With the introduction of COVID-19, preliminary data suggests that the forms and frequency of abuse relating to intimate partner violence (IPV) have changed. Most of society was unaware of the arising silent pandemic which was happening to the individuals in abusive relationships who were being quarantined with their abuser. The IPV resources were extremely aware of this silent pandemic due to large numbers of individuals seeking emergency shelter. However, there was only a priority for public safety due to COVID-19 when in hindsight, there needed to be a balance of public safety as well as increased aid for the individuals suffering in their own homes. In this study, I collected qualitative and quantitative data surrounding the frequency and mode of intimate partner violence throughout the duration of the quarantine and lockdowns from COVID-19. An online survey was distributed to 418 respondents living in the United States who were in the same intimate partner relationship across all three timeframes (pre-COVID-19 lockdowns, during COVID-19 lockdowns and after COVID-19 lockdowns). Respondents answered questions regarding demographics, abuse that occurred along with their perceived intensity and severity of the abuse and their resource usage. Findings revealed that verbal and sexual abuse increased during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the perceived intensity and severity of the abuse trended upward during the lockdowns, and resource usage decreased across all three timeframes. This study contributed a deeper understanding and provoked discussion of the abuse that took place during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Non-physical intimate partner violence (NPIPV) is the most pervasive type of abuse, yet literature has predominantly focused on physical IPV victimization. This study employed a mixed-methods design utilizing archival expressive writing data previously collected to identify the presence of NPIPV victimization. Participants wrote about their experience after a relationship dissolution using the expressive writing paradigm. They were asked to share their deepest thoughts and feelings across two sessions. A constructivist grounded theory approach established the theoretical framework for coding the presence of NPIPV acts between romantic partners. Four themes of NPIPV were established (degradation, isolation, control, and jealousy). Disclosure of NPIPV and other themes were also evident in these data. Quantitative analyses assessed changes in participants' psychological distress after completing a brief writing intervention. The intervention increased the likelihood of NPIPV victimization being mentioned from Time 1 to Time 2 writing sessions. This study increases clinical awareness regarding NPIPV by providing insights into this longest-sustained IPV subtype. All participants reported a reduction in avoidance symptoms after completing the writing intervention. Finally, gender continues to complicate this field as researchers must acknowledge both the existence of men's victimization experiences and the greater severity of women's victimization. Clinical implications demonstrate a strength in narrative therapy when processing relationship dissolution particularly when NPIPV victimization is present.

Background: There is a growing understanding that different kinds of interpersonal violence are interrelated. Many victims report experiences of cumulative violence, i.e., being subjected to more than one kind of violent behaviour (sexual, physical, emotional) and/or violence from more than one kind of perpetrator (family members, partners, acquaintances/strangers). To gain a more comprehensive understanding of what violence entails for victims, how victims can be helped and how violence can be prevented, there is a need to learn more about the co-occurrence of violence. Also, despite strong associations repeatedly being found between exposure to violence and the reporting of different kinds of ill-health, only a minority of victims have told health care professionals about their victimization. Less is known about the process of disclosing victimization to health care professionals for men than for women. Main aims: 1) Investigate the prevalence and co-occurrence of self-reported lifetime experiences of different kinds of interpersonal violence among male and female clinical and random population samples in Sweden (Study I-II). 2) Investigate whether cumulative violence is more strongly associated with       self-reported symptoms off psychological ill-health than with any kind of victimization alone (Study III).   3) Develop a theoretical model concerning male victims’ process of disclosing experiences of victimization to health care professionals in Sweden (Study IV).   Method: The self-reported prevalence of interpersonal violence as well as self-reported symptoms of psychological ill-health were estimated by means of secondary analyses of data collected with the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire (NorAQ). Both sexes were represented in clinical (women n=2439 men n=1767) and random population samples (women n=1168 men n=2924). Descriptive statistics as well as binary logistic regression and ordinal regression analyses were used (Study I-III). In study IV, constructivist grounded theory was used, and 12 men were interviewed concerning their experience of disclosing victimization to health care professionals. Results: A large proportion of victims (women: 47-48%, men: 29-31%) reported experiences of more than one kind of violent behaviour. Many also reported being subjected to violence by more than one kind of perpetrator (women: 33-37%, men: 22-23%). Reporting cumulative violence had a stronger association with symptoms of psychological ill-health than reporting only one kind of victimization. In study IV, the interviewed men’s own perceptions and considerations beforehand (e.g., perceived need for help and feelings of shame), as well as the dynamics during the actual health care encounter (e.g., patient-provider relationship and time constraints), were essential for understanding the process of disclosure. Also, the men’s own conformity to hegemonic constructions of masculinity and professionals’ adherence to gender norms had a strong negative influence on the men’s process of disclosure. Discussion: Experiences of cumulative violence were common. Prevalence rates of experiences of different kinds of interpersonal violence were compared to previous studies on interpersonal violence in Sweden. Large discrepancies were found between all studies, which is a symptom of methodological and conceptual difficulties within the research field. Violence is a gendered phenomenon. Differences were seen in the kind of violence men and women reported. In addition to this, the results in study IV indicate that gender affects how violence is perceived and how victims are treated by health care professionals. Conclusion: Integrated approaches in research on interpersonal violence, as well as in clinical work, are needed. If the co-occurrence of violence is ignored, it may hamper our understanding of the experiences and consequences of interpersonal violence for victims. More research is needed into what produces the differences found in prevalence rates between studies to improve the methodology.

