Intimate partner violence is a problem which is increasingly drawing attention in society. The authority responsible for providing care and support to victims of intimate partner violence and their children is the social services. The purpose of this study was to show how social workers deal with intimate partner violence and to create a description of how this work is currently carried out in seven municipalities in the north-west of Stockholm. This was done through a quantitative survey including all investigating social workers in the municipalities concerned. The results were analysed with concepts from organizational theory. The findings showed that there is a need for further education related to intimate partner violence. The differences observed between the municipalities were derived mainly to the presence of a coordinator for issues concerning violence against women. Furthermore, results showed that social workers believe that the best possibilities to help victims of intimate partner violence lay outside the own organization. To better fulfil their statutory responsibility regarding intimate partner violence the next step for the municipalities would be to make sure that social workers gain further knowledge about intimate partner violence.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health issue occuring in the United States and globally. While little is known in general about IPV, understanding about the prevalence of physical IPV among gay men is even more obscure. Scientific literature indicates that harmful lifestyle health behaviors (alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, and risky sexual behaviors) are associated with the increased occurenece of IPV. Intimate Partner Violence in same-sex relationships is often unreported due to society's emphasis on "moral closets" or the fear of potential repercussions. As a result, very few empiracal researches have been conducted on the phenomenon of same-sex partner abuse. this study was conducted to examine the feasibility of enrolling 100 gay men from Atlaqnta into an IPV survey study. The survey was administered via Facebook. Ninety-nine usable surveys were collected. Chi-square tests reveal that being Non-White, using substaces (alcohol, tobacco, and elicit drugs) and non-disclosed orientation staus were all significantly associated with positive IPV reports. Overall, the study sample believes IPV is a health problem in the Atlanta gay community. These findings bear importance for the Atlanta gay community and public health professionals who must address this nearly invisible yet increasing public health issue.

It is well documented that exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) negatively affects children’s developmental outcomes (Chan & Yeung, 2009; Evans, Davies & DiLillo, 2008) and may lead to the expression of symptomatology consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Graham-Bermann, De Voe, Mattis, Lynch & Thomas, 2006; Kilpatrick & Williams,1998). Currently there is no consensus as to the nature of the influence of mother-child relationships on child outcomes such as post-traumatic stress symptoms in IPV-exposed families. The present study examined the role of maternal influences, such as the quality of mother-child interaction, maternal depression, and maternal violence history on sibling trauma outcomes. Results indicated that increased maternal depressive symptoms, maternal violence history, and negative mother-child interactions did not significantly predict post-traumatic stress symptoms in siblings exposed to IPV. Findings provided support for the notion of maternal compensatory strategies used to protect siblings from the detrimental consequences of IPV exposure.

