically significant trauma symptoms. The present findings are important for guiding treatment and the development and implementation of more effective interventions.

Aim: Violence does not stop with age. There are many studies on the topic of domestic violence but few focus on the elderly and the role of the social worker in dealing with this issue.  The purpose of this study is to analyse and describe how social workers in the field of gerontological social work are actively identifying cases of domestic abuse involving the elderly.    Method: This study has a qualitative approach and the data has been gathered through ten semi structured interviews with social workers. The gathered material has been analysed through content analysis.    Results: The result of the study highlights various means of identifying abuse such as asking direct questions about violence, asking for assistance by managers and other professionals, adapting the conversation with the client to the given situation, being watchful of physical or abstract signs of violence. In spite of these strategies, the analysis shows that organisational deficiencies puts a large responsibility burden on the individual social worker. Lack of adequate training and standardised questions leads to the social worker having to gather information themselves in order to perform their duties.       Keywords: Social worker, elderlies, domestic violence, need assessment

This project explores domestic violence advocacy in California by tracing historical, social, and cultural influences; examining the limit of the law and bias of those who uphold it; and analyzing a local domestic violence agency that provides services to survivors. Through the frameworks of anti-essentialization, and intersectionality I analyze gender roles and stereotypes ingrained in our culture. The essentialization of what it is to be a women renders women’s differences invisible, making it difficult for law and policy to address. By looking at domestic violence through an intersectional lens, the multi-layered nature women’s experiences can be revealed. However, not all laws and policies reflect this intersectional viewpoint which limits their effectiveness. The law can also be limited by those who enforce and interpret it. Those within law enforcement and the justice system are not immune to the stereotypes, and assumptions of the culture we live in. I use several women’s stories as well as advocate interviews to demonstrate the bias or attitude of indifference that can be held by law enforcement and the court system. The advocates who work closely with survivors of domestic violence use a client-centered approach to advocacy. This affirms the client’s ability and right to make her own decisions. The advocates partner the use of boundaries and self-care with this client-centered approach in order to best serve their clients.

Although some analyses of genocide in Brazil consider the intersectionality of race, gender and class, few address the ways in which heteropatriarchy and sexism also impact women’s experiences with anti-black violence and terror. In order to better understand anti-black genocide in Brazil, we must take into account black women's multiple gendered and sexualized experiences with this violence. As a result, this thesis explores black women’s experiences with domestic violence as a form of anti-Black genocide. This contention, through an analysis of my fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador in the summer of 2013 as well as my engagement with Black Brazilian feminist theory, argues that domestic violence against Black women occurs at both a macro and micro level. Essentially, State violence against Black women is domestic violence writ large. Micro-sites of domestic violence against black women, typified by inter-personal violence, are not isolated manifestations. Instead, they are extensions of macro-state processes of domestic violence. In other words, we must read inter-personal violence against black women as part of the continuum of the state’s racialized, gendered, sexualized violence against the broader black community. / text

Mental health professionals have observed that children who witness interparental violence frequently display either an affrontive, demanding personality style, or a passive, compliant style. The prevalence of these personality types and their relation to identification, stress, and other variables was evaluated in a sample of 40 children (age range = 6 - 12 years old) who have witnessed parental spouse abuse. Children completed the Children's Personality Questionnaire and the Parental Identification Questionnaire. Mothers completed the Life Experiences Survey. Independent ratings of the children's personality were made. The results validated the existence of these two personality styles among both male and female witnesses, and supplied evidence for their relation to paternal identification, familial instability, and parental ineffectualness. The implications of these findings for assessment and intervention are discussed.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

