FEDERAL STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION
”BELGOROD STATE NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY”
( “ B S N R U ” )
FACULTY OF THEOLOGY AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
NAMED AFTER MACARIUS (BULGAKOV) METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW
AND KOLOMNA
SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT
SOCIAL PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE USING
INSTITUTIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS
Master’s thesis of
Moses Abdul Fullah
Pursuing a master's degree in 39.04.02 Social work
Intramural form of study, group 87001607
Scientific supervisor
Candidate of Philosophy,
Associate Professor
K.Yu. Korolyova
Referee
Candidate of Sociology
Associate Professor
L.V Shmigirilova
BELGOROD 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION
3
METHODOLOGICAL BACKGROUND TO DOMESTIC
12
VIOLENCE
1.1
Theoretical Approaches to domestic violence: Forms, causes and
12
Consequences
1.2
International and National Legislative Acts in Domestic
38
Violence: Comparative Analysis of Implementation Practices
2
PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SOCIAL
51
WORK INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES
2.1
Problems of domestic violence prevention: Government and non- 51
governmental bodies’ interaction analysis
2.2
Institutional and Organizational models of domestic violence
76
prevention
CONCLUSION
101
BIBLIOGRAPHY
106
APPENDICES
112
2
3
INTRODUCTION
Research rationale. Domestic violence cuts in all age groups, social classes
and travels beyond the level of physical violence. It includes emotional violence,
including threats, isolation, extreme jealousy and humiliation, and sexual abuse, as
well. Whenever an individual is in a situation involving physical danger, or when
someone is under control or threatened with the use of physical force, it is considered
domestic violence. Domestic violence usually occurs in cycles requiring a social
worker to be able to recognize it so that he / she can intervene appropriately. There
are many barriers to detecting domestic violence. Many victims either do not want or
cannot get help for themselves and their children. Some of them may be in captivity,
while others may be absent from transportation or financial means to purchase
assistance.
Women of cultural, ethnic or religious affiliation may also influence her
response to abuse, as well as her awareness of viable resources and opportunities. In
this profession, we all know about the immediate consequences of domestic violence,
such as bodily harm. Further studies also showed me that abusing a spouse may
experience chronic psychosomatic pains or pain due to a diffuse injury without visible
signs. Abuse of the spouse and / or the child may develop chronic post-traumatic
stress, other anxiety disorders or depression. These conditions can be recognized by
various symptoms, including sleep and appetite disorders, fatigue, decreased
concentration, chronic headaches etc. Destroyed women experiencing Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder can become entangled in a myriad of symptoms such as avoidance,
stupor, fear and retrospective staff; interrupting normal functioning and interfering
with the adaptation of response mechanisms. Psychosomatic complaints also found
frequent visits to the doctor's office without evidence of any physiological problems.
Domestic violence includes serious and persistent depression, panic disorder, suicidal
tendencies and substance abuse that can hinder the victim's ability to properly assess
4
their situation and take the necessary measures. Family members of the victims, as
well as the offender, can insist that the abuse of alcohol or drugs is a problem and
refuse to blame where it belongs.
Over the years, governments all over the world, Non-governmental
Organizations and many other actors had continuously worked towards mitigating the
occurrence of the violence. But the violence is still posing a threat all over the world.
Women and children especially in Africa are still greatly affected and more effort
should be done in order to reduce the violence.
Literature review. Domestic violence is one of the major public health and
human right problems in the world today that affects the health and well-being of
millions of women and families throughout the world. While the risk factors vary
across cultures, similar consequences have been observed globally, ranging from
physical to psychological health problems. Domestic Violence against women is not
new throughout history for thousands of years in patriarchal societies. Wives were
considered the property of husbands, subject to their wishes and demands and the
husband had the right to beat her, from this perspective, the silence surrounded this
problem. Domestic violence is a form of oppression that occurs within a social
context that makes violence against an oppressed group possible and even acceptable.
Women are considered an oppressed group. As the women’s movement gained
momentum during the 1960s and 1970s, an augmented awareness of domestic
violence issues emerged within the United States. Among all the theories, feminist
theory is influential in raising the public consciousness about gender role conditioning
and bringing about the egalitarianism between man and woman in the society. The
horrors of domestic violence are now all too well known and are regularly addressed
and criticized in the mass media. It is a grave and far-reaching social crisis which is
deep rooted in the society, across all economic and age groups, difficult to uproot it
completely. Any culture or custom that considers and places women in subordinate
5
positions within society or in the family has the potential to turn violent and
aggressive. Women are devalued, subordinated, and harassed daily. Some have
considered domestic violence as fate, some fight for justice but some remain as silent
receivers of pain and injustice till the last breath of life.
Family is a social institution which arises from marriage between a man and a
woman and depends on one another for emotional, physical, and financial support.
The most important elements of the family are the husband, wife, and children. The
family is often equated with sanctuary – a place where individuals seek love, safety,
security, affection, affiliation companionship, socialization, controls and shelter. But
it is also a place that imperils lives, and breeds some of the most drastic forms of
violence perpetrated against women and their children. The woman holds a key
position in the shaping of the next generation, and in the life of their husband. Woman
is so valuable to the success of the family; in which giving birth to children, putting
up with the daily pressures of life, dealing with the demands of children, maintaining
a good relationship with her husband, and raising great children to function well in
society. Therefore woman must have a healthy mind, body, and humane ethics.
There is no denying of the naked fact that, domestic violence is a universal
problem and debating on it will be a complete farrago of sheer waste of time because
it is undisputable. Series of theories have been propagated as the problem of domestic
violence. Interestingly, no single approach appears in covering all cases as with many
phenomena regarding human experience. Before moving on to a consideration of the
domestic violence policy adopted in Sierra Leone, it is necessary first to set the scene
regarding recent developments of institutional and organizational approaches to
domestic violence. My aim in this literature is to provide a backcloth to my research
by considering some of the various theoretical approaches of tackling this issue. As a
result of cultural practices, silence culture and weak implementation of domestic
6
violence laws, resulted in the high level of domestic violence never being officially
recognized.
However, in recent times a more positive and encouraging series of strategies
has been tested. Perhaps the most important of these has been the recognition of the
poor institutional interaction to curtail the violence. Government working jointly with
other institutions whilst promoting improved arrest performance and recording
practices. Inter-institutional interaction sought to provide a better and safer service for
the victims of this type of crime. In this section I will consider some of these
processes.
A co-ordinated institutional approach entailed a number of agencies working
together with an agreed, or joint, strategy, objective and tasks. The goal was usually a
common one with each agency approaching the problem from its own standpoint.
Family violence involves a number of complex issues which often require
professional help from various agencies such as law enforcement, health and social
services in addition to the support available from the voluntary sector. In Sierra Leone
the need for co-ordination of these agencies has been recognized both at a national
and local level. The government regarded itself as providing a leadership role in
identifying the emerging social issues and problems whilst encouraging innovative
ways of responding to the concerns of family violence.
In 2007 the government established the Family Support Unit (FSU) with all
necessary support to help address the problem. The unit works with the Sierra Leone
Police and Welfare Ministry to look for more than a single answer to this problem.
Step by step they have to move towards a comprehensive solution", Co-ordination
was also organized on a local basis.
The involvement of the law enforcement agencies (police), criminal justice
(courts) and human services (victim and offender support) and their joint purpose was
to adopt a common set of policies and procedures aimed at providing a uniformed
7
response to prevent the violence and from occurring and deal with the perpetrators.
The intention was to make police and the criminal justice system responsible for
controlling and regulating the offender's conduct, offering educational and support
services to change the assailant’s behavior, whilst increasing options for women
victims. The whole process, in the first instance, depended on the arrest of the
offender. Women in Sierra Leone still lack access to the police, exorbitant fees
charged by medical officers and pressure to make out-of-court settlements all
contributed to impunity and state inaction. There is still very little is known about the
actual number of men who are in a domestic relationship in which they are abused or
treated violently their female partners. Only few incidences are reported to the police
and so data is limited. There are many reasons why there isn’t more information about
domestic abuse and violence against men. A major reason accordingly is the
reluctance of men to report incidence to the police, unless they sustain substantial
injuries. The government of Sierra Leone in partnership with other international
organization still working tirelessly to ensuring that they meet the international
conventions they have signed to. In summary, it can easily be fathomed from the
perspective that, ‘’The World Conference on Human Rights’’, held in ( Vienna in
1993, and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEDAW)
in the same year, concluded that civil society and governments have acknowledged
that violence against women is a public health and human rights concern. Works in
these areas had resulted in the establishment of the international standards, but the
task of documenting the magnitude of violence women and producing reliable
comparative data to guide policy and monitor implementation has been exceedingly
difficult.
Research Object: social prevention of domestic violence.
Research Subject: social management practices in Domestic violence
prevention.
8
Aim of the Research: the overall aim is to establish social prevention of
domestic violence by using organizational and institutional models.
Key objectives are:
to analyze various theoretical approaches and legislative base of
domestic violence;
to reveal the causes and consequences of domestic violence;
to analyze practices of Domestic Violence prevention;
develop Institutional and Organizational models used by Government
and Non-governmental bodies to tackle Domestic Violence challenges.
Research Hypothesis: the introduction of government, non-governmental
bodies and other actors will continuously work towards mitigating the occurrence of
the violence. The institutional and organizational models if applied in different
communities will help to produce some positive results. There is still a high
occurrence of the violence all over the world and more organizational interaction
needed to improve on the following:
There are weak ties between governmental and non-governmental bodies to
effectively solve domestic violence issues. These weaknesses could be addressed and
proffer solutions that could be useful to eradicating the various factors preventing
these organizations to address the violence.
My Domestic Violence models that will be appropriate and suitable to be used
by Government and Non-governmental bodies in achieving their results
Research Methodology. Research work takes the form of a theoretical basis
for research on domestic violence and their preventive strategies, using both
institutional and organizational models. The research work contains difference
theoretical approaches developed by various philosophers and sociologists and
purposefully helps in understanding the causes of domestic violence. The research
explains feminists, power and control, Marxist approach (economic theory), gender,
9
psychological, and judicial theories of domestic violence. It analyzes Karl Marx views
domestic violence as physical, sexual, psychological, emotional and financial abuse in
a relationship, in which partner uses such an abuse to either intimidate or maintain
control over another. Karl Marx theory addresses domestic violence from class
struggle and gender inequality view. It further explains the gender theory as a gender
gap focus on structural differences in individual resource endowments, often viewing
female employment as the critical factor, and on cultural diversity.
The study further analyzes various forms of domestic violence, and their side
effects on women and children, because they are the most vulnerable segments of the
population who suffer from domestic violence. It further looks into the existing
institutional and non-institutional arrangements for addressing domestic violence and
its effectiveness in dealing with the cases.
Empirical Basis: the prevalence of domestic violence in all societies is
empirically shown in every part of the world and it is becoming increasingly
acknowledged. Regardless of region, race, color or creed, violence that occurs
between people categorized as being in “domestic relationship “is something that
societies have recognized cannot be ignored. In order to address this issue the
legislature in Sierra Leone has enacted the Domestic Violence Act 2007 a progressive
piece of legislation which states that it is an “Act to suppress domestic violence and to
provide protection for victims of domestic violence”.
The study consults various online materials, magazines, journals, books, news
briefs, press releases posted on the websites of the social welfare ministry of Sierra
Leone, as well as other international websites. Articles and government websites,
along with statements released by NGO’s, been critically important to the
understanding of the programs and practices that were implemented in efforts to solve
the daily occurrence of the violence.
10
The study explains preventive strategies and their problems, using a description
of international experience. In addition, I also explore a reference list of extracted
reports, articles and a journal for potential relevant documents that contribute to my
research topic. For this search, there are relevant magazines in some areas and a
Google consultant, legislative documents, public opinion, and experts on domestic
violence.
Besides I conducted a poll that targeted 100 respondents that are dealing with
domestic violence issues in Sierra Leone.
Scientific Novelty: the scientific novelty of the study is to develop institutional
and organizational models that could be useful to organizations working on domestic
violence issues in Sierra Leone for effective preventive practices.
Thesis: the domestic violence models are essential for effective programs,
practice, and policy. They will help to show what kinds of intervention and preventive
measures work, for whom, how, and under what conditions. The models will also
promote a strong body of evidence to advocate for better laws and policies and for
more funding for domestic violence responses. They are very useful in improving the
management technology of social service organizations working on domestic violence
issues. Most importantly, the thesis has the potential to give voice to the real
experiences of survivors and advocates.
Practical significance of my research. Domestic violence is widespread,
which becomes practice in the world. It is on this note that the results of this study
will benefit all categories of people.
- research is significant because it will serve as a guide for social prevention of
domestic violence in Sierra Leone;
- the study will also eliminate the gap that other researchers could have left on
the issue of domestic violence;
- my domestic violence models will be ready for practical implementation;
11
- the research can be used by Government and Non-governmental bodies in
their daily practices;
- to families, leaders, parents and spouses, the study will allow them to
implement any mistakes that they have made, and then it will act as corrective
measures for the continuers of domestic violence;
- politicians will benefit from this research while formulating national rules of
violence and politics, borrowing some ideas based on the results of this study.
Work Structure. My dissertation is made up of two main chapters with each
chapter divided into sub sections at 111 pages to enable major issues of domestic
violence
are
dealt
with
comprehensively.
It
presents
findings,
practical
recommendations and conclusion of the study. The bibliography list includes 66
sources.
12
1. METHODOLOGICAL BACKGROUND TO SOCIAL WORK
1.1. Theoretical Approaches to Domestic Violence: Forms, Causes and
Consequences.
The definition of domestic violence varies depending on the context in which
the term is used. A clinical or behavioral definition is “a pattern of assaultive and/ or
coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks, as well as
economic coercion, that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners.”2
The U.S. Department of Justice defines domestic violence as “A pattern of abusive
behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and
control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual,
emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence
another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate,
isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone
[8].
Domestic violence takes place within a marriage or partnership and is
overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women (although there are reported
incidents of women beating their husbands; in these cases, there is significant social
stigma for the male victim). Domestic violence usually occurs through beating,
punching, pushing or wounding. It is frequently considered acceptable in Sierra
Leone, and even part of a healthy marriage (as long as it is not too severe), because it
exists within the context of entrenched social norms and gender inequities and weak
law enforcement efforts. Women have even suggested that domestic violence can be
an indication of a husband’s love for his wife. These attitudes are changing with
awareness-raising efforts around women’s rights and new legislation that criminalizes
domestic violence. Nonetheless, rates are said to be endemic across the country.
13
The forms of domestic violence women in Sierra Leone subjected differ but
also interrelated. Let’s examine the most prevalent domestic violence forms (physical,
economic and emotional/psychological, communal/cultural violence, sexual violence
and structural violence), which arose in fieldwork. All of these, except for structural
violence, are criminalized in Sierra Leone in the Domestic Violence Act (2007) and
the Sexual Offences Act (2012). Domestic violence and customary practices (such as
female circumcision and child marriage) are considered the most common forms of
violence [13].
Domestic violence can also be emotional and economic in nature. Emotional
violence involves the destruction of the victim's self-worth, and is brought about by
persistent insult, humiliation, or criticism. Emotional abuse can be a difficult type of
domestic violence for many people to understand, since, on the surface, it appears to
be quite common in unhealthy relationships. Different studies have shown that, in
Sierra Leone emotional abuse is not enough on its own to bring a domestic violence
action unless the abuse is so persistent and so significant that the relationship can be
labeled extremely coercive. Most commonly, evidence of emotional abuse is
combined with other abuse (physical, financial, sexual, or psychological) to bring a
domestic violence action [2].
Psychological violence against women includes routine denigration that harms
the victim’s mental state. Because this form of violence does not necessarily result in
physical evidence of harm, it frequently goes unacknowledged. It includes anything
from verbal criticism to more subtle tactics, such as name calling, yelling, insulting
the person, bullying, manipulation and refusal to ever be pleased [53].
Economic violence is especially challenging in the Sierra Leone context
because of the low socioeconomic situation of so many citizens. Economic violence
refers to situations in which women are harmed by the denial of economic resources
or means. Even though women often constitute the primary labor force in the family,
14
working on farms or in the market, men usually control household finances. Women
thus turn over their income to their husbands, who then determine how much money
to give back to them for their own maintenance and that of their children. Many
women in Sierra Leone get into a large numbers of disputes regarding maintenance,
with women denied sufficient resources to support themselves and their children.
Women can also suffer economic violence through dispossession of land in the event
of their husband’s death or divorce [UNFPA 2007]. This is particularly so if the
marriage was not registered (unregistered informal marriages are the norm in Sierra
Leone, despite legislation in 2007 encouraging registration so women can access other
rights) and the woman therefore has no contractual proof of the relationship that could
afford her rights to property or inheritance (although, in practice, even registered
customary marriages still often result in the denial of women’s rights in the event of a
husband’s death or divorce). In some instances, women are denied rights to property
if they refuse to marry their deceased husband’s brother or close relative, which is a
traditional practice that allows both the wife and the husband’s property to remain
within the family.
In relation to cultural or communal violence, it is estimated that approximately
80-90% of women in provincial Sierra Leone undergo circumcision as part of secret
society initiation practices around the time of puberty (in reality between the ages of
approximately 6 and 16) [AfDB, 2011: 34; Fanthorpe, 2007]. While it is difficult to
get accurate statistics, this prevalence appears to now be changing. As awareness of
women’s rights and health concerns around circumcision increases, there are moves
by civil society groups. A vast literature exists on categories of domestic violence.
Cultural/communal violence in Sierra Leone gives women the levity the practice of
not going into circumcision until 18 years of age, when a woman can choose for
herself whether to go through with it. Indeed, in some areas, communities and the
soweis (the women who conduct circumcision) have signed memoranda of
15
understanding to wait until women are 18. While some soweis are adhering to these
agreements, they are not widespread and in many places initiation continues to
happen when girls are underage. Furthermore, as girls stay in school longer and even
carry on tertiary education in urban centers, they are less likely to undergo initiation.
This is in part because initiation is seen to be required prior to marriage, and girls who
stay in school are less likely to get married at an early age; as a result, initiation is
delayed and women increasingly choose not to undergo the procedure at a later time.
This also reflects that women who pursue education and employment in urban areas
become less attached to what were referred to in interviews as ‘traditional way [27].
Traditionally, particularly poorer families might betroth their daughters at a
young age (even birth) to wealthier families within the community [UNFPA, 2007].