Studier har visat att mäns våld mot kvinnor upplevs som mer allvarligt och bedöms hårdare i jämförelse med kvinnligt våld. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka om gärningsmannens kön och bakgrund påverkade empatin för gärningsmannen och våldshandlingens allvarlighetsgrad. Undersökningen utfördes på en högskola i Mellansverige samt inom hemvården i samma kommun. Fyra fiktiva vinjetter användes där gärningsmannens kön och bakgrund (tidigare dom/ingen tidigare dom) skiljde dem åt. Antal respondenter var totalt 186 varav 49 män. Resultaten av enkäterna analyserades med hjälp av ANOVOR och t-test och visade att manliga gärningsmäns våldshandlingar bedömdes allvarligare samt att det upplevdes mindre empati för dem jämfört med kvinnliga gärningsmän. Gärningsmannens bakgrund hade inte någon effekt på vare sig empati eller allvarlighetsbedömning Studiens resultat överensstämmer med tidigare forskning och slutsatsen blev att manligt våld anses vara mer allvarligt än kvinnligt.

Very little is known about the actual living experiences of Malaysian women who are in a domestic violence relationship. This current study attempts to redress this shortfall by listening to the women s stories, understanding their home-life situations and ultimately offering ideas, strategies as well as information to prevent domestic violence in Malaysia. Underpinned by a feminist perspective, a qualitative approach was employed to explore the abused women s accounts in relation to domestic violence impacts, barriers to violence disclosure, as well as useful resources for support of women victims in dealing with domestic violence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 women who identified themselves as victims and survivors of domestic violence perpetrated by their husbands/ex-husbands. Via the analysis of thematic, six major themes were identified to be the impact of domestic violence, as described by the participants. The impacts include physical injuries, mental health problems, social isolation, a growing faith as well as adverse effects on the children and on the women s self-worth. The study also found that many of these abused women were reluctant to disclose abuse because they wanted to conceal those violence experiences from others because of Malaysian perception on disclosing marital affairs, they were concerned about the children s well-being, they felt partly responsible in provoking the violence, and they admitted to lacking knowledge on the provisions of support available for domestic violence victims in the country. From other aspect, the women also struggled to avoid negative labels given for being disrespectful to their men. In addition, the findings revealed four main themes related to the underlying issues on the needs and support of domestic violence service provisions that women drew on in their accounts: theme 1, unpleasant experiences when accessing the services; theme 2, the problems with procedures in disclosing and in the help-seeking process; theme 3, the usefulness of services and theme 4, women s needs and support mechanisms. As a review, the results gained from this present study prove the existence of domestic violence in Malaysian families. Indeed, the interference of cultural values as well as religious beliefs upheld by the Malaysian community was greatly associated with its occurrence. In relation to Malaysia, cultural as well as religious beliefs play a significant role in moulding its people. The results presented seem to add interesting knowledge to the existing literature, where battered Muslim women in Malaysia perceive their violence experiences as a motivation to surrender themselves to God and seek spiritual assistance as one of the impacts due to domestic violence problems. Further, the women s misapprehension of Islamic concepts such as disobedience and nusyuz (to the male partner) has made disclosing violence experiences difficult. Over and above this, the researcher found that the mechanisms of domestic violence resource provisions are worthy of investigation. The findings from this research demonstrate helpful and unhelpful provision of services identified by abused women, in particular relating to institutions in the nation. Prior to ending, this research proposes a number of recommendations for change in regards to formal supportive network resources, education on violence against women at the societal level, as well as the implication of the findings for the development of domestic violence social policy and practise in Malaysia.

