Healthcare Workers; Their
Role in Helping Victims of
Abuse and Domestic
Violence
An Academic presentation by
Dr. Nancy Agnes, Head, Technical Operations, Tutors India
Group: www.tutorsindia.com
Email: info@tutorsindia.com
TODAY'S DISCUSSION
Outline
Introduction
Role of Social Workers
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
The issue of abuse and domestic violence which is
commonly termed as domestic abuse, is considered
as a problem that impacts women as well as men.
This would be irrespective of their caste, financial
status, ethnic origin, educational qualifications or
sexual orientations.
Domestic abuse has been defined in several ways
and many terms have been utilized to describe it.
Contd...
Across several developed nations there are terms such as; spousal
violence, intimate partner violence or family abuse that have been
used commonly.
Such terms are extensively used to widely elucidate the kind of
violence or abuse which might occur within people in the age
group of 18 or above and is generally distinct from sexual abuse
and violence or child abuse.
The impact from domestic abuse is known to affect all facets in the
life of the victim such as; social, mental, economic and financial.
Contd...
In addition, individuals who are exposed to domestic violence have more
scope to experience issues in health, have the propensity to miss work
and thus suffer loss of income which impacts the nation as well.
As per evidence presented by the, it is said that around 1.9 million people
in the UK, aged between 16 – 59 years, experience domestic abuse.
Between men and women, women are more prone to experience
domestic abuse.
The rate of prevalence of domestic abuse has been estimated as 6 out of
every 100 adults, at the rate of 4.3% men and 7.5% women, thus leading
to 713000 men and 1.2 million women.
Contd...
Percentage of Adults (16-74years) who Experienced Domestic Abuse in 2020
It has been clearly stated by Public health guideline that professionals from the
domain of healthcare have a responsibility to extend support to individuals who
have been impacted by domestic abuse.
As per evidence presented by the, it is said that around 1.9 million people in the
UK, aged between 16 – 59 years, experience domestic abuse.
Between men and women, women are more prone to experience domestic abuse.
Nonetheless, prevalent evidence has indicated that the focus of social workers is
mostly on issues pertaining to child protection and children, while tending to ignore
adult victims of abuse.
Contd...
Evidence presented by Robbins and Cook, also indicated that
those individuals who have experienced domestic abuse and
have interacted with social workers’ state that social workers
were not very helpful in terms of facilitating the required
support.
Therefore, this paper would explore the role of social workers
in providing care to victims of domestic abuse.
The roles would mainly be; victim identification, referring to
specialist domestic violence services and extending legal
assistance.
ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKERS
VICTIM IDENTIFICATION
As far as healthcare professionals are concerned, victim
identification is quite significant.
Though the evidence in this context is mixed in terms of
the need for routine screening for identifying domestic
abuse victims, it has been empirically proven that
healthcare professionals are required to do more for
victim identification.
Contd...
Appropriate response is a major aspect of victim identification in situations where
individuals might reveal the abuse they are experiencing.
Considering that concerns have risen about distrust of social workers in extending
to adult victims of domestic abuse, social workers are expected to be rather
empathetic while responding to victims and their families in instances of abuse.
This would go a long way in developing trust.
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Contd...
REFERRING TO SPECIALIST SERVICES
A significant role that social workers are supposed to play
would be to refer domestic abuse victims to specialist
services.
Though social workers are not expected to have the
expertise to provide the required specialist support, they
should be in a position to refer victims to the right specialist.
Most victims fail to approach specialist service providing
agencies owing to several agencies but when victims are
referred to specialist services by social workers, it becomes
easy for the victims to consider the referral.
Contd...
Some common barriers faced by victims
include; fear of repercussion, stigma, shame,
disbelief and fear of being blamed.
Therefore, due academic assistance from
social workers would enable victims to get
the required help.
Contd...
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Modifications effected recently within legislation has
indicated that social workers play a major role in extending
support to individuals who have been exposed to violence
or victims of domestic abuse.
As per the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of
Offenders Act, the level of evidence which can be permitted
to provide support for matter relating to domestic abuse.
Though it has been specified in the Act that documentary
evidence could be provided by healthcare workers to
facilitate legal assistance, there was no clarity on
documentary evidence that social workers could provide
Contd...
Nonetheless, changes effected in the law in the
UK [law academic writing help ] has revealed that
social workers have been acknowledged as
individuals who can clearly identify as well as refer
victims of domestic abuse thereby, extending
documentary proof thus allowing victims to gain
legal assistance.
CONCLUSION
The issue of domestic abuse is no doubt a private problem which
tends to have huge impact on public health as well as well-being
of individuals and the nation.
It leads to the creation of major problems in health which makes an
impact on the economy of the nation, the ability of the abused
individual to study and work and also to the healthcare system on
the whole.
This essay explored the role of social workers and healthcare
professionals in extending support to victims of domestic abuse.
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