Girls are often assumed to be ready for marriage once they reach puberty and this can
lead to child marriages. Child marriage is also closely connected to initiation of girls,
wherein an older man financially supports the initiation costs of a young girl and in
return is allowed to marry her after the ceremony. Such marriages have negative
implications for the health and welfare of girls and young women, particularly in
relation to early childbirth and limitations on their educational opportunity.
Cases of sexual violence have also seen an increase in Sierra Leone, although it
is likely that this owes to greater reporting of crimes rather than an increase in
incidents. Sexual violence, as set out in the Sexual Offences Act [2012], includes rape
and sexual assault. While the Act sets out definitions of these crimes, they are often
understood differently within communities, where legal definitions do not always
carry the weight they are presumed to. For instance, a recurrent theme in interviews
was the fact that rape is rarely considered a crime within marriage or partnership, as
consent is not deemed necessary, with wives often viewed as the property of their
husbands – despite the fact that the Sexual Offences Act stipulates that marriage is not
a defense for rape. In fact, most women indicated that rape was also rarely considered
16
to have occurred among adults. ‘Rape’ in many communities in Sierra Leone is
considered to refer only to the rape of a young girl by an older man, despite statutes
defining it in a significantly more expansive sense. This suggests that a wide range of
sexual violence, while technically criminalized in legislation, is not necessarily
considered criminal within society. This is reinforced by reporting statistics that
suggest sexual violence occurs at significantly higher levels among girls than it does
among women. Researchers and practitioners working on Violence against Women in
Sierra Leone, however, suspect that, rather than violence decreasing substantially
when girls turn 18, crimes against adult women are simply not reported as frequently
as they are not considered as serious as crimes against girls. Sexual violence against
schoolgirls is a particular problem, with numerous reports of teachers taking
advantage of female students, often resulting in early pregnancy and girls dropping
out of school. The prevalence of this specific form of sexual violence was reported in
interviews as relating to the abuse of power by teachers, or as ‘transactional sex’ by
girls, in order, for instance, to pass exams or get out of paying school fees[27].
Structural violence finally, women continue to face structural violence in Sierra
Leone, which emerges from a discriminatory or exclusionary political settlement in
which women are denied equal opportunities [Swaine, 2012]. For instance, there is a
discriminatory clause in the country’s Constitution that makes it impossible for
women in the north to stand for election as paramount chiefs on the basis of their sex,
and few women can afford to run for election because men continue to be the political
gatekeepers of the process and/or they are not in control of their own finances; these
represent structural impediments to women’s free and equal participation in society
[27].
A vital part of understanding a social problem, and a precursor to preventing it,
is an understanding of what causes it. Research on the causes of violence against
women has consisted of two lines of inquiry: Examination of the characteristics that
17
influence the behavior of offenders and consideration of whether some women have a
heightened vulnerability to victimization. Research has sought causal factors at
various levels of analysis, including individual, dyadic, institutional, and social.
Studies of offending and victimization remain conceptually distinct except in
sociocultural analysis in which joint consideration is often given to two
complementary processes: those that influence men to be aggressive and channel their
expressions of violence toward women and those that position women for receipt of
violence and operate to silence them afterwards.
Many theorists and researchers have sought to answer the question, "Why does
this particular man batter or sexually assault?" by looking at single classes of
influences. Among them have been biologic factors such as androgenic hormonal
influences; intra-psychic explanations focused on mental disorder or personality traits
and profiles; social learning models that highlight the socialization experiences that
shape individual men to be violent; social information processing theory concerning
the cognitive processes that offenders engage in before, during, and after violence;
sociocultural analyses aimed at understanding the structural features of society at the
level of the dyad, family, peer group, school, religion, media, and state that encourage
male violence and maintain women as a vulnerable class of potential victims; and
feminist explanations stressing the gendered nature of violence against women and its
roots in patriarchal social systems.
Although current understanding suggests that violent behavior is not caused by
any single factor, much of the research has focused on single causes. Therefore, in the
following sections several salient findings emerging from each single-factor domain
are highlighted to illustrate how each contributes something to the causal nexus of
perpetration of violence. They are followed by a brief review of efforts to build
multifactor models [36].
Determinants of violence behaviors
18
Evolution: From an evolutionary perspective, the goal of sexual behavior is to
maximize the likelihood of passing on one's genes. This goal involves maximizing the
chances that one will have offspring who themselves will survive to reproduce. In
ancestral environments, optimum male and female strategies for successfully passing
on one's genes often did not coincide because the amount of parental investment
required by males is smaller than that required by females. Males were best served by
mating with as many fertile females as possible to increase their chance of
impregnating one of them; females, who have the tasks of pregnancy and nurturing
the young, are often better served by pair bonding. Sex differences in current human
mating strategies may be explained as having been shaped by the strategies that
created reproductive success among human ancestors. A number of studies have
shown that young adult males are more interested in partner variety, less interested in
committed long-term relationships, and more willing to engage in impersonal sex than
are young adult females [21].
Limit to Women’s rights in public and political life: Historically, women have
been excluded from political life and decision making processes. Women’s campaigns
for participation in the public and political arena date back to the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries and continue today. At the time of the First World War, few
parliamentary democracies recognized women’s right to vote. In 1945, when the
United Nations was established, more than half of the 51 nations that ratified the
Charter still did not allow women to vote or gave them only restricted voting rights.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to
take part in the government of his or her country. Article 7 guarantees the right of
women to partake in public life and decision making and to be eligible for election to
all publicly elected bodies, the right to participate in the formulation of government
policy and its implementation, to hold public office and perform all public functions
at all levels of government, and the right to participate in non-governmental
19
organizations [NGOs] or associations concerned with the public and political life of
the country. States are require to “take all appropriate measures to ensure to women,
on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the opportunity to represent
their Governments at the international level and to participate in the work of
international organizations.”. Other obstacles such as stereotyping and traditional
perceptions of men’s and women’s roles in society, as well as lack of access to
relevant information and resources also inhibit women’s possibilities or willingness to
exercise their right to public life. Traditional working patterns of many government
structures continue to be barriers to women’s participation in public life, and women
may be discouraged from seeking political office because of their double burden of
work and the high cost of seeking and holding public office, in addition to
discriminatory attitudes and practices [52].
Attitudes and Gender Schemas: Cultural myths about violence, gender scripts
and roles, sexual scripts and roles, and male entitlements are represented at the
individual level as attitudes and gender schemas. These hypothetical entities are
expectancies that give meaning to and may even bias interpretation of ongoing
experience, as well as provide a structure for the range of possible responses.
Aggressive men more strongly endorse a set of attitudes that are supportive of rape
than do nonaggressive men, including myths about rape and the use of interpersonal
violence as a strategy for resolving conflict. For example, incarcerated rapists often
rationalize that their victim either desired or deserved to experience forced sexual
acts. Similarly, culturally sanctioned beliefs about the rights and privileges of
husbands have historically legitimized a man's domination over his wife and
warranted his use of violence to control her. Men, in general, are more accepting of
men abusing women, and the most culturally traditional men are the most accepting
[Greenblatt, 1985]. Batterers' often excuse their violence by pointing to their wives'
''unwisely" behavior as their justification [21].
20
Sex and Power Motives: Violence against women is widely believed to be
motivated by needs to dominate women. This view conjures the image of a powerful
man who uses violence against women as a tool to maintain his superiority, but
research suggests that the relationship is more complex. Power and control frequently
underlie intimate partner violence, but the purpose of the violence may also be in
response to a man's feelings of powerlessness and inability to accept rejection
[Browne and Dutton, 1990]. It also has been argued that rape, in particular, represents
fulfillment of sexual needs through violence [Ellis, 1989], but research has found that
motives of power and anger are more prominent in the rationalizations for sexual
aggression than sexual desires . Attempts to resolve the debate about sex versus power
have involved laboratory studies of men's sexual arousal to stimuli of depictions of
pure violence, pure consensual sex, and nonconsensual sex plus violence. These
studies have consistently shown that some "normal" males with no known history of
rape may be aroused by rape stimuli involve Bottom of Forming adult women,
especially if the women are portrayed as enjoying the experience [Hall, 1990].
The consequences of violence against women are far broader than the impact on
the women victims. Their families and friends may be affected. In the case of intimate
partner violence, there is increasing evidence of the negative impact on children of
exposure to violence in the family. Society suffers economically, both in the use of
resources and in the loss of productivity due to fear and injury. Understanding the
consequences of violence is necessary for planning and implementing interventions to
deal with those consequences. This section examines research findings about the
consequences violence against women has on the individual victim, those closest to
her, and on society as a whole.
The effects of domestic violence on women go beyond the immediate physical
injuries they suffer at the hands of their abusers. Frequently, domestic violence
survivors suffer from an array of psychosomatic illnesses, eating disorders, insomnia,
21
gastrointestinal disturbances, generalized chronic pain, and devastating mental health
problems like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Many abused women find it difficult to function in their daily lives because of
the effects of domestic violence. Absences from work, due to injuries or visits to the
doctor, often cause them to lose their jobs, making them less able to leave their
abusive situations. They may feel ashamed that their partners abuse them, see
themselves as unworthy of love, and suffer from a significantly diminished selfperception. Because of their feelings of low self-worth, these women become isolated
from friends and family and do not participate in social activities common to others in
their demographic [21].
When most people hear or see the phrase, domestic violence and children, they
see images of bruised, beaten, burned children in their mind's eye. Certainly, these
physical injuries represent immediately visible effects of domestic abuse. But children
who only witness domestic violence suffer consequences just as far reaching and
devastating as those seen in physically battered children. Studies indicate that children
from violent homes, who witness the abuse of their mothers at the hands of their
fathers, experience mental health issues similar in intensity and magnitude to those
experienced by physically battered children. Similar research shows children, who
both witness their fathers abusing their mothers and are themselves battered, suffer
the most profound behavioral and emotional distress. Children who grow up in violent
households may exhibit a host of adverse behaviors and emotions, including (21):
become violent themselves in response to threats (in school or at home);
attempt suicide;
use drugs and abuse alcohol;
develop eating disorders;
abuse them (i.e. cutting);
anxiety and depression;
22
poor social skills;
enter into an abusive relationship later on;
consequences of domestic violence on women.
An abused woman lives in fear, unable to predict when the next attack will
come. She may become isolated from friends and family, and increasingly dependent
on her abuser. In these circumstances it can be very hard to make sense of what is
really happening. Over time her self-esteem may be worn down, like water dripping
on a stone. She may start to believe her abuser’s insults. She may blame herself for
the abuse, or deny that it is taking place. She may ignore it, hoping that her partner –
the man she loves – will change.
Abused women often experience conflicting emotions such as fear, anger,
shame, resentment, sadness and powerlessness. They are not weak, submissive
victims – quite the opposite, they are courageous and resourceful. It takes huge
strength to live with an abusive partner. Women have to adopt all kinds of coping
strategies to survive each day.
The enormous courage it takes for a woman to escape domestic violence. We
support her and her children every step of the way and empower them to rebuild their
lives – free from fear.
Victims of intimate partner violence and rape exhibit a variety of psychological
symptoms that are similar to those of victims of other types of trauma, such as war
and natural disaster. Following a trauma, many victims experience shock, denial,
disbelief, fear, confusion, and withdrawal. Assaulted women may become dependent
and suggestible and have difficulty undertaking long-range planning or decision
making (Bard and Sangrey, 1986). Although a single victimization may lead to
permanent emotional scars, ongoing and repetitive violence is clearly highly
deleterious to psychological adjustment [31].
23
Various social theories and rules have been proposed to assist in understanding
the reasons behind domestic abuse. Domestic violence is currently on the rise and is
normally associated with intimate relations between husband and wife. Different
sociologists and researchers have developed different theories that explain the causes
of domestic violence. In many societies womanhood is shaped by the view that
women are physically weaker and intellectually inferior to men, as well as spiritually
underendowed. In some societies women’s issue must take account of the fact that
women are viewed as naturally lecherous and wanton. Rape, wife abuse, and even
murder are viewed as justifiable responses to these female tendencies [54]. Domestic
violence generally occurs in cycles, requiring the social worker to be able to recognize
it so that he/she can intervene appropriately. Many barriers exist to identifying
Domestic violence and many of the victims are either reluctant or unable to get help
for themselves and their children. Some may be held captive, while others may be
lacking transportation or the financial means to acquire help. A woman’s cultural,
ethnic, or religious background may also influence her response to the abuse as well
as her awareness of viable resources and options. In this profession, we are all aware
of the immediate effects of Domestic violence such as physical injuries. Further
research has also shown me that the abused spouse may experience chronic
psychosomatic pain or pain due to diffuse trauma without visible evidence. The
abused spouse and/or child may develop chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, other
anxiety disorders, or depression. The domestic violence theories explain the reasons
behind domestic violence practices and propose solutions to domestic violence.
Theories are important, not only because they offer different explanations for the
phenomenon of domestic abuse, but because each approach has clear implications for
responses and interventions by practitioners and policy-makers. If there is no common
understanding of a problem, responses will not be consistent, and are likely to
conflict. Most researchers believed that domestic violence occurs as a result of control
24
and power issues, whereby the perpetrators felt the need to have control over their
partners. Understanding the proposed theories of domestic violence theories will
assist in minimizing the domestic violence cases. Some of these theories are: power
and control theory, feminist theory, Gender theory, economic theory, social conflict
theory and psychological theory.
The power and control theory explains the power men over exercise on women
to control resources in society theory. It is based on the concept that many family
conflicts result from an individual’s need to obtain and maintain power and control
within a relationship(s). The Power & Control theory is a particularly helpful tool in
understanding the overall pattern of abusive and violent behaviors, which are used by
a batterer to establish and maintain control over his partner. According to the theory,
single-mother households are considered less patriarchal, and this has generated quite
some controversy. Even Hagan and his colleagues remarked that their theory needed
improvement in addressing female-headed households, “which are proved to be more
complicated than we have expected” [1990, 1035]. In terms of deviance and
delinquency, it was believed that, in most of the patriarchal households, female more
so than male children were objects of parental control. Further, it was mothers more
so than fathers who were the instruments of that control. Females were socialized into
more feminine roles, while males were socialized to take risks, recreating the power
dynamics of that particular household. This in turn resulted in gender differences in
risk taking and risk perception [7]. These gender differences produced the gender
discrepancy in criminality and deviance, since males had higher levels of risk taking,
had lower levels of risk perception, and was more likely to engage in delinquent and
deviant acts. Studies that have tried to emulate Hagan and his collaborators’ findings
have produced mixed results. Diversity in gender roles and behaviors often create
inequalities, whereby one gender becomes empowered to the disadvantage of the
other. Thus, in many societies, women are viewed as subordinate to men and have a
25
lower social status, allowing men exercise control over them, and greater decisionmaking power than, women. The motivation underlying the abuser’s behavior is the
power and control that he/she is able to exert control over other members of the
family. The more powerful members of families (e.g., fathers, husbands) often use the
threat or use of force or the threat or use of violence to ensure compliance from less
powerful family members (e.g., children, wives). Threats, force, and violent behaviors
are intended to forbid the less powerful members of the family from engaging in
behavior that the controlling individual does not want, while establishing a demand
for “desirable” behaviors to occur. Additionally, the abuser may feel the need to gain
control over how other family members think and feel. Abusers, in an effort to
maintain control over other members of the family, may use many forms of
intimidation, such as coercion, isolation, economic abuse, and denial of personal
blame. Hagan says that the main issue in the power-control theory is the mother’s
occupational authority versus the father’s occupational authority [29]. This power
balance is exemplified through two main types of family: patriarchal and egalitarian.
In a patriarchal family the father’s job puts him in a “command” role. This means that
he will give orders to others. In this type of family a mother does not work outside of
the home, but if she does, she assumes an “obey” role where she takes orders from
others. In patriarchal families the parents try to socialize their children to reproduce
gender relations. Thus daughters are taught to be feminine and prepare to be
homemakers. Sons on the other hand are taught to be breadwinners and are allowed to
experience the world. The other type of family Hagan mentions is the egalitarian
household. This means that both the mother and the father have a job in which they
assume either the “obey” or “command” positions. Or an egalitarian family might be a
single parent household where the father is absent. In egalitarian families gender
differences between sons and daughters are not as pronounced. Patriarchal and
egalitarian families show the difference of controls placed on sons versus daughters,
26
mainly in regard to maternal controls over children. Power-control theory also gives
the assumption that mothers constitute the primary agents of socialization in the
family [4]. It further assumes that households in which mothers and fathers have
dissimilar levels of power in the work place, so-called "unbalanced households," are
more "patriarchal" in their attitudes regarding gender roles. In such households
parents will place greater levels of control upon daughters than upon sons. Therefore,
daughters will develop attitudes unfavorable towards deviance higher levels of
perceived risk and fewer perceived benefits for engaging in deviant acts. Thus, in
unbalanced households the theory predicts significant gender differences in deviant
behavior, with male children being more likely than females to engage in deviant acts
[30].
The victims typically learn how to respond to the various forms of intimidation,
although the struggle to challenge the abuse/abuser may become too overwhelming or
dangerous for the victim(s). As a result, the victims may begin to modify his/her/their
own behavior, slowly giving up control in order to survive and avoid continued abuse.
In addition to seeking to explain why some family members are violent, control
theory also seeks to explain why other people are not violent. Whereas some
individuals are desperate to obtain power, others are controlled by the fear of
punishment, as well as their bonds to other people and institutions [40].
The economic approach stresses the concept of scarcity and the need to
consider the costs and benefits of alternatives, since choices must always be made.
However, the work by economists has focused on families that exhibit cooperation
and altruism. Initial studies of the family treated marriage as a cooperative institution
in which both spouses behave as if they are altruistic, allocating goads and time to
satisfy a common set of family preferences. In contrast, the bargaining models
developed by Manser, Brown, McElroy and Homey treat each spouse as an
independent party with distinct preferences. In doing so, they arrive at a cooperative
27
family utility function which incorporates the preferences of both individuals [17].