Bakgrund: Våld i nära relationer är ett globalt samhällsproblem som leder till fysisk och psykisk ohälsa. Våldet kan vara både fysiskt, psykiskt och/eller sexuellt. Män upplever rädsla att förlora sin manliga identitet samt att bli förlöjligade när de söker hjälp. Det finns ringa forskning kring män som är utsatta för våld i nära relationer. Förståelsen och medvetenheten om mäns erfarenheter av våldet, samt deras behov av stöd och hjälp, är begränsade. Syfte: Att belysa hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalens kunskap och attityder gällande män som är utsatta för våld i nära relationer. Metod: En litteraturöversikt baserad på tre kvalitativa studier, sex kvantitativa studier och en mixad studie. Resultat: Tre teman kunde urskiljas utifrån syftet; Kunskap, Attityder och Upplevelser. Ur dessa teman urskiljdes fyra subteman; Teoretisk kunskap och utbildning, Praktisk kunskap, Upplevda hinder och Upplevd frustration. Slutsats: Kompetensen om våld i nära relationer hos hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalens är bristfällig. Fortsatt forskning kan leda till att ämnet belyses och hälso- och sjukvården får större beredskap, vilket kan leda till bättre omvårdnad för patienten. Klinisk betydelse: Ökad kunskap om män utsatta för våld i nära relationer kan leda till förbättrad attityd gentemot utsatta män. Kunskapen kan till exempel integreras i sjuksköterskeutbildningen genom att vid utbildning om våld i nära relationer ge männens utsatthet större uppmärksamhet. / Background: Intimate partner violence is a global health problem which leads to physical and mental illness. The violence can be physical, psychological and/or sexual. The men experiences fear to lose their male identity and also to be ridiculed when they seek help. There are few researches about men exposed to intimate partner violence, which has led to limited understanding and consciousness about men’s experiences of violence and their needs of support and help. Aim: To illuminate health care professional´s knowledge and attitudes regarding men exposed to intimate partner violence. Method: A literature review based on three qualitative studies, six quantitative studies and one study with mixed method. Result: Three themes could be identified based on the aim; Knowledge, Attitudes and Experiences. Out of these themes four subthemes could be identified; Theoretical knowledge and education, Practical knowledge, Perceived barriers and Perceived frustration. Conclusion: Health care professional´s competence of intimate partner violence is inadequate. Further research would bring more knowledge on the topic and give the health care greater preparedness, which in turn would result in better care for the patient. Clinical significance: Increasing the knowledge about men exposed to intimate partner violence can result in improving the attitude against these exposed men. For example, such knowledge could be integrated in the nursing program and bring more attention about intimate partner violence and men´s vulnerability.

Increasing attention has been given to men’s experiences as victims of intimate partner violence in the Western world, mostly in quantitative research, within different research fields. The aim of this research paper is to explore men’sspecific experiences of intimate partner violence in heterosexual relationships in a Swedish context, through a gender perspective and with a qualitative research approach. The paper begins by briefly mentioning key findings in existing quantitative and qualitative research, focusing on Sweden. Additionally, areas of divergence with regard to definitions and differing research approaches are discussed. The theoretical framework builds upon theories of patterns of intimate partner violence and constructions of masculinities. In the five narratives representing the primary data of the study, varying experiences of psychological and physical violence and views on gender relations and masculinities are expressed. Some key elements are identified in the narratives and these are analyzed in relation to prior research findings/theoretical framework. Prior research findings, as well as theoretical suppositions regarding men as victims of intimate partner violence in heterosexual relationships as either unthinkable or stigmatizing, are manifested also in the narratives.

Bakgrund: Mäns våld mot kvinnor förekommer i hela världen. För att upptäcka de kvinnor som blir utsatta för våld är det viktigt att våga ställa frågan om våld till kvinnor som söker vård. Syfte Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka sjuksköterskors upplevelser och erfarenheter kring att ställa frågan om våld till kvinnor som söker vård på en akutmottagning. Metod: Denna studie hade en deskriptiv design med kvalitativ ansats. Semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes med åtta sjuksköterskor på en akutmottagning i mellansverige. Resultat: Sjuksköterskorna på akutmottagningen kände överlag att de inte hade tillräckligt med utbildning och beredskap för känna sig trygga med att ställa frågan om våld till kvinnor som söker vård. I Intervjuerna framfördes att det både fanns positiva och negativa aspekter på att ställa frågan om våld till kvinnor. Det fanns delade meningar om att frågan om våld bör ställas rutinmässigt till alla kvinnor som söker vård. Vissa sjuksköterskor ansåg att det skulle vara bra att akutmottagningen hade det som rutin, medan andra ansåg att det skulle blir slentrianmässigt. Att ställa frågan om våld samt tankar kring den våldsutsatta kvinnans situation skapade många känslor. Slutsats: Studien visade på starka känslor kring ämnet våld i nära relationer och att sjuksköterskorna upplevde det som komplext att ställa frågan om våldsutsatthet till kvinnor som söker vård. Brist på tid i mötet med den våldsutsatta kvinnan samt avsaknad av utbildning i ämnet påverkade känslan av beredskap för att kunna ställa frågan om våld i nära relationer rutinmässigt och det rådde delade meningar om huruvida detta bör vara en rutinmässig fråga eller inte.