No Brasil, o número de estudos sobre violência doméstica contra a mulher, perpetrada pelo companheiro, ainda é escasso. Neste país, como em outros, este problema já foi apontado como sendo de saúde pública, devido suas consequências. Estas consequências não são restritas à saúde física, sexual e mental da mulher, mas também inclui problemas da dinâmica familiar, atingindo a sociedade em geral. Este estudo avalia a prevalência de violência doméstica contra a mulher, cometida pelo companheiro ou por outras pessoas, utilizando-se de questionário aplicado no próprio domicílio da mulher. Todas as mulheres entrevistadas tinham entre 18 a 49 anos de idade na época da consulta médica e eram usuárias do serviço de saúde. A prevalência de violência doméstica perpetrada pelo companheiro alguma vez na vida, referida pelas usuárias, foi de 45,3% para qualquer tipo de violência, que foi denominada de violência geral; 41,5% das mulheres referiram violência psicológica, 26,4% violência física e 9,8% violência sexual. O estudo demonstrou associação da ocorrência de violência doméstica com algumas características apresentadas pelas usuárias como: escolaridade, estado marital, idade da primeira relação sexual, dados sócio-econômicos, vida sexual e reprodutiva e companheiro controlador, além de determinados sinais e sintomas. Destes, alguns se relacionaram com a violência: infecção ginecológica de repetição, depressão, vontade de morrer. Estes resultados, comparados com a prevalência de violência encontrada no serviço de saúde através dos registros médicos, mostraram uma grande diferença. Isto corrobora com a necessidade de tornar o problema da violência contra a mulher mais visível para os profissionais da saúde. / In Brazil the number of studies on domestic violence against women, perpetrated by the partner, is still scarce. In this country, as well as all over the world due to its consequences, this issue has been pointed as a public health problem. These consequences are not limited to physical, sexual and mental health but they reveal problems in the family dynamics and affect society as whole. This study aimed to verify the prevalence of domestic violence against women, perpetrated by the partner or another person. A questionnaire was administered in the women’s household. All respondents have between 18 and 49 years old and were users of a specific health center. The prevalence of violence perpetrated by the partner, once in life, was reported by 45,3% of women and it was denominated general violence; 41,5% of women reported psychological violence, 26.4% physical violence and 9.8% sexual violence. The study showed that the problem of domestic violence is associated with schooling, marital status, age at first sexual intercourse, socioeconomic data, if has children, number of pregnancy and abortions, a controller partner, besides some specific signs and symptoms. Those, already related to violence, are: repeated gynecological infection, depression, suicides thoughts. Comparing the prevalence of violence among users with medical records a large difference is found.. This corroborates to the of making the issue of violence against women more visible for health professional.

This study qualitatively explored the practice of domestic violence (DV) intervention in the emergency department (ED) from the distinct perspectives of service users, service providers and co-ordinators of DV voluntary organisations. The research participant group was made up of eight survivors of domestic abuse, fourteen staff members from an ED (including their manager) and eight co-ordinators from a voluntary organisation offering services for DV issues. The study was informed by the dearth of evidence regarding pragmatic intervention for the specific context of emergency departments (EDs), a need to develop system level interventions and a solid theoretical base to inform implementation of a more effective interventional strategy (Feder et al., 2009; Thurston and Eisener, 2006; Ramsay et al., 2002).The study utilised constructivist grounded theory and feminist perspectives to elicit unique viewpoints from interviews with the three separate groups. A range of meanings and conceptualisations were found which contribute to a more complex understanding of the issues involved and the responses to them. These included how women experience DV, the way DV is rendered invisible by ED culture and, perhaps most importantly, how a lack of policy implementation has influenced the practice of ED staff with regard to DV. Adopting a perspective that takes into account the sensitivity and gendered nature of DV made visible the socio-political and personal influences that affect both health providers' and health users' attitudes to seeking help. System-wide barriers to intervention ranged from personal to situational levels within the context of EDs. They included deep-seated ambivalence, fear and trust issues located within the constructs of both service users and providers regarding identifying and assessing the problem, seeking help, and providing support. Three overarching concepts were identified: 1) meanings and complex realities relating to DV and its intervention 2) barriers to seeking and providing help and 3) strategies for overcoming barriers and developing DV intervention within ED. Using rigorous, inductive, comparative and interpretive attributes of grounded theory procedures, conclusions were reached about the development of DV interventions in the department. These informed the propositions made for a comprehensive and integrated DV intervention including universal interventions which can be helpful irrespective of service user's disclosure and stage of abuse, providing resources within the ED to enhance DV intervention; improving the ED environment so that it is more favourable for DV intervention; implementing policies that make the experience of psychological abuse visible; and promoting DV awareness. Areas of concern were highlighted for practice, policy, and research relevant to DV intervention in EDs.