Although the optimization is over a cooperative utility function, the solution must
provide each spouse with a level of utility at least as great as could be achieved
outside of the marriage. This constitutes the individual's threat point in the bargaining
relationship. This cooperative bargaining model provides the initial framework for a
model of marriage that is not entirely altruistic in nature. In considering marriage in
these terms, it becomes possible to consider the threat points available to both spouses
and the impact of differing incomes within and outside of marriage. Studies of
families, which do not fit into the cooperative framework, have been relatively
ignored in the literature even though they are not uncommon. Households
characterized by domestic violence are examples of families, which do not fit the
cooperative mold. Studies on the incidence of domestic violence indicate that between
three and four million women in the US are beaten by their partners each year. These
beatings take place at extreme cost to both the victims and society. Non-cooperative
models of the family are necessary to characterize adequately the behavior of
households where violence occurs. Although there has been little study by economists
on the incidence of violence model the determinants of violence within the family. In
their model, the man punishes the woman with violence for behavior of which he does
not approve and the woman adjusts her behavior in an attempt to minimize this
violence. Both spouses have the ability to make transfers to the other, and each has a
threat point level of utility that must be maintained. The empirical work analyzes the
impact of income on the level of violence. In all but the highest income households in
which the woman is the primary source of earnings, a rise in her income diminishes
the violence while a rise in the husband's income increases the level of violence [17].
Most research on domestic violence has been conducted by criminologists and
sociologists who have examined domestic violence largely through a socio-cultural
lens. Criminologists have developed a theory of exposure reduction that posits that the
28
increase in employment among either men or women will reduce domestic violence
by reducing the time partners spend together. The theory of “male backlash”
prominent in the sociological literature predicts that as women’s financial
independence increases, violence against them may increase. According to certain
experts, a wife’s independence “shows a challenge to a culturally prescribed norm of
male dominance and female dependence. Where a man most times lacks this sign of
dominance, violence may be a channel of reinstall his control over his wife [1]. A
theory of male backlash that speculates that an increase in the wages of a woman
leads to an increase in violence is paradoxical because it disregards the individual
rationality restraints women face in abusive relationships. That is, as their income
increases, women may likely have the tendency to end the partnership if transfers
lessen and abuse continues. Economic theories of household bargaining incorporate
rationality restraints of an individual but generally do not incorporate violence. In the
present, a Nash bargaining model in which utility is a function of consumption,
violence with the man’s utility increasing in violence, and the woman is decreasing in
violence. The main result is that increasing a woman’s relative wage increases her
bargaining power and lowers the level of violence by affecting her outside option.
This is inconsistent with the model of male backlash. Two additional implications of
the household bargaining model are worth highlighting as they inform the empirical
analysis. First, relative wages matter. Second, it is the probable wage that determines
one’s outside option, not the actual absolute wage. This suggests that one should
concentrate on relative labor market conditions for women, not women’s real absolute
wages in the analysis. This also implies that improving labor market conditions for
women will decrease violence even in households where women do not work [55].
Karl Marx views domestic violence as physical, sexual, psychological,
emotional and financial abuse in a relationship. A partner uses such an abuse to either
intimidate or maintain control over another. Marx addresses domestic violence from
29
class struggle and gender inequality view. According to Karl Marx, partners or family
relationship exhibits as similar characteristics as proletarian and bourgeois
dependence relationship. The woman just like the proletarian has no ownership over
resources while the man and the bourgeois have the power and control. Thus a man
views the wife as an instrument of production. However, he depends on the woman to
care for the household as the woman looks upon the man to provide [14].
Feminism is described as political, cultural or economic movement aimed at
establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves
sociological, political and philosophical theories concerned with issues of gender
difference, as well as a movement that speaks on gender equality for women and
advocates for women's rights and interests [9].
Feminist inquiry is subject to numerous attacks, but most, if not all, who launch
them have an inadequate knowledge of feminism. For example, some religious
groups, academics, fathers' rights organizations, and right-wing politicians’ experts
equate feminism with hating men or view it as a movement aimed at helping women
gain more power than men in economic, political and social spheres. Some feminists
may fit into one or both of these categories; but, many men and women are feminists
and they are united by a deep desire to produce scholarship that meets the highest
disciplinary standards and to eliminate gender inequality, as well as homophobia,
racism, and other means of oppression. As Renzetti points out, the goal of feminist
scholars is “not to push men out so as to pull women in, but rather to gender the
study” of violence against women and other social problems” [9]. Feminism is
referred to here as “a set of theories about women's oppression and a set of strategies
for change”. It is, though, erroneous to view feminism as uniform enterprise, which is
frequently done in attacks on feminist research and theories. For example, other
researchers incorrectly argue that: The gender paradigm has, as its basis, a Marxist
view of the sexes. In short, all interactions between genders are reduced to power and
30
control and are viewed from the perspective that the oppression to women is
tantamount to the power of the bourgeoisie in suppressing the proletariat [16].
Most feminists also agree that the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and
many other countries are patriarchal .The ideology of patriarchy provides a social and
political rationale for itself. Both men and women come to believe that it is “natural”
and “right” that women be in inferior positions. Men feel completely supported in
excluding women and up to a point, some women feel their marginalization is
incorrect. To someone (male or female) who believes completely in the ideology of
patriarchy, the entire concept of equal rights or women's liberation is a pretty complex
topic, sounding not only wrong, but inhuman and unnatural. Feminism has altered
predominant perspectives in broad areas within Western society, ranging from culture
to law. They also conclude that in non-capitalist societies, male–female relations are
egalitarian, and therefore rape does not exist. There are at least twelve variants of
feminist theory and except for Marxist feminism and socialist feminism; they do not
have roots in the writings of Marx or Engels. Scholars familiar with the literature on
the relationship between gender and violence are fully aware that there is more than
one feminist perspective on abuse male perpetrate against women. Most of the
theoretical developments on violence and gender postdate the early work cited by
Dutton to support his claim. In sum, the contributions that feminism mostly takes “a
Marxist view of the sexes” is both wrong and a fallacy. Not all feminists agree with
each other. Although some feminist claims that patriarchy is the root cause of
women's victimization, as noted above, the bulk of recent feminist research on woman
abuse does not view patriarchy as the only determinant. Many feminists are part of the
most critical of single-factor explanations of female victimization, and some of the
most important critiques of feminist work have derived from debates among
feminists. Yet still, all feminists make gender a priority, which should not be confused
with sex even though the terms are often incorrectly used interchangeably [16].
31
Gender is the “psychological and sociocultural shaping, patterning, and assessing of
female and male behavior”. Sex is the biologically based aspect of “female” and
“male,” which are stable across several societies. For example, violent crimes of all
sorts are perpetrated mainly by men, but many societies have much lower rates of
violence than those of the U.S., the Russian Federation, or Colombia. So, if “boys will
be boys,” they “will be so differently”, depending on where they live, their peer
groups, social class position, race/ethnicity, and a host of other factors. Additionally,
woman abuse also varies across social class categories, intimate relationship status,
etc.
In other words, violence most look to power imbalances exists in patriarchy
societies where structural factors prevent equal participation of women in the
economic, social and political system. Imbalances at the societal level are reproduced
within the family when men exercise power and control over women, are form of
which is violence. Feminism contends that equality between men and women is
possible but that any such equality will need substantive changes through social and
legal reform. According to Hedges, this type of feminism ‘‘attempts to reform or use
already existing political structures to advance women’s interests along a civil rights
model’’ and ‘‘argues that women deserve the same privileges, protections, care, pay,
and opportunities that men do. Essentially, this type of feminist thought contends that
the social system can incorporate the appropriate social change without the need to
resort to an entire social revolution. This form of feminism is a bit more conservative
than many other subcategories, since it does hold that men and women can coexist on
equal terms and contends that the needed changes can be staged within the current
social system. One key challenge associated with this theoretical outlook revolves
around achieving a balance, where women are afforded equality with men while not
forsaking their identity as women. Finding such a balance has been touted as tedious,
forcing women to act as if they must play the role of a man in the workforce rather
32
than being free to have freedom of feminine expression in conjunction with equal
access to opportunity there [22]. Most feminist and non-feminist scholars teaming up
to advocate for improved services for women victims of violence and rape survivors
and indeed, feminism is less “celebratory,” much more “self-critical,” and more open
to imploring traditional scientific approaches than in its earliest days.
Gender describes inequality and the process of politics and employment
opportunities be interpreted by individual observable characteristics, such as women
being less educated and not having enough knowledge about the political process, or
is it attributable to gender differences in participatory norms and unequal access to
political networks? Given that gender differences in participation could reproduce
gender inequalities in other realm, understanding this participatory inequality is
pivotal [18]. Considering the millennium development goal to promote gender
equality and empower women, the issue is arguably particularly relevant in the
emerging democracies in Africa, where resources are limited and women often suffer
from inequalities in important dimensions such as health and education. Gender
approach to domestic violence. This is incredibly complex, perhaps more so than any
of the others, given the tendency of such theorists to employ the strategies of other
critical schools in their analysis of gender and sex. As a result sex and gender theorists
can further be extended into various theories that bring together the insight of
disparate approaches (e.g. Materialist feminists, poststructuralist theorists of gender,
psychoanalytical feminists etc.) What was often referred to in the nineteenth century
as the "woman question" was in the modern period driven from theoretical debate to
an insistent demand for political change, particularly when it comes to the issue of
enfranchisement. The next generation of New Women in the modern period, then,
was the suffragettes of the first two decades and then the flappers of the twenties. This
was a period when women finally considered the political implementation of a
number of equal-rights issues, particularly the vote, which was not extended to
33
women in England until 1918 and was not extended to women in the United States
until the 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. In Western societies, the
traditional gender gap in political participation – with women being less likely to
participate politically – is in the process of closing. Most theories of gender gap focus
on structural differences in individual resource endowments, often viewing female
employment as the critical factor, and on cultural diversity, often with religion as
main focus. The sparse justification available for developing countries, on the other
hand, indicates that there are still significant gender differences in mass political
participation. A number of recent studies exploring the patterns of political
participation in Africa note that women tend to vote and participate politically in
between elections to a lesser extent than men, yet they have little knowledge about
what factors underlie this important inequality. To understand the gender theory in
African political participation there is first of all reason to go beyond individual
determinants of participation and consider the contribution of contextual influences.
Taking into account peer effects and participatory norms, they anticipate that not only,
say, the individual’s level of education matters for participation, but also the average
educational level of men and women in the surrounding area [54].
Although critics of feminist theory often claim that there is no relationship
between attitudes towards women and domestic violence, the research that has
addressed this question in fact clearly supports the position that individual men’s
behavior toward women affects the likelihood that they will be involved in intimate
violence.
On a more positive note, there have been major changes in all of these systems
as a result of the women’s movement in general, and the battered women’s movement
in particular. These changes are probably an important source of the recent dramatic
decline in non-fatal intimate partner violence against women and fatal intimate
partner violence against men. The application of gender theory to the unlawful use of
34
violence and intimidation that follows will start with individual sex differences and
work up to the gender structure of the economy, the family, and the criminal justice
system. Gender theory on domestic violence depicts that one of the strongest
correlations within incidents of domestic violence or intimate partner violence is
gender. Men are more considered as the primary committers of such acts of violence
whilst women are associated with being primarily the victims. Studies have showed
that cases of domestic violence have an explicit gendered aspect to them due to the
much higher numbers of women suffering from such issues in comparison to men.
However, this assumption is debatable since many men do not willing to reports cases
of domestic violence against them which means that data is not always an accurate
representation. With this in consideration, discovering issues of domestic violence
with a gendered point of view will prove to be very appropriate within this thesis. As
the phenomenon of domestic violence is understood as being caused by constructed
gender differences between men and women, studying such cases will help to show
how constructed gender roles are enshrined within these incidents and what impact
they might bring. Additionally, as the issue of domestic violence is so persistent and
the gendered nature of the issue has already been highlighted, it is a social issue which
should be explored in consideration to gender. The assignment the society in
caregiving responsibilities primarily to women further leads to this economic
dependency, putting women in a subordinate position within the family, and creating
a situation in which institutions such as the church that could be a source of help for
abused women instead encourage them to involve in abusive relationships—for the
purpose of the children or because of the marriage
Psychological theories of domestic violence perpetration analyze more
individual factors including personality disorders, neurobiological/neuroanatomical
factors, disordered or insecure attachment, cognitive distortions, and post-traumatic
symptoms as previously stated. Evidence suggests that violent husbands show more
35
psychological
distress,
more
tendencies
to
personality
disorders,
more
attachment/dependency issues, a higher tendency towards anger and hostility and
more alcohol problems than non-violent men do. Psychological theory largely
attributes the causes of aggression, especially extreme or chronic criminal violence, to
individual and familial dysfunction or pathology. The pathways to violence are
considered at an individual level that includes internal characteristics of perpetrators,
their immediate circumstances, and the type of violence committed. This provides an
overview of larger theoretical models for understanding domestic violence, which can
facilitate the integration of multiple psychological constructs from varying schools of
thought [28]. From that general overview, theories of violence were separated into
two major categories: violence as a condition of human nature (including
psychobiological and temperamental vulnerabilities and violence as an instinct) and
violence as the consequence of a damaged psyche (including five interrelated
processes: self-regulation; attachment and relationships; the role of shame; selfconcept and self-esteem; and learning and cognitive theories). The theorists and
researchers who constitute this general category of thought would argue that the
capacity to commit violence is innate, that people who commit violence are reacting
to either instinctual drives or biological vulnerabilities [5]. All acknowledge that
violent behavior is not solely determined by these internal characteristics and that the
process of development and environmental circumstances mitigate the growth of
aggression and the inhibitory functions that can prevent violence. The theoretical
constructs examined in this section will cover the psychobiological determinants of
domestic violence and the concept of violence as an instinct, either for survival (as
elucidated by evolutionary psychology) or toward death and destruction (as postulated
by classic psychoanalytic thought). Some researchers within the field of
psychobiological theories of domestic violence take a very limited view on the
etiology of violence [5]. For example, some insist that although there may be
36
environmental factors that mitigate the development of aggressive behavior,
aggression is the product of brain functioning through a complex and interdependent
interaction of anatomical, chemical and physiological causes. Most modern
psychological theories of violence, regardless of their orientation or framework,
acknowledge that research has demonstrated that there are biological factors that play
a significant role in increasing an individual's vulnerability to other critical
experiences in the development of violence Psychobiological theories of violence
include brain dysfunction, autonomic functioning, hormones, neuropsychology, and
temperament. When considering biological impact, most theorists consider the
stability of aggressive traits that emerge early in the child's development indicate the
presence of biological or inherent vulnerability. Much of the research has not
produced definitive results over time or across populations (i.e., research using
samples from the prison population versus the general population), however, for the
purposes of this exploration, concepts that have been generally well established will
be presented. An important aspect in the psychological theory is power and control. In
some relationships, violence arises out of a perceived need for power and control.
This is where the abuser may use violence as a strategy to gain or maintain power and
control over the victim. Abusers may feel the need to control their partner because of
difficulties in regulating anger and other strong emotions, or when they feel inferior to
the other partner in education and socioeconomic background. For instance, in our
society today, women have moved away from being just a "housewife" and taken up
the role as a "career woman". No longer are women staying home and tending to the
house while men go out and work. In fact, a lot of women have taken over jobs that
were previously held my men (women politicians). This has brought about a power
struggle in the family, which often leads to domestic disputes and abuse: some men
with very traditional beliefs still think they have the right to control women, and that
37
women are not equal to men, while women on the other hand, are vying for power and
control [15].
Summary
Domestic violence” includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence
committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person
with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with
or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person
similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws
of the jurisdiction receiving grant monies, or by any other person against an adult or
youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family
violence laws of the jurisdiction
Violence in Sierra Leone is shaped by a number of factors, related to cultural
attitudes, the history of conflict, the political environment and donor intervention.
Domestic
violence
takes
in
the
form
of
(physical,
economic
and
emotional/psychological), communal/cultural violence, sexual violence and structural
violence. Women’s experiences of violence, however, often do not fit neatly into one
category, but rather span a number of interrelated forms.
All the theoretical approaches to domestic violence showed the nature of
violence that exists within the society and explain the root causes, especially violence
against women. Marxist approach indicates that the wife’s household role produces
no value with any surplus gain. She is likened to a slave who is subordinate to relation
of capital and labor power. Women are the reserve army of labor that get hired with
the increase demand of goods but dismiss during an economic recession. The
economic aspect surround the female gender makes them vulnerable to abuse,
especially at a family level.
Their male counterparts experience high level of
economic stability and independence. Most women remain in abusive relations due to
their dependence especially on financial issues on their male partners. Females were
38
socialized into more feminine roles, while males were socialized to take risks,
recreating the power dynamics of that particular household. This in turn resulted in
gender differences in risk taking and risk perception. These gender differences
produced the gender discrepancy in criminality and deviance, since males had higher
levels of risk taking, had lower levels of risk perception, and was more likely to
engage in delinquent and deviant acts. Studies that have tried to emulate Hagan and
his collaborators’ findings have produced mixed results. Diversity in gender roles and
behaviors often create inequalities, whereby one gender becomes empowered to the
disadvantage of the other.
1.2. International and National Legislative Acts in Domestic Violence:
Comparative Analysis of Implementation Practices.
Over the years, violence against women had been a topic of public discussion
and various educations had been made in order to curb the occurrence of the violence.
The continual sensitization has greatly helped to promote gender issues and attracted
the attention world organization to consider domestic violence relevant. The
development of international and national legal frameworks that improve gender
equality can play an important role in preventing violence against women [22].
Internationally, a number of human rights agreements require states to take measures
to eliminate gender-based violence against women. Improving the response of police
and other criminal justice officials towards cases of violence against women; and
improving women’s rights in marriage, divorce, property ownership and inheritance
and child support, the response that feminists have offered is liberation from the
oppressive practices of patriarchy and women’s second-class social status that have
been a part of the structure of traditional and modern societies. The promotion of
gender equality is an essential part of violence prevention. A range of school,
39
community and media interventions aim to promote gender equality and non-violent
relationships by addressing gender stereotypes that allow men more power and
control over women [22].
The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines
“violence against women” as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is
likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or in private life.” Since the beginning of the 1990s, violence
against women has gained much attention in the human rights discourse. However, it
took a long and persistent struggle by the women’s rights movement to persuade the
international community to discuss violence against women as a human. Women’s
rights are human rights concern and recognize that gender-based violence is a serious
violation of human rights of global importance which poses a threat to human
development as well as international peace and security. The agenda for the 1993
World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna did not originally mention
women or any gender aspects of human rights. It was the women’s rights movement
that brought attention to the issue of violence against women during the Conference,
leading inter alia to the recognition, in the Vienna Declaration, of the elimination of
violence against women in public and private life as a human rights obligation.
