This bachelor thesis explores the representation of older women ́s vulnerability and support needs in policy documents from Swedish municipalities concerning intimate partner violence. The background of this study is that there is a reason to believe in a difference concerning policy documents from Swedish municipalities regarding the work against intimate partner violence. The aim of this study is to examine the representation of older women in Swedish policy documents of intimate partner violence and how the representation is presented. To address the research question the study utilizes a qualitative text analysis method, the study employs the analytical tool along “Discrimination with words” which examines four different forms of linguistic discrimination which are “exclusion”, “belittlement”, “objectifying” and “negative differential treatment”, as well as “invisibility” that is also a form of discrimination. The study aimed to include all 290 Swedish municipality policy documents, however we were able to gain access to 144 policy documents. The findings reveal an underrepresentation of older women in the documents. Out of the 144 policy documents from municipalities, 64 mentioned older women. Moreover, the mentions often lacked depth and failed to adequately describe older women ́s unique challenges and needs. Out of the documents that mentioned older women, many did so in a generalized manner, lacking specific strategies to address their situations. The lack of detailed representation suggests that intimate partner violence against older women is not sufficiently acknowledged or addressed in the municipal policy documents. This study emphasizes the necessity for Swedish municipalities to expand their representation of older women experiencing intimate partner violence. Such improvements are necessary to ensure that older women receive adequate support that reflects a commitment to include intersectionality and ageism in Swedish policy documents. Lastly the findings underscore the importance of using inclusive language when forming policy documents.

Bakgrund: Många kvinnor utsätts för partnervåld och många söker vård för skadorna. Sjuksköterskor kommer vara bland de första som kommer i kontakt med kvinnan och har en stor möjlighet att identifiera partnervåld. I och med att partnervåld är ett komplext ämne så är det intressant att se hur sjuksköterskor upplever att möta kvinnor som utsätts för partnervåld. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att sammanställa kunskap om sjuksköterskors upplevelser av mötet med kvinnor som utsätts för partnervåld. Metod: En litteraturstudie med kvalitativ ansats. Till resultatet användes 11 kvalitativa artiklar som kvalitetsgranskades och analyserades. Resultat: Genom analysen kunde 2 huvudkategorier identifierades; Känslor och Hinder. Under Kategorin Känslor identifierades 3 subkategorier; Känslor kring situationen, Påverkan på omvårdnad och Påverkan på privatliv. Under kategorin Hinder identifierades 3 subkategorier; Arbetsplatsen, Sjuksköterskans egna kunskaper och När kvinnan inte vill ha hjälp. Slutsats: Resultatet visar på att man behöver se över rutinerna i verksamheterna, samt utbildning för hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal om partnervåld. / Background: Many women are exposed to partner violence and many seek treatment for the injuries. Nurses will be among the first to come into contact with the woman and have a great opportunity to identify partner violence. As intimate partner violence is a complex subject, it is interesting to see how nurses experience meeting women who are exposed to intimate partner violence. Purpose: The purpose of the literature review is to compile knowledge about nurses' experiences of meeting women who are exposed to intimate partner violence. Method: A literature study with a qualitative approach. For the result, 11 qualitative articles were used which were quality checked and analyzed. Results: Through the analysis, 2 main categories could be identified; Emotions and Obstacles. Under the category Emotions, 3 subcategories were identified; Feelings about the situation, The impact on nursing and The impact on personal life. Under the category Obstacles, 3 subcategories were identified; The workplace, The nurse's own skills and When the woman does not want help. Conclusion: The result shows that there is a need to review the routines in the operations, as well as training for health and medical personnel about intimate partner violence.

