PURPOSE. Domestic violence has a significant prevalence in the world, and certainly in South Africa, yet Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) training and practice does not have any particular focus on domestic violence intervention. The absence of any clear response protocol to domestic violence in a Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) regulated profession, suggests the reliance on health practitioner discretion in this regard. This is problematic as the profession is male dominated and focused on tertiary levels of care. ECP's may be positioned to screen for abuse early, yet there is no evidence of success or failure in this endeavour. This study aimed to ascertain what the prevailing ECP knowledge, attitudes and beliefs around domestic violence in the Western Cape are, so that any factors preventing or nurturing early identification and appropriate treatment of domestic violence may be mitigated or supported respectively. METHODS. Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) registered ECP's in the Provincial Government- Western Cape (PGWC)- Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Metropole region voluntarily completed a questionnaire. MAJOR RESULTS. Only 49% of respondents could correctly define domestic violence. ECP qualification was associated with domestic violence definition in that Basic ECP's were more likely to incorrectly define domestic violence than the advanced ECP's. Eighty-one percent of respondents recognized less than thirty domestic violence calls in the preceding six months. The majority of ECP's (89%) experienced no special handling of domestic violence victims. No significant association could be found (Chi-Square: p = 0.2298) between qualification and knowledge of domestic violence laws. An ECP's qualification is no predictor of his/her legal knowledge about abuse. Qualification could also not be positively associated with the referral of victims, although the majority of practitioners of all qualifications (78%), had only sometimes referred victims or not at all. The majority of respondents expressed inadequate assessment and management of domestic violence patients. The majority also indicated that their ECP training was inadequate in preparing them for domestic violence intervention. CONCLUSIONS DRAWN. The attitudes and beliefs of Emergency Care Practitioners elicited from this study suggest a poor level of understanding of the extent and nature of domestic violence. There is a probable low detection rate amongst the majority of ECP's. There exists harbouring of myths that may confound the implementation of a pre-hospital protocol for domestic violence management. There is an inadequacy of current ECP practice with respect to domestic violence crisis intervention with regards screening, management and referral. The EMS response to domestic violence should be congruent with an appropriate health sector response and should include universal screening (asking about domestic violence routinely); comprehensive physical and psychological care for those patients who disclose abuse; a safety assessment and safety plan; the documentation of past and present incidents of abuse; the provision of information about patients rights and the domestic violence act; and referral to appropriate resources. The ECP curriculum should emphasise the particular nature and treatment of domestic violence. The study supports the need for the introduction of a comprehensive ECP protocol, in training and in practice. This information should prove useful to all who attempt to design educational programmes and clinical strategies to address this public health issue. / Thesis (M.PH.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This study explores eight young people’s perception of the gender roles in Zambia, Lusaka. In this study I have asked the informants to define the genders and the result were that the genders are defined based on the biological sexes. The genders therefore become homogenous based on the male and female sex. The regulations of the genders were traditionally also based on assumed ‘biologically natural characteristics’. As I argue in this study that gender roles are social constructed I also present the socialization processes in the Zambian culture regarding initiation ceremonies and premarital ceremonies, which visualizes the regulations of the gender roles and the importance of marriages as it implies social status and identity. The young informants’ perception of the gender roles was based on a complex intermixture between the cultural norms, the Western influences and their own life experiences. This means that Zambian society is changing in response to external as well as internal influences and that globalization both facilitates change and may create problems, as different values and norms collide. The informants recognized a need of change in the perception of the gender roles due to the issues that the gender hierarchy contributes to. This study also discusses the fact that cultural norms causes lack of knowledge about sexual issues, which have devastating consequences. The informants argued that the cultural perception of a man as superior and the woman as inferior caused gender based violence, domestic violence and the HIV-epidemic to continue. Based on the informants awareness that many of the social challenges exist because of the patriarchal norms in society I argue that this awareness indicates that a change is in progress.

No description available.

No description available.

<p>Although gender-based violence has been identified as highly problematic in South Africa, it has not been given much scholarly attention in relation to refugee women. This study focuses on the experience of some of these women who have resettled in Cape Town. The main focus is on gender-based violence and the linkages between conflicts at home, fleeing from it, as well as the problems faced by women when they reach the &lsquo / new&rsquo / country where they are suppose to be safe, but yet continue to experience gender violence. By referring to my own empirical research I try to tease out the many instances of violence and abuse such women face, how they understand and try to make sense of it and how they try to take up their lives in Cape Town. I utilized the much used ecological framework to analyze gender-based violence and argue that, while this &lsquo / model&rsquo / is dynamic and allows one to make analytical linkages across different &lsquo / levels&rsquo / of violence, it nevertheless does not adequately provide for understanding the relationship between larger global and international processes, the connection that women may still have with their countries of origin and the impact of being a refugee or unwanted &lsquo / immigrant&rsquo / in South Africa</p>

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

No description available.