Subsequently, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women in December 1993. This was the first international
instrument to specifically address this issue. It recognizes that violence against
women constitutes a violation of the rights and fundamental freedoms of women and
a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women. The
Declaration calls on States to condemn violence against women and work towards its
eradication. The Commission on Human Rights appointed a Special Rapporteur on
violence against women, its causes and consequences in 1994. The creation of this
40
mandate has enabled a dynamic development of human rights standards to respond to
contemporary challenges and emerging issues with respect to violence against
women. The Special Rapporteur has, through her research, significantly developed
concepts and legal frameworks pertaining to women’s human rights and violence
against women. The Fourth World Conference on Women reaffirmed the conclusions
of the Vienna World Conference, listing violence against women as one of twelve
critical areas of concern [18].
However, pursuant to clause 21 of the Russian Constitution, human dignity
must be protected by the State and nothing may serve as a basis for its derogation.
Furthermore, no one shall be subjected to torture, violence or other cruel or
humiliating treatment or punishment.
However, Russia is a party to the following international treaties which are
relevant when considering domestic violence: The Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women; The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, as
adopted by the World conference on Human Rights in 1993; and The Beijing
Declaration, as adopted by the United Nations Fourth World conference on Women in
1995. These treaties and Recommendations are not currently reflected in or supported
by specific domestic violence legislation in Russia as there are no specific laws on
domestic violence in Russia and it makes it very difficult to analyze and monitor the
occurrence and prevention of domestic violence [49].
In Russia, any violent will fall within the provisions in the Criminal Code of
the Russian Federation regarding violent offences such as murder, infliction of death
by negligence, incitement to suicide, battery, torture, intentional infliction of a grave
injury, etc. It is therefore irrelevant what relationship exists between the offender and
the victim, as the Criminal Code prohibits violent acts between any two parties. The
Criminal Code does provide for protective measures to be put in place at the request
of the victim to prevent further violence against them (24).
41
ANNA National Centre for the Prevention of Violence, one of the largest
charitable organizations in Russia providing support to victims of domestic violence.
In Russia 97% of cases, victims do not seek judicial redress and, in 60–70% of the
cases, victims do not seek any help whatsoever [24]. This is likely to be largely
attributable to the ineffectiveness of the legal system, e.g. no legal intervention is
possible unless a crime has been committed. Another key factor is the additional
Russian approach to privacy and the desire to keep family matters strictly within the
family. Victims of domestic violence will often refuse to seek help as they consider
family relations to be private matters, which are not to be shared outside the family.
The most problematic area to be considered when drafting the new legislation is the
interaction between the new legislation and the current Criminal Code. Another
question to be considered is whether a separate governmental body or court needs to
be created to deal exclusively with domestic violence cases. Moreover, a perpetrator
repeated acts of violence against the same person are not specifically criminalized
under Russian law. Article 18 of the Russian Criminal Code excludes "records of
convictions for intentional crimes of small gravity" or of conditional sentences to be
taken into account when considering recidivism of crimes. Only Article 117 of the
Russian Criminal Code (torture, the causing of physical or mental suffering by means
of the systematic infliction of beatings or other forcible actions) takes into
consideration the following aggravating circumstances: the victim is a minor,
apparently helpless "or materially or otherwise dependent on the guilty person".
However, this article is rarely invoked. The Russian justice system considers violence
committed in a public place against a stranger, to be a much greater social danger than
the same actions committed within a family against relatives. Domestic violence is
not considered to be a crime against society, but continues to be treated as a private
family matter. A further obstacle to obtaining justice for victims is that most cases of
domestic violence are brought as private prosecutions [2].
42
In order to address domestic violence issues in Sierra Leone a lot of regulatory
framework is being put in place. It is on that premises the government of Sierra Leone
legislates three laws that are purely dealing with issues that will address domestic
violence. These are; child right act of 2007, Domestic Violence Act of 2007 and
sexual violence act of 2012. They have helped to suppress domestic violence and to
provide protection for victims. The legislatures made a clear statement that domestic
violence will not be tolerated and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Statutory
obligations are imposed upon the police regarding the implementation and
enforcement of the law.
In 2007 the Domestic Violence Act was passed making domestic violence a
criminal offence. The definition of domestic violence includes physical or sexual
abuse, as well as economic, emotional, verbal or psychological abuse and is
punishable by fines and up to two years imprisonment. Despite this measure, violent
acts against women are reportedly common, and police intervention and reaction has
been criticized. Government established Family Support Units (FSUs – set up in 2003
to handle cases of rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence) reported thousands of
domestic abuse cases, of which a lot of them resulted in convictions. Many women
withdraw complaints of violence due to social stigma, fear of retaliation, or offers of
payment in lieu of pressing charges. While awareness of the law has reportedly
increased, domestic violence continues to be prevalent and underreported [10].
The Sexual Offences Act requires free medical treatment and examination for
victims. Domestic violence is also often viewed as an accepted part of relationships.
The Family Support Units, the Guidelines on Sexual and Gender Based Violence
Case Management and the National Referral Protocol have all contributed to
improvements in this area, as have trainings of police and Family Support Units by
Civil Society Organizations, government and development partners. There is still a
problem with out of court settlement. The Sexual Offenses Act of 2012 establishes the
43
age of consent at 18 and specifically prohibits spousal rape, punishing the latter with
fines and up to 15 years imprisonment. Since the establishment of Family Support
Units and new legislation, there has been a steady increase in the number of rape
cases reported, particularly those involving children. However, a continued reluctance
to use the judicial system – on the part of both victims and law enforcement – has
meant that cases of rape continue to be underreported and indictments are rare [37].
Women’s lack of income, economic dependence, and view of rape as a ‘societal
norm’ also perpetuate impunity for offenders, as do inefficiencies and corruption in
the judicial system. Previously, victims were required to obtain a medical report in
order to file charges, the fees for which were prohibitively expensive. However, the
Sexual Offenses Act now provides that victims be entitled to both free medical
treatment and report, and courts are under the obligation to provide adequate
protection and support to vulnerable victims and witnesses (e.g. protecting their
identities, using video recordings as evidence-in-chief, etc.). Although a decade has
passed since the end of the civil war, its many effects – including rape and forced
abortion as a weapon of war - continue to be felt in Sierra Leone. Many women
remain traumatized by their ordeal, and are shunned by their families and
communities, particularly if they gave birth as a result of being raped. Prior to 2012,
there was no specific law that addressed sexual harassment [23]. The recent Sexual
Offenses Act [August 2012] now makes unwanted sexual advances, repeatedly
following or pursuing another against their will, initiating repeated and unwanted
communications with another, or engaging in any other “menacing” behavior,
unlawful. The law punishes sexual harassment with fines and imprisonment up to
three years. The child right act provides for the promotion of the right of the child
compatible with the convention of the rights of the child, adopted by the general
assembly of the United Nation. Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of
social welfare Gender and Children created National Commission for Children
44
responsible to keep under review legislation and customary law practices relating to
children and to undertake a progressive study and review of the principle of the best
interests of the child.
According to the Child right act, the child has the right to life and to survival
and development to the maximum extent possible. It shall be the primary
responsibility of parents to provide support to their children in the enjoyment of the
right referred. No person shall deprive a child of the right from birth to a name, the
right to acquire a nationality or the right as far as possible to know his natural parents
and extended family. Every child has the right to life, dignity, respect, leisure, liberty,
health, including immunization against diseases, education and shelter from his
parents [19]. Except where the parent has surrendered his rights and responsibilities in
accordance with law, every parent has rights and responsibilities whether imposed by
law or otherwise towards his child which include the duty to (a) Protect the child from neglect, discrimination, violence, abuse, exposure to
physical and moral hazards and oppression;
(b) Provide good guidance, care, assistance and maintenance for the child and
assurance of the child’s survival and development;
(c) Ensure that in the temporary absence of a parent, the child shall be cared for
by a competent person and that a child under eighteen months of age shall only be
cared for by a person of fifteen years and above [31].
Domestic violence is now punishable in Sierra Leone and all perpetrators are
prosecuted. In order to effectively implement the law civil society organizations, non governmental agencies providing an advocacy role and monitor the implementation of
the law.
It is estimated that 17% of women displaced during the war in Sierra Leone
experienced sexual assault and other forms of violence. The war led to massive
displacement, of more than half of the population, meaning the social networks and
45
bonds that in the past had afforded women some form of protection were shattered.
Women became disaffiliated and increasingly vulnerable to violence, the
infrastructure and the restricted services that existed prior to the conflict were
destroyed. The international community begins the spread of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) post-war, and the propagation of discourses
around women’s equality and empowerment and provision of microcredit loans for
vulnerable women, has changed the status of many women and also had an influence
on the nature of violence women now face [3].
There are some challenges on Social and cultural norms. Patriarchy is part of
Sierra Leone culture and is evident at all levels of society – texturing family,
community, social and political institutions, so the resulting power inequalities are
continually reproduced. At an early age, women are customarily taught to be obedient
to men, therefore creating power polarities that ascribe the foundations for domestic
violence, and these are perpetuated by both men and women. This occurs in various
ways. Secret societies teachings show that a good wife obeys her husband and looks
after his needs, putting her interests secondary. Families frequently enlighten girls to
be obedient to authority and to be passive and quiet. These teachings culminate to
women being submissive to, and believing they have fewer rights than men. Women
accept poor treatment as part of their normal culture. Power polarities increase the
vulnerability of women and girls to violence, and the vulnerability that also prevents
those who have experienced violence from leaving abusive relationships or seeking
support or justice. Given that both men and women reinforce these cultural values, it
is important that both sexes are engaged in efforts to address violence against women,
and that the targets of domestic violence programs are not seen to be solely women.
These cultural attitudes penetrate public life as well as private life – with women, for
instance, forbidden from contesting as paramount chief in most of the country.
46
There are political efforts to prevent domestic violence and challenges. In
relation to domestic violence and women’s rights, there has been significant progress
at the level of policy and legislation. The National Policy on the Advancement of
Women and the National Gender Mainstreaming policy were developed in 2000; and
was recognized as requiring specific responses within the 2008 poverty Reduction
Strategy; a National Action Plan was developed in 2008 to implement United Nation
Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820; and the National Committee on Genderbased Violence, formed up in 2009, brings together government, donor, local and
international NGOs working on Violence against women and children. Alongside
these policies, Sierra Leone has also developed progressive legislation to deal with
violence against women. Three “Gender Acts’ were introduced in 2007 (on domestic
violence, registration of customary marriages and devolution of estates). The
Domestic Violence Act ‘situates domestic violence as a criminal act in and of itself
and uses a broad definition of domestic abuse which includes physical and sexual
abuses, economic abuses, verbal, emotion and psychological abuse’. The Registration
of Customary Marriage Act raises the legal marriageable age and requires customary
marriages to be registered. The Devolution of Estates Act aims to address issues of
women’s inheritance by allowing men and women to inherit equally and abolishing
customary practices whereby widows were often required to marry a member of her
deceased husband’s family [3].
Understanding how programming alters the balance of power within
households is critically important, and greater gender analysis could be utilized to
recognize and address the impacts on men and the power dynamics between men and
women in the home and community.
In Russia, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to political,
economic, and social challenges for Russians that continue to the present day. Women
have been impacted disproportionately by these challenges and experience high rates
47
of unemployment and poverty. Despite widespread evidence of discrimination and
women related violence issues, Russia lacks thorough measures to promote gender
equality and prevent violence against women. Violence against women in the Russia
Federation causes a major challenge to the Government with regards to human right
obligations and sustained security [6]. In 2013, the U.N. Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) found that
Russia had done little to execute the recommendations contained in the Special
Rapporteur’s 2006 report, including: adoption of specific legislation on domestic
violence and other actions to protect women from violence; establishment of shelters
and other support for women victims of violence; elimination of discrimination
against women in all spheres of public life, including establishment of a national
machinery for the advancement of women; measures to address gender biases in law
enforcement, the judiciary and Russian society; methods to protect women in the
Northern Caucasus from violence and promote their human rights. In 2010, the
CEDAW Committee persuaded Russia “to give priority attention to tackling violence
against women and girls and to adopting comprehensive measures to address such
violence [32]. According to commission of experts formed by a coalition of women’s
organizations called “ANNA National Centre for the Prevention of Violence “or
ANNA, “the main challenge to effective response to violence against women in
Russia is the unavailability of a federal public policy that explains the problem as a
serious predicament to the observance and achievement of women's rights as human
rights.” Russia has neither signed nor ratified the Council of Convention in Europe on
preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul
Convention), which entered into force on August 1, 2014.
In addition, the lack of committed, sustained funding of government and
support requires Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) tackle violence
against women to attract financial support from foreign governments, international
48
organizations and private foundations. Increasingly restrictive Russian federal laws
regulating the activities and foreign funding of Non-Governmental Organizations
(known as “foreign agent” laws) have helped to compromise this support and made it
more tedious for NGOs operating in Russia to advocate for the right of women [32].
The Russian Federation is signatory to numerous international and regional
human rights treaties that mandate the protection, respect and fulfillment of the
human rights of those under its authority. Specifically, the Russian Federation has
given a formal assent to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW] and its elective Protocol, which require the
government to take affirmative steps to handle gender-based discrimination and
violence against women. Article 19 of the Russian Constitution guarantees equality
between men and women. Other forms of sexual harassment are not penalized. There
is no definition of “harassment” to be found in Russian legislation. The engagement
of women and girls in prostitution and international trafficking has become a mass
phenomenon. The lack of civil protective measures for victims of domestic violence
limits the ability of victims to ascertain protection from abuse. It also limits the ability
of Russian law enforcement and the judiciary to intercede efficaciously in cases of
domestic violence. According to Russian police if an officer did not witness an
incident of violence, he can only ask the batterer to make a statement, but cannot do
an administrative arrest [50].
Women’s NGOs and services for victims of violence provide social support to
women. There are about 100 NGOs in Russia working on aspects of trafficking. The
key areas of work are awareness raising programs directed at prospective victims, as
well as advocacy and legal aid. Public awareness raising programs and information
campaigns, through electronic, print and social media, are regularly conducted in the
regions. Moreover, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in
collaboration with NGO partners set up a telephone line operating across Russia to
49
provide information and assistance to victims and their families. Information and
advice centers provide information and advice to the public, including people
migrating from other Russia regions and foreign nationals, on legal and other issues
related to the risk of being trafficked. Experts working in these centers concentrate on
the matters of labor migration and risk groups, including socially vulnerable groups,
which most often become victims of trafficking, such as migrant women, unemployed
young people, adolescents from troubled families and orphans. They provide free
consultations (face-to-face, by phone or by email) on the issues related to trafficking,
exploitation and help for the victims; on migration law issues; on labor contracts and
rights and duties of employers and employees, as well as on other social issues.
Where necessary, visitors to the information centers are referred to other statutory and
voluntary organizations (medical, social etc.) The NGOs Women Against Violence
Europe (WAVE) and ANNA both identify a lack of funding and government support
as primary reasons Russia offers few services to women victims of violence. They
perceive this as related to the absence of a thorough and coordinated government
approach to abolish violence against women [2, 7].
Summary
In 2007 Sierra Leone government took a good step with the enactment of what
are collectively referred to as the “Gender Acts’. After intense lobbying, campaigning
and demonstrations the Domestic Violence Act 2007, the Devolution of Estate Act
2007, child right and sexual offences act of 2012, the Registration of Customary
Marriages and Divorce Act 2007 were passed into law. With the enactment of the
Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act, all customary laws have been
harmonized. This Act also introduces the age of consent and also that both spouses
should consent to marriage. Another important thing is that all customary marriages
and divorces are registered in order to prove the validity of marriages and divorce.
Sierra Leone is a signatory to a number of international and regional human rights
50
instruments. Most particularly for the purposes of this thesis is the Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Of
significance is article 3 of the Convention, which obliges State Parties, among other
things, to undertake appropriate measures in all fields, including introducing some
legislation, to ensure the equal rights of women. The previous state of the law exposed
Sierra Leone to a lot of criticism in international circles. The provisions contained in
the Gender Acts are indicative of Sierra Leone’s leap towards bringing its legislations
in line with its international obligations.
Despite widespread evidence of discrimination and women related violence
issues, Russia lacks thorough measures to promote gender equality and prevent
violence against women. Violence against women in the Russia Federation causes a
major challenge to the Government with regards to human right obligations and
sustained security. Russia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women. The Beijing Declaration, as adopted by the United
Nations Fourth World conference on Women in 1995. Although the Convention does
not
recognize
domestic
violence
as
a
form
of
discrimination, General
Recommendation No. 19, issued by the Committee on Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women has recognized gendered violence to be a form of
discrimination. To adjudicate whether States have fulfilled their obligation under the
Convention, the above-mentioned Recommendation has devised the standard of “due
diligence”. Due diligence is now used as a yardstick to measure whether a domestic
legislation is effective in combatting domestic violence.
51
2. PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SOCIAL WORK
INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES
2.1 The Problems of Domestic Violence Prevention: Governmental and Nongovernmental Bodies’ Interaction Analysis
The methodological issues that arise when studying domestic violence as a
public health problem, focusing on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), since this is the
form of violence that has the greatest consequences at a social and political level and
research on violence against women is considered as an important objective of any
program designed to eradicate this problem. Despite a growing social and political
interest in the subject, there are still few research studies on certain aspects related to
the efficacy of measures implemented in the field of violence against women.
Furthermore, there are no epidemiological surveillance systems that employ
homogeneous criteria in order to measure this problem, thus permitting reliable data
to be obtained on its prevalence and incidence.
The “Multi‐country study on women's health and domestic violence against
women” is the first of its type carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO)
and shows that the most common type of violence against women is that which is
carried out by their partner. It aims to fill this gap by developing methodologies to
measure violence against women and its health repercussions in different cultures.
This type of violence is far more common than attacks or rapes carried out by
strangers or other people that the victims may know [24].
Obtaining reliable data on this type of violence is a complex task, because of
the methodological issues derived from the very nature of the phenomenon, such as
the private, intimate context in which this violence often takes place, which means the
problem cannot be directly observed.
52
From January to March 2017, there are 639 rape cases reported in Sierra Leone.
The issue of domestic violence is still on the increase, especially of minors. This
ranges all ages across the country. In 2016, more than 2,499 cases of rape were
reported and 81% were ages (10-20 years) [3].
Domestic violence has become a major issue over the years and this has
attracted a lot of institutional and nomadic models put in place in order to curtail the
violence. In 2013, Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL), one of the government institutions
responsible to conduct research on different social and economic issue conducted a
survey that captured domestic violence as one of the areas needed an accurate data.
Collecting valid, reliable, and ethical data on violence poses particular challenges
because:
a) A culture of silence surrounds violence and it may affect reporting. In some
part of the country, domestic violence data is not available because victims don’t
report to the relevant authorities due to their cultural beliefs and practices.
b) The sensitivity of the topic, concerns for the safety of respondents and
interviewers when asking about domestic violence in a familial setting, and the
protection of women who disclose violence all raise specific ethical concerns.