Bakgrund: Våld i nära relationer är ett internationellt folkhälsoproblem. År 2022 anmäldes 23 267 misshandelsfall i Sverige som var utövat mot kvinnor och 80 procent begicks av personer med nära relation till kvinnan. Våld i nära relationer innefattar fysiskt, sexuellt och emotionellt våld, samt kontrollerande beteenden. Personer som har utsatts för våld söker ofta hjälp inom hälso- och sjukvården, och det är av stor vikt att erbjuda dem lättillgänglig vård med tydliga rutiner. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att möta kvinnor utsatta för våld i nära relationer. Metod: Litteraturstudie med kvalitativ ansats. Sökningar gjordes i databaserna PubMed, PsycInfo och Cinahl och resulterade i 10 artiklar, som låg till grund för resultatet. Artiklarna kvalitetsgranskades och de som låg till grund för resultatet analyserades med innehållsanalys. Resultat: Sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att möta våldsutsatta kvinnor beskrivs i tre kategorier; sjuksköterskors roll i mötet med våldsutsatta kvinnor, upplevda utmaningar, upplevda känslor. De känslor som sjuksköterskor upplevde vid mötet med våldsutsatta kvinnor var frustration, oro, ilska, skuld och glädje. Utöver kategorierna identifierades även sex subkategorier. Konklusion: Resultatet belyste att sjuksköterskor upplevde starka känslor i mötet med de våldsutsatta kvinnorna som var kopplade till omhändertagandet och att fråga om våld i nära relationer. Känslorna grundades till stor del på brist på kunskap och bidrog till att de inte kände sig förberedda att möta och ta hand om kvinnor som var utsatta för våld i nära relationer. / Background: Intimate partner violence is an international public health problem. In 2022, 23,267 cases of abuse against women were reported in Sweden, and 80 percent were committed by people with a close relationship to the woman. Intimate partner violence includes physical, sexual and emotional violence, as well as controlling behaviours. People who have been exposed to violence often seek help in the healthcare system, and it is of great importance to offer them easily accessible care with clear routines. Aim: The aim of the literature review was to describe nurses´ experiences of meeting women exposed to intimate partner violence. Method: Literature study with a qualitative approach. Searches were made in the databases PubMed, PsycInfo and Cinahl and resulted in 10 articles, which were the basis of the results. The articles were quality checked and those that formed the basis of the results were analyzed with content analysis. Results: Nurses' experiences of meeting abused women are described in three categories; nurses' role in the meeting with women exposed to violence, perceived challenges, perceived emotions. The emotions that nurses experienced when meeting abused women were frustration, worry, anger, guilt and joy. In addition to the categories, six subcategories were also identified. Conclusion: The result highlighted that nurses experienced strong emotions in the meeting with the abused women who were connected to the care and to ask about violence in close relationships. The feelings were largely based on a lack of knowledge and contributed to the fact that they did not feel prepared to meet and care for women who were exposed to intimate partner violence.

Bakgrund: Våld i nära relation är ett globalt samhällsproblem som drabbar många kvinnor varje år. Detta orsakar stora konsekvenser för deras hälsa och kan även leda till deras död. I distriktssköterskors uppgift ingår att arbeta hälsofrämjande för att lindra lidande, förebygga ohälsa samt att upptäcka våld i nära relation. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att beskriva distriktsköterskors erfarenhet av att fråga och agera vid våld i nära relation i mötet med kvinnor i primärvård. Metod: En kvalitativ studie tillämpades med öppna frågor. Vid analysen av materialet användes en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultatet visade att distriktssköterskor saknar tydliga rutiner för att möjliggöra att frågan om våld i nära relation ställs, men att de ändå frågar vid tecken på eller misstanke om våld. De aspekter som skapar en känsla av trygghet för vid dessa svåra möten är stöttning av kollegor och chefer. Essensen av fenomenet byggs upp av tre kategorier: Vad påverkar att fråga eller inte fråga om våld i nära relation; Förutsättningar som möjliggör att frågan ställs samt Att agera efter att frågan ställs. Konklusion: Det behövs tydligare rutiner samt ytterligare kunskap för att möjliggöra för distriktssköterskor att i större omfattning fråga om våld i nära relation. / Background: Intimate partner violence is a global health issue that effects many women and their well-being each year and it can also cause their death. A district nurse’s task is to promote health, prevent suffering and to identify intimate partner violence.  Aim: The purpose of the study was to describe district nurses' experience of asking and acting on intimate partner violence in the meeting with women in primary care.  Method: A qualitative study was applied with open questions. A qualitative content analysis was used in the analysis of the material.  