Searching for help and information: Abused women speak out |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, York St John University, Lord Mayor''s Walk, York YO31 7EX, England, UK;2. Health Education Yorkshire and the Humber, Ground Floor, Blenheim House, Duncombe Street, Leeds LS1 4PL, England, UK;3. Department of Health Sciences, Seebohm Rowntree Building, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, England, UK;1. GEOMAR–Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Duesternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany;2. Johns Hopkins University, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Baltimore, USA;3. CNR–Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, ISMAR–Istituto di Scienze Marine, Lerici, Italy;1. Population Council, New Delhi, India;2. National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai, India;3. Center on Gender Equity and Health, Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA;4. Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, USA;5. Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health (Global Health), San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, USA;6. Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Clinical Addiction Research and Education, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | One hundred and five women who were abused by their intimate partners described their experiences in searching for help and the outcome of their interactions with different services that comprise the formal help network in a city with an international reputation for its coordinated response to woman abuse. In the aftermath of violent incidents, the women most frequently sought protection, safe shelter, removal of their abusive partners, advice about managing their situations, a criminal charge against their partners, and medical treatment for their injuries. The women tended to use help-seeking pathways that led them first to the police or a hospital emergency department. In turn, these services often directed them toward community agencies with a specific mandate to assist abused women. The abuse-specific agencies then referred the women to a wide range of services in the community. Regardless of the type of assistance they were seeking, the women repeatedly mentioned the importance of the personal demeanor of service providers when they assessed the outcomes of their encounters with the formal help system. The findings are discussed with respect to designing community coordination mechanisms that overcome common barriers to seeking help and information. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