Background: Domestic violence is a major social problem both nationally and internationally. Around the world 35% of the women say that they have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. In most cases it is the woman's partner who subjected her to violence. Every year, 12,000 -14,000 women in Sweden seek medical help as a result of injury incurred of domestic violence. The healthcare in Sweden has a responsibility when it comes to detecting, treating and documenting, but also to prevent violence and its consequences. Aim: To examine the extent to which nurses and midwives asking women about domestic violence, barriers for asking the question and making visible steps to increase the ability to ask the question. Method: A literature review, were included articles reviewed and quality determined. Articles results were then analyzed and presented in three main themes and related sub-categories. Main results: The literature review is based on 13 pieces of scientific articles from Sweden, USA, England, Northern Ireland, Belgium, Turkey, Israel and Canada. Of the analyzed results three main themes were derived, "To question," "Obstacle" and "Opportunities". Both nurses and midwives underestimate the prevalence of domestic violence and only 50% of nurses and midwives routinely ask the question of domestic violence. However, it is common that the question is asked at times when suspicion of violence is at hand. Obstacles to not ask the question describe as lack of time, lack of knowledge and training, lack of privacy and present partners. Opportunities for routine screening of domestic violence are described to be further education and knowledge, clear policies and procedures from employers. Conclusion: The literature study results show that both nurses and midwives need to be better at routinely ask about domestic violence. This is due to more cases of violence against women coming to light and enable more people to have the opportunity to support and help. It also suggests that the greatest obstacles to ask the question are lack of knowledge, training, time and privacy. By giving healthcare professionals access to education and training in domestic violence and how to ask the question and handle the response, the authors believe that several of these obstacles can be rectified in the future. / Bakgrund: Våld i nära relation är ett stort samhällsproblem både nationellt och internationellt. Av kvinnorna runt om i världen så uppger 35 % att de någon gång har utsatts för fysiskt och/eller sexuellt våld. I de flesta fall så är det kvinnans partner som utsatt henne för våldet. Varje år tvingas 12 000 -14 000 kvinnor i Sverige att uppsöka sjukvård till följd av skador som uppstått när de utsatts för våld i nära relation. Hälso- och sjukvården har ett ansvar vad det gäller att upptäcka, behandla och dokumentera, men även att förebygga våld och dess konsekvenser.   Syfte: Att undersöka i vilken utsträckning sjuksköterskor och barnmorskor frågar kvinnor om våld i nära relation, hinder till att ställa frågan samt att synliggöra åtgärder för att öka möjligheten att ställa frågan. Metod: En litteraturstudie där inkluderade artiklar granskats och kvalitetsbestämts. Artiklarnas resultat har sedan analyserats och presenterats i 3 huvudteman med tillhörande underteman. Huvudresultat: Litteraturstudien grundar sig på 13 vetenskapliga artiklar från Sverige, USA, England, Nord Irland, Belgien, Turkiet, Israel och Kanada. Av resultatet analyserades tre huvudteman fram, “Att fråga”, “Hinder” och “Möjligheter”. Både sjuksköterskor och barnmorskor tenderar att underskatta förekomsten av våld i nära relation och cirka 50 % av sjuksköterskorna och barnmorskorna ställer rutinmässigt frågan om våld i nära relation. Det är dock vanligare att frågan ställs vid tillfällen då misstanke om våld finns. Hinder till att inte ställa frågan beskriv vara tidsbrist, bristande kunskap och utbildning, brist på avskildhet samt närvarande partner. Möjligheter till rutinmässig screening om våld i nära relation beskrivs vara vidare utbildning samt mer kunskap, tydliga riktlinjer och rutiner från arbetsgivarna. Slutsats: Litteraturstudiens resultat visar samstämmigt på att både sjuksköterskor och barnmorskor kan bli bättre på att rutinmässigt ställa frågan om våld i nära relation. Detta på grund av att fler fall av våld mot kvinnor ska uppdagas och att fler ska kunna ges möjlighet till stöd och hjälp. Det framkommer även att de största hindren till att ställa frågan är brist på kunskap, utbildning, tid och avskildhet. Genom att ge vårdpersonal möjlighet till utbildning och träning inom våld i nära relation samt hur man ställer frågan och hanterar svaret, tror författarna att flera av dessa hinder kan avhjälpas.

