Citation

Patrick L, Jackson L. J. Clin. Nurs. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jocn.16147

PMID

34841611

Abstract

Violence against women (VAW) is the threat of or actual harm by physical, sexual or psychological abuse. Male violence, the most prevalent and dangerous form, is the leading contributor towards death, disease and disability amongst women aged 18-44 globally (Ellsberg et al., 2008). This type of abuse is extremely common; a recent survey of over 22,000 UK women found that as many as 99.7% report having been repeatedly subjected to rape, harassment and physical violence over the course of their lifetime (Taylor & Shrive, 2021), far higher than previously thought. The Femicide Census, which tracks the murders of women by male perpetrators, also consistently reports over 100 deaths per year; rougly one woman every 3 days (Ingala Smith, 2018). Violence against women is a clear and serious public health concern with significant implications for the health, well-being and mortality of women around the world. However, violence should not be an inescapable aspect of women's lives; it can be prevented.

Victims, also commonly referred to as survivors, are likely to require care and treatment from healthcare services (Hooker et al., 2020). Despite this, the nursing response to this issue has been inadequate to date. Nurses and other healthcare professionals can play a vital role in recognising and responding to violence against women and its common expressions; domestic abuse and sexual violence (Bradbury-Jones, 2015).

How this issue is framed is central to how it is perceived or understood and reflects wider social issues in the UK and around the world. Violence against women is a common term and used throughout this discussion to highlight the health and well-being needs of women. However, this tends to obscure the source of the violence: men. When considering these issues, it is therefore important to remember that they do not occur in a vacuum and instead take place against a backdrop of misogyny, male dominance and women's subsequent inequality. Moreover, the ongoing failure to adequately address this issue within nursing and health care is intrinsically linked to medical paternalism and the dominance of medicine over the healthcare hierarchy...

Language: en