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Published in: Journal of Family Violence 8/2007

01-11-2007 | Original Article

External Barriers to Help Seeking for Older Women Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence

Authors: Richard L. Beaulaurier, Laura R. Seff, Frederick L. Newman, Burton Dunlop

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 8/2007

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Abstract

There has been relatively little research published to guide the field in identifying and addressing barriers to seeking help for older women who experience domestic violence (DV). The current article focuses on findings related to external behaviors to help-seeking in the Domestic Violence Against Older Women (DVAOW) study. Data were collected in 21 focus groups with 134 women, 45 to 85 years of age. External barriers, described by DVAOW respondents as contributing to the reluctance of some older women to seek help for domestic abuse, include response of family, response of clergy, response of the justice system, and responsiveness of community resources. These findings are discussed with implications for community outreach and future research.
Footnotes
1
There were indeed services for the elderly available in the community. These data relate more to the knowledge of respondents than to the actual availability of services.
 
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Metadata
Title
External Barriers to Help Seeking for Older Women Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence
Authors
Richard L. Beaulaurier
Laura R. Seff
Frederick L. Newman
Burton Dunlop
Publication date
01-11-2007
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Family Violence / Issue 8/2007
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9122-y

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