Domestic violence shelters offer services key to ending intimate partner violence, but the effect of a shelter stay on women has received little research attention. The present qualitative study examined how a shelter stay affects women’s sense of empowerment, and addressed the following questions: (1) How do women in shelter define empowerment? (2) What are the empowerment experiences of women in shelter? (3) How do shelters support, or hinder, women’s empowerment process? Nine interviews were conducted and analyzed using Fraser’s (2004) narrative method, which situates personal stories within their social context. Four interrelated empowerment processes emerged: self-reflection, gaining clarity, acquiring knowledge, and building community. Three primary shelter elements impacting empowerment were: increasing safety, forming connections, and promoting self-efficacy. This research situates a stay in shelter within the process of empowerment and highlights interpersonal, organizational, and structural influences on women’s empowerment. Suggestions regarding shelter practices and system policies are made. / February 2017

Annually, nearly 7 million women and 5.5 million men experience some form of intimate partner violence, which has serious health impacts. IPV has also been shown to limit the impact of early childhood home visiting interventions. Given the positive impacts of home visiting, reducing IPV in that setting could alleviate the negative impacts of IPV and improve mother and child outcomes as well. The analysis performed are from data from a randomized trial of an intimate partner violence intervention that was embedded into the Nurse Family Partnership, an evidence-based home visiting program. The intervention focused on identifying IPV, and for women without severe IPV, improving relationship skills including communication patterns and conflict resolution. The goal of this analysis is to examine how changes in partner and history of IPV moderate the relationship skills outcomes. This study aims to fill the gap in knowledge regarding the relationship between a home visiting intervention and relationship skill outcomes in women enrolled in the home visiting program, the Nurse Family Partnership. The purpose of the study is to discover whether the relationship skills differ in participants with stable vs. unstable partnerships and with those who experienced IPV before the start of the study. Women were randomized to NFP as usual (n=105) or NFP+, which included NFP plus the IPV intervention (n=133). Participants were surveyed at baseline, and at one and two-year follow-up with 81% retention over 2 years. Standardized assessment tools assessed relationship quality, communication, problem solving, partner support, relationship decision making, and psychological maltreatment. Marginal modeling was conducted to examine whether the intervention accounted for any change in relationship variables and whether the impact is moderated by history of IPV and changes in partnership. Multilevel modeling of the outcome variables showed some main effects of time such that conflict resolution improves for the intervention group (p<0.05). There is one clinically significant three-way interaction showing reduced relationship danger in the intervention for women with a history of IPV (p<0.06). There were no significant interactions for the partnership change moderator.

