Thesis (M.A.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / As the topic states, the research is about the abuse of men in the society (Northern Sotho society in particular). Men, like women and children, are also abused, but unlike in the case of women and children, this abuse is not taken seriously. In most of the cases, this abuse is not reported. It is the aim of this study to scrutinize man abuse as depicted in the following Northern Sotho novels: Nonyana ya tokologo (Kekana, 1985), Ke nako ya ka (Molefe, 2001) and Ngwana Magana go botšwa (Motloutsi, 2004).

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This thesis reports a phenomenological hermeneutical critical realist inquiry into violence prevention educators promoting desirable and ‘good’ relationships in practice. This inquiry is based on the premise that promoting desirable alternatives to violence in violence prevention education is a moral activity; in so far as the question of what is desirable in relationships is a moral question. Based on in-depth phenomenological interviews with twelve Australian human service professionals working in the field of primary relationship violence prevention, the thesis provides descriptions of how and why certain versions of desirable relationships are promoted in this field. It will be demonstrated that individual workers’ personal moral commitments are influential in making certain versions of the ‘good’ relationship possible in violence prevention education. The field of primary violence prevention has a dual function; the first is to ameliorate risks associated with using violence, and the second is to promote desirable alternatives to using violence in relationships. This thesis argues that when workers in violence prevention education promote desirable ways of being in relationships they are promoting moral goods. Few fields in human service work offer an inquirer direct access to the issue of promoting moral goods in practice. The focus of most human services practice is less about the question of the good or flourishing life, and more about assisting people to cope with or change existing social and personal problems. In contrast, violence prevention education is bound up with constructing and promoting desirable human living. In this inquiry the conceptual task was to understand and describe the interplay between individual workers beliefs and practice style when doing violence prevention education. The thesis identifies four different conventions of this interplay. In two conventions, there was a tendency for workers not to recognise or avoid recognising the moral complexities involved when promoting good alternatives to using violence in relationships. These workers use an ‘expert’ or prescriptive practice approach. In the third convention workers recognised there is moral and ethical complexity in the practice of promoting desirable relationships. These workers conceive that practicing well in the field of violence prevention education is less about promoting certainty and prescription, and more with posing ethical questions. In the fourth convention was observed inconsistencies between workers’ personal beliefs and how they construct desirable relationships in the public realm of practice. These workers conceal aspects of their personal beliefs because these beliefs sit uncomfortably with secular values, or otherwise dominant cultural norms in the field. Hermeneutical engagement with the field findings accommodated the literary tradition of human service work ethics, the moral philosophy tradition in so far as it has addressed the question of what makes a human practice ‘good’, and interpersonal violence prevention literature. Interpretation of these literary traditions was underscored by a ‘strong’ hermeneutical framework (Taylor 1989; Gadamer 1976; Heidegger 1962), combined with elements from transcendental critical realism (Archer 2004; 2003; 2000). The interpretations given in the thesis are evaluative. I argue that that promoting desirable relationships in violence prevention education should be recognised as a practice with implicit ethical and moral dimensions. Based on this recognition, I argue that workers in this field must demonstrate a broader range of ethical skills. Workers should be able to recognise and engage purposefully with a variety of moral traditions that people in the community draw upon to evaluate what is ‘good’ in human living. I argue that it is important for violence prevention educators to develop moral understanding, a personal moral commitment, and a capacity for skilful engagement with groups concerning ethical dilemmas in human living. This thesis can make a contribution to that tradition in human services literature where scholars and practitioners have engaged the problem of how to conceive ‘ethical’ practice. However, the final contribution of this thesis will be perhaps less with the findings discussed and more with observing that moral dimensions in the field of violence prevention education have not been adequately recognised. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This research investigates the perceptions and viewpoints of staff working for the Hamilton Abuse Intervention Project (HAIP) as to the impact of changes in government policy. Established in 1991 HAIP is a coordinated community response to domestic violence based on the Duluth Model. Over the last two decades governments in New Zealand have introduced policies and strategies to combat violent crime in the community predicated on the understanding that addressing violence within the family/whanau setting will assist in breaking the cycle. This research focuses on the impact of strategies which advocated inter-agency collaboration such as the VIP Pol400 Project (Pol400 Project) established in 2001 with HAIP as the lead agency. (VIP is an abbreviation standing for Violence Intervention Project). The research also set out to test the hypothesis that working within an environment marked by the introduction of policy changes and new strategies has a significant impact upon a social services agency such as HAIP. In view of the inherent complexity of investigating perceptions and viewpoints qualitative methodology was chosen for this research. Ten of the fourteen people employed by HAIP contributed to the research. Semi-structured face to face interviews and the written answers from questionnaires provided a detailed body of information which informed the narrative and descriptions of this study. An outline of relevant legislation, policy initiatives and strategies introduced over the last two decades was provided to give a framework for the study. Each of the respondents commented on issues related to funding and workload. Inadequate funding was seen to be adding to already heavy workload which continued to grow aggravated by the demands of compliance and accountability. Respondents identified some aspects of HAIP which had been affected by lack of adequate funding such as the loss of the 24/7 Crisis Line and difficulties with maintaining the parallel development policy. However, In spite of funding shortfalls respondents noted that HAIP's services continued to expand and examples were given of recent initiatives such as the establishment of home support groups. Several respondents identified the Pol400 Project as being significant development in HAIP's services. Respondents commented on its value in closing gaps in the criminal justice system's response to incidents of family violence. A detailed analysis of the Pol400 Project using archival material and using statistics from the HAIP Pol400 database demonstrated the comprehensive extent of the inter-agency collaboration. The findings of this investigation showed that respondents regarded inadequate funding and increased workload as impacting significantly on their work. However, apart from comments made in relation to some negative impacts on HAIP of the Domestic Violence Act of 1995, respondents rarely made a specific connection between these issues and their relationship to changes in government policies. This study showed that since the Pol400Project began in 2001 reported incidents of family violence and subsequent referrals rose steadily but the data showed a marked increase in activity following the involvement in 2005 of a Family Safety Team. The increase in the intake of reports was attributed, in part, to the police addressing gaps and shortfalls in their own systems. The impact of the Pol400 Project on HAIP was seen, in the main, to be contributing positively to HAIP's role in providing a seamless coordinated community response to family violence.