The research measures violence by spouses and by other family members and
unrelated individuals. Accordingly, information was obtained from ever-married
women and men on violence by spouses and by others, and from never-married
women and men on violence by anyone, including boyfriends/girlfriends.
International research on violence shows that intimate partner violence is one of the
most common forms of violence against women. Thus, spousal/partner violence was
measured in more detail than violence by other perpetrators by using a greatly
shortened and modified Conflict Tactics Scale [35].
Table1 shows the percentage of women and men who have experienced
different forms of violence. Overall, 57 percent of women age 15-49 have
53
experienced either physical or sexual violence. Specifically, 46 percent of women
have experienced physical violence only, 1 percent of women have experienced
sexual violence only, and 9 percent have experienced both physical and sexual
violence. Young women age 15-19 are the most likely to experience sexual violence
alone, while women age 25-29 and women age 30-39 are most likely to experience a
combination of physical and sexual violence. Among men age 15-49, 56 percent have
experienced either physical or sexual violence. Specifically, 48 percent of men have
experienced physical violence only, 2 percent have experienced sexual violence only,
and 6 percent have experienced both physical and sexual violence. Men age 30-39 and
men age 40-49 are most likely to experience a combination of physical and sexual
violence.
Table1.
Percentage of women and men age 15-49 who have ever experienced different
forms of violence by current age, Sierra Leone 2013
For
Women
Age
15-49
15-17
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-39
40-49
Total 15-49
For Men
15-19
15-17
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-39
40-49
Total 15-59
Physical
Violence
only
Sexual
Violence
only
Physical
Physical or
Total number
and sexual sexual
of women
violence
violence
39.2
34.9
44.3
48.8
48.8
46.9
47.8
46.4
2.1
2.1
2.1
1.5
1.0
1.2
1.0
1.3
6.3
3.1
9.9
8.8
9.5
10.8
8.9
9.1
47.6
40.2
56.3
59.1
59.2
59.0
57.6
56.9
873
472
401
748
869
1637
1058
5185
49.4
46.6
49.1
52.8
50.7
44.6
45.7
48.0
1.6
0.9
3.0
2.1
3.9
1.6
1.4
2.0
3.9
3.2
5.3
5.1
6.6
9.2
7.1
6.6
52.8
50.6
57.5
60.0
61.2
55.4
54.2
56.7
1157
788
369
742
701
1057
739
4773
Source: Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey, 2013
54
Violence during pregnancy is an acute problem. Women who have ever been
pregnant were asked about the experience of physical violence during their
pregnancy. Table2. Shows that, overall, 8 percent of women experienced violence
while pregnant. Women age 15-19 were more likely to experience physical violence
during pregnancy (12 percent) compared with older women (40-49). Women with
primary education and women in the middle and fourth wealth quintiles were more
likely to experience violence during pregnancy compared with their counterparts.
From the religious aspect, more Muslim women experienced violence during
pregnancy from their husbands (8.7) than Christian. This is because of the draconic
laws embedded in Islam that do not permit women to have freedom. There are more
women separated or divorced with their husbands due to high rate of violence (10.4).
Girls before that got pregnant before married as a result of teenage pregnancy
experienced less violence during pregnancy (8.1). There is no variation by urban-rural
residence; at the regional level, violence during pregnancy ranges from 11 percent in
the Northern region to 6 percent in the Eastern region.
Table2.
Experience of Violence during pregnancy
Among women age 15-49 who have ever been pregnant, percentage who have
been experienced physical violence during pregnancy, by background characteristics
Sierra Leone 2013.
Background characteristics
Percentage of women who
have experienced violence
during pregnancy
Number of women have been
pregnant before
15-19
11.5
322
20-24
8.4
588
25-29
8.2
826
30-39
8.8
1,617
40-49
7.1
1,036
Age
Religion
55
Christian
7.5
904
Islam
8.7
3,462
Other
*
8
None
*
4
Urban Area
8.2
1,437
Rural Area
8.6
2,953
Eastern
6.0
1,009
Northern
10.6
1,654
Southern
8.7
934
Western
6.8
791
Never married
8.1
365
Married/living together
8.2
3672
Divorced/separated
10.4
353
No education
8.1
2,985
Primary education
11.1
559
Secondary or higher education
7.8
846
7.2
881
7.7
814
10.2
822
10.8
910
6.4
964
8.4
4,390
Residence
Region
Marital Status
Education
Wealth Quintile
Lowest
Second
Middle
Forth
Highest
Total 15-49
Source: Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey, 2013
56
Domestic violence is not restricted to physical or sexual violence. Verbal abuse,
restrictions in freedom of movement, and threats or forceful conduct can also
constitute abusive behavior and can have injurious consequences in the form of
psychological harm, mal- development, and deprivation. According to the 2013 Sierra
Leone Demographic and Health Survey asked women and men about their experience
of controlling behaviors within the context of their marriage. Table 3 shows the
percentage of ever-married women and men, respectively, whose spouses or partners
have ever demonstrated specific types of controlling behaviors, by background
characteristics.
To determine the degree of marital control spouses may exercise over one
another, ever-married women and men were asked whether their current or last spouse
has ever exhibited each of the following controlling behaviors (note, questions here
are phrased for a female respondent): (a) becomes jealous or gets angry if she talks to
other men; (b) accuses her of being unfaithful; (c) does not permit meetings with
female friends; (d) tries to limit contact with her family; and (e) insists on knowing
where she is at all times.
The accumulation of such behaviors is of greater importance than the results for
any single behavior, and therefore the proportion of women and men whose spouses
exhibited at least three of the specified behaviors is highlighted. More than one-third
of ever-married women (39 percent) report that their husbands have exhibited three or
more controlling behaviors (Table 3). The most commonly reported controlling
behavior is jealousy or anger when the wife talks to other men (75 percent). The other
most common controlling behaviors women report are accusations of being unfaithful
(49 percent) and insisting on knowing where they are at all times (45 percent). 39
percent of women said their husband displayed 3 or more of specific behavior against
them.
57
Table 3
Percentage of ever married women 15-49 whose husbands/partners ever
demonstrated specific types of controlling, by background characteristics,
Sierra Leone 2013.
Background
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-39
40-49
Religion
Christian
Islam
Other
None
Residence
Urban Setting
Rural Setting
Marital Status
Married
Divorced/separated
Wealth Quintile
Lowest
Second
Middle
Fourth
highest
Women afraid of
husbands
Most time afraid
Sometimes afraid
Never afraid
Total
Is
he
jealous/
angry if
she talks
to other
men
Frequently
accuses her
of
being
unfaithful
Does
not
permit
her to
meet
her
female
friends
Tries to
limit
her
contact
with
her
family
Insists in
knowing
where
she is all
time
Displays
3
or
more of
specific
behavior
Number
of
married
women
74.4
79.8
77.2
75.8
69.7
45.9
55.9
48.5
49.0
44.3
25.7
32.0
29.5
26.6
44.3
7.7
14.9
14.1
11.5
11.3
47.9
49.6
48.3
45.7
40.2
39.3
44.1
41.2
38.5
34.8
235
480
784
1593
1047
65.2
77.2
*
*
41.5
50.0
*
*
26.0
27.1
*
*
12.2
12.0
*
*
39.5
39.6
*
*
35.3
39.6
*
*
395
334
11
5
70.6
78.8
47.4
48.8
27.6
26.7
16.9
10.0
48.1
44.1
40.7
37.9
1289
2869
74.6
77.8
47.9
48.8
26.8
28.6
12.1
12.4
45.3
48.2
38.4
42.5
3775
363
75.0
77.7
78.3
76.4
67.4
50.3
46.0
51.3
48.8
45.4
27.6
24.2
29.8
26.5
26.6
8.5
12.1
11.3
10.4
18.3
39.2
47.5
47.1
46.5
47.0
36.9
35.1
41.5
41.2
39.2
866
803
779
830
831
76.0
75.9
64.2
74.9
56.9
48.4
35.6
48.9
35.8
26.1
15.7
26.9
16.5
11.0
8.4
12.1
54.6
46.2
29.8
45.4
51.2
37.9
25.5
38.8
525
2,017
845
4,138
Source: Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey, 2013.
58
The proportion of ever-married women who reported that their husbands have
exhibited three or more of the specified controlling behaviors are lowest among
women in their 40s compared with younger women. Younger women age 20-24 said
their partners are more jealousy/angry when they talk to other men (80) than older
women age 40-49. Women observing Islam are more prevented from talking to other
men (77.2) than women in Christian faith (65). From the data below, you can observe
that, Islamic men are exercising all forms of marital control than Christianity.
Divorced or separated, or widowed women were more likely to report controlling
behaviors from their former husbands compared with married women reporting on
their current husbands. Women in urban setting said their husband exhibited 3 or
more forms of specific behavior than those in rural areas. Women with no education
and women in the lowest wealth quintile experienced less marital control compared
with their counterparts. Finally, women who reported being afraid of their
husbands/partners were most likely to report that they exhibited three or more
controlling behaviors—at 51 percent compared with 23 percent of women who
reported never being afraid of their husbands/partners.
This focuses on violence perpetrated by intimate partner who is married to the
respondent or lives with the respondent as if married. Since spousal or intimate
partner violence is the most common form of violence for women and men age 15-49,
the 2013 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey collected detailed information
on the different types of violence experienced—physical, sexual, and emotional.
Currently married women and men were asked about violence perpetrated by their
current spouse, and formerly married women and men were asked about violence
perpetrated by their most recent spouse. Respondents were asked about seven specific
acts of physical violence, three acts of sexual violence, and three acts of emotional
abuse.
59
Specifically, spousal violence was measured using the following set of
questions for women:
Does/Did your (last) husband/partner ever:
(a) Push you, shake you, or throw something at you? (b) Slap you? (c) Twist
your arm or pull your hair? (d) Punch you with his fist or with something that could
hurt you? (e) Kick you or drag you or beat you up? (f) Try to choke you or burn you
on purpose? (g) Threaten or attack you with a knife, gun, or any other weapon?
(h) Physically force you to have sexual intercourse even when you did not
want to? (i) Physically force you to perform any sexual acts you did not want to? (j)
Force you with threats or in any other way to perform sexual acts you did not want to?
In cases when the answer was ‘yes’, women were asked about the frequency of
the act in the 12 months preceding the survey. A ‘yes’ answer to one or more of items
(a) to (g) above constitutes evidence of physical violence, while a ‘yes’ answer to
items (h) through (j) constitutes evidence of sexual violence.
Emotional violence among ever-married women was measured in a similar
way, using the following set of questions:
Does/did your (last) husband ever: Say or do something to humiliate you in
front of others? b) Threaten to hurt or harm you or someone close to you? c) Insult
you or make you feel bad about yourself?
In cases when the answer was ‘yes’, women were asked about the frequency of
the act in the 12 months preceding the survey.
This approach of asking separately about specific acts has the advantage of not
being affected by different understandings of what constitutes a summary term such
as violence. Also, by asking about a wide range of acts, this approach has the
advantage of giving the respondent multiple opportunities to disclose any experience
of violence.
60
Table 4 shows the percentage of ever-married women and men age 15-49 that
have experienced these various forms of spousal violence ever preceding the survey.
The different types of violence are not mutually exclusive; that is, respondents may
report experiencing multiple forms of violence.
Table 4.
Percentage of ever married women age 15-49 who have experienced various forms of
violence ever preceding the research committed by their husbands or parents, Sierra
Leone 2013
Types of violence
Physical Violence
Any physical violence
Push her, shook her, throw something at her
Slapped her
Twisted her hand, pulled her hair
Punched her with his fist, or with something
that could hurt her
Kicked her, dragged her, or beat her up
Tried to choke her/burn her on purpose
Threatened her/attacked her with a knife/gun
Sexual Violence
Any sexual violence
Physical forced her to have sexual intercourse
with him when she did not want
Physically forced her to perform sexual acts
she did not want
Forced her with threat/in any other way to
perform sexual acts she did not want
Emotional violence
Any emotional violence
Said/did something to humiliate her in front
of others
Threatened to hurt her/ harm her
Insulted her/made her feel bad
Ever
Often
Sometime
s
Sometimes/
often
44.2
22.3
38.4
11.5
5.3
2.8
3.4
1.8
21.9
11.5
19.4
5.4
27.2
14.3
22.8
7.3
9.1
22.2
3.1
1.4
1.4
2.2
0.4
0.2
4.4
8.8
1.5
0.5
5.8
11.0
1.9
0.8
7.3
6.2
0.8
0.7
4.3
3.7
5.1
4.4
3.0
0.5
1.9
2.3
2.6
0.3
1.5
1.9
29.2
22.8
4.9
3.5
15.9
11.7
20.8
15.2
11.8
20.8
1.6
3.0
6.1
11.9
7.8
14.8
Source: Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey, 2013
The data shows that half of ever-married women age 15-49 (51 percent) have
experienced some kind of violence (physical, sexual, or emotional) by their husbands
or live-in partners. Forty-four percent of ever- married women have experienced
physical violence at the hands of their husbands, 7 percent have experienced sexual
61
violence, and 29 percent have experienced emotional violence. 27 percent of women
experienced physical violence, 5 percent experienced sexual violence, and 21 percent
experienced emotional violence.
Among the acts of physical violence, slapping was the most commonly reported
act, experienced by 38 percent of ever-married women, followed by 22 percent of the
women being pushed, and about the same proportion being kicked. Punching with fist
is the least physical violence men normally committed.
Among the acts of sexual violence, being forced to have sex with their
husbands when they did not want to was the most commonly reported act of sexual
violence (6 percent of women). Forced her with threat or any other way to perform
sexual act is least sexual violence reported. For emotional violence, more women
reported their husbands humiliating them in front of others (22 percent) than reported
the other specific acts.
The research measures violence by spouses and by other family members and
unrelated individuals. Accordingly, information was obtained from ever-married
women and men on violence by spouses and by others, and from never-married
women and men on violence by anyone, including boyfriends/girlfriends.
International research on violence shows that intimate partner violence is one of the
most common forms of violence against women. There are more women of ages (1549) experiencing physical or sexual violence. The research also shows that Women
age 15-19 were more likely to experience physical violence during pregnancy (12
percent) compared with older women (40-49). Women with primary education and
women in the middle and fourth wealth quintiles were more likely to experience
violence during pregnancy compared with their counterparts. In the religious aspect,
more Muslim women experience domestic violence than the Christians folks. Women
living in the northern rural part of Sierra Leone are prone to domestic violence than
those living in the urban settlement. The most commonly reported controlling
62
behavior is jealousy or anger when the wife talks to other men (75 percent). Men in
Sierra Leone use to much of power and control on their wives and this are more
dominant among the Muslim communities due to their religious regulations. Women
whose husbands have no education are slightly more likely to report physical violence
and sexual violence compared with women with educated husbands, while women are
more likely to experience emotional, physical and sexual violence when their
husbands have secondary or higher education. Finally men who take alcohol also
seem to commit more emotional, physical and sexual violence against their wives.
The secondary data collated above shown the existence of the violence in
Sierra Leone and gives statistics of the several forms of domestic violence. The
secondary data above is very significant to solving the problem. In order to analyze
them, my research will further collect a primary data in a form of surveys because it is
an important source of information about victims of violence, since the secondary
data failed to capture data from governmental and non-governmental agencies, police
and social workers that deal with domestic violence cases.
The domestic violence survey was undertaken to capture the views of those
implementing the policy at a service level in order to identify policy, implementation
and service delivery issues to inform domestic violence policy makers in Sierra
Leone.
My research survey could be used as a way of obtaining representative
information about the majority of victims of violence who do not seek assistance. It is
also the only reliable way of discovering if the rate of violence is going up or down.
This is because changes in the rate of those seeking assistance from authorities may
reflect changes in both the willingness of victims to approach the authorities and of
authorities to record this help-seeking, rather than change in the underlying “real” rate
of violence.
63
The primary data collection employed a cross sectional design which allowed
data to be collected at one point in time. This technique is useful for descriptive study
as well as for determination of relationship between variables. This design was also
useful because it allowed data collection to use mixed methods which are
questionnaire for collecting quantitative data and focused group discussion and
checklist for qualitative data.
Primary data were collected based on the field survey and the data were
collected using structured questionnaires. Other methods include direct observation
and focused group discussion. Several literatures were visited and relevant
information related to the study was collected
This constituted the sampling frame, while the unit of analysis was the
individual victims of domestic violence. The enumeration was conducted in Freetown,
Sierra Leone and it is an urban settlement that is very much prone to domestic
violence issues.
Primary data was collected from institutions and other bodies
working on domestic violence prevention and control. Fifteen questionnaires were
designed for social workers, Non-Governmental Organizations working on domestic
violence prevention and control, the police and other government institutions. There
are structured questionnaires with close-ended questions.
Interview questionnaires were developed for the research. The questionnaires
were designed to collect data needed to meet the objectives of the research. Only one
set of respondents was used in my research: the institutions working on domestic
violence issues.
Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in data analysis.
Qualitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as Percentage,
Tabulation and Frequency. Before processing the responses, the completed
questionnaires were edited for completeness and consistency while the incomplete
ones were eliminated.
64
The data was then coded to enable the responses to be grouped into various
categories. A descriptive analysis was employed. Descriptive statistics such as means,
standard deviation and frequency distribution was used to analyze the data.
A total of 115 responses to the survey were received. Of these, 15 entries were
identified as void responses and were removed. Therefore a total of 100 responses
were included in the subsequent analysis of the data.
The majority of the respondents who responded to the survey worked in
Freetown municipality (60) from west part of the city. Almost (30) of responses came
from East end part of Freetown. Reflecting that some people may work across
boundaries, 10 staff reported working across regional and Freetown municipality.
Table 5
Areas in which respondents work
Area
respondents
percentage
Freetown West
60
60%
Freetown East
30
30%
Both regions
10
10%
Total
100
Areas in which respondents work
Freetown West
Freetown East
Both regions
10%
30%
60%
Figure 1. Areas in which respondents work
65
The estimated responses for the survey were ascertained from a total of 115
interviewees. The estimated response rate based on these figures was 60% from
Freetown west, 30% respondents work in Freetown East while about 10% work
across both regions.
Questions were posed to social workers, police, NGOs and other governmental
institutions to discover the level of Domestic Violence knowledge and training
Table: 6.