The aim of this study was to examine how state representatives prepared domestic violence, regarding the economic consequences of women exposed to violence. In order to achieve a profound and comprehensive view of the governmental keyfigures discussion we performed five interviews and studied selected governmental preparatory works between the years 1995-2015. We used theory on social construction as an approach and certain themes were more regular in our empirical material, which we compiled in three different discourses. According to our empirical material the economic situation of women exposed to violence is caused by inequality and gender power structure. The solution given by state representatives are referred to the municipality and social services. But despite these results, our main result is the silence. Conclusively, this study displays, private economic consequences of combined women are not given much attention in state representatives preparation of domestic violence.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur legitimerade familjeterapeuter inom Barn och- ungdoms psykiatrin (BUP) upplever sin egen och sin arbetsplats kunskap gällande barn som upplevt familjevåld. Syftet var vidare att titta på hur legitimerade familjeterapeuter genomför bedömningar och behandlingar på BUP när de träffar barn som kan ha upplevt eller som har upplevt familjevåld. Frågeställningar har varit hur legitimerade familjeterapeuter upplever sin egen respektive sin arbetsplats kunskap gällande målgruppen barn som upplevt familjevåld? Ytterligare frågeställningar har varit hur bedömningar görs samt hur behandlingen ser ut som erbjuds av legitimerade familjeterapeuter på BUP?  I studien har 38 legitimerade familjeterapeuter svarat på en enkät med fasta svarsalternativ. Enkätstudien har vidare kompletterats med 13 telefonintervjuer med semistrukturerade frågor för att möjliggöra att respondenterna fått delge sina åsikter på ett friare sätt. Resultatet visar att legitimerade familjeterapeuter upplever sin egen kompetens för att arbeta familjeterapeutiskt med målgruppen som god. Trots detta finns det tydliga brister i hur bedömningar genomförs för att möjliggöra att rätt diagnoser och behandlingar erbjuds barn som upplevt familjevåld. Resultatet visar även att legitimerade familjeterapeuter, i behandlingsarbetet, lägger fokus på stabilisering i anknytningssystemet med inriktning på att förbättra kommunikation och samspel men brister i att bedöma, samtala om och behandla eventuella trauman till följd av familjevåldet. / The purpose of this study was to investigate how registered family Therapists in child and youth psychiatry (in Swedish BUP) perceives their own and their workplace knowledge of children who have experienced family violence. The aim was to look at how registered family Therapists conducts assessments and treatments on BUP when they meet a child who may have experienced or who have experienced family violence. Questions have been how registered family Therapists perceive their own respectively their workplace knowledge of children who have experienced family violence? Additional research questions have been how assessments are made and what kind of treatment that are offered by registered family Therapists on BUP? In the study, 38 registered family Therapists, have responded to a questionnaire with fixed answers. The questionnaire study has also been supplemented by 13 telephone interviews with semi-structured questions designed to make respondents share their views more freely. The results show that registered family Therapists experience their own competence to work therapeutically with the children who have experienced family violence as good. Nevertheless, there are obvious flaws in how assessments are conducted to ensure that these children get the correct diagnoses and are offered effective treatments. The result also shows that registered family Therapists, in treatment activities, put most focus on stabilization work with a focus on improving communication and interaction, but fails to assess, discuss and deal with any trauma as a result of family violence.

Bakgrund När offer för samhällsvåld söker vård på akutmottagningen tenderar deras psykiska besvär att inte uppmärksammas. Dessutom uppger sjuksköterskor att de känner sig dåligt förberedda och outbildade om samhällsvåld. Syfte Att belysa upplevelser och dessa psykiska konsekvenser hos personer som utsatts för samhällsvåld. Metod Systematisk litteraturöversikt över aktuellt kunskapsläge genomfördes med nio vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultat Negativa upplevda känslor och konsekvenser för patientens fortsatta liv var frekvent förekommande bland offer för samhällsvåld. Slutsats Patienter som utsatts för samhällsvåld behöver vårdmöten där deras psykiska skador tas omhand. Klinisk betydelse Sjuksköterskor på akuten skulle behöva djupare utbildning om dessa patienter för att kunna bemöta dem ur ett holistiskt perspektiv. / Background The psychological discomfort among the care seeking persons exposed to non-domestic violence tend to remain undetected by caregivers at the emergency care unit. Moreover, nurses state that they feel unprepared to deal with subjects related to non-domestic violence. Objective To illuminate the experiences and their psychological consequences on persons who are victims of non-domestic violence. Method A systematic overview of existing literature on the subject was conducted. Nine articles published in academic journals were selected. Results Negative perceived feelings and consequences for the patients’ ongoing life were common among victims of non-domestic violence. Conclusion Patients who are victims of non-domestic violence need to receive care for their psychological harm. Clinical impact Nurses at the emergency care unit would need to receive deeper knowledge during the course of their education in order to be able to care for these patients from a holistic perspective.