Findings: The result showed that district nurses lack clear routines to enable the question of IPV to be asked, but they do ask when signs of intimate partner violence are present. The aspects that make district nurses feel safe in those difficult meetings are support from colleagues and managers. The essence of the phenomenon is built up by three categories: What affects asking or not asking about intimate partner violence; Conditions that enable the question to be asked and Acting after the question is asked.  Conclusion: Clearer routines and knowledge are needed to enable district nurses to ask more extensively about intimate partner violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pressing global issue that endangers women worldwide. Societal reactions to this type of violence are deciding factors for victims’ mental health and help-seeking behaviour.Previous research has shown that victim-blaming attitudes in IPV remain prevalent, especially among men and individuals with sexist beliefs. Considering the recent rise in popularity of online content supporting traditional gender roles and sexism among young people, it begs the question of whether such content influences victim-blaming, and if content supporting contrasting ideas has the opposite effect. Using an online questionnaire containing a hypothetical scenario on IPV, this vignette study analysed how agreement with sexist online content and feminist online content influence both victim-blaming and perpetrator responsibility attitudes among a predominantly young sample (N=210).Results indicate that agreement with sexist online content is associated with an increase in victim-blaming and a decrease in perpetrator responsibility attribution, however, these effects lose their statistical significance when variables measuring general sexist attitudes are included in the regression. Agreement with feminist online content is also associated with a statistically significant increase of perpetrator responsibility attribution and a decrease in victim-blaming, although statistical strength and significance are once again lost when general sexist attitudes are accounted for. These results suggest that general sexist attitudes, specifically hostile sexist attitudes, have a stronger influence on victim-blaming and perpetrator responsibility attribution compared to agreement with sexist and feminist online content, potentially due to a mediating or moderating effect of the latter.Future research should analyse the causal relationship between sexist attitudes and exposure to various types of online content as well as study how different constellations of IPV might be influenced by the consumption of sexist or feminist online content.

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Intimate partner violence is world wide and in South Africa an increasing social problem that leads to life-threatening history of injuries and psychosocial problems. Intimate partner violence is a global phenomenon prevalent in all socio-economic, race, religion, cultural and geographical boundaries. Although women with a lack or low income is more at risk of intimate partner violence and this reinforces their dependency of the intimate partner violence relationship. The largest percentage of South Africa’s poor population lives in rural areas that make them more vulnerable for social problems because of their lack of adequate resources. Women in rural areas involved with intimate partner violence are physically isolated from a supportive social network and must travel far distances to gain access to formal support resources. The goal of the study is to gain an understanding of the support needs of women in rural areas that are involved in intimate partner violence from an ecological perspective. To achieve this goal, the objectives are: to explain the nature, extent and origin of intimate partner violence as a social problem; to discuss the relevance of the ecological perspective as a theoretical framework regarding the analyses of intimate partner violence; to describe the support needs of women in rural areas that is involved in intimate partner violence; to investigate the experience of women in rural areas that is involved in intimate partner violence regarding the availability of support; and to offer recommendations regarding the promotion of the support needs for women in rural areas that is expose to intimate partner violence. Combinations of a quantitative and qualitative research approach were used in the study. The study further assumed an exploratory and descriptive research design due to the lack of information on support that is available to women in rural areas that are involved in intimate partner violence. A purposive sampling method was used to select the participants. Data was gathered by means of a semi-structured questionnaire, which was administered during 20 individual interviews. This allowed for a holistic view of the participants beliefs about, or perceptions of the topic. The design of the questionnaire was based on the information obtained from the literature review. The findings of the empirical investigation mainly confirmed the findings of the literature study that those women in rural areas that are involved in intimate partner violence support needs, from multiple levels of the ecological perspective. This