Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of History, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [20-31]).

In light of the existing literature and research conducted in the area of domestic violence, several recurrent symptoms continue to surface as a result of both physical and non-physical abuse. Two of the most prevalent psychological symptoms requiring intervention tend to be depression and low self-esteem. Therefore, it is the intention of this study to empirically examine the type of abuse female victims of domestic violence experience and its link to their psychological distress. Specifically, it is hypothesized that victims of non-physical abuse will be more likely to experience low self-esteem than depression. Victims of physical abuse will have a greater prevalence of depression than low self-esteem.

This project explored the associations between the type of coping strategies used among women who live in domestic violence shelters and their overall well-being.

This study was an outcome assessment of how well "Lifeline", a transitional shelter for women and their children, has been fulfilling its stated mission. It was also a program evaluation in terms of learning what former residents of Lifeline think about the quality and the importance of Lifeline's program.

Kvinnojourer i Sverige utför varje dag ett viktigt arbete med att hjälpa våldsutsatta kvinnor. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka de som arbetar på kvinnojourers erfarenheter kring våldsutsatta kvinnors uppbrottsprocesser och om dessa erfarenheter har ändrat deras arbetssätt med att hjälpa andra våldsutsatta kvinnor. Två frågeställningar användes för att besvara syftet där den första berörde kvinnors uppbrottsprocesser och den andra jourernas arbete. Utförandet av studien underbyggs av att det råder en kunskapslucka kring just detta område. I studien genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio anställda på olika kvinnojourer i Sverige. En tematisk analys gjordes för att analysera den insamlade datan, för att sedan identifiera kodord som bildades till teman. Åtta teman bildades; omgivning, stöd, kunskap, yttre faktorer, kvinnan, kunskap, support och individuella faktorer. Resultatet visade att enligt kvinnojourerna är det individuellt varför en kvinna lämnar en våldsam relation men de främsta orsakerna är när barn eller omgivning drabbas, att våldet eskalerar eller att kvinnan helt enkelt fått nog. De ansåg även att erfarenheter och kunskap kring kvinnors uppbrottsprocesser har en inverkan på hur de arbetar med andra utsatta kvinnor. / Women's shelters in Sweden perform every day an important job of helping abused women. This study aims to examine those who work at women's shelters and their experiences on abused women's leaving processes. Also if these experiences has changed their way of working with helping other abused women. Two questions were used to achieve the purpose. The first question is about women’s leaving processes and the second is about the shelters work. The execution of the study is supported by the fact that there is a knowledge gap in this area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine employees at various women's shelters in sweden. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data, and then to identify codewords formed into themes. Eight themes were found; environment, support, knowledge, external factors, the woman, knowledge, support and individual factors. The results showed that according to the women's shelters, it's individual why a woman leaves a violent relationship but the main reasons are when children or the environment is affected, that the violence escalates or that the woman has had enough. They also felt that experiences and knowledge about women's leaving processes have an impact on their work with other abused women.

The aim of this study is to examine the possibility of identifying any forms of emotional management strategies in social workers who work with battered women. The study focuses on social workers who work within municipal activities and non-profit women's shelters to identify any differences between the different organizations. The study implemented a qualitative method and we used semi-structured interviews to collect data. Eight social workers participated and were interviewed for the study. The result shows that the work with battered women can be perceived as emotionally stressful. As a result, it is possible to identify emotional management strategies in the emotional labour of the social worker. The respondents agree that collegial support as well as a good working environment are important strategies to deal with the emotions that arise at work. The result also shows strategies such as taking a role in meetings with battered women. The role is partly based on expectations, and partly functions as a protection for the social workers' own feelings. The strategies identified are relatively similar between the organizations. It is thus difficult to draw any conclusions about differences in the emotional management strategies based on the associated organizations.

