Counseling Abused Women: Factors Contributing to Successful Outcome
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part One: Violence against women
The Problem
Consequences of violence
Origins of violence
Part Two: Treatment/Intervention models
Service and treatment options
Medications
Community Treatment/Intervention
Part Three: Client/Family participation
Client participation
Family involvement
Part Four: Special needs
Abuse of women with disabilities
Equity/ Access to treatment
Part Five: Parties’ promotion of various positions and their critical analysis
Promotion the realization of Women’s Human Rights
Critical analysis of various positions
Conclusion
References





Introduction
Violence against women happens in every country all over the world. There is no country in which women are not exposed to some kind of violence. Women and children around the world, across lines of income, class and traditional views, are exposed to physical, sexual and psychological abuse, domestic abuse, inequality, and, in addition, lack of human rights. Worldwide, at least one in every three women is beaten, forced into sex, or abused in some way, most frequently by someone she knows, including her spouse or another male in the family. Violence relates to the lack of human rights, and to legal, economical, and public health problems as well. It influences all areas of the world and is a crucial problem that needs research initiatives directed at the improvement of universal understanding.
This paper collects and analyses the latest data and samples corresponding to the study of counseling abused women and identifies the most pertinent intervention and treatment of abused women that occurs all over the world. It also highlights the current problems such as lack of funding and political party’s involvement, especially in the developing countries. Finally, the document provides pointers to the most pressing issues that need to be considered by national policy and programme authorities in order to improve the position of the abused women.
To clarify the present problem, descriptions of life situations, case studies and direct quotes from women themselves have been used to vivify the contexts in which depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, alcohol and drug use, and other psychological disorders occur. It is hoped that the given samples of the experiences of inequality, violence intervention and different progammes will assist in developing a more accurate understanding of the structural barriers women face in attempting to find a solution to their urgent problems. It is needed to better inform the promotion of women’s mental health. Moreover, subjective perceptions of health are significantly related to psychological well being and utilization of the health care system (Ustin and Sartorius, 1995, p.35).
The paper is divided into five parts as follows:
The first part contains a brief discussion of violence against women, reactions, consequences to violence and causes of the mental problem. This is useful in providing a broad context from which to consider intervention ways of treatment for abused women and the critical analysis of the present situation that are discussed in subsequent sections.
Parts two and three consider the importance of clinical and community treatment along with the family participation and treatment in groups. In part four, relevant demographic variables and equal access to treatment are examined based on abuse of women with disabilities with an emphasis on financial and political barrier. Part five explains the positions of the various political parties concerning the problem of abused women treatment and gives a synthesis and critical analysis of various positions concerning the issue.


Part One: Violence against Women.
The problem.
Violence influences all members of society. However, violence against women is an urgent problem that is closely connected to inequalities and power disproportion in society. It seriously influences the ability of women to achieve equal status. As a matter of fact, it is not only the great number of violence cases against women that threatens women`s lives, but the fear of violence that influences their everyday life, how they dress, where they go, with whom they communicate, etc. Violence against women continues to be an urgent social and economic problem in the world with serious influences on our health and social services systems.
Violence against women is any act of gender-based violence that leads to, or is likely to lead to, physical, sexual or psychological damage or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, assault or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether happening in public or private life.
Scientific interest in the issue of violence against women and its connections to poor mental health used to be insignificant. Nevertheless, the rise of second wave feminism and activism around women’s rights generated the development of interest in the worldwide social problem of violence against women (Walker, 1989, p.702). The importance of this problem has now been affirmed. Violence against women is legally realized as a priority health and human rights problem (WHO, 1997). In March 1999 at the 43 rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a Resolution was adopted that admitted that violence against women is becoming acute in all countries, societies and socio-economic groups and as a aftermath the predominance of mental disorders in women, during all their