support entails both informal and formal support resources which vary from concrete, informational to emotional support in order to cope with stressful life situations. The most important recommendations resulting from the study indicate that social workers must use an ecological approach during service rendered to women in rural areas that are involved in intimate partner violence. This approach can be used to identify and strengthen support resources on a micro, meso, exo and macro system level. The study further indicate that social workers must collaborate with different government sectors such as health care, police and law enforcement in order to create a multi professional team that focus on the social functioning of families and the community as a entity. Social workers that render intervention services to women in rural areas that are exposed to intimate partner violence should focus on all levels of social work intervention. The recommendation emphasises the importance of women and the communities’ awareness regarding intimate partner violence to promote women independency and to promote and facilitate support groups. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Intiemepaargeweld is wêreldwyd asook in Suid-Afrika ‘n toenemende sosiale probleem wat ‘n geskiedenis van ernstige beserings en psigososiale probleme vir vroue tot gevolg het. Die universele gebeurtenisse van intiemepaargeweld vind plaas binne alle sosio-ekonomiese, ras-, geloofs-, kulturele en geografiese grense. Alhoewel vroue met gebrekkige of lae inkomste hulle ‘n groter risiko vir intiemepaargeweld maak, versterk dit ook vroue se afhanklikheid van die intiemepaargeweldverhouding. Die meerderheid van Suid-Afrika se arm populasie woon in landelike gebiede, wat hulle meer kwesbaar maak vir maatskaplike probleme weens die gebrek aan genoegsame hulpbronne. Vroue in landelike gebiede wat by intiemepaargeweld betrokke is, is fisies geïsoleerd van ‘n ondersteunende sosiale netwerk en moet ver afstande reis om toegang tot formele ondersteuningshulpbronne te kry. Die doel van hierdie studie is om met behulp van die ekologiese perspektief die behoefte aan ondersteuning van vroue wat by intiemepaargeweld betrokke is, beter te verstaan. Om hierdie doel te bereik, is die doelwitte: om die aard, omvang en oorsprong van intiemepaargeweld as ‘n maatskaplike probleem te verduidelik; om die relevansie van die ekologiese perspektief as teoretiese raamwerk vir die ontleding van intiemepaargeweld te bespreek; om die ondersteuning wat nodig is vir vroue in landelike gebiede wat by intiemepaargeweld betrokke is, te omskryf; om ondersoek in te stel na die ervaring van vroue in landelike gebiede wat by intiemepaargeweld betrokke is, ten opsigte van die beskikbaarheid van ondersteuning; en om aanbevelings te maak ten opsigte van die bevordering van die ondersteuning vir vroue in landelike gebiede wat aan intiemepaargeweld blootgestel word. ‘n Kombinasie van kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenaderings is in hierdie studie gebruik. Tydens hierdie ondersoek is ook beide ‘n verkennende en beskrywende navorsingsontwerp benut, aangesien die beskikbare literatuur ‘n gebrek aan inligting aangaande ondersteuning wat beskikbaar is aan vroue in landelike gebiede wat by intiemepaargeweld betrokke is, toon. ‘n Doelbewuste streekproefmetode is geselekteer om deelnemers te verkry. Die data is ingevorder deur die gebruik van ‘n semi-gestruktureerde vraelys tydens 20 afsonderlike individuele onderhoude. Sodoende kon ‘n geheelbeeld van die deelnemers se oortuigings en persepsies aangaande die onderwerp van die studie verkry word. Die samestelling van die vraelys berus op inligting wat uit die literatuurstudie verkry is. Die resultate van die ondersoek het hoofsaaklik die bevindinge van die literatuurstudie bevestig dat vroue in landelike gebiede wat by intiemepaargeweld betrokke is, ‘n behoefte aan ondersteuning op veelvoudige vlakke van die ekologiese perspektief het. Hierdie ondersteuning behels beide informele en formele ondersteuningsbronne en varieer vanaf konkrete, informatiewe tot emosionele ondersteuning ten einde stresvolle lewensituasies te kan hanteer. Die belangrikste aanbevelings van hierdie studie dui daarop dat maatskaplike werkers die ekologiese perspektief moet gebruik tydens dienste wat aan vroue in landelike gebiede wat by intiemepaargeweld betrokke is, gelewer word. Hierdie perspektief kan die nodige ondersteuningshulpbronne identifiseer en versterk om die nodige ondersteuning aan hierdie vroue op ‘n mikro-, meso-, ekso- en makrosisteemvlak te bied. Die aanbevelings dui ook aan dat maatskaplike werkers saam met verskeie regeringsektore, naamlik gesondheidsorg-, polisie- en wetstoepassingsdienste, ‘n multi-professionele span vorm sodat daar op die sosiale funksionering van gesinne en gemeenskap as ‘n geheel gefokus word. Maatskaplike werkers wat intervensiedienste lewer aan vroue in landelike gebiede wat aan intiemepaargeweld blootgestel word, moet op alle maatskaplikewerk-intervensievlakke fokus. Die aanbevelings beklemtoon die noodsaaklikheid van vroue en die gemeenskappe se bewustheid rakende intiemepaargeweld om sodoende vroue se onafhanklikheid te bevorder en ondersteuningsgroepe te bevorder en te fasiliteer.

