Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.(H.P.))--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Logos Evangelical Seminary, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-286).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ56171

Prevention of HIV following sexual assault is an important aspect of rape care. This includes taking Post Exposure Prophylaxis for 28 days. The present study aimed to provide an in-depth understanding of social and environmental factors that predisposed, promoted and also served as barriers to adherence to post exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection after sexual assault in women in the Eastern Cape Province. The study involved a purposive sample of women who were offered Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) after a sexual assault. Sixteen women were accessed at the Sinawe Referral Centre and participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 16 to 73 years. An interview guide was developed to assist the researcher, and semistructured, in-depth interviews were used to collect data. These women were interviewed at the end of 28 days of taking the prophylactic medication. The data were analyzed inductively using grounded theory. Only three women completed the 28 days of PEP treatment. Participants gave different explanations for why they did not complete the treatment with only four participants returning to the centre for their medication. Some reported having no money for transport; others mentioned deciding to discontinue the medication because of its side-effects. Poor support systems, both within the community and the health services, including the provision of conflicting information also played a role. The study showed that few women were able to complete their PEP medication and knowledge about the service and access to it were the main factors that lead to non-adherence. There is an urgent need for the improvement of PEP services particular in the support to the women during the period of taking the PEP treatment to ensure protection from HIV after a sexual assault. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The Interactive and Discursive View of Violence and Resistance proposes the existence of four-discursive-operations that “(i) conceal violence, (ii) mitigate perpetrators’ responsibility, (iii) conceal victims’ resistance, and (iv) blame or pathologize victims” (Coates & Wade, 2004, p.500). These linguistic operations produce incorrect representations of violence that ignore the unilateral nature of acts of violence and, instead focus on pathologizing victims (Coates & Wade, 2004). Examining how violence, victims, perpetrators, and responsibility for the violence are represented in therapy transcripts in which the presenting issue is violence, will allow us to see if linguistic strategies that are used to discredit victims in everyday talk are also used in therapy by therapists. Analysis of 19 therapy transcripts found that the four-discursive-operations were used in each of the transcripts and that therapists often initiated the use of these inaccurate representations or encouraged the perpetrator’s use of four-discursive-operations. / xii, 228 leaves ; 29 cm.

Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions and experiences of rape survivors who were receiving Post Exposure Prophylaxis at a regional hospital. Methodology: A phenomenological approach was used to explore the phenomena, of rape survivors' perception and experiences concerning the Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) they received. The study was conducted in R.K.Khan Hospital, in an Outpatient Department in a gynaecology clinic. This is the regional hospital located in Chatsworth, in the Inner Outer West of Ethekwini District. The sample comprised of ten female rape survivors who were receiving Post Exposure Prophylaxis. Data was collected by means of face-to-face interviews using an interview guide. Interviews were lasting thirty to forty minutes long per participant. The researcher applied the principle of theoretical saturation of data and a total of ten participants were included in the study. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed manually using the Editing Analysis Style. Findings: The results of this study indicated that PEP is the new service to rape survivors and this evoked that when you are being raped you face a risk of range of immediate, medium, and long term health problems; physical, and psychological problems. The rape survivors described a number of emotions and physical reactions that they experienced when they were receiving PEP after rape, which were negative and positive reactions. Most experiences they faced indicated that they benefited from the PEP program, because they gained knowledge, got support from care providers and major diseases and complications were prevented by offering the Post Exposure Prophylaxis A number of recommendations were suggested for the provision of PEP program to the community that is for nursing practice, management and education, the policy makers and for future research in an 'attempt to prevent major complications and health problems that occur in rape survivors. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

In reviewing the literature on adult survivors of child sexual abuse/incest, it became apparent that one area has remained in its infancy: a systematic method of symptom assessment. Symptoms, both short and long term, have become clinically well documented. An index, the Sexual Abuse Survivors Symptom Index (evaluating absence/presence, frequency, severity, and impact of symptoms upon the survivor), was developed rationally from the literature was administered. A background questionnaire, simplified from one already in use, was also administered to provide information regarding variables that could confound the research.Approximately 130 female adult clinical subjects were approached to determine whether they would participate in the study. Thirty-three subjects agreed to participate. Due to the small sample size, results of the factor analysis cannot be considered reliable. The principal component factor analysis did produce eight factors, which did not converge in the varimax rotation, however, three factors did emerge. The three factors represented an affective component (almost one half of the symptoms), a somatic/sexual component, and an acting out component.The background questionnaire provided some basic support to the variables the literature reported as affecting symptom severity or likelihood for abuse to occur. Areas endorsed as most severe or correlated strongly and moderately to individual symptoms were ones that were directly connected to the abuse(i.e., age of first inappropriate sexual experience, duration of the abuse, multiple abusers, frequency of the abuse, fear of being hurt by the abusers, and overt/contact type of abuse). The variables that influenced the likelihood for abuse to occur, (i.e., substance abuse, strictness, rigid religious traditions, and physical discipline) were endorsed by slightly less than one half of the subjects, but may have had severe impact individually upon each survivor of abuse. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The current study assessed the effects of incest utilizing the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), an objective measure that can address such long term effects as low self esteem, isolation, depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance abuse, impaired sexual adjustment, psychosomatic concerns, and interpersonal relationship difficulties. Eighty-one women seeking counseling for issues related to an incestuous childhood, and 90 non sexually abused adult female clients completed the MMPI and a background information questionnaire.A Multivariate Analysis of Variance test comparing the mean profiles demonstrated that the incest group was more somatic, depressed, angry, anxious, and confused. A chi square analysis of two-point code type configurations found the incest group being more classified by the 48/84 and the 24/42 code types whereas the control group was more represented by the 46/64 code type. Lastly, the groups were compared by completing cluster analyses on each group's profiles. Both groups yielded an "overwhelmed" cluster that was statistically the same. Secondly, they each yielded a "normal" cluster that was similar but statistically different. Finally, the incest group yielded an "angry and confused" cluster and the control group yielded a "somatizer" cluster. Descriptions of the clusters and reasons for their differences are proposed.Differential impact was examined by comparing the incest clusters on number of abusers, use of threat or force, identity of the abuser, perceived betrayal by a non offending parent, length of time since abuse, and length of time in counseling. The only significant finding in these analyses was that the "overwhelmed" cluster had a greater number of abusers than the "angry and confused" and the "normal" clusters.The first two analyses were included in the study to validate the similarity of the present data with previous research and to demonstrate the myopic vision that results from analyzing the data in these manners. The cluster analysis allowed for the examination of the differential impact of the numerous long term sequalae. Recommendations for further research are presented as well as implications for treatment. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This thesis examines the testimonies of victims related to the use of torture during the Pinochet dictatorship. It contends that the existence of a broad testimonial archive on torture, significantly produced by the victims themselves, points to a collective 'speech' by which victims have attempted to splinter the silence of the dictatorial state and, in the aftermath of the repression, to contest the 'official history' of the transitional state. The testimonies of torture victims, it will be argued, signify a specific mode of action, a 'doing' of memory, whereby the experience of torture is re-membered in an effort to bring accountability for the crimes committed and this, from the first days of the dictatorship up to today. This speech of victims moreover is seen to constitute the unifying link between the testimonies of torture victims that have emerged during the dictatorship itself and those that continue to emerge today.

Thesis (MPsy(Specialisation))--University of South Australia, 2002.