Reported DV Policy, Legislation and Service and Referral Knowledge of respondents
Level of knowledge
domestic violence policy
domestic violence legislation
percentage
29%
23%
Very good knowledge
83%
domestic violence service and referral
31%
options
Basic
or
knowledge
domestic violence policy
20%
limit domestic violence legislation
15%
domestic violence service and referral
13%
options
domestic violence policy
25%
Good knowledge
domestic violence legislation
20%
48%
70%
domestic violence service and referral
15%
options
From the survey, about 83% of the respondents reported a good or very good
knowledge of domestic violence policy, domestic violence legislation and domestic
violence service and referral options (29%, 23% and 31% respectively).
About 48% of the respondents said they have just basic/limited knowledge of
domestic violence policy, domestic violence legislation and domestic violence
services and referral (20%, 15% and 13% respectively). Lastly, 70% of the total
respondents confirmed they have good knowledge of domestic violence policy,
domestic violence legislation and domestic violence service and referral (25%, 20%
and 15% respectively).
66
Social workers employed in a clinical role were slightly more likely to report
good or very good knowledge of domestic violence.
level of Domestic Violence knowledge and training
31
25
20
20
Very good knowledge
15
Basic or limit knowledge
domestic violence service and
referral options
13
domestic violence service and
referral options
domestic violence legislation
domestic violence policy
domestic violence service and
referral options
domestic violence legislation
15
domestic violence legislation
23
domestic violence policy
29
domestic violence policy
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Good knowledge
Figure 2. Reported DV Policy, Legislation and Service and Referral Knowledge of
respondents
A total of 80% respondents provided sufficient information to classify them
into a service type within the difference domestic violence institutions. Of these, 42%
worked in Child, Adolescent and Family Health, 25% in the child care homes
Ambulance Service and 18% in Mental Health. A further 15% worked in Child
Protection, Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault services.
67
Table: 7
Service type within which respondents work
Service type
No. of respondents
Child, Adolescent and Family Health
34
child care homes Ambulance Service
20
Mental Health
14
Child Protection, Domestic Violence or 12
Sexual Assault services.
Total
80
percentage
42%
25%
18%
15%
Service type within which respondents work
45
40
35
30
25
20
percentage
15
10
5
0
Child, Adolescent
and Family Health
child care homes
Ambulance Service
Mental Health
Child Protection,
Domestic Violence or
Sexual Assault
services.
Figure 9. Service type within which respondents work
The majority of the respondents working for the targeted institutions who
completed the survey responded that they had received no training in their current
role. Further, the results demonstrate that across the levels of domestic violence
training are more likely to fall within none to minimal range.
Only 7% of the respondents who completed the survey reported that they had
received a moderate or significant level of training in current role. Those who worked
in clinical roles reported slightly higher moderate to significant training levels (1%).
68
Most of the respondents working for government institutions in Freetown dealing
with violence issues did not receive training in their current roles 62%. About 30% of
them received minimal training on domestic violence prevention and control.
Table: 8
Domestic violence training level by current role
Level of domestic violence training
None
Minimal
Moderate
Significant
No. of responses(percentage)
62%
30%
7%
1%
Domestic violence training level by current
role
7% 1%
None
Minimal
30%
Moderate
62%
Significant
Figure 4. Domestic violence training level by current role
Higher levels of DV training (moderate or significant) were reported from
respondents who worked in a drug and alcohol service (21%) or in a social
work/counseling role (24.6%). This is consistent with contact with victims of DV,
64% of those working in a drug and alcohol service and 81% currently in counseling
or social work role had contact with at least one known domestic violence victim in
the last six months.
69
Respondents were asked “In your current role, please indicate the actions you
are most likely to take when dealing with someone who is a victim of domestic
violence”. There were several possible options and respondents could choose multiple
responses. A total of 100 respondents answered this question. The most likely
responses to a victim of domestic violence were to:
Table: 9
Most likely to response to dealing with victims of Domestic violence
Service unit
No. of respondents
percentage
Community service
25
25%
Child wellbeing unit
20
20%
Treatment physical injuries
11
11%
Refer to police
30
30%
Refer to other agencies
5
5%
Social workers
9
9%
Total
100
Most likely to response to dealing with victims
of Domestic violence
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
percentage
Community
service
Child
wellbeing
unit
Treatment
physical
injuries
Refer to
police
Refer to
other
agencies
Social
workers
Figure 5. Most likely to response to dealing with victims of Domestic violence
Note: Respondents could give multiple responses.
When compared to those with minimal or no domestic violence training,
respondents who reported higher levels of domestic violence training were:
70
More likely to report “Treat emotional injuries”, “Case management”,
“Assessment” or “Child protection wellbeing”.
Less likely to report “treatment of physical injuries”
Inter-institutional clarity of information sharing
Most respondents working for various institutions were interviewed to respond
to a multiple choice question regarding information sharing with other agencies. A
total of 100 respondents answered this question. 25% of respondents reported that the
information was “mostly clear” and they knew who to approach for clarification. A
further 40% of staff reported that information sharing was not clear. Also 30% of the
respondents reported that information sharing between institutions was very clear and
information can be shared and only 5% said mostly clear but don’t know who to ask
when they are not sure.
Table: 10
Inter-institutional clarity of information sharing
Are the limits and/or
opportunities for information
sharing with other agencies
sufficiently clear?
Yes, very clear what information 30
can be shared
Number of responses
Percentage number of
respondents
30%
Mostly clear, but I know who to 25
approach for clarification if
required
25%
Mostly clear, but I don't know 5
who to ask when I'm not sure
5%
No, not clear
40
40%
Total
100
71
Yes, very clear what
information can be shared
25%
40%
Mostly clear, but I know who
to approach for clarification
if required
Mostly clear, but I don't
know who to ask when I'm
not sure
5%
30%
No, not clear
Figure: 6 Inter-institutional clarity of information sharing
Difficulties encountered during work with domestic violence victims
Respondents were also asked to outline the difficulties they may encounter
when working with victims of domestic violence. There were 90 free text responses to
this question and these were classified into broad categories for comparison.
The highest number of responses was in relation to the victim’s reluctance or
fear of disclosing or reporting domestic violence (46%). The second highest reported
difficulty relates to the limited referral or service options for victims of domestic
violence (30%).
The third highest response was around the lack of knowledge of certain
institutions and workers of domestic violence issues (10%).
The fourth highest response was the problem of gender bias among female
victims (9%) and the final set of responses was cultural and believes (5%).
72
Table: 11
Difficulties encountered during work with domestic violence victims
Difficulties
No. of responses
victim’s reluctance or
disclosing
limited referral or
options
lack of knowledge of
institutions
of gender bias among
victims
cultural and believe
Total responses
percentage
fear of 38
42
service 25
28
certain 12
13
female 10
11
5
90
6
Difficulties encountered during work with domestic
violence victims
6%
11%
victim’s reluctance or fear of
disclosing
42%
13%
limited referral or service options
lack of knowledge of certain
institutions
of gender bias among female victims
cultural and believe
28%
Figure 7. Difficulties encountered during work with domestic violence victims
73
In response to the question about the services that best support the victims of
domestic violence, the highest responses were in support of counseling for the victim
(82%), referral to domestic violence specific services (80%) and after hours, crisis
support.
Emotional and psychological abuse
The survey interviewed those who thought other examples of abuse should be
including in in the questionnaires. Of those respondents who specified “other” the
responses could be categorized into “controlling behavior”, “Actions that create fear”,
“Emotional abuse” or “Sexual coercion/abuse”. There was strong support for the
inclusion of controlling behavior (76% of respondents) and actions that create fear
(60% of respondents) into the questions asked by routine screening questions. Only
2.4% of respondents wanted “emotional abuse” included in domestic violence
treatment and 0.7% wanted “Sexual coercion/abuse” included.
Key findings.
This survey was developed to determine specific Domestic violence related
knowledge and training of various governmental, non-government, police and social
workers working in the Freetown municipality, Sierra Leone, as well as their likely
responses to and difficulties encountered when dealing with Domestic violence cases.
The findings from this survey will be used to inform the current Domestic Violence
policy implementation in Sierra Leone.
There were 100 valid responses to the survey received from workers of
government institutions, non-governmental bodies dealing with domestic violence
related cases, police and social workers.
The highest proportion of responses was from those in Police 30% Child,
Adolescent and Family Support Unit (25%), child wellbeing (20%) and other agencies
(5) Community Services, individual social worker 9%
74
Self-reported levels of Domestic Violence training were extremely low with
62% of the respondents reported minimal or no training in their current role.
Correspondingly, the level of knowledge reported by staff about Domestic
Violence was as low as 48% of respondents had basic or no knowledge of “DV
legislation”, “DV policy” or “DV services and referrals
The most commonly reported difficulty when dealing with DV victims was the
reluctance of victims to disclose DV (42% of responses)
There was a strong preference for Domestic violence research forms to include
questions related to non-physical abuse such as controlling behavior (76%) and
actions that create fear (60%)
Recommendations.
Training and development
Focus on Domestic violence training Sierra Leone in order to:
1. Increase overall levels of Domestic violence training across government
institutions, non-governmental bodies dealing with domestic violence cases, police
and social workers who are often first line responders.
2. Reinforce continuing professional development the employees in those
institutions to update and maintain levels of Domestic Violence knowledge
throughout their careers.
3. Improve the ability of staff to identify and effectively manage victims of
Domestic Violence.
Domestic Violence resources
4. Provide staff with one-page fact sheets and referral flow-charts to guide their
management of DV victims.
5. Increase availability of Domestic Violence related services, especially in
rural and regional areas.
75
The Problems of Domestic Violence Prevention: Governmental and Nongovernmental Bodies’ Interaction Analysis
Despite the well-documented prevalence of domestic violence among women
seeking medical services and psychosocial help from social service institutions,
clinicians continue to have difficulty incorporating routine inquiry about domestic
violence into their practices and responding appropriately to women who have been
battered by their partners.
Even institutions with established domestic violence protocols and training
often fail to provide the support necessary for a sustained provider response. There are
several reasons for this. Unlike traditional “medical problems,” domestic violence
often raises complex issues and challenges both for individual providers and for the
institutions that shape domestic violence preventive practices. Some of these issues
involve individual experiences and responses to abuse, as well as biases and cultural
assumptions about gender, power, and partner abuse. Addressing these issues requires
more than simply adding new diagnostic categories to differential diagnoses or new
technical skills. Instead, it entails asking clinicians to behave in ways that may
conflict with their personal needs and cultural values. The development of effective
responses to domestic violence then requires changes in knowledge, attitudes, and
skills that push the limits of a traditional preventive framework [11].
Other structural problems can also interfere with social workers ability to
provide an appropriate standard of care for domestic violence victims. For example,
when training programs foster an atmosphere in which workers learn to survive at the
expense of their own feelings, it can be difficult for them to respond appropriately to
the feelings of others. If addressing complex psychosocial issues is devalued at an
institutional level, clinicians’ survival within the health care system may be placed in
conflict with the needs of their patients. To improve an institution’s response to
domestic violence, these barriers must be addressed systemically.
76
There are also specific skills service providers can learn from working closely
with battered women and domestic violence advocates. These include: knowledge
about what is and is not helpful to battered women, recognition of the differences
between a directive diagnosis and treatment model and an equality-based advocacy
model, and experience in developing strategies for social change.
2.2 Institutional and organizational models of domestic violence prevention
Domestic violence is violated against women and children worldwide and one
of the most frequent causes for death. The batterers and the victims are found in all
social strata, ages and origins. The national action plan rolled by different
governments to this effect will be sustained with the cooperation of all partners
involved
in
the
process
of
combating
violence.
Government as the main institution undertakes a pivotal role to strengthen the
empowerment of women to better reduce the effects of economic insecurity, which
often leads to discrimination and violence against women. The relevance of the action
draws its substance in the primary socialization, in the education, in the training of
skills, in the detection of know-how and its encouragement, and also in all measures
that are likely to guarantee the respect of the human dignity, at all times and at all
moments.
Operational structures of institutional model .
77
Expatriates
(professional
social workers,
Therapists)
Legislative (enact
DV laws)
Social instituions
(implement DV
Laws)
Government
(main body)
NGOs adressing
DV issues
Informal
Institutitons
(Religious leaders,
community
stakeholders,)
Government as the main institution: The fight against domestic violence should
be made a national program of any serious government. Domestic violence being a
social issue has the tendency to create social instability and unrest. The role of a
government is to see its people, especially women and children free from all forms of
violence. In recent years, governments have increasingly introduced laws to combat
violence against women and children. The existence and quality of laws to address
sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence as a proxy of social norms related to
violence against women. Countries received low discrimination and low domestic
violence if there is a specific law in place with no reported problems of
implementation. Rwanda is one example where a new law has been introduced. The
Law on the Prevention, Protection, and Punishment of Any Gender-Based Violence is
Rwanda’s first comprehensive legislation on domestic violence. Government
comprises other institutions and organizations to ensuring proper tackling of social
problems.
78
Legislative institutions: The legislative branch is one of three divisions of
government that works in conjunction with the executive and judicial branches. Its
main responsibility is the creation of laws. The legislation comprises parliament that
debate of social issues affecting the people. Domestic violence laws are created by
legislative institutions to ensuring that appropriate policies that will help prevent
violence are put in place. For example in Sierra Leone in order to address domestic
violence issues, regulatory framework was being put in place and it was on that
premises the government of Sierra Leone legislated three laws that are purely dealing
with issues that address domestic violence. These are; child right act of 2007
Domestic Violence Act 2007 and sexual violence act of 2012.
They have helped to suppress domestic violence and to provide protection for
victims. The legislatures made a clear statement that domestic violence will not be
tolerated and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Statutory obligations are
imposed upon the police regarding the implementation and enforcement of the law.
In 2007, Domestic Violence Act was passed making domestic violence a criminal
offence. The definition of domestic violence includes physical or sexual abuse, as
well as economic, emotional, verbal or psychological abuse and is punishable by fines
and up to two years imprisonment. Despite this measure, violent acts against women
are reportedly common, and police intervention and reaction has been criticized [10].
The Sexual Offences Act requires free medical treatment and examination for victims.
The Sexual Offenses Act of 2012 establishes the age of consent at 18 and specifically
prohibits spousal rape, punishing the latter with fines and up to 15 years
imprisonment[37].
Creating laws is not the only solution to prevent domestic violence from
occurring but putting the laws into action is very important. Each law passed requires
agencies, commissions that should be established or empowered to further implement
the enacted laws. These social institutions provide a broad range of social services
79
designed to prevent or treat family violence. These social services include counseling
and advocacy for victims of abuse; family and caregiver support programs; alternative
living arrangements, including out-of-home placement for children, protective
guardianship for abused elders, and shelters for battered women; educational
programs for those at risk of abusing or being abused; intensive service programs to
maintain families at risk of losing their child; and individual service programs in both
family and placement settings. Social service interventions also may include concrete
services such as income support or material aid, institutional placement, mental health
services, in-home health services, supervision, education, transportation, housing,
medical services, legal services, in-home assistance, socialization, nutrition, and child
and respite care [41].
For example in Sierra Leone as part of the effort to address domestic violence,
the ministry of social welfare is created as an institution of government to implement
domestic violence laws.
The ministry is to promote and protect the rights of women, children, the aged,
persons with disability, and other vulnerable groups through development and review
of policies, advocacy coordination with stakeholders, building capacity and effective
monitoring and evaluation in order to enhance equity for all. Ministry is responsible to
train advocacy officers on Gender and Children Affairs. They are also heading the
psychosocial pillar. It is commonly known as the child protection, social welfare and
gender pillar. The ministry is also working with other line institutions like; The
Family Support Unit under the Sierra Leone police works with the social welfare
ministry in order to receive most domestic violence reports and investigate sexual
violence cases, child trafficking, commercial exploitations, internal and cross border
trafficking the Guidelines on Sexual and Gender Based Violence. They work with
different families, with the help of social workers to provide counseling to violence
victims. The police help officers to arrest perpetuators and enforce the laws. Family
80
support units are established in almost all corners of Sierra Leone had actually helped
to combat the high occurrence of domestic violence. In 2016, the units recorded
11,500 domestic violence cases [25].
The ministry also established another institution called national commission
for children which gears towards championing issues of children, especially less
privilege that are socially excluded from social service. The commission purposely
the implement the child right act that was passed in 2007 for the elimination of child
labor, protection of children and young persons. Parental and State Responsibilities,
Child Welfare Functions of Local Committees and District Council, Quasi-Judicial
and Judicial Child Adjudication, Parentage, Custody and Maintenance of Children,
Institutional Care and Miscellaneous Matters, Employment of Children. Also amends
the Protection of Women and Girls Act the Children and Young Persons [39].
Notwithstanding, there are a lot of challenges in policy implementation especially
with regards to the compliance rate. People always want to violate the laws especially
domestic violence issues couple with the customs and traditions practice in Sierra
Leone. There is always a dispute between the law enforcement agencies and
traditional means of handling domestic violence cases. As such most victims did not
report the perpetuators to the relevant authorities; instead they prefer the issues to be
handled within the family. This creates an acute problem for the Implementing
institutions and find it difficult to effectively bring the defaulters to book. There are
other challenges FSU is also encountering in Sierra Leone, inadequate human
resources, lack of operational machinery to enhance the effective functioning of the
unit, lack of participatory role of the community people, cultural and customary
practices among families etc.
Family as a social institution
Family consists of two or more people. Family is guided with different
principles, values, traditions and customs based on the specific family pattern you
81
belong to. The main objects of sociology of the family are marriage and family.
Marriage is historically variable social form of relationship between man and woman,
through which society organizes and authorizes their lives; establish marital and
parental rights and responsibilities [32]. The family is a more complex system of
relationships than marriage because it usually brings together not only the couple but
also their children and other relatives and friends. In addition, the family acts as a
social unit of society, which is usually very close "to the original" model the whole
society in which it operates.
Certain family patterns and relations are formed as a result of the different
religious beliefs, traditions and customs. Sociologist categorized family patterns into
polygamous marriage (Marriage between one man and more than one woman),
monogamous marriages (Marriage between one man and one woman), Polyandry
Marriage (between one woman and more than one man. In some cultures, after
marriage, a couple lives in the wife’s family), single parents family i.e. family that
only involves one parent and extended family i.e. large families comprising many
other relatives. Each of the family patterns performs various roles to ensuring that
domestic violence is taking care of. All the family patterns have parents and maybe
children. Sociologists emphasized the functional as well as the structural roles of the
family. Family as a social group is linked by sexual and other relationship as well as
those linked by descent who are linked by secondary relationship (extended families)
by chains of primary relationships [43].