Introduction: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), also called domestic violence, is defined as any physical, psychological, or sexual violence, and emotional violence perpetrated by an intimate partner (CDC, 2016). Sexual violence or rape is defined as a sexual act committed against someone without that person’s freely-given consent (CDC, 2017). IPV is experienced among heterosexual women globally, although this phenomenon is not unique to this population. IPV also disproportionately affects young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) (Stults et al., 2016). The purpose of this study is to examine the association between IPV victimization and the increased risk of HIV and other health outcomes among YBMSM. Methods: The 6-month follow-up was conducted in Jackson, MS. A total 600 YBMSM were eligible to participant in the study. The participants were recruited from two local clinics that were focused on diagnosing and treating STI’s. Also, recruiters promoted the opportunity to enroll in the study through social media, attending bars, and nightclubs. Inclusion criteria were: 1) assigned male at birth; 2) self-identification as Black/African American; 3) 15-29 years of age; 4) attending the clinic to be tested for HIV or other STIs, 5) having engaged in anal sex with a male partner at least once in the past 6 months, and 6) the ability to speak and comprehend English. Results: The overall study sample consisted of 600 YMSM. All participants were identified as African–American. The average age of the sample was 22.6 years (SD=±3.2). Bottoms were more likely to experience rape (AOR=1.7,CI 1.1,2.6; p=.02). YBMSM who experienced IPV since enrolling in the study, as compared to those who did not experience IPV, were more likely to use marijuana, alcohol, crack, and painkillers (AOR=7.7 ,CI 5.1,11.7; p= Conclusion: These findings suggest that IPV and Rape shows a significant association with decreased condom use, decreased condom negotiation, sexual position, drug use and HIV risk among YBMSM in Jackson, MS.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur kvinnor utsatta för våld i nära relation upplever omgivningens reaktioner på våldet samt vilken betydelse det sociala nätverket haft för våldets utveckling. Studien baseras på fem semistrukturerade djupintervjuer med kvinnor som har erfarenhet av våld i nära relation. Resultaten, som analyserades med narrativ analysmetod och tolkades utifrån symbolisk interaktionism och uppbrottsprocessmodellen, visar att kvinnorna berättat om våldet för familjemedlemmar, vänner, arbetskamrater samt formella kontakter såsom polis, oftast i anslutning till en allvarlig våldshändelse. I merparten av fallen upplevde kvinnorna att de blivit bemötta med stöttande och hjälpande reaktioner som också bidragit till att kvinnan lyckats bryta upp från den våldsutsatta relationen. Några av kvinnorna upplevde dock bemötande av tystnad eller avståndstagande; i dessa situationer har ett absolut uppbrott inte ägt rum. Sammantaget tycks alltså reaktioner och stöd från den sociala omgivningen ha stor, och ibland avgörande, betydelse för om våldet fortsätter eller ej. / The purpose of this study was to examine if and how victims of domestic violence disclose their experiences to their social network, how the social network responds to the violence and the significance of the network responses relative to the evolvement of the violence. The study is based on five semi-structured interviews with women who have been exposed to different forms of domestic violence. The results, which were analysed using a narrative analysis and interpreted by symbolic interactionism and the theory of the leaving process, shows that women disclose their experiences about domestic violence to both informal and formal contacts. Disclosure often happened in the aftermath of a serious violent incident. In the majority of cases, women experienced supportive reactions that also contributed to the final break up from their relationships. Some of the women, however, experience negative attitudes and rejection, in these situations an absolute break-up was not completed.