Most studies that deal with intimate partner violence (IPV) focus on men as the assailant and women as the victim. This study however explored how personnel within nonprofit men's shelters and crisis centers for men, work with male victims of IPV and what resources the personnel have to help these men. The central purpose was to get a broader understanding of IPV in Sweden by focusing on men's susceptibility, how it affects them and how well professionals and laymen within this field can work with male victims of IPV. The authors found that these businesses work with complex issues surrounding these men in borth different and equal ways.  The study was conducted using semi-structured qualitative interviews, and the number of interviewees was 9 people that currently work within the aforementioned men's shelters or crisis centers for men. From these interviews, the authors used content analysis to process and analyze the data. The interviewees mentioned that shame and stigmatization is highly prevalent in IPV affected men in heterosexual relationships regarding aspects of gender norms and masculinity, to the extent that it functions as a large barrier for many men in seeking help for their exposure to violence. This barrier is so large for these men that they more commonly deny their exposure to violence altogether or they become convinced that they are actually the perpetrators and not the victims.

The aim of this qualitative study is to investigate how professionals in women’s shelters work to maintain the child's needs and rights. The study also concerns how children exposed to violence are affected by previous experiences of violence in their home environment and how their relationships are affected by staying at the shelter. The study reflects professionals' experiences in their work with children in women's shelters and the problematic aspects of maintaining the child's everyday life. The study's empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews with four professionals working in women's shelters. Through a thematic analysis the collected data has been processed and linked to previous research in the field. In the results of the study it appears that the child's everyday life is affected to a large extent due to their stay at the shelter. There are problematic aspects regarding the relationship between the need for protection and the maintenance of the child's needs and rights. The results also highlight how the child's social life is affected by moving to the women's shelter and how the experiences of the previous violence can create consequences for the child

The aim of this study was to do group work with 10 girls staying in a shelter in order to contribute to their adjustment. Lewin's field theory and the General Systems Theory were utilized to ground the group work. The epistemological framework of the study was exploratory and involved an in depth analysis of the group experiences of the participants. Unstructured interviews were also conducted with the participants. Hermeneutics as a method of analysis was applied to analyse data. The following themes captured the experiences of the girls: trust versus mistrust, connection and disconnection, alienation and isolation, emotionally overwhelmed versus security, being labeled/stigmatized, security versus insecurity, and hope versus hopelessness. This study provides a better understanding of the life worlds of girls staying in a shelter. It could also contribute to a greater awareness of the experiences of abused girls who stay in a shelter. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Thesis (M Social Work (Social Work))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / An exploratory and descriptive research design was selected together with a combination of both a quantitative and qualitative research approach to obtain the necessary information, insight and knowledge regarding the social welfare services offered to female victims of domestic violence in shelters. The motivation for this investigation stemmed from the lack of information on social welfare services offered to these female victims. The researcher became aware of this lack of information due to the fact that only limited studies and investigations had been done into the social welfare services offered to female victims of domestic violence within South Africa. The goal of this study is therefore to gain a better understanding of the social welfare services offered to female victims of domestic violence in shelters in order to provide recommendations to social service practitioners for the improvement of social welfare services in such circumstances. The literature study firstly focused on the theories, conceptualisation and dimensions of domestic violence in order to gain an understanding and knowledge base of the theories that describe domestic violence, concepts that provide an understanding of the phenomenon of domestic violence as well the dimensions of domestic violence. Furthermore, the literature study focuses on the policies, legislations and the government’s commitment to address domestic violence in South Africa. The primary focus of the literature study was to investigate the social welfare services that are offered to female victims of domestic violence in shelters. The researcher contacted the Department of Social Development of the Western Cape in order to identify the shelter organisations that offer social welfare services to female victims of domestic violence and finally a purposive sampling was done of ten shelters in the Western Cape Metropole area which offer social welfare services to female victims of domestic violence. A qualitative and quantitative investigation was performed by means of conducting semi-structured interviews with the aid of an interview guide. The results of the investigation mainly confirmed the findings of the literature study that domestic violence is an inherent part of the life in South Africa, also that domestic violence has a variety of causes and consequences and that social welfare services offered to female victims of domestic violence are an important part of the process of empowerment in shelters. The recommendations were aimed at services in shelters and professional persons involved in the rehabilitation and empowerment of abused women during their accommodation in the shelters. The recommendations also included further research to explore the impact of these social welfare services on female residents, and to address the areas where social welfare services fall short in order to provide insight into the development of other social welfare services that are needed by female residents when entering a shelter.