It is well documented that exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) negatively affects children’s developmental outcomes (Chan & Yeung, 2009; Evans, Davies & DiLillo, 2008) and may lead to the expression of symptomatology consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Graham-Bermann, De Voe, Mattis, Lynch & Thomas, 2006; Kilpatrick & Williams,1998). Currently there is no consensus as to the nature of the influence of mother-child relationships on child outcomes such as post-traumatic stress symptoms in IPV-exposed families. The present study examined the role of maternal influences, such as the quality of mother-child interaction, maternal depression, and maternal violence history on sibling trauma outcomes. Results indicated that increased maternal depressive symptoms, maternal violence history, and negative mother-child interactions did not significantly predict post-traumatic stress symptoms in siblings exposed to IPV. Findings provided support for the notion of maternal compensatory strategies used to protect siblings from the detrimental consequences of IPV exposure.

Objectives: The objectives of the study was to describe how people who face partner violence against women, either as volunteers or as professionals in their everyday work, explain violence against women in intimate relationships and their suggestions for preventive activities. Methods: Twenty men and twenty women were strategically selected for five focus-group discussions. The interviews were analysed following the procedure for qualitative thematic content analysis. Findings: The study shows that the participants acknowledged violence against women as a multifaceted phenomenon grounded in the interplay betweenindividual, family-related factors and local community and socio-cultural factors. Men’s level of education, ‘social evils’, women challenging gender role expectations and women’s extensive work load were discussed as factors at individual and family level. Poverty in the local community and ‘feudal ideologies’ were referred to as explanatory factors at structural level. The informants suggested two main ways of preventing violence against women; improved gender equality through information, education and communication, and enforcing policies and law. Examples pertaining to different levels of society were given. Conclusions: This study shows that behind all of the explanations to intimate partner violence laid the culturally constructed messages about the proper roles of men and women mirroring gender inequality and women’s power disadvantage. A hesitation to intervene was found among some of the informants, the medical doctors, while all the others were eager to discuss activities but mainly those they were already undertaking and it seems the local level require further support to better handle this problem. / <p>ISBN 91-7997-161-x</p>

Violence against women is considered a global issue and it denies women their most basic human right, their health. The news media have been identified as an important factor in how violence against women is interpreted and perceived by society. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how journalists and editors in Guyana, South America, work with the coverage of violence against women. Furthermore, this thesis examines what policies and views on news value that are prominent on the newspapers and what possibilities journalists and editors experience, to make an impact on society, through their reporting. Eight qualitative in-depth interviews were carried out with editors and reporters on the three most widely spread daily newspapers in Guyana. Also a quantitative content analysis, covering January-April 2014, was performed on the same newspapers. In total 159 articles that reported on cases of violence against women were found and coded. The result indicates that the reporting in Guyana conforms to previous research. The conclusion is that when it comes to context, language and sources used, the newspapers generally fail to work with violence against women adequately. The reporting preserves and reproduces patriarchal power structures by using victim blaming or perpetrator excusing language, not covering it as a social issue and overusing official sources. Furthermore, the result indicates that there are unwritten policies on the newspapers. However, these guidelines are not always followed. The study indicates that the reporting is not given enough resources in terms of time and money, which might be a result of that reporters and editors do not experience that readers are interested enough for the topic to get sufficient resources.