My research focused on five women in Aotearoa naming and defining their experiences ten or more years after leaving an intimate partner violence relationship. An increasing amount of literature has been published reporting the prevalence of intimate partner violence among women in our society, including surveys documenting devastating short and long-term health effects. However, little has been published about the long-term experiences of women who have survived such abuse. I was interested in making more visible the experiences of long-term survivors of intimate partner violence. I wondered what the challenges and legacies from experiences of intimate partner violence are and what contributes to women rebuilding their lives after intimate partner violence. In this research utilised a participatory action research approach informed by a critical feminist theoretical perspective. I selected two data collection methods, individual interviews followed by a focus group interview bringing the participants together. The findings identified nineteen themes emerging from the individual and focus group interviews. Some expressed the long-term challenges and legacies of intimate partner violence, such as feelings of powerlessness, guilt and shame and feeling silenced. Others reflected ways women rebuilt their lives, such as empowerment, resilience, courage and the importance of education and meaningful work. Interpreting the findings, empowerment was often juxtaposed with powerlessness, living side by side within the inner world of the long-term survivor of intimate partner violence in equal tension. This study affirms that challenges and legacies from intimate partner violence continue to affect women many years after leaving violence. Despite these challenges and legacies, women work very hard to rebuild their lives, care for their children and attain autonomy, independence and control of their lives. Women spent time and energy to recover ‘well enough’ from such violence, in order to lead a productive and functioning life.

Family Law within Australia has undergone extensive legislative and operational changes since its inception. It is an area of law that impacts upon a number of stakeholders such as children, parents, law enforcement agencies, the Government and judicial officers. The research took a small facet of the operation of the Family Law Act 1975, namely the enforcement of parenting orders by police services. The focus of the research was to unfold the process and difficulties encountered by police services when executing a recovery order issued by the Courts under s. 67 of the Family Law Act 1975. It further explored police perspective, training and organisational service delivery, in carrying out their duties. Two qualitative methodological approaches were used in this research. The main approach used was Grounded Theory. Narrative Inquiry was also incorporated into the research. The objective of Narrative Inquiry is to create social context from story telling. Participants were asked to describe their experiences when executing recovery orders. Interviews were undertaken with members from the Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) who have had experience with the execution of recovery orders. These participants were also asked to construct the process when a recovery order is executed and to describe the atmosphere. In addition, journaling and observations were used. These observations took place in the Family Court and Federal Magistrates' Court in Victoria. The findings and relevant literature indicated that police disliked becoming involved in executing recovery orders. The Police perceived family law in general not to be a central area of policing. These findings parallel earlier findings from an Australian Parliamentary report in 1992. Furthermore, the findings indicated that little organisational commitment was placed on the function of enforcing recovery orders. This was indicated by the limited and inconsistent resources provided by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to fulfil their obligations, and the lack of training offered to police members. The findings indicated that the Police would take initial steps prior to executing the order. They would contact the applicant parent to assist with inquiries to locate a child, assess variables such as the potential for violence and arrange with the applicant parent where the child would be delivered. In addition, even though the findings outlined that recovery orders were fairly non-complex to execute, at times there would be difficulties in locating a child and finalising arrangements for a child to be returned to a parent. The findings also indicated that there was no clear practice as to which section of the Victoria Police would execute a recovery order if requested by the AFP. Whilst the findings need to be considered carefully in light of the small sample group, it did indicate that there are some difficulties with the process and value placed by police services within Australia on the execution of recovery orders.

