published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice

Gender based violence still remains an international public health and human rights issue and a concern to many. Very few studies have been undertaken to address the impact of gender based violence on men. The aim of this dissertation is to try and fill this gap by exploring gender based violence against men in the Clermont Township using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The quantitative method used was a survey conducted with 100 men, and the qualitative method used was in-depth interviews with 20 men in Clermont Township. Consistent with previous research, this study found that abused men experience different forms of gender based violence at the hands of their intimate partners. This study found various reasons why abused men stay in abusive relationships. This study also found that abused men do not report the incidents because they feel that no one will believe them and the community will ridicule them. This under reporting of gender based violence against men makes it difficult to have accurate statistics and also to prevent further abuse of men in intimate relationships. Various reasons were given for not reporting the incidents to the relevant institutions. This study also shows that there are not any institutions that provide services for male victims of gender based violence. This is of concern as this pandemic is escalating and it puts men at risk of future violence. Communities should also embark on door-to-door campaigning about GBV against men, so that the communities will know that it is happening, and that it is a threat to many families. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This study examines the way that Native women incorporate the history of colonization into the way that they think about, and organize against, family violence in Vancouver's urban Aboriginal community. Using Melucci's (1989) model of collective action, this thesis focuses on the social process behind Native women's organized resistance to domestic violence. This thesis studied family violence intervention programs among Vancouver's Aboriginal organizations in order to understand the underlying process of negotiation between collective identity, solidarity, and environment. The study was divided into two levels: the organizational and individual. The thesis studied the narratives, or discourse of both organizations and individuals who delivered family violence intervention projects to the urban Native community. On the organizational level, data consisted of promotional texts that were produced by the organizations (posters, leaflets, brochures). The texts were then subjected to a content analysis, to identify the frequency of rhetorical devices, and then a rhetorical analysis, to see how these concepts were used. On the individual level, data was collected by means of loosely-structured interviews that asked questions about why participants were involved in family violence intervention. Nine interviews were collected from individuals who worked the organizations sampled. A rhetorical analysis of the interviews was also conducted, and compared with organizational discourse. The study found that the anti-violence movement among Vancouver's urban Native women was articulated primarily through the rhetoric of healing through cultural identity and spirituality. Both on the organizational and the individual levels, violence against Aboriginal women was explained as a result of the colonial process. The low status of Native women was linked to the oppression of First Nations people. "Healing" from the destructive cycle of family violence involved recovering "traditional" ethnic and gender identities, which in turn involved raising the status of women in Aboriginal communities.

Increasingly; child welfare authorities have become involved with families where domestic violence is an issue. This has been the result of improved understanding of the impact of witnessing domestic violence on children. However, child welfare has been criticized for the oppressive nature of the interventions with families where domestic violence has occurred. Critics have argued that an absence of understanding about domestic violence by social workers in child welfare has resulted in oppressive practice towards women and children. This study explored the perceptions of social workers in British Columbia's Ministry for Children and Family Development - South Fraser Region about the barriers to best practice in cases of domestic violence. An extensive literature review revealed eight barriers to best practice that contradict current best practice guidelines for cases of domestic violence. The findings of this study revealed that social workers identified that similar barriers to best practice exist in the South Fraser Region, thereby confirming the concerns in the literature. The use of factor analysis revealed that social workers are attempting to work with non-offending parents in amore supportive manner, but there continue to be systemic problems associated with child welfare services that impede workers ability to practice in a non-oppressive manner. Recommendations for improvement of service provision are outlined and discussed.

The father's role in families where there has been domestic violence is now known to have significance impact on future intergenerational abuse (Dutton, 1998). Fathers who shame and physically abuse their sons are putting these young boys at risk for becoming potential abusers. However, even though this risk factor is known, the literature review conducted through this study shows the absence of information on the father/child relationship. Also absent was a knowledge on parenting groups available for these men. In attempting to address this gap in the research and to gain a better understanding of how these fathers experienced the parenting group, I realized I first needed to understand how these men experienced their lives. Using interpretive inquiry, three men were interviewed about their understanding of their life experiences. The men chosen for the research had a history of domestic abuse within the family. Data collection included observations made during the parenting group, profiles gathered from intake files, and transcripts from the interviews. The data were analyzed for themes, patterns, confirmations, and contradictions, and then interpreted to reconstruct the men's stories. The findings of the study indicate several topics common to all three men: custody, visitation, the role of the father, emotional functioning, and past and present relationships. Interwoven among the topics were the themes of inefficacy, personal care, emotional nurturance and attachment, and awareness of the way they use language. Their stories echo the same message: they love their children and want to be with them. / ix, 151 leaves ; 29 cm.

