A qualitative exploration of the psychological needs of women survivors of rape in Iran (original) (raw)
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A qualitative study on the health system-related needs in women survivors of rape
BMC health services research, 2024
Background Rape, as an adverse incidence, leads to irreparable complications and consequences in women. Provision of health services to women survivors of rape requires catering for their real needs and identifying current deficits as well as barriers. The present study aimed to explore health system-related needs in women survivors of rape. Methods In the present qualitative study, the participants consisted of 39 individuals, including 19 women survivors of rape and 20 individuals with work experience in providing services to women survivors of rape. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method with a maximum variation in Isfahan, Iran. Data were collected through in-depth interviews as well as field notes and were concurrently analyzed via conventional qualitative content analysis method. Results After analyzing the interviews, the health system-related needs of women survivors of rape were classified into two main categories: 1-The need for efficient medical care services with three sub-categories, namely "receiving services with respect for privacy and confidentiality", "non-judgmental behavior and approach", and "the need to receive empathy and the feeling of not being alone", and 2-The need for desirable conditions and structure to provide services with two sub-categories, namely "the need to receive comprehensive and integrated services", and "establishing specialized centers for providing services to survivors". Conclusions Overall, explaining and highlighting the health system-related needs of women survivors of rape could provide a suitable basis for policy-making and planning according to their real needs. Receiving continuous services in separate centers with confidentiality and empathy could reduce the worries and concerns of women survivors of rape and help improve their health.
Reaction to and Coping With Domestic Violence by Iranian Women Victims: A Qualitative Approach
Global Journal of Health Science, 2015
Introduction: Domestic violence is a continual stressor that motivates its victim to react. The way a woman deals with her husband's violence determine the consequence of the violent relationship. In the present study, a qualitative approach was employed to investigate women's reactions to and ways of coping with domestic violence. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2014 with 18 women who experienced domestic violence in an attempt to explain how women deal with domestic violence. After the interviews were transcribed word by word, they were explored in the form of meaningful units and encoded as subcategories and categories through inductive content analysis. The reliability and validity of the interviews were measured by an external supervisor. Results: Two categories of reaction and coping were identified through content analysis: passive and non-normative measures and active measures. Passive and non-normative measures included the subcategories of harmful behaviors, retaliation, tolerance, and silence. Active measures included seeking help and advice, legal measures, leaving the spouse, positive and health promoting measures. Conclusion: In the present study, ways of coping with a husband's violence among women experiencing domestic violence were divided into two categories: passive and non-normative measures and active measures. These categories confirmed the models of coping with stress in previous studies. Adopting an appropriate approach to dealing with domestic violence is affected by a woman's capacity and beliefs, the dominant culture, intensity of the violence, available social and legal supports, and effectiveness of evaluation measures. To generalize service provision to victimized women, the type of coping and the reason for adopting the chosen approach need to be taken into account.
Psychological Reactions of Women who have been Raped
Twelve women, reporting rape to the police, were interviewed on three occasions over a 4-month period. Their psychological and behavioural experiences, during that time, were compared with those of 12 controls: women who were attending a Family Planning Clinic and without a history of such trauma, and small numbers of victims of non-sexual assault. All victims showed, initially, high levels of distress or some psychopathology but only the rape victims were reliable in attending follow-up appointments. In all but one case the acute, intense symptoms of distress resolved, but other substantial changes in lifestyle had taken place. The particular difficulties in counselling and research in this area were highlighted by this pilot work. Would-be counsellors should be cautious about taking on this kind of work unless considerable practical and emotional support is available to them.
International Journal of Medical Laboratory Research, 2021
Rape is one of the serious traumas leading to produce the long term and irreparable negative effects like as PTSD i.e. post traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidal attempts, health issues etc. Sex related crimes are happening in every society and across the worldwide. Often, such crimes cause serious and permanent damage to the physical and mental wellbeing of the victims if taking the form of sexual violence. The effects of such offences are as much serious as that of physical injury. The damage caused by sexual violence demands justice for the safety and preservation of female dignity. The sexual assault victims need post-assault support. The victims suffer physically, emotionally, psychologically and morally due to sexual violation. So, there is a great need to pay attention towards the mental concerns of the rape victims. The sexual assault victims need immediate medical treatment and examination. Moreover, an emotional support plays a great role in the recovery of victims otherwise lack of such support may lead the victims to suffer from psychological disorders. In this article, different social and psychological problems faced by the rape victims have been reviewed. Along with social and psychological problems, the experience of the survivors in the legal and medical system suffering from various barriers has been reviewed.
Protection for Women as Victims of Domestic Sexual Violence in the Criminal Justice System of Iran
2020
Legal systems in various societies have emphasized on state intervention by enacting special laws to protect the victims of domestic sexual violence. In Iran, lack of criminalization of sexual/domestic violence, especially domestic sexual violence, has caused challenges in recognizing the victimization of this type of violence in the courts. The main question of this research is how the criminal justice system of Iran reacts to the phenomenon of domestic violence and what mechanisms support women as victims of this type of violence. To answer this question, a qualitative approach and a case study method including deep interviews with 15 victims, 10 criminal justice judges and a content analysis of 15 cases in Tehran province have been used. The findings indicate that women's criminal complaints often fail to be responded under this title, which has resulted in prohibition of prosecution. It could be said that only the cases of injury and damage would lead to punishment. In pract...
