This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Fanslow, J. L. Articles by Robinson, E. M. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fanslow, J. L. Articles by Robinson, E. M. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Help-Seeking Behaviors and Reasons for Help Seeking Reported by a Representative Sample of Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in New Zealand

University of Auckland

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.fanslow{at}auckland.ac.nz.

	Abstract

Efforts to understand and support the process of help seeking by victims of intimate partner violence are of considerable urgency if we are to design systems and responses that are capable of actively and appropriately meeting the needs of victims. Using data from the New Zealand Violence Against Women Study, which drew from a representative general population sample of women aged 18 to 64 years, the authors report on the help-seeking behaviors of the women who had ever in their lifetime experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner (n = 956). More than 75% of respondents reported that they had told someone about the violence, indicating that it is not necessarily a "secret and private" problem. However, more than 40% of women indicated that no one had helped them. Informal sources of support (family and friends) were most frequently told about the violence but not all provided helpful responses. Fewer women told formal sources of help such as police, health care providers, and not all provided helpful responses. Women’s reasons for seeking help and for leaving violent relationships were similar and included "could not endure more," being badly injured, fear or threat of death, and concern for children. Women’s reasons for staying in or returning to violent relationships included perception of the violence as "normal/not serious," her emotional investment in the relationship, or staying for the sake of the children. The findings suggest that broader community outreach is required to ensure that family and friends are able to provide appropriate support for women in abusive relationships who are seeking help. Continued improvement in institutional responses is also required.

First published on July 13, 2009
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009, doi:10.1177/0886260509336963


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?