Interpersonal violence is a global health issue, the impact of which filters through every facet of society. Studies have shown that more than 1.6 million people die annually across the world as a result of violence; injured survivors may suffer from a range of physical, sexual, reproductive and mental health problems.3 The aim of this study is to describe the trends and profile of violence-related injuries originating in a South African community, with regard to the hospital records of an urban emergency department and crisis centre. Materials and Methods: A retrospective, descriptive study was conducted by reviewing patient files at Leratong Provincial Hospital. Relevant clinical information such as victim’s age and gender; time, date and day of hospital attendance; nature of injury; presence/absence of alcohol; and nature of weapon (if any) was extracted. Each patient record was given a unique study number and patient confidentiality was maintained at all times. The extracted information was recorded on a data sheet and analysed statistically. Results: Leratong Hospital sees a large number of patients with injuries due to interpersonal violence throughout the year, with an increase in May, November and December. Higher numbers of patients present in the last week of the month, and as found in other studies Saturday and Sundays experience the most hospital attendances due to interpersonal violence. Victims were predominantly male (64%), except in the case of sexual assault where the victims were all (100%) female; females also suffered more blunt injuries than penetrating injuries. Blunt injuries were the most frequent type of injury in the overall sample, although over the weekend males sustained more penetrating injuries than blunt injuries. Young males were noted to be the main victims of interpersonal violence, and possibly also the main perpetrators. Conclusion: This study highlights the trends in interpersonal violence injuries seen at Leratong Provincial Hospital. Young adults, especially males, are noted to be significantly affected by interpersonal violence.

This research report is submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the degree of Masters of Arts in Research Psychology

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Domestic Violence is a public health issue that is affecting millions of people annually. Police reports can give a unique aspect of cases that involve domestic violence because the narrative is a firsthand report of the violent incident. Using domestic violence case reports gathered from a law enforcement database at a county Sheriff's office in Florida, the current study examines whether alcohol use in domestic violence incidents influences threats that the victim receives during the incident. Logistic regression analysis indicates that alcohol use does not significantly impact threats that the victim receives during a domestic violence altercation. However, the study found that if there is a history of domestic violence mentioned in the police report, it is more likely that threats are also mentioned. The findings suggest that more research should be done on domestic violence cases involving alcohol use and non-violent forms of abuse such as threats.

Volunteerism is a commonly researched topic however, much scarcer is research into the factors or motivations behind volunteering at domestic violence emergency shelters. Knowing the motivating factors that lead people to dedicate their time to different organizations is important because it gives us an understanding of what can be done in order to get other people involved in pro-social activities that benefit society as a whole. Just as there are different types of individuals who volunteer their time, there are different factors and motivators that compel those individuals to do so. Research to date has identified some common motivators. One of these is altruism. Altruism is essentially a motivation or drive to help another solely for that person's benefit or for the benefit of society as a whole. Other motivators that have been identified include: to gain understanding about a particular social issue, to strengthen social relationships and satisfy normative expectations; to aid in career advancement or to develop job prospects; to reduce negative feelings about oneself or address personal problems; and, to grow and develop psychologically and increase self-esteem. My research specifically examines the motivations among volunteers of local domestic violence emergency shelters. In my review of literature to date, I have been unable to find any research involving volunteers of domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, victim advocacy organizations, or anything along these lines. Only one study was found that has examined motivations among the volunteers for these organizations. This study was a very small (n=8), qualitative investigation with volunteers who occupied a specific position within an organization. This study examines motivations quantitatively of a larger sample of volunteers from two area domestic violence emergency shelters. To acquire this sample, all volunteers in the agency databases were emailed a link to the survey and asked to participate. The survey questionnaire included questions about the factors influencing their decision to volunteer and also why they chose to volunteer specifically at a domestic violence shelter. Demographic differences in motivations among the sample are also statistically determined. This study is important as it is the first to quantitatively assess the motivations of volunteers at a domestic violence agency. Motivations for volunteering at such an agency can differ significantly from motivations for volunteering at other types of organizations (like soup kitchens, day care centers, hospices and the like). The role of personal experience as well as knowing someone who has been personally impacted by domestic violence is measured as a unique motivation for this population. These findings are useful in providing domestic violence agencies with information that can assist in identifying potential volunteers from the larger community as well as a better understanding of their current volunteers. In addition, it contributes to the larger literature by examining a volunteer group that has largely been absent from the literature to date.

en rapport om det pedagogiska arbetet mot våld. / A report about the violence in two schools.