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Health professionals’ responses to women’s disclosure of domestic violence

Keeling, June J.
; 
Fisher, Colleen
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Affiliation
University of Chester ; University of Western Australia
EPub Date
Publication Date
2014-10-20
Submitted Date
Collections
Health and Social Care
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Final Manuscript.pdf
Adobe PDF, 481.79 KB
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Abstract
This study explored women’s experiences of their responses from health professionals following disclosure of domestic violence within a health setting. The existence of health based policies guiding professionals in the provision of appropriate support following disclosure of domestic violence is only effective if health professionals understand the dynamics of violent relationships. This paper focuses on the findings from the interviews conducted with fifteen women living in the UK who disclosed their experiences of domestic violence when accessing healthcare. Following thematic analysis, themes emerged that rotated around their disclosure and the responses they received from health professionals. The first two themes revealed the repudiation of, or recognition of and failure to act upon, domestic violence. A description of how the health professional’s behaviour became analogous with that of the perpetrator is discussed. The final theme illuminated women’s’ receipt of appropriate and sensitive support, leading to a positive trajectory away from a violent relationship. The findings suggest that the implicit understanding of the dynamics of violent relationships and the behaviours of the perpetrator of domestic violence are essential components of health care provision to avoid inadvertent inappropriate interactions with women.
Citation
Keeling, J., & Fisher, C. (2015). Health Professionals’ Responses to Women’s Disclosure of Domestic Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(13), 2363-2378. doi: 10.1177/0886260514552449
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Research Unit
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10034/343987
DOI
10.1177/0886260514552449
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
This is the author's PDF version of an article published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence© 2014. The definitive version is available at http:dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886260514552449
Series/Report no.
ISSN
0886-2605
EISSN
1552-6518
ISBN
ISMN
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http://jiv.sagepub.com/