An exploration of battered women's experiences and perceptions of a therapeutic intervention

Abstract

an exploration of battered women's experiences and perceptions of a therapeutic intervention ln view of the high incidence of women battering in south africa and the limited intervention services available to assist battered women, this study aimed to explore the effectiveness of a particular intervention model. most research in this area has focused on describing the problem of battering and little research is available on the impact of services. working from a social-psychological-feminist perspective this study constituted an exploration of the perceptions and experiences of battered women who have utilized the national institute for crime and rehabilitation of offenders, woman support centre (niro,wsc), in cape town. the study aim to investigate which areas of intervention were most effective or helpful least helpful or lacking so that future intervention may be extended and improved. a' qualitative-descriptive research design was utilized to investigate the experiences of battered women to ascertain their perceptions of the effectiveness of this helping agency. data was gathered primarily through three semi-structured focus group interviews, ten individual interviews and a questionnaire which all participants completed. a thematic analysis was carried out on the transcriptions of the data. three significant themes including a number of sub-themes emerged suggesting that the intervention services of NWSC were helpful and effective in meeting the women's needs.