Electronic Physician, 2018
Background: Domestic violence is the third sociopathology after addiction and child abuse in Iran. Fifty-six percent of Iranian women in the range of 17-32 years old are exposed to the highest domestic violence. Objective: The aim of this study was to design and psychoanalyze a comprehensive questionnaire on coping with domestic violence against women in Iranian society. Methods: This study was carried out on a random sample of women exposed to domestic violence and referred to the health and care center of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and Forensic Medical Centers in Urmia city (Iran), in 2017. Two hundred questionnaires were distributed among the participants. One hundred sixty-eight questionnaires were returned to the researchers for data analysis. Eight of those were excluded from the analysis because of incompleteness. Finally, exploratory factor analysis was performed. Results: After reviewing the literature, a questionnaire with 32 items was developed. Content validity ratio (0.95) and content validity index (0.97) were obtained. The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated that the questionnaire explained 69.34% of the data variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and test-retest methods were used for determining the reliability and the obtained value, which were 0.82 and 0.81, respectively. Conclusion: Validity and reliability of the questionnaire with 32 items were confirmed. The tool can be utilized to measure how women cope with domestic violence.
The (un)receptive experiences of female rape victims who seek healthcare services
Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 2015
OBJECTIVE To know the structure and functioning of healthcare services from the perspective of women who have suffered rape. METHOD A qualitative study conducted with 11 women who experienced rape, monitored in a maternity in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. Data were systematically based on content analysis. RESULTS It allowed for understanding the path taken by women in search of support from health services, as well as the limitations and capabilities of these services. CONCLUSION The assistance received in healthcare services leans towards a revictimization process of women who already carry trauma from the rape. It is necessary to reflect about care practices aimed at sexually victimized women.
Coping and Survival Strategies Implemented by Women who Faced Partner Rapes
2018
This article presents the results of an exploratory study conducted among five young Belgian women (25-year-old in average), former victims of marital rapes who separated from their spouse a few years ago. Five instruments were used in order to investigate our research questions: an anamnestic questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, the Body-Image Questionnaire (BIQ-Bruchon-Schweitzer, 1987), the Multidimensional Inventory of Sexuality (MIS-Snell, Fisher & Walters, 1993) and the Questionnaire on Negative Thoughts and Concerns during Sexual Relationships (QNTCDSR-Ravart, Trudel & Turgeon,1993-inspired by the work of Beck, 1988). Our results show that, when they have to face non-consensual sexual assaults from a violent spouse, the victims use various verbal and physical tactics to resist their abuser. However, the more important the author's determination is, the less effective the victims' strategies of resistance are. Sometimes, the women have no choice but to suffer these abusive and non-consensual relations which coerce them into setting mental process in order to stand this dehumanizing act. Marital rapes generate significant trauma, especially in the field of sexuality. Most of our subjects react with more or less intense sexual inhibition. Others engage in sexual practices that provoke emotional anesthesia (sadomasochism, multiple sexual relations, etc.) in order to maintain an active sex life. After the separation, the victims prefer to implement strategies of disengagement (minimization, denial, ...) allowing them to avoid the resurgence of painful affects related to the past abuses. However, the use of such defense mechanisms obstructs the access to mental care and therefore to the elements of a potentially life-saving resilience
Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 2019
South Africa has consistently had high reports on the prevalence of rape, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common mental healthcare problem associated with rape. However, it seems that the provision of mental healthcare services for rape survivors is an acute challenge in the North West province and South Africa in general. Thuthuzela care centres provide care for rape survivors and these centres are located in public hospitals that mostly have mental health institutions that are well equipped with mental healthcare practitioners to assist rape survivors. This study explored and described the perceptions of mental healthcare practitioners regarding the psychological management of rape survivors suffering from PTSD in the North West province in South Africa. The study used a qualitative exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design to explore and describe the perceptions of mental healthcare practitioners regarding the psychological management of rape s...
Consequences of Rape and a Framework to End Violence against Women
The study attempted to examine police registered rape cases through the contents of First Investigation Reports (FIRs) as rape is a phenomenon that has sever social and psychological consequences on the lives of survivors and in general on women. This was explored through ten in-depth interviews with the survivors. All the registered cases of one city of one year were included and 51 copies of FIRs were obtained from the police department. The contents of the FIRs were revealed that 94.16 % cases were reported from the urban slums of Lahore city. The highest risk age group during this year was 7-21years. In all the reported cases, six cases interviewed were children between the age group of 7-15. The survivors included in the FIRs were 39.2% housewives/girls, 25.5% students, 23.5% domestic servants and the rest were office workers and laborers. In all the cases 76.47% survivors were single, 17.64% were married and only 5.9 % were divorced. The results showed that 39.21% victims were raped at home during day time, 25.5 % at the workplace and 23.52% at rapist's place. The last 9.8 % raped incidents were happened at clinic/hospital. It showed that women are not safe at any place. They live in constant threat of rape that anywhere, anytime and anyone can rape them. The findings further revealed that 93.4% of the cases, the survivors knew the rapist on one or the other type of relation from acquaintance to ex-husband. The stranger committed only 5.9% rapes. During the interviews with the rape survivors it was found that rape was always planned in advance. All the survivors interviewed suffered from a wide range of consequences as a result of rape and survivors were more likely to avoid certain places. Rape was not only disgracing and traumatic experience for the victim but also for the whole family as purification of women has implications for cultural and religious identity. Lifestyles were affected as a result of the incident. Seeking justice is difficult in all the cases of rape, as 51 cases were reported to the police and none could get justice. These figures of violence against women depicted a situation which is alarming and the challenges are numerous. There is no one solution for addressing the challenges and reaching the objective to eradicate the violence against women. The preventive, protective and supportive framework is highly recommended to end violence against women in Pakistan.