Non-governmental Institutions
The fight against domestic violence involves the effort of not only government
institutions, but also non-governmental organizations are actively engage all over the
world in addressing domestic violence issues. The presence of Non- Governmental
institutions in violence zones is not a new phenomenon. NGOs have developed a wide
range of violence prevention and resolution activities including monitoring family
82
conflict and providing early warning of new violence; opening dialogue between
adversarial parties; playing a direct mediating role; strengthening local institutions for
domestic violence resolution; and help to strengthen the rule of law and democratic
processes in countries affected by domestic violent [42].
NGOs have emerged as important partners to both national governments and
international agencies engaged in violence resolution and promote human right issues,
especially women and children. For example in Sierra Leone, international nongovernmental organization like UNICEF is actively involves in promoting the right of
the children. UNICEF and other child protection actors are increasingly moving away
from small-scale, issue-specific projects in favor of a systems approach, with a strong
focus on violence prevention. The goal of a systems approach’ is to create an
environment where girls and boys are free from violence, exploitation and
unnecessary separation from family, and where laws, services, behaviors and
practices minimize vulnerability, address known risk factors, and strengthen the
resilience of children. The systems approach facilitates more systematic policy
development and programming that considers the child, family and community as a
whole. Better coordination of poverty reduction, social welfare, and justice, labor and
education policies ensures cost-effectiveness and efficiency. The goal of a ‘systems
approach’ is to create an environment where girls and boys are free from violence,
exploitation and trafficking. There activities in Sierra Leone have actually helped a lot
of children who were suffering from various forms of violence to now live a better
life, and reintegrated most of them to their communities, families and schools
environment [51].
“Save the children” is another non-governmental institution that is tirelessly
promoting issues of the children. It promotes children's rights, provides relief and
helps support children in developing countries. They improve the lives of children
through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as
83
providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, domestic violence and other
conflicts. There are a lot of achievement made by NGOs in terms of domestic
violence advocacy and prevention. Certain NGOs provide the platform for victims
and perpetuators to reintegrate and make them better people after the violence
situation. The presence of NGOs in Sierra Leone had helped to compliment the effort
of the government and the community people through the provision of positive
messages and action plans that mitigates domestic violence nationwide.
Informal Institutions (Community stakeholders, religious leaders, youth’s
movement)
Domestic violence requires the collaborative effort of different actors in
society. Formal institutions might set the policies and the suitable platform for the
safety of the society. The community stakeholders, youths, religious institution all
have an important role to play to ensuring that public education, advocacy on violence
related issues is undertaken. Society goes with informal traditions, customs, values
and customary practices. Involving the community people will help the different
formal institutions working in such environment to easily carry out their functions and
achieve their goals. No one person or organization has the capacity, strength and
power to diagnose the root causes of violence but collaborating with community
volunteers, youths and key stakeholders will help to alleviate the difficult task social
workers and other human right experts are encountering. The community volunteers
have high rapport and they see the problems every day from their intimate
neighborhood, family members and relatives. Working with them will enhance an
effective problem diagnosis.
Mobilizing community people to prevent domestic violence involves engaging
communities in supporting, developing, and implementing prevention strategies that
target change in individuals, as well as in the community and society. Potential
strategies include educating the community, building support among key stakeholders
84
for prevention efforts, developing programs that strengthen social networks,
organizing community groups to challenge social norms that contribute to the use of
violence, and advocating for community accountability. Community mobilizing
strategies hold the potential for transforming those social norms and structures that are
the root causes of domestic violence. The cultivation of grassroots community
leadership can enhance the long-term sustainability of violence prevention efforts.
The community mobilization models incorporate also social ecological
perspective that views violence prevention as requiring multifaceted interventions that
target change at many levels: individual, family, neighborhood, social institutions,
community organizations, public policy, and cultural environment. In order to create
social change, it is critical to engage community members and develop leadership
beyond formal institutions. It is important that initiatives carefully assess the capacity
of the community to support and sustain the strategies being proposed and
implemented [33].
Expatriates
and
professional
institutions
(Psychologists,
Therapists
Psychiatrists): Professional institutions are very important in the prevention of
domestic violence. They play consultancy role in the provision of technical advises to
front line workers and domestic violence victims. Their consultancy role begins with
the legislative branch in which they are needed to provide proffer professional ideas
to formulate laws that gear toward violence prevention. They also involve in the
execution of such laws by working with different Ministries, Agencies and
Commissions engage in solving domestic violence cases. The Health Care
Professional (HCP) has an ideal opportunity to evaluate the causes of domestic
violence and do timely intervention to stop the occurrence of the violence. The
prevalence, health risks to families, indicators, and resources are reviewed. Primary,
secondary, and tertiary interventions to facilitate action are presented.
85
The health professionals’ participation in the primary intervention is to restrain
a detrimental health event from occurring. They may involve in primary intervention
through political action, through the promotion of linkages with referral resources,
and through the education of communities and professional colleagues. Political
action necessitates recognition of contemporary legislation within the state. The
promotion of linkages with health care facilities, health care providers, local shelters,
and other resources for families experiencing violence allows contacts with “the
system” before a need arise. These contacts will aid the Health Professionals to realize
what can be done and to enhance confidence of the people to empower the family if
domestic violence is identified [45].
Education of communities and professionals about domestic violence is a
primary intervention. Health professionals, counselors, family therapists may become
involved in community forums, in their offices, in schools, or in the education of
other health professionals. Community forums increase awareness in the general
public of the problem of domestic violence and offer a mechanism for various
resource persons to present a "panel" discussion, thereby providing a coordinated
community approach. They provide warning signs in dating relationships that may
lead to later violence, encourage young adults to build relationships on trust; to avoid
relationships that confuse "love" with power, control, and jealousy; and to emphasize
that sincere love does not interfere with success, other friendships, and growth as an
individual.
Health care professionals, counselors, social workers need to become involved
in the prevention and treatment of domestic violence—a public health dilemma.
Having a sound knowledge base of the prevalence (family health risks related to
domestic violence), indicators, and referral resources is crucial. To intervene in
domestic violence requires planned interventions. By asking routinely, the HCP may
begin to proactively address domestic violence. An instant "cure" may not be
86
achieved with the woman in a violent relationship; however, success may be defined
as small steps toward empowerment.
In Sierra Leone, as part of the mandate of the government, the social welfare
ministry forms inter-ministerial collaboration with the ministry of health to outsource
medical experts. This helps to treat certain mental, traumatic stress disorder that
occurs as a result of the violence. The health ministry has the mental council of Sierra
Leone, The rainbow centers that have therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists etc. that
are actively engage in medical services to violence victims. The rainbow centers offer
free social therapy to families, communities and schools.
Social therapists in such centers work in marital, mental health, school,
education, or private practice focusing on social behavior and interaction versus
career advancement or planning. The social counselors may address family issues,
coping skills, healthy relationships, anger management, physical and emotional abuse,
stress, grief and loss, depression, self-injury, suicide, and addictions that may
occurred as a result of violence. The main focus of social therapy is to help those with
mental disorders, social challenges, addictions, or social anxieties. This may require
the therapist to communicate with family, advocate for a patient’s needs, and hold
therapy sessions, help clients face their problems, find a strategy to cope with them,
and have a better quality of life.
They have social therapists that work in a variety of environments including
hospitals, private practice, medical centers, schools, education, and their own practice.
The work environment is demanding based on what the social therapist specializes in.
Their functions have helped to implement different legislations on violence passed in
Sierra Leone. These experts further provide family therapy, cognitive therapy, group
therapy, interpersonal and rhythm therapy to violence victims in most part of the
country.
87
Table 12
Therapy Application
SOCIAL WORKERS
Social
workers
provide
therapy and myriad services to
victims and perpetrators of
domestic violence. Direct
therapy to victims of domestic
violence include counseling
and support through shelter
programs across the country,
individual counseling through
private practice settings, court
advocacy through county
victim service agencies, and
social justice community
organizing efforts to prevent
domestic
violence
from
occurring in the first place.
Social
workers
provide
services
to
perpetrators
through voluntary and court
mandated batterer intervention
programs. As professional
committed to social justice,
domestic violence is a social
justice issue.
Direct
Service
Providers
(Women’s Advocate, Shelter
Program). Social workers
provide services to victims of
domestic violence through
shelter programs across the
country. The context in which
services are provided is
empowerment and advocacy
oriented.
Community
Education
THERAPISTS
Psychotherapy for Abuse Survivors
Therapy can help survivors of abuse express and process
difficult emotions associated with the abuse, develop selfcompassion and self-care strategies for managing moments
of emotional overwhelm, and learn to trust again. Many
therapeutic approaches can be beneficial for those who have
experienced abuse.
Narrative Therapy separates the person from the problem and
encourages people to rely on their own skill sets to minimize
the problems that exist in their everyday lives. Throughout
life, personal experiences are transformed into personal
stories that are given meaning and help shape a person’s
identity, and narrative therapy utilizes the power of people’s
personal stories to discover the life purpose of the narrator.
Practitioners of narrative therapy believe that simply telling
one’s story of a problem is a form of action toward change.
Narrative therapists help to objectify problems, frame them
within a larger sociocultural context, and make room for
other stories. Together, therapist and client identify and build
upon “alternative” or “preferred” storylines that exist beyond
the problem story; these provide contrast to the problem,
reflect a person’s true nature, and offer opportunities to
rewrite one’s story. In this way, people move from what is
known (the problem story) to what is as of yet unknown [44].
The therapist also helps people to see what is “absent but
implicit” in the presentation of a problem. By exploring the
impact of the problem, it is possible to identify what is truly
important and valuable to a person in a broader context,
beyond the problem. This can help a person identify a
common thread to connect his or her actions and choices
throughout life. In other words, all the “other” experiences
and values from life are “absent but implicit” as people
navigate new terrain. This process can help a person better
understand his or her experience of life and gain personal
agency for addressing problem scenarios in the future.
88
Coordinator. Many shelters
have a Community Education
Coordinator on staff who may
be a social worker. This
person is accountable for
managing
all
types
of
community education from
professional development and
training to providing speakers
for civic or social groups.
Social
workers
provide
therapy to victims of domestic
violence while they are in a
shelter or living in their
community. Social workers
also serve as executive
directors of domestic violence
organizations.
Group therapy is a shared therapeutic experience that
involves the presence of a trained professional and others
who are working through similar issues. This collaborative
form of healing can focus on interpersonal relationships or
on particular concerns shared by group members. There are
numerous psychological and emotional issues that are treated
in group therapy, ranging from addiction and abuse to
anxiety and depression which occurred as a result of the
violence. Group therapy activities are designed to encourage
communication, insight, trust, and personal growth. The
activities may range from conversational, sit-down
interactions, such as reading and sharing stories, to
physically engaging, team-oriented exercises and game [44].
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of
psychotherapy that treats problems and boosts happiness of
domestic violence victims by modifying dysfunctional
emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy focuses on solutions, encouraging patients to
challenge distorted cognitions and change destructive
patterns. This help to instill confidence and hope to the
victims and the change their negative thoughts, Posttraumatic
stress disorder.
Family therapy uses strategies to reduce the level of family
distress caused by domestic violence. It may either contribute
to or result from the victims of the violence. Most domestic
violence cases results to emotional stress, mental disorder,
traumatic disorder, stigmatization etc. Family therapists treat
mental disorders. They meet with entire families and
individually with family members to assist families in
functioning more effectively. They discuss emotional issues
and provide treatment for mental disorders psychological
conflicts caused by domestic violence.
However, a family therapist also performs one-on-one
counseling time if necessary with family members. The goal
of therapy is to address emotional or mental issues that are
harming the family. For example, families may be
undergoing some sort of crisis at work or a psychological
conflict with them. By talking with patients, a family
therapist seeks to address and modify these issues.
89
“Institutional and organizational models of domestic violence prevention” we
developed patterns of cooperation of all involved governmental non-governmental
agencies to prevent and solve domestic violence cases within three major rounds
considering the age of target groups.
Table 13.
Institutional strategy to prevent and solve domestic violence problems
Life stage
Primary
(Targeted
to
population
before
domestic
violence
occur)
Infants
and Home
visitation.
preschoolers ( 0 to 5 Public health nurses
years)
and trained social
workers assisting new
parents.
School- age children ( Schoolbased
6 to 12 years)
awareness and skills
development.
Collaborative effort
by
schools
and
communities to teach
violence
awareness
and
alternative
conflicts
resolution
skills.
Adolescents and high- Schoolbased
school age youths ( 13 awareness and skills
to 18)
development. Same as
above with emphasis
on issues related to
dating violence and
forming
healthy
intimate relationship
Secondary
(Targeted individuals
following early signs
of domestic violence )
Tertiary
(Targeted to victims
and perpetrators after
domestic violence )
Home visitation with
high families support
and
services
for
family
members
identified as being at
high
risk
of
perpetrating
or
becoming victims of
domestic violence
Communitybased
early
intervention
children exposed to
violence are offered
crisis
support,
individual counseling
and
educational
groups.
Home visitation with
abused victims and
their
children
specialized services
for
domestic
specialists as having
been
harmed
by
domestic violence
Communitybased
early
intervention.
Services as above
tailored
for
adolescents exposed
to
violence
and
emphasizing
dating
relationship
Disorderbased
treatment
services.
Same as above with
the
possible
involvement of the
juvenile
justice
system
as
an
identification
and
Home visitation with
abused victims and
their
children
specialized services
for
domestic
specialists as having
been
harmed
by
domestic violence
90
Adults (18 years) and Public
education
above older
media
campaign
promoting awareness
of domestic violence
and
providing
information
about
local resources and
how to respond to
domestic
violence
situations.
Communitybased
early
intervention.
Individuals opposed
to
violence
are
identified
at
the
earliest
possible
opportunity
and
provided
with
appropriate
coordinating services
access
point
for
treatment.
Communitybased
intervention
for
chronic
domestic
violence
intensive
police, court and
community
collaboration
to
address situation of
chronic and dangerous
domestic violence.
Analysis of domestic violence prevention strategies
The institutional model that can inform the development of domestic violence
prevention strategies divides prevention efforts into three categories: primary,
secondary and tertiary. Primary prevention involves efforts to reduce the incidence of
a problem in a population before it occurs. The goal of secondary prevention is to
target individuals to decrease the prevalence of a problem by minimizing or reducing
its severity and the continuation of its early signs [47].
Tertiary prevention (Children’s Services)
Many women will not seek assistance without knowing that their children will
also receive care. High-performing nonprofits have separate counseling and such
groups for children who have either witnessed or experienced domestic violence. This
therapy is tailored to the child’s age-group, ranging from infants to teenagers.
Counseling helps children to cope with violence, learn about safety plans, and reduce
self-blame for domestic violence. In addition to counseling, nonprofits often have
daycares that provide for the children’s needs while allowing women to seek
employment and/or workforce acted with domestic violence. An example of
secondary prevention is a clear protocol for the way teachers can assist students who
have discussed witnessing domestic violence in their homes but who do not show
serious signs of harm. Tertiary prevention efforts are the most common and
91
emphasize the identification of domestic violence and its perpetrators and victims,
control of the behavior and its harms, punishment and/or treatment for the
perpetrators, and support for the victims. Intensive collaboration and coordinated
services across agencies may be vital in tertiary prevention efforts to address chronic
domestic violence and to help prevent future generations of batterers and victims.
However, tertiary efforts can be very expensive and often show only limited success
in stopping domestic violence, addressing long-term harms, and preventing future acts
of violence uses the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention paradigm to
categorize a broad range of domestic violence prevention strategies. Several of the
strategies mentioned in the table are described in greater detail in the following
section, which discusses innovative primary and secondary prevention strategies [14].
Infants and Preschool-Age children (0 to 5 Years)
Primary and secondary prevention strategies for infants and preschool children
focus on ensuring that children receive a healthy start, including freedom from
emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and from the trauma of witnessing domestic
violence. Development of such strategies begins by defining the principles of a
healthy child rearing environment. Though there are differing opinions about the
details of such a healthy environment, most experts agree that in order for very young
children to thrive and grow to be nonviolent, productive adults, they must be cared for
by supportive and nurturing adults, have opportunities for socialization, and have the
freedom within protective boundaries to explore their world. Prevention programs
targeting infants and preschool children have developed from the public health and
nursing fields. They involve efforts to provide support for new parents through home
visiting programs.
Home visiting support and assistance can be delivered on a
universal basis whereby all new parents receive basic in-home services for a specified
time period. At risk for child abuse are also at risk for domestic violence. Moreover,
families at risk for domestic violence may be more receptive to home visitation, with
92
its focus on healthy relationships and family strengths, than to more directive or
punitive approaches through child welfare services or law enforcement. However,
there are potential problems with the use of home visiting programs to address
domestic violence. These include concern for the safety of the home visitor and the
victim, and the possibility that any trust between the home visitor and the family will
be breached if domestic violence is discussed [50].
School-Age Children (6 to 12 Years)
In a comprehensive review of model programs for battered mothers and their
children, several community agencies reported the development of primary prevention
efforts in collaboration with schools. One of the key values inherent in all of these
primary prevention programs is the belief that every student needs to be aware of
domestic violence and related forms of abuse.
Even if students become victims or perpetrators of domestic violence, they
may have opportunities in the future, as community members, to help others in
preventing or stopping it. Because these programs consider domestic violence a
community and societal problem, many of them also involve parents and other
members of the broader community. Schools are ideal places in which to introduce
primary prevention programs to wide ranges of children, because most children attend
school. In addition, much of children’s social learning takes place in schools, and
research has shown that social learning can play a role in the development of
behaviors and attitudes that support domestic violence. Teachers, who typically
represent the second most important influence in the lives of children, are in an ideal
position to motivate students to consider new ways of thinking and behaving. The
ideas and successes of this early program have spawned similar efforts across.
Preliminary evaluations of these programs are promising and indicate key elements of
successful school-based programs include: identifying relationship violence as a form
of societal violence; acknowledging that domestic violence is an abuse of power and
93
control; creating a high enough level of trust so that children can disclose exposure to
domestic violence and teachers can make appropriate referrals; teaching safety skills
about what to do when domestic violence occurs; and encouraging the development of
social skills such as anger management and conflict resolution as alternatives to
violence [50].