<p>Denna studie syftar till att fördjupa kunskapen om hur rekonstruktionen i Trappan-modellen tillämpas i praktiken. Modellen är en av de största interventionerna som brukas i Sverige för barn som bevittnat våld i hemmet. Barn som lever i förhållanden där våld är ett ofta återkommande inslag löper stor risk att utveckla problem som kan påverka deras beteende och hälsa negativt. Dessa barn är därför i behov av hjälp för att bearbeta det trauma det kan innebära. Studien baseras dels på Trappan-modellens handbok samt inhämtad data från ett nätverk som arbetar enligt modellen. Resultatet visar att de olika delarna av rekonstruktionen tillämpas i praktiken i relativt hög utsträckning.</p> / <p>This study aims to increase the knowledge about how the reconstruction in the intervention “Trappan” is being attempted on a practical basis. This intervention is one of the greatest that’s being used in Sweden for children who have witnessed violence in their families. Children who experience domestic violence are at risk developing problems that may affect their health and behaviour in a negative way. These children are therefore in need of help to process the traumatic events. This study is based on the handbook of “Trappan” and also collected data from a network that attempts the intervention in their work. The result shows that the different parts of the reconstruction are being attempted in a relatively great extent.</p>

Ten female survivors of physically assaultive domestic violence were interviewed three times each in a feminist, qualitative study designed to access their perceptions about their children's experiences in domestic violence. All participants had children living with them at the time of the abuse and were one to five years out of the abuse. All women stated their children had been exposed to domestic violence. Women described their children's involvement in the following areas: legal (visitation, custody, child support); indirect involvement (witnessing effects of abuse) and direct involvement (feeling responsible, protecting parents); and direct child maltreatment. Child maltreatment rates measured by homes were: physical (50%); sexual (20%); emotional (90%); and neglect (70%). No patterns were present regarding child involvement. That is, children's involvement did not progress in a clear pattern from indirect to direct. While all women protected their children in the relationship, four turning points were identified in a continuum of women's protective actions: child witnessed abuse to mom; mom saw signs in child; emotional abuse to the child; and physical or sexual abuse to the child. Turning points were the points at which the women recognized they could no longer protect their children within the context of the violent relationship. Unmarried women reached their turning point earlier while women whose church involvement dictated strict obedience to spouse and those who experienced the most severe physical abuse reached their turning points later. Turning points often corresponded with leaving the relationship and were related to both social context and individual variables. Perceptions of motherhood in domestic violence were also studied. Women cited their children as important influences in staying with, returning to, and leaving abusive partners. Women stayed in relationships because of socially conditioned beliefs about children needing fathers, beliefs about marriage and family, and perceptions of children's bonds with their fathers. Finally, women's perceptions of motherhood fell into four categories: protection of their children; conflict between roles as wife and mother; concern about meeting their children's needs; and guilt about mothering. The two women who prioritized the needs of their children over their abusive partners were spared some guilt. / Graduation date: 1999

Cognitive behavioral violence prevention (CB-VP) parenting groups are commonly used for the primary and secondary prevention of violence. These groups use persuasive messages that target violence-related attitudes and cognitions, with the expectation that this will result in behavior change. Despite their frequent use as family violence prevention strategies, little is known about the actual messages being exchanged in CB-VP groups and how participants perceive and recall these messages. This study analyzes messages aimed at changing behaviors as recalled by Hispanic participants in federally funded Fatherhood groups in Miami, Florida. Applying concepts from violence prevention, behavior change messages were classified by topic, type of behavior targeted, compliance gaining strategies (Marwell & Schmitt, 1967), and sources of influence Wheeless, Baraclough & Stewart, 1983). The most common topics reported by participants included parenting role, discipline, communication content and spending time with children. Over a third of the appeals targeted behaviors that were not observable actions, but rather cognitive acts such as thinking, reflecting, and paying attention. Reward and punishment were the most frequently used compliance gaining strategies, followed by moral and expertise strategies. Most appeals were based on the expected outcomes of the proposed behaviors as the main source of influence. The results of this study provide a greater understanding of the motivations used to support behavior change messages in violence prevention parenting groups.

Denna studie syftar till att fördjupa kunskapen om hur rekonstruktionen i Trappan-modellen tillämpas i praktiken. Modellen är en av de största interventionerna som brukas i Sverige för barn som bevittnat våld i hemmet. Barn som lever i förhållanden där våld är ett ofta återkommande inslag löper stor risk att utveckla problem som kan påverka deras beteende och hälsa negativt. Dessa barn är därför i behov av hjälp för att bearbeta det trauma det kan innebära. Studien baseras dels på Trappan-modellens handbok samt inhämtad data från ett nätverk som arbetar enligt modellen. Resultatet visar att de olika delarna av rekonstruktionen tillämpas i praktiken i relativt hög utsträckning. / This study aims to increase the knowledge about how the reconstruction in the intervention “Trappan” is being attempted on a practical basis. This intervention is one of the greatest that’s being used in Sweden for children who have witnessed violence in their families. Children who experience domestic violence are at risk developing problems that may affect their health and behaviour in a negative way. These children are therefore in need of help to process the traumatic events. This study is based on the handbook of “Trappan” and also collected data from a network that attempts the intervention in their work. The result shows that the different parts of the reconstruction are being attempted in a relatively great extent.