Empowerment and Advocacy for Domestic Violence Victims

Religious beliefs play a significant role in the lives of victims of domestic violence. Victims find strength in their faith and would rather endure the violence at all costs to keep a family or a marriage together, than to compromise their faith by leaving. This 10 –year study explored the climate of support for victims of domestic violence among Christian clergy and church members between 2005 and 2015. Using a convenience sample, surveys were sent out to congregations in the Upper Midwest in 2005 and 2015. The survey included demographics; two items measuring perception of domestic violence in the congregation and community; six Likert Scale items regarding agreement with statements concerning leaving an abusive marriage; four “Yes–No” items regarding the impact of faith in leaving, support of the congregation, community resources, and clergy as counselors. The clergy’s survey had the same questions plus open-ended questions about their skills in counseling victims, their congregation’s support for victims, community resources, and beliefs that could impact a victim’s choice in leaving. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, simple frequencies, and bivariate correlations. Narrative data were analyzed using content analysis. The results of this study indicated that change is slow. Members want their clergy to become more educated in counseling and in speaking about domestic violence from the pulpit. Clergy felt comfortable in making referrals for professional counseling, while the majority of members would prefer counseling with their pastor if they were in a violent relationship. Both clergy and members want to create a safe and supportive environment for victims/survivors of violent relationships. Findings from this study exemplify the need for pastors to remove the silence about domestic violence in their congregations and address the misunderstood social religious beliefs that may bind a victim to the violence.

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Emergency department profile of domestic violence victims in Singapore

Annals of Emergency Medicine ◽

10.1016/s0196-0644(99)80209-1 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. S33

Author(s):

S Sathiaseelan ◽

K-Y Tham ◽

E Seow ◽

HP Wong

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Domestic Violence ◽

Domestic Violence Victims

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Empowering Women Ex-Migrant Workers and Domestic Violence Victims through Komunitas Perempuan Singkong Jaya

Sodality Jurnal Sosiologi Pedesaan ◽

10.22500/8202031910 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 69-83

Author(s):

Anif Fatma Chawa ◽

Arief Budi Nugroho ◽

Dhanny Septimawan Sutopo

Keyword(s):

Domestic Violence ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

Qualitative Approach ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Development Programs ◽

Domestic Violence Victims ◽

Product License ◽

Descriptive Qualitative

This article seeks to understand the empowerment of women ex-migrant workers who have faced various problems before, during and after going back to the homeland as ex-migrant workers. These problems include unemployment, family’s affairs, exploitation, discrimination and domestic violence. Komunitas Perempuan Singkong Jaya has been established to carry out empowerment programs to overcome these problems. The purpose of this study is to identify the needs as well as the problems that hinder the implementation of the programs and seeks to find the solutions. This study employs descriptive qualitative approach to examine the implementation of the development programs which have been conducted by Komunitas Perempuan Singkong Jaya located in Desa Sukowilangun, Kec. Kalipare, Kab. Malang. Based on the findings, there are several problems in the implementation of development programs, including the lack of capital and facilities, packaging and marketing, as well as product license problems. Addressing these problems, some intervention programs have been conducted, including training and funding which have generated intended outputs. However, this study also found that the change in lifestyle of these women ex-migrant workers has resulted in their being reluctant to be involved in the development programs.

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