scholarly journals Domestic violence policies in the Netherlands: A regime of deficiency

2020 ◽  
pp. 146349962095885
Author(s):  
Arne Mellaard ◽  
Toon van Meijl

In a number of countries, domestic violence is represented as a governable phenomenon that is amenable to policy interventions. Over the past 40 years in the Netherlands, however, this approach has not resulted in a reduction of domestic violence. Yet new policy strategies continue to be designed to improve existing interventions. In this article, we focus on a Dutch policy measure that aims to detect early signals of violence and abuse. We argue that this strategy, by approaching domestic violence as a technical problem, fails to take into account structural and symbolic violence. As a consequence, the impact of domestic violence policies on women, particularly poor women, and especially women with a migration background, is to intensify their difficulties. Moreover, these policies deploy a technology that shapes the subjectivity of professionals engaged in protection practices, while maintaining the status quo of inequality and violence against women. The connection between these two flaws of domestic violence policies leads us to claim that the current approach is constituted as a regime of deficiency.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole E. van Gelder ◽  
Ditte L. van Haalen ◽  
Kyra Ekker ◽  
Suzanne A. Ligthart ◽  
Sabine Oertelt-Prigione

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown evoked great worries among professionals in the field of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) as they expected a rise of the phenomenon. While many countries reported increased DVA, the Netherlands did not. To understand this discrepancy and the overall impact of the lockdown on DVA support services, we interviewed DVA professionals about their experiences with DVA during the rise of COVID-19, the impact of the lockdown on clients and working conditions, and views on eHealth and online tools. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 16 DVA professionals with various specializations. This data was analyzed using open thematic coding and content analysis. Results Most professionals did not see an increase in DVA reports but they did notice more severe violence. They experienced less opportunities to detect DVA and worried about their clients’ wellbeing and the quality of (online) care. Furthermore, their working conditions rapidly changed, with working from home and online, and they expressed frustration, insecurity and loneliness. Professionals feel eHealth and online tools are not always suitable but they do see them as an opportunity to increase reach and maintain services when physical contact is not possible. Conclusion This study suggests DVA was probably under-detected during the lockdown rather than not having increased. The Dutch system heavily relies on professionals to detect and report DVA, suggesting a need for critical evaluation of the accessibility of professional help. Professionals experienced significant challenges and should themselves be supported psychologically and in their changed work practices to maintain their ability to aid survivors.


KOMUNITAS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-57
Author(s):  
Agung Budi Santoso

National Commission on violence against women (2015) noted that violence against women showed a widespread pattern. The 2016 annual press release (Catahu) released that there were 321,752 of violence cases. The largest type of violence against women was violence in the personal sector. Violence in the form of rape was 72% (2,399 of cases), violence in the form of obscenity was 18% (601 of cases), and sexual abuse was 5% (166 of cases). The majority of personal violence victims (domestic / household) were women. The forms of domestic violence included physical violence, psychological violence, sexual violence and neglect of the household; while the main factor was the lack of communication and disharmony among family members. The impact in the short term was usually like a physical injury, disability, pregnancy, loss of work, and so forth; while the long-term effects were psychological disorders (psychiatric), loss of confidence, fend for oneself, trauma and appearance of fear to depression. The handling of domestic violence is one of the focuses of social workers to play a role in helping / assisting the recovery of victims. The social worker should be able to convince the victims to dare to express their problems, to give a sense of security, and comfort. Social workers in helping victims of domestic violence should have knowledge and alignment to the victims that the slightest violence is a form of crime against humanity. Victims of domestic violence must immediately obtain the protection, security assurance and social assistance. The efforts which can be done by social workers are counseling and family counseling. Those are done as a form of therapy so that victims do not feel the prolonged trauma and they can think calmly.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C Langley ◽  
Taeho Greg Rhee

Over the past 20 years a number of simulations or models have been developed as a basis for tracking and evaluating the impact of pharmacological and other interventions in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. These models have typically tracked the natural course of these diseases generating long-term composite claims for cost-effectiveness. These claims can extend over the lifetime of the modeled patient cohort. Set against the standards of normal science, however, these claims lack credibility. The claims presented are all too often either immune to failure or are presented in a form that is non-testable. As such they fail to meet the key experimental requirements of falsification and replication. Unfortunately, there is a continuing belief that long-term or lifetime models are essential to decision-making. This is misplaced. The purpose of this review is to argue that there is a pressing need to reconsider the needs of health system decision makers and focus on modeled or simulated claims that are meaningful, testable, reportable and replicable in evaluating interventions in diabetes mellitus.   Type: Commentary


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 333-351
Author(s):  
Khondker Aktaruzzaman ◽  
Omar Farooq