Bakgrund: Våld i nära relationer är ett utbrett problem som sträcker sig över alla geografiska områden och samhällsklasser. Vårdpersonal har goda förutsättningar att känna igen signaler och ta upp frågan, men empiriska bevis tyder på att de är ovilliga eller saknar kunskap att ta upp den. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva vårdpersonalens erfarenheter av mötet med våldsutsatta kvinnor på akutmottagningen. Metod: Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod. Materialet samlades in vid fem intervjuer på en akutmottagning i södra Sverige och analyserades med induktiv innehållsanalys. Studien utfördes under hösten 2016. Resultat: Resultatet visade att det finns rutiner men att det behövs mer kunskap bland vårdpersonalen. När det kom till att ställa frågan om våld så finns det delade meningar kring hur det ska ställas. Det framkom även att det är betydelsefullt för båda parter att skapa ett förtroende och att de första sekunderna i mötet spelar en stor roll. Slutsats: Att möta våldsutsatta kvinnor är ett komplext problem. Grunden till hur mötet med den våldsutsatta kvinnan blir beror mycket på de första sekunderna med vårdpersonalen. Det spelar ingen roll vilken vårdpersonal som möter kvinnan om bara hjärta och tid finns. Nyckelord: Intimate Partner Violence, Våldsutsatta Kvinnor, Vårdpersonal, Sjuksköterska, Erfarenhet / Abstract Background: Intimate partner violence is a widespread problem that crosses all geographical areas and social classes. Healthcare staff are well placed to recognize signals and address the issue, but empirical evidence suggest that they are unwilling or lack the knowledge to act. 
Aim: The purpose of the study was to describe healthcare staffs experience of meeting with women exposed to violence at an emergency department. Method: The study was conducted with qualitative approach. The material was collected with five interviews at an emergency department in the south of Sweden and analyzed by an inductive content analysis. The study was done during autumn 2016. Results: The result showed that there are routines, but more knowledge among the healthcare staff is needed. When it came to ask the question about violence, there are different opinions about how it should be done. It also emerged that it is important for both parties to create a trust and that the first few seconds of  the meeting plays a big role. Conclusion: To meet women exposed to violence is a complexed problem. The first seconds in the meeting with abused women will play a big role. It doesn´t matter which healthcare professionals meet these women as long as they have their heart in the right place and that the time exist. Keywords: Intimate partner violence, battered women, caregivers, nurse and experience

Objectives To examine the associations of Intimate partner violence (IPV) with stress-related sleep disturbance (measured using the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test [FIRST]) and poor sleep quality (measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]) during early pregnancy. Methods This cross-sectional study included 634 pregnant Peruvian women. In-person interviews were conducted in early pregnancy to collect information regarding IPV history, and sleep traits. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated using logistic regression procedures. Results Lifetime IPV was associated with a 1.54-fold increased odds of stress-related sleep disturbance (95% CI: 1.08–2.17) and a 1.93-fold increased odds of poor sleep quality (95% CI: 1.33–2.81). Compared with women experiencing no IPV during lifetime, the aOR (95% CI) for stress-related sleep disturbance associated with each type of IPV were: physical abuse only 1.24 (95% CI: 0.84–1.83), sexual abuse only 3.44 (95%CI: 1.07–11.05), and physical and sexual abuse 2.51 (95% CI: 1.27–4.96). The corresponding aORs (95% CI) for poor sleep quality were: 1.72 (95% CI: 1.13–2.61), 2.82 (95% CI: 0.99–8.03), and 2.50 (95% CI: 1.30–4.81), respectively. Women reporting any IPV in the year prior to pregnancy had increased odds of stress-related sleep disturbance (aOR = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.17–3.67) and poor sleep quality (aOR = 2.27; 95% CI: 1.30–3.97) during pregnancy. Conclusion Lifetime and prevalent IPV exposures are associated with stress-related sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality during pregnancy. Our findings suggest that sleep disturbances may be important mechanisms that underlie the lasting adverse effects of IPV on maternal and perinatal health.

An extensive review of the existing literature makes apparent that academics who study intimate partner violence focus primarily on physical violence in heterosexual relationships. Non-physical forms of abuse receive secondary attention, despite reported claims from survivors that non-physical forms of abuse are more common, more painful, and have longer lasting effects than physical forms of abuse. The dominant focus on intimate partner violence as a social problem enacted by males on their female partners results in a lack of sufficient literature or conversation pertaining to abuse that exists outside these parameters. Members of sexual minority groups are deliberately excluded from the mainstream movement to protect and support survivors of intimate partner violence. Influenced by these realizations, this research explores the dynamics of non-physical forms of intimate partner violence in lesbian relationships; particularly the ways survivors frame the abuse and their experiences with seeking help.