This study examined the perceptions of counsellors who provide group counselling for abusive men regarding what characteristics differentiate program dropouts from program completers. A total of 37 counsellors participated via an online-based or paper-based survey. The respondents rated 44 different client variables from four different categories (demographic, psychological, client-group, and client-therapist) on their impact on a client‟s likelihood to drop out of the program. The results were analyzed using chi square analyses, Mann Whitney U Tests and Kendall‟s tau-b correlations to determine the extent to which these variables were judged to impact dropout and how these results interacted with respondents‟ characteristics including demographic variables as well as experience and training variables. The results confirmed that many of the variables found in previous literature to discriminate between these two groups do operate in this way. Additionally, the results suggest several new sets of variables that could be helpful including batterer typology variables, stages of change variables and stages of group development variables. The implications of the findings are discussed with regards to their application in developing and facilitating group programs for abusive men with a view to identifying and intervening with potential dropout clients such that they are more likely to complete the program. The thesis concludes by discussing future research opportunities in this area and outlining the limitations of the study. / xvii, 174 leaves ; 28 cm

Domestic abuse embodies many forms including physical, emotional, sexual, financial, and spiritual abuse (Statistics Canada, 2011a). This study explored the experience of rural Alberta women who have left domestic abuse, as research on domestic abuse tends to be focused on urban settings. The "rural and small town" (du Plessis, Beshiri, Bollman, & Celmenson, 2001, p. 1) definition was utilized in this study: an area outside of census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and census agglomerations (CAs). CMAs have population of 100,000 or more with a core of 50,000, and CAs have a core population of 10,000 plus (du Plessis et al., 2001, p. 1). Participants included both rural women who have left abusive relationships as well as service providers who offer resources to rural women fleeing abuse. Three women told their stories of leaving domestic abuse and five service providers took part in interviews. Using a narrative approach, I gained insight into the women's experiences while offering participants the opportunity to have their stories heard. Through content analysis numerous themes emerged from the interviews. There were four themes that were found to be common to urban and rural women and six themes that were unique to or exacerbated by the rural context. The themes associated with the rural context included (a) Under a Microscope, (b) It Didn't End There, (c) Lack of Resources, (d) Squashing My Spirit, (e) From Numb to Empowered, and (f) Reaching Out. Narratives have also been included to represent each woman's story. / xii, 201 leaves ; 29 cm

In this dissertation, teenagers (13-19 years) are allowed to speak out. The purpose of the study was to gain knowledge regarding the conditions related to socialization in the proximity of violence through listening to, interpreting and attempting to understand the teenagers' narratives about life when violence is an everyday occurrence. Primarily, I wanted to obtain a picture of the conditions under which these girls and boys grew up as they themselves described them. My questions are primarily concerned with the teenagers' experiences of violence in the home, the strategies they used to cope with a violent home environment and finally with their self-images. Secondarily, my intention was to analyze and interpret the picture that emerged in an attempt to understand the meaning of socialization in the proximity of violence, primarily based upon theories of sexualized violence (aspects of gender and power), coping, resilience, and the social heritage of violence-related behavior (the inter-generational transmission of violent behavior). My purpose was also to relate the descriptions and analysis of domestic violence, and the associated conditions under which these young people grew up, to previous research within the field of family violence. The dissertation is grounded in feminist theory which views the gender and power relationships between women and men as a determining principle of social organization. I associate this with the established Scandinavian concept of "sexualized violence," used to describe forms of abuse and sexual exploitation such as rape, incest and other sexual assaults, pornography, the sex trade and sexual harassment. Fifteen teenagers living in Sweden volunteered to be informants for the study. They were interviewed six to ten times each over a four year period. The interviews progressed in steps from background information to the most private and sensitive questions about the violence which had taken place in the home. The number of interviews was determined case by case; the interviews were concluded when no or few new aspects emerged. The analysis is based in part upon the categorized statements and in part upon the longer narratives. The results show that the young people exist in the presence of violence as witnesses to and victims of violence perpetrated by their fathers. The children are threatened into silence and bear inner feelings of powerlessness and loneliness. They are regarded as different in school, bullied by peers and disregarded by adults. In this double victimization, the children feel themselves to be unwanted and worthless. If the child breaks the secrecy and seeks help, he or she experiences utter betrayal, foremost from social authorities. The lack of protective factors and insightful adults is nearly total. The very essential contact with peers has also been denied them. The children feel themselves to be completely abandoned. Using their own resources, they yet manage to formulate their thoughts, create meaning in events and become survivors. / digitalisering@umu

An estimated 800,000 Canadian children are exposed to domestic violence in their homes every year. Families experiencing domestic violence use various community and government agencies along with the criminal and civil court systems. Unfortunately, collaboration between these agencies and the courts is described by professionals in Montreal as being problematic and strained. Elsewhere in Canada and the United States, some cities and communities have made progress in working through the complex obstacles inherent in the coordination of services in the area of domestic violence. This thesis will examine 14 inter-agency programs and coordinated models of intervention that have been initiated outside the province of Quebec to respond to the needs of children exposed to domestic violence. The history of these programs, their objectives and along with coordination mechanisms will be examined. A discussion regarding the implications of these findings for practice in regards to coordination of services in Montreal will also be presented.

No abstract available. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2000.