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document the impact of participation in microfinance programs on domestic violence against women. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the survey data from 69 villages in Bangladesh and the instrumental variable approach to estimate the effect of participation in microcredit programs on domestic violence. Findings The results show that women’s participation in microcredit programs does not reduce domestic violence. However, this result is possible only when the authors do not distinguish between female borrowers who have control over credit and those who do not have control over credit. Classifying female borrowers into these two categories can significantly change the results. The authors report significantly lower physical violence against those female who have control over credit. In case of psychological violence, the authors report no significant impact of control over microcredit. Originality/value The novelty of the paper lies in distinguishing between physical and psychological violence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Spies

AbstractNow that it has been in operation for 20 years, it is necessary to reflect on the impact the South African Domestic Violence Act has had on women's lives. This article analyses this key legislation and the police's duty to ensure its proper implementation. It focuses on the reports of the Independent Complaints Directorate and Civilian Secretariat of Police, the bodies responsible for measuring police compliance with the act. The reports identify serious transgressions, highlighting the police's perception that domestic violence is a private affair with which it should not interfere. This perception plays a particularly subtle and destructive role in legitimizing, supporting and permitting violence against women. In focusing on key court decisions in which the state (police) was held financially accountable for the failure to protect women against violence, the author highlights the importance of challenging the social and legal understanding of women's experiences with violence in promoting a system that takes account of those experiences.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Andrei Dorofeev ◽  
Sergei Sazonov ◽  
Wim Heijman

Abstract This article deals with the problems in the development of agriculture in Russia caused by an imperfect institutional environment. The characteristics of institutional conditions and their influence on the development of agriculture is discussed. The main institutional changes which have taken place in Russia over the past 20 years are described, including the ownership of the means of production, commodity-money relations, access to and distribution of profits and competition. The main body of the article presents an analysis of the development of agriculture in the Belgorod region in relation to the status of the institutional environment.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-95
Author(s):  
Shakila A. Rehman ◽  
Muhammad Shahid

Although gender-based violence is prevalent in all societies however it is more widespread in Pakistan. Women of all ages, from birth to old age, are victims of violence. The consequences of gender-based violence are devastating not only for women but for the whole family. Violence against women is mostly treated as a private matter and hence goes unreported and thus its actual prevalence remains little known. There are many forms of gender-based-violence. Among these, violence during pregnancy is some what less discussed. The present study examines some aspects of violence during pregnancy by the husband, and looks at its health consequences. The study was conducted in a Katchi abadi (unauthorized settlement) of Karachi, among poor women. Findings show that prevalence of violence by husbands during pregnancy is high among study population.


Temida ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albin Dearing

The past few years have seen a fundamental and broadly based change in the response to domestic violence perpetrated by men against women. The Act on Protection against Domestic Violence which entered into force on May 1st, 1997 reflects this new orientation, or rather this shift in paradigm, which has led to a new understanding of the phenomenon of domestic violence and defines appropriate response by the state by it. The impact of this shift in paradigm is considerable: not only have public authorities and private women?s institutions changed their attitudes towards domestic violence, but the general public now responds to this phenomenon in a manner that is entirely different from what it was prior to the approach. Reports on cases of violence no longer merely state the facts indifferently, but now invariably end with the question whether the authorities had been informed and whether they had taken any action to prevent the crime. Thus the public authorities have come to assume responsibility for combating domestic violence as a result of societal developments.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Maro Youssef ◽  
Sarah Yerkes

Abstract The Tunisian government, which is deeply divided, especially along ideological lines, responded to growing concerns over increased violence against women during the Coronavirus pandemic by establishing a new domestic violence shelter and 24/7 hotline. This article asks: Why did the state respond to gender-based violence(gbv) concerns during the Coronavirus pandemic in Tunisia, despite ideological and political divisions? We argue that the state addressed some concerns around violence during the pandemic because combatting gbv has bipartisan support in Tunisia. Tunisian Islamist and secularist women’s rights organizations succeeded in building a bipartisan coalition of support on this issue because they worked either together in a short-lived coalition or in tandem with similar goals over the past decade during the democratic transition in Tunisia. Building on the existing coalition literature, we show that feminist coalition formation before a pandemic has implications for feminists’ success in times of crisis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheluchi Onyemelukwe

Purpose The prevalence of domestic violence in Nigeria may be described as epidemic. To address this scourge, several pieces of legislation have been enacted in the past decade at state and federal levels in Nigeria. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the emerging legislation on domestic violence. This paper thus examines the contents of these laws in a bid to determine the potential of these laws to prevent domestic violence, deter perpetrators from further incidents, punish perpetrators, compensate survivors and provide them with the necessary interventions for their rehabilitation. Design/methodology/approach The approach adopted is a content analysis of the provisions of the legislation, using salient parameters that have been drawn from documented best practices, specifically the key components for framing of domestic violence legislation around the world. Findings The author finds that while there is significant attempt in extant legislation to ensure that women are protected within domestic relationships, there are still gaps. Further, the protections are uneven across the states. In addition, there are systemic and contextual challenges that hamper the effectiveness of existing legislation in Nigeria in providing the necessary protections to women. Originality/value This study analyses the provisions of some of the legislation currently in place to protect persons from domestic violence. The impact, potential effect and overall utility of these pieces of legislation continue to require examination.


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