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

Abstract

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

Toward an integrated approach in research on interpersonal violence : Conceptual and methodological challenges

“…Considerably more victims report telling informal sources of support about their experiences. The same pattern has been reported among both men and women in international research (Ullman, 2007;Postmus et al, 2009;Ansara and Hindin, 2010;Fanslow and Robinson, 2010;McCart et al, 2010). In accordance with this a need to talk to professionals about their victimization was expressed by some of the men in study IV, some also said that the support they received from family and friends was enough.…”

“…In line with this, several of the men in study IV reported that they had been reluctant to seek help and that it had been difficult to disclose their victimization but when they did, it was a relief. Another similarity with previous studies involving female victims of intimate partner violence was that shame and fear of negative consequences were often reported as strong factors tipping the balance towards not disclosing (Hathaway et al, 2002;Liang et al, 2005;Schreiber et al, 2009;Fanslow and Robinson, 2010).…”

“…Also, in a study from Australia 40% of female victims of intimate partner violence did not think that they had received the help they needed in the health care system (Fanslow and Robinson, 2010). Studies of female victims of sexual violence also indicate that though help services may be helpful they may also be harmful (Ullman, 2007).…”

Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programs: A Proposal for Evidence-Based Standards in the United States

“…Proposals include greater linkage of victims to resources and increased feelings of safety among victims by enhancing coordinated community responses (Boal & Mankowski, 2014;Klevens, Baker, Shelley, & Ingram, 2008). Such resources may be needed, as a national study found that onethird of women who reported IPV to officials received no formal services or assistance (Fanslow & Robinson, 2010). Recent debates have also appeared in professional journals about whether or not it is appropriate to involve victims in aspects of treatment.…”

“…Victims of PA often experience tremendous declines in physical and psychological health following repeated acts of aggression (Lawrence et al, 2012). Additional concerns for BIP organizers are victim characteristics that may prevent reporting as well as fears and past negative experiences with police responders, minimization of the severity of violence, the perceived requirement to end the relationship, and fears of repercussions from the perpetrator (Fanslow & Robinson, 2010;Fugate, Landis, Riordan, Naureckas, & Engel, 2005). Consequently, victim populations require unique consideration when devising plans for assessment and intervention in the legal as well as therapeutic domains.…”