In this phenomenographic study of social workers’ experiences regarding working with perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV), three focus areas were covered; causes of the use of violence in IPV relationships, effective strategies in the work with perpetrators of IPV, and the perpetrators’ justification of their use of violence in their intimate partner relationships. The experiences regarding causes of use of violence in intimate partner relationships comprised own experiences of abuse from IPV, mental health causes, toxic masculinity, and childhood negligence. These described causes were connected to a structural perspective, a structural societal perspective, a social psychologic perspective, and an individual psychologic perspective. The experiences regarding effective strategies in the work with perpetrators of IPV comprised the establishment of a good work alliance with the perpetrator, to acknowledge the perpetrator’s person, and to promote the perpetrator’s full undertaking of the responsibility for the violence. Lastly, the experiences regarding the perpetrators’ justification of their use of violence in their intimate partner relationships comprised shifting of the responsibility for the violence, impuissance, and an undertaking of the responsibility for the violence. The justification of the violence was connected to how the perpetrators did not want to identify themselves as perpetrators of IPV. / I denna fenomenografiska studie av socialarbetares uppfattning om arbetet med utövare av våld i nära relation speglas tre områden; orsaker bakom våldsutövande, verksamma strategier i arbetet med våldsutövare samt våldsutövares rättfärdigande av sitt våldsutövande. Uppfattningarna kring orsaker bakom våldsutövare innefattade erfarenheter av våldsutsatthet, påverkan av psykisk ohälsa, maskulinitetsfällan och försummelse i barndomen. Rötterna till dessa orsaksförklaringar kunde ses i kopplingar till strukturellt perspektiv, strukturellt samhällsperspektiv, socialpsykologiskt perspektiv samt individualpsykologiskt perspektiv. De uppfattningar som lyftes gällande strategier informanterna har i arbetet med våldsutövare innefattade en betoning av att etablera en god arbetsrelation med våldsutövaren, att bekräfta våldsutövaren som person och att främja ansvarstagande. Informanterna beskrev en balansgång där etablerande av en tillitsfull allians med våldsutövaren är avgörande, samtidigt som det är av största vikt att lyckas förhålla sig fördömande gentemot de handlingar våldsutövaren utfört. Slutligen handlade uppfattningarna bland informanterna kring våldsutövarnas rättfärdigande av sitt våldsanvändande om ansvarsförskjutning, maktlöshet samt ansvarstagande återspeglas. Våldsutövarna tenderade enligt informanterna att förlägga ansvaret utanför sig själva och uttrycka en upplevelse av maktlöshet inför det egna våldsutövandet. Informanternas uppfattningar uttryckte att våldsutövarnas rättfärdigande var ett tecken på det starka motstånd de bar mot att acceptera sig själva som våldsutövare.

The aim of this study is to gain and increase knowledge about intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence. The research questions we aim to answer are how professionals define violence, the causes behind why so many men use violence against their significant other and, furthermore, what kind of support and treatment those men can be offered. To answer these questions, we have made eight semi-structured qualitative interviews with respondents working with treatment for men who has used or still use violence against women in intimate partner relationships. The professionals represent different organizations connected to "Rikskriscentrum" and offer support and treatment for both men and women. The result of the study shows that all respondents define violence similary. Most of them use a quite wide definition showing that violence is so much more than just physical abuse. The support and treatment offered for intimate partner violence is described substantially similary too. Why many men use violence in their intimate partner relationships is the question who turned out to be most complex and hard to answer. We have discussed our main questions using theories about gender and the process of normalization in domestic violence. Our reasoning is also connected to a social context, often referred to as a socio-economic model.