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Domestic violence and health examines the relationship between health and domestic violence. In a unique qualitative study of the attitudes of health professionals and the women with whom they come into contact, the book gives voice to a range of issues which urgently need to be addressed. It provides guidance for training and practice, as well as recommendations for policy makers

This article discusses the book, The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Recently made into a televised series in the US and also aired in the UK, the book, which was written in 1985, presents a dystopic/futuristic vision of an American future Puritan society called Gilead where women have no rights and function in terms of the wider needs of the society. This book has received particular attention recently because of some of the parallels that can be drawn between the evangelical utterings of the current US Republican administration, and the fictional world which Atwood created over 30 years ago. The book also, however, raises a whole raft of questions which lie at the foundations of feminism: the relationships which exist between women, the role of reproduction and power, sexuality, repression, endemic violence against women and resistance. This article will look at the key themes in the book alongside recent discussions about the lessons which can be learnt from the text and the warnings we need to heed.

This book examines the role of participants in research and how research ethics can be put into practice. Health, social, and journalistic research are currently subject to very different forms of regulation and codes of practice. By including the experiences of researchers and their subjects in all of these contexts, the book explores the disciplinary divides

This book examines the role of participants in research and how research ethics can be put into practice. Health, social, and journalistic research are currently subject to very different forms of regulation and codes of practice. By including the experiences of researchers and their subjects, the book explores the disciplinary divides.

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic, and associated social restrictions, have amplified women's experiences of domestic abuse (DA). In usual times, female DA survivors reach out to those around them (friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues) for support. Accessing of both professional and informal support by survivors has increased during the pandemic. Informal supporters are often deeply invested and immersed in situations of DA because of the closeness of relationships. The accounts of informal supporters are rarely sought, yet these are people who may have a considerable awareness of what is happening. The aim of this study was to explore how the pandemic had impacted people's assessment of abusive situations and their ability to provide informal support. This paper reports a secondary analysis of qualitative data collected in 2020 in England. The data were gathered in 18 in-depth interviews with people who knew a female friend, relative, neighbor, or colleague who had experienced DA. The age range of participants was 25–69 years, three were men and fifteen were women. A reflexive thematic analysis was carried out. Findings indicated: (i) the pandemic had changed people's ability to read situations and assess risk (ii) perpetrators were exploiting the pandemic to further abuse (iii) within the context of the pandemic there was additional challenge to offering support (iv) informal supporters found creative ways to remain in-touch and to continue offering support. Further research with informal supporters is needed to ascertain how best to support and equip people, without imposing an impossible burden.

Executive summary The aim of this project was to establish a military families specialismi on the Routes to Supportii (RtS) online system for domestic violence and abuse (DVA) services so that military families experiencing DVA can be better signposted to appropriate services, whether military, quasi-military, or civilian services, with specialist knowledge (note RtS was formerly called UK Refuges Online until 2010). To achieve this aim, this project sought the views of key stakeholders with an interest in military families suffering DVA, in order to help first inform a definition of what a service offering a 'military family specialism' would look like, and so in turn, be able to identify such services to add to the RtS system. Stakeholders included: the Ministry of Defence (MOD); Military Welfare Agencies; DVA specialist civilian services; DVA Perpetrator Programmes; military charities; DVA policy makers; and victim/survivors of abuse from military families. Eight telephone-based interviews and four face-to-face interviews with practitioners were conducted during the fieldwork. Five site visits took place across three case study sites which included attendance at DVA meetings between practitioners and informal discussions with practitioners. Six victim/survivors took part in a focus group. The research team delivered one training session to military personnel and observed another for the purposes of this project (both took place on military bases). In total, 34 DVA services self-identified as offering a specialist service for military families and were added to the RtS system.

This paper presents a narrative review of empirical evidence looking at connections between poverty and DVA. The findings presented includes social survey and qualitative evidence from the UK, and elsewhere where relevant, and is drawn from more than 80 research studies. The material was collated and supplemented by further secondary analysis of data collected as part of the 2012 UK Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey. Our review suggests that women experiencing poverty in the UK are more vulnerable to DVA, and this conclusion is consistent with wider international evidence. However, while associations clearly exist between poverty and DVA vulnerability, potential causal mechanisms are poorly understood and this reflects the limitations of existing data in this area. This paper highlights the need for further research exploring financial abuse within DVA relationships and post-separation financial abuse and poverty. Caution is needed in interpreting this relationship and drawing inferences for policy and practice. DVA is endemic throughout society in rich and poor countries, and interventions targeted at specific populations (including poverty) on their own are likely to be inadequate in the absence of a wider understanding of the social drivers of violence against women associated with patriarchal norms and practices in particular contexts.

This article is concerned with the provision of intervention programs aimed at female victims/survivors of domestic abuse in the United Kingdom. Social workers, and other statutory professionals, are increasingly referring clients who have experienced abuse to these interventions, but there has been little debate about the aims and objectives of them or consideration of their effectiveness. This article includes a discussion of the key elements of the programs and criticisms of these types of interventions.

Following lockdowns in countries around the world, reports emerged of a 'surge' or 'spikes' in the number of domestic violence and abuse cases. It is critical to contextualise this: more men are not starting to be abusive or violent; rather, the patterns of abuse are becoming more frequent. Spiking and surging make us think in terms of more one-off incidents but it is more likely that the pattern of abuse that is already there is increasing in terms of frequency and type because both parties remain together at all times. Amid such a crisis, it is imperative that we continue to see the dynamics of domestic violence and abuse as both a pattern of abusive behaviours and a product of gendered social and cultural norms, rather than a reaction to a specific factor or event, such as COVID-19.