Adolescents (13 to 18 Years)
Adolescence is a time of important cognitive and social development. Teens
learn to think more rationally and become capable of thinking hypothetically. They
also develop a greater understanding of the possible risks and consequences of their
behaviors and learn to balance their own interests with those of their peers and family
members and in conformity to their parents. Primary prevention programs delivered
universally through high schools often involve activities aimed at increasing
awareness and dispelling myths about relationship violence. Such activities might
include school auditorium presentations involving videotapes, plays, professional
theater groups, or speeches from domestic violence or teen dating violence survivors.
Classroom discussions facilitated by teachers or domestic violence services
professionals; programs and curricula that encourage students to examine attitudes
and behaviors that promote or tolerate violence; and peer support groups. Some
school-based programs have resulted in youth-initiated prevention activities such as
theatrical presentations to younger children, and marches and other social protests
against domestic violence. Preliminary data from evaluations of six school-based
dating violence prevention programs report increases in knowledge about dating
violence issues, positive changes in attitudes about dating violence, and self-reported
decreases in the perpetration of dating violence. Though preliminary, these data
indicate that adolescents are receptive to school-based prevention programs.
Adults
94
Public-awareness campaigns such as public service announcements and
advertisements are common approaches to primary prevention of domestic violence
by adults. These campaigns typically provide information regarding the warning signs
of domestic violence as well as community resources for victims and perpetrators.
Advertising on television help in delivering the message that there is no excuse for
domestic violence, and making referrals to local domestic violence services. Forming
community partnership will also help to tackle sexual assault, violence dating and
stalking advocates; educators, faith leaders, and other community leaders work
together to raise awareness about all forms of domestic violence. Creating a campaign
with a grassroots-organization components work to develop leadership skills of
community members so that of community can become powerful messengers.
Encourage corporations to become partners in addressing domestic violence by
developing workplace policies that address the problem [14].
Table 14.
Possible practical prevention programs for domestic violence cases
Prevention programs
Program Type
Brief Description
Programs to prevent These programs are generally delivered in
dating violence
schools to adolescents between 13 and 16
years of age, and focus on stopping or
preventing the initiation of violence in a
dating relationship, since dating violence has
been linked to future domestic violence.
Lessons are delivered by teachers and
incorporated into the curriculum.
Social
emotional
development
programs
for
children and youths
Media/Social
Sample program
Best Practices
Safe dates
Relation projects
Promising practices
Relationships Without Fear
Emerging practices
Aboriginal Perspectives Dating Matters
Building a Lasting Love
Best Practices
Promoting
alternative
thinking strategies
Stop now and plan (SNAP)
These programs do not focus on intimate
relationships but rather promote empathy,
pro-social behavior, and social skills and
address impulse control issues by teaching
problem solving skills, anger management,
and non-violent conflict resolution. They may
be delivered to children or adolescents, and
often include a partner component.
Public awareness campaigns aim to educate Emerging practices
95
marketing campaign
the public or particular groups about domestic
violence, how to recognize it, and where to
obtain help, as well as to change gender
norms and attitudes towards the acceptability
of domestic violence. Activities are often
multifaceted, including use of TV, radio, the
internet print media, information materials,
training of community members, and
provision of supports such as ‘hot lines
Empowerment
Such programs may combine empowerment
project to reduce through economic means, as well as through
gender inequality
workshops and presentations that help women
confront gender norms, become aware of their
problems and their strengths, set goals, and
learn how to work towards them
Individuals
Disabilities
Safe Homes and Respect for
Everyone (SHARE)
Project Courage
Neighbors,
friends
families
&
Promising Practice
Intervention
with
Microfinance for Gender
Equity (IMGE)
Skills training programs for
women.
with These programs are generally based on an Emerging Practice
empowerment model and include provision of Cognitive Based Abuse
information and decision-making skills
Prevention
Safety
Awareness Program (SAP)
Program to improve Such programs are designed for adults who
and
enhance may not yet be involved in DV but who are at
relationship
skills risk of becoming involved, because of other
for adults
risk factors such as mental illness, poverty,
relationship issues, and so on. The objective is
to change gender norms and improve
communication in relationships. They are
usually delivered in a group in a series of
sessions, either in single-sex or mixed groups.
Treatment
for Treatment for perpetrators may be provided
Perpetrators
one to one, but usually in a group. While
attendance may be voluntary, court-mandated
treatment is common. Most models blend
psycho-educational elements aimed at having
men recognize and alter their beliefs about
gender roles, power and control, and
cognitive behavioral approaches that teach
skills in communication and dealing with
conflict.
Programs
for There are 2 distinct types of programs for
Victims
victims. Individual counseling and group
programs tend to focus on individual
wellbeing, including reduction in depression,
increased self-esteem, and social support, as
well as increased knowledge of cycles of
Health
promotion
for
disable people
Best Practices
Prevention and Relationship
Enhancement
Program
(PREP)
Dialectical
Psychoeducational Workshop
Promising programs
Individual
Counseling
Responsible Choices for
Women
Emergency practices
Strength to Change
Psycho-educational Group
Best Practices
Community
Advocacy
Program Project Support
Promising Practices
Individual Counseling
96
abuse. Outreach/advocacy/home visitation Mothers in Action
programs for victims tend to focus on Self
Defense
empowerment and self-sufficiency by Management
providing or increasing access to social
support, community resources, safety
planning, goal setting and working toward
self-sufficiency in areas such as education,
employment and housing, Some programs
include work with children of the victim.
Stress
Inter-institutional interaction with partners
Domestic violence is a complex problem requiring the combined and
coordinated efforts of professionals from different institutions. In all countries,
domestic violence is deeply woven into the social fabric. Although resources are
important, they are not the entire solution to the problem. In the developed world, the
existence of large social services and law enforcement system does not guarantee an
adequate response to domestic violence.
An inter-institutional interaction involves practitioners from all disciplines in
problem solving and solution-building. It essentially includes almost any means of
formal or informal ways of assisting practitioners to work together to improve
responses to domestic violence. To coordinate service delivery and avoid overlaps and
gaps practitioners and community members are: (i) recognize the complexity of the
problem and its consequences. (ii) To learn more about other services and available
resources. (iii) To increase the cost effective of service delivery and to support one
another. [12].
To find ways of working together with people might be challenging for people
from different institutions or agencies with different training and different approaches
to the problem-solving. In an inter-institutional approach, groups coordinate effort by
sharing information. They may also run joint service programs. Some inter-agency
groups operate specific projects and programs and take responsibility for providing
services to victims and offenders. Inter-institutional coordination is primarily a
97
mechanism for communication, allowing representatives of various agencies or
institutions to work together to develop mutual understanding.
The effort of all these social actors and institutions are relevant in promoting
good practices and norms in society. According to Parsons, social groups have a
number of functional requisites certain needs must be met in order for society to
survive.
Society without rules and unstable social structures will lead to social disaster.
In inter-institutional interaction, the government is playing a central role in making
sure that all other players are involved. A well-structured society with all other
branches that provide social services, there is a collaborative effort of relevant
institutions that are given the role to promoting social welfare issues of the people.
Domestic violence as a social issues and relevant topic here needs social welfare
institutions that will help to put structures in place in order to promoting the right of
the children and women.
Children have right to live a decent life and provide them with quality
education. So inter-institutional interaction with key educational institutions
established to promote educational issues to work with social welfare agencies to
collaboratively promote quality education and it is a meaningful way of capacitating
them and helps them realize their potential. Interacting also with religious institutions
make another vital role to help families and other social instructions good values and
preach positive message that will have a huge positive impact on the children and the
society at large. Religious collaboration affects the family system and the society at
large and builds the foundation for the provision of various premarital counseling
which helps partners improve the ability to communicate, set realistic expectations for
fruitful marriages and develop conflict resolution skills. Religious organizations most
time play a proactive role by means of involving earlier in order reducing the risk of
divorce and family violence [54].
98
It is essential to involve as many institutions, department and agencies as
possible in domestic violence prevention programs. To do so, however, may be a
gradual process. By beginning where members of the initial working group have
support and influence, a domestic violence prevention program can develop
experience and demonstrate success, and ultimately integrate and expand the program.
This process of expansion may be uneven as awareness spreads through a variety of
routes and strategies. While trainings, posters, brochures, newsletters, in-house and
community-based media events can increase general awareness of the issue, much of
the educational work is done through informal discussions among colleagues.
Collaborating with Domestic Violence Programs Mobilizing the resources necessary
to address domestic violence rather than just treating its physical manifestations
requires the development of working relationships with a range of other agencies and
disciplines. Working collaboratively with domestic violence programs can help break
the isolation health care providers may experience and deepen their understanding of
the complex issues that often arise when working with battered women. An advocacy
approach, which involves helping patients recognize and utilize their own resources,
is based on the models discussed above.
99
Government
Religion
Family
Community
Economy
Connection with other institutions will be elaborated on the
Involving the community people will help the different formal institutions
working in such environment to easily carry out their functions and achieve their
goals. NGOs have developed a wide range of violence prevention and resolution
activities including monitoring family conflict and providing early warning of new
violence; opening dialogue between adversarial parties; playing a direct mediating
role; strengthening local institutions for domestic violence resolution. Other models
that involve collaboration have been suggested to be effective for children who have
witnessed DV to coordinate a comprehensive strategy of support and interventions.
100
These types of model have also been used in other contexts, such as with home
visitation models and interventions to Prevention and Early Intervention for Domestic
Violence.
101
CONCLUSION
The problem of domestic violence has generated hundreds of separate
interventions in social service, health, and law enforcement settings. Violence in
Sierra Leone is shaped by a number of factors, related to cultural attitudes, the history
of conflict, the political environment and donor intervention. Domestic violence takes
in the form of (physical, economic and emotional/psychological), communal/cultural
violence, sexual violence and structural violence. Women’s experiences of violence,
however, often do not fit neatly into one category, but rather span a number of
interrelated forms. All the theoretical approaches to domestic violence showed the
nature of violence that exists within the society and explain the root causes, especially
violence against women. Marxist approach indicates that the wife’s household role
produces no value with any surplus gain. She is likened to a slave who is subordinate
to relation of capital and labor power. Women are the reserve army of labor that get
hired with the increase demand of goods but dismiss during an economic recession.
The economic aspect surround the female gender makes them vulnerable to abuse,
especially at a family level.
Their male counterparts experience high level of
economic stability and independence. Most women remain in abusive relations due to
their dependence especially on financial issues on their male partners. Females were
socialized into more feminine roles, while males were socialized to take risks,
recreating the power dynamics of that particular household. This in turn resulted in
gender differences in risk taking and risk perception.
In 2007 Sierra Leone government took a good step with the enactment of what
are collectively referred to as the “Gender Acts’. After intense lobbying, campaigning
and demonstrations the Domestic Violence Act 2007, the Devolution of Estate Act
2007, child right and sexual offences act of 2012, the Registration of Customary
Marriages and Divorce Act 2007 were passed into law. Sierra Leone is a signatory to
102
a number of international and regional human rights instruments. Most particularly for
the purposes of this thesis is the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Despite widespread evidence of discrimination and women related violence
issues, Russia lacks thorough measures to promote gender equality and prevent
violence against women. Violence against women in the Russia Federation causes a
major challenge to the Government with regards to human right obligations and
sustained security. Russia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women. The Beijing Declaration, as adopted by the United
Nations Fourth World conference on Women in 1995. Although the Convention does
not
recognize
domestic
violence
as
a
form
of
discrimination, General
Recommendation No. 19, issued by the Committee on Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women has recognized gendered violence to be a form of
discrimination.
This array of interventions has been driven by the urgency of the different types
of family violence, client needs, and the responses of service providers, advocates,
and communities. The preventive interventions now constitute a broad range of
institutional services that focus on the identification, treatment, prevention, and
deterrence of family violence.
Involving the community people will also help the different formal institutions
working in such environment to easily carry out their functions and achieve their
goals. Essential to all of my work is the belief that domestic violence against can be
stopped and must be stopped if we are to support the human rights of women and be
successful in achieving other development goals. I strongly believe that instead of
seeing “culture” as an excuse for violence, we must view culture as the source for our
solutions. This study must identify practices that are culturally-specific and culturallyrelevant and must also look at processes for developing successful practices for the
103
purposes of replication. I also believe that the focus of our actions, and we would
hope a key component of the study, should be prevention and early intervention. We
must change social norms around gender-based violence through public education,
educating men and boys, and highlighting the voices of survivors of violence as
leaders of these efforts. For too long, we have focused our work on responding after
the fact or attempting to address the ramifications of gender-based violence in
development programs, maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS programming.
Key Recommendations are:
Empowering women and girls. Women should be given the tools to
negotiate sexual practices with partners. We must increase women’s access to free or
low-cost education, health care, vocational training, credit, female condoms and sex
education. More immediate responses should ensure that girls and women who are
victims of violence have immediate access to services, particularly within the
reproductive health care setting. Providers must be trained to respond to violence as
well as the risk it poses for HIV infection.
Governments should do an evaluation of their current reporting laws
addressing family violence to examine whether and how early case detection leads to
improved outcomes for the victims or families and promote changes based on sound
research. States refrain from enacting mandatory reporting laws for domestic violence
until such systems have been tested and evaluated by research.
In the absence of research that demonstrates that a specific model of
treatment can reduce violent behavior for many domestic violence offenders, courts
need to put in place early warning systems to detect failure to comply with or
complete treatment and signs of new abuse or retaliation against victims, as well as to
address unintended or inadvertent results that may arise from the referral to or
experience with treatment.
104
Health and social service providers develop safeguards to strengthen
their documentation of abuse and histories of family violence in both individual and
group records, regardless of whether the abuse is reported to authorities
Collaborative strategies among caseworkers, police, prosecutors, judges
and NGOs are law enforcement interventions that have the potential to improve the
batterer's compliance with treatment as well as the certainty of the use of sanctions in
addressing domestic violence.
Additional Interventions to address gender-based violence should be
identified but ways to integrate violence prevention activities into already existing
campaigns and programs should be emphasized.
As part of a comprehensive prevention strategy for child maltreatment,
home visitation programs should be particularly encouraged for first-time parents
living in social settings with high rates of child maltreatment reports.
Intensive family preservation services represent an important part of the
continuum of family support services, but they should not be required in every
situation in which a child is recommended for out-of-home placement.
Comprehensive community-based interventions must be used to confront
difficult challenges, both in the design and implementation of such services, and in
the selection of appropriate measures to assess their effectiveness. Many evaluations
of comprehensive community-based interventions have focused primarily on design
and implementation process, to determine whether an individual program had
incorporated sufficient range and diversity among formal and informal networks so
that it can achieve a significant impact in the community.
Increase overall levels of Domestic violence training across government
institutions, non-governmental bodies dealing with domestic violence cases, police
and social workers who are often first line responders.
105
Reinforce continuing professional development the employees in those
institutions to update and maintain levels of Domestic Violence knowledge
throughout their careers.
Improve the ability of staff to identify and effectively manage victims of
Domestic Violence.
106
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Appendix 1
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
DV
NGOs
FSU
CEDAW
UNFPA
AfDB
VAW
WAVE
IPV
WHO
SSL
UNICEF
HCF
CBT
SLDHS
Domestic Violence
Non-Governmental Organizations
Family Support Unit
Convention for the Elimination of all
forms of Discriminations Against
Women
United Nation Population Fund
Africa Development Bank
Violence Against Women
West Africa Violence Europe
Intimate Partners Violence
World Health Organization
Statistics Sierra Leone
United Nations Children Emergency
Fund
Health Care Professionals
Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy
Sierra Leone Demographic and Health
Survey
114
Appendix 2
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Experience of different forms of violence …........................................
53
Table 2: Experience of Violence during pregnancy……………………......…..
54
Table 3: Marital control exercised by husbands according to wives……….......
57
Table.4: Ever married women age 15-49 who have experienced various forms of
violence………………………………………………………………………….
60
Table 5: Areas in which respondents work………………………………..…….
64
Table: 6: Reported DV Policy, Legislation and Service and Referral Knowledge of
respondents………………………………………………………………………. 65
Table 7: Service type within which respondents work………………………..….
67
Table 8: Domestic violence training level by current role………………………..
68
Table 9: most likely to response to dealing with victims of Domestic violence...
69
Table 10: Inter-institutional clarity of information sharing…………………….…
70
Table 11: Difficulties encountered during work with domestic violence victims...
72
Table 12: Therapy Application…………………………………………………….. 87
Table 13: Institutional strategy to prevent and solve domestic violence problems… 89
Table 14: Practical prevention programs for domestic violence cases…………….. 94
115
Appendix 3
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Which of the following best describe your current occupation
Administrative
Managerial
Clinical
Other specify
2. How long have you worked in your current role?
Less than 6 months
1 – 2 years
3 -5 years
5 years and above
3. What institution do you work for?
Government social welfare institution
Non governmental body
Police
Social Worker
116
4. What contact have you had in the last 10 months with the victims of Domestic
Violence
None
1 case
2 – 5 cases
Policy, legislation and referral options
5. How would you describe your level of knowledge about the current policy
that guides workers on domestic violence?
None
Basic
Good
Very Good
6. How would you describe your level of knowledge about the legislation that
guides domestic violence workers?
None
Basic
117
Good
Very Good
7. How informed do you feel about services and referral options available to
victims of domestic violence?
No knowledge
Limited knowledge
Knowledgeable
Very knowledgeable
Training and Prevention
8. What training relevant to domestic violence have you received since you
begain in your current role?
9. In your current role, do you participate or perform any domestic violence
prevention activities?
Yes
No
118
10.In your current position of work, please indicate the actions you are most
likely to take when dealing with someone who is a victim of domestic
violence?
Treat physical injuries
Treat emotional injuries
Case management
Refer to police
Contact with child wellbeing unit
Report to a community service or child protection helpline
Refer to another agency or services
Other (please specify)
11.If you referred the case to another agency or service, which one?
Areas of improvement and information sharing
12.Please comment about the difficulties you might encounter in your work with
victims of domestic violence?
13.Are the limits and/or opportunities for information sharing with other
agencies sufficiently clear?
Yes, very clear what information can be shared
Mostly clear, but I know who to approach for clarification if required
Mostly clear, but I don’t know who to ask when I am not sure
No, not clear
119
Services for victims of domestic violence
14.What services best support victims of domestic violence?
Treatment for injuries
Information about right and options
Culturally competent service
Support through the legal process
After hours, crisis support
Counseling for the victims
Refer to Police
Improving outcomes for victims of domestic violence
15.What things would reinforce your work victims of domestic violence? Please
comment…….
Thank you for filling in the survey!
Moses Abdul Fullah
Masters in social work management thesis survey
Belgorod National State Research University, Russia
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