Abused Women's Perspectives: The Responsiveness of Domestic Violence Provision and Inter-Agency Initiatives

• NCJ Number: 193460
• Author(s): Gill Hague; Audrey Mullender; Rosemary Aris; Wendy Dear
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: British Economic and Social Research Council
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Downloaded February 13, 2002

Annotation

This paper presented the research findings of a 2 year study that surveyed the opinions of abused women as a source of innovative theory and policy development. The study explored the extent of user participation in inter-agency initiatives, refuge groups, and specialist domestic violence services, and offered examples of good practice.

Abstract

Stage 1 of the project consisted of a detailed mapping study surveying all inter-agency forums and refuge projects in England and Wales. This involved telephone and mail surveys and documentary analysis of policy and publicity materials. Stage 1 findings showed a strong commitment to service user participation. Refuge groups and women’s outreach projects had the best record involving service users: 90 percent said they directly consulted domestic violence survivors, compared with 40 percent of inter-agency forums. Among refuge respondents only 77 percent saw their residents as having influence and 30 percent any power in policymaking. For forums, their success rate was lower, 30 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Stage 2 consisted of fieldwork on user participation in three study areas and two smaller policy profile studies. Interviews were conducted with 85 women who had experienced violence. The majority of women interviewed felt that service providers overlooked their views to a considerable extent and that their needs were not adequately met. They felt silenced, regarded as not important, and unable to obtain the type of service and practice responses that they required. Forty-five percent felt that they had not been believed by the agency; and 42 percent had not felt safe. However, services got better in the 1990's according to 59 percent of interviewees. Police services in particular were seen to have improved in relation to domestic violence specialist units. Good practice included the following: the active involvement of Women’s Aid and women’s support and advocacy projects to represent grass roots views; regular focus groups with skilled facilitation; and exit questionnaires after service use, user surveys, and service evaluations. In general it does not work well to have isolated survivor participation in domestic violence forums and projects.