NCJ Number
190138
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 7 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2001 Pages: 799-820
Date Published
July 2001
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article presents findings on the incidence of and responses to domestic violence in a rural canton in Switzerland, drawing on data from social services, which is an agency responsible for income maintenance and personal support.
Abstract
Data were obtained from case files in 1996, along with qualitative interviews with social workers and battered women. The data collection was performed in two phases between 1997 and 1998. Quantitative data were recorded in a customized database that included the type, extent, and context of violence, as well as contact between clients and institutions and institutional responses. Quantitative analysis of documents on the 300 cases studied was done by using content analysis; whereas, the sampling and qualitative analysis of the case files and of the 24 interviews were based on grounded theory and objective hermeneutic. The findings showed that although social workers were alert to financial abuse and attempted to empower women economically, most failed to address and monitor ongoing abuse. Placing these findings within a discussion of feminist approaches to welfare, it was clear that economic independence alone failed to protect women from domestic violence and even placed some in more danger. Nonetheless, welfare can be empowering for women, but the ability of social workers to support abused women depends both on their own awareness and practice as well as that of other agencies, especially the criminal justice system, in intervening to stop the perpetrator. 18 notes and 30 references