The ways in which men negotiate contradictory discourses to accommodate their domestic violence into their sense of self forms the focus of this thesis. The sixty-six men interviewed for this thesis had attended a twelve-week group in an attempt to stop their violence. Forty-two of their women partners also agreed to be interviewed. Overall two hundred and fifty-nine interviews were conducted with these men and their women partners. The men were found to draw on various competing discourses in their constructions of themselves. One of the sources was the print media. A content analysis of newspaper articles over a period of twenty years revealed that popular representations of domestic violence have increased over time and have privileged physical forms of violence. Representations of the perpetrator of domestic violence featured hegemonic forms of masculinity, emphasising the physicality of men's bodies. Although the men interviewed here had agreed to attend a professional course for violent perpetrators, they were selective in which professional discourses they used to explain their own violence. The thesis outlines legal, medical and human services discourses, focusing on selected interventions, and identifies weaknesses such as the use of prescriptive definitions of domestic violence and the reliance on women to report on their own and their partner's feelings and behaviours. Finally, women's and men's own representations of their experiences revealed that the domestic relationship is a complex entity - where contradictory scripts for masculinity and femininity are acted out. Feminist and masculinity theories of power and subjectivity are coupled with Foucauldian thought to provide a theoretical framework capable of untangling the contradictory issues expressed in these discursive spaces. A key contradiction occurs between an aspect of the male gender role discourse in which men are expected to 'look out for number one', which requires enacting high levels of self-control and control-over others. This is juxtaposed with the desire for men to exercise non-violent forms of control and an ethic of care for others as well as themselves. Even though women are often identified as the caregivers in the family, a significant finding of this thesis was that violent men work relentlessly to construct themselves as the ethical partner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Social Sciences, 2004.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2003. / Prepared for: Dept. of Psychology. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-75). Also available online via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-46). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

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.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-82). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ56162

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Katreena Scott.

Thesis (M.S.) in Education--University of Maine, 2007. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-48).

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (151-157).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (151-157) Also available in print.

This is a qualitative study exploring the needs of women when residing in a refuge. In the context of the United Kingdom, women's refuges are a specialist provision that provide temporary accommodation for women escaping domestic violence and abuse (DVA). Recent literature that looks at the needs of women who reside in refuges is limited. However, considering these needs is important at a time when austerity measures have resulted in funding cuts to the DVA sector, which have had a direct impact on refuge service provision. This study contributes to the literature on women's refuge services, as they are the most likely specialist DVA service to be accessed, and are consequently in high demand. In this study, 35 participants took part in total. Within two research phases 32 residents across 6 refuges and 3 focus groups answered the first research question: What are the self-articulated needs of women in a refuge? Within the first phase a thematic analysis of the data from the first two focus groups identified six key themes: Accessing a refuge, Loss, To feel safe, Support, To move on, and To feel valued. Within the second research phase, a further focus group was conducted, the analysis of which is presented without decontextualising the content into themes, as it was felt to be important to represent the narrative structure of the documented accounts. The analysis of the material is presented by providing summaries demonstrating examples of the physical and emotional journeys that three women took to get to a refuge, and their subsequent needs upon arrival. In the third phase of the study, three semi-structured interviews were conducted with refuge staff members to answer the second research question: What do workers in a refuge setting perceive to be the needs of the residents? Thematic analysis of each interview identified 11 main themes, of which two themes per staff member were discussed. The final phase of the analysis process involved comparing and contrasting the salient findings that appeared similar or dissimilar across the data. Key emerging issues related to research question one identified the unexpected outcome addressing the needs of children and the helplessness felt by the mothers. Other issues discussed were the emotional challenges that accessing a refuge brought in terms of preparation, isolation, and location along with the importance of relational support in service delivery. In relation to research question two, key issues highlighted include the engagement of residents in support interventions and the impact that financial cuts have had on refuges. From a counselling psychology perspective, implications are identified for research and professional practice across a range of roles, from refuge personnel and funding commissioners to services that work alongside refuges, such as housing associations, local governments, and mental health professionals.