What can veterinary professionals do? Measuring the effect of one domestic violence training pilot program on veterinary professionals' capacity to recognize, respond, and refer human victims of domestic violence

IntroductionVeterinary professionals have a key role in facilitating multi-agency collaboration to prevent and respond to domestic violence (DV) in situations where animals may be directly or indirectly involved. Yet despite their position as potential touchpoints for victim-survivors with animals, many veterinary professionals do not feel equipped to act on suspicions or disclosures of DV. In response to this identified need, one service operating in Melbourne, Australia, developed the Vet-3R's training program (Recognize-Respond-Refer) which was piloted on 65 veterinary professionals in Melbourne's Eastern Metropolitan Region.MethodsThis is an exploratory study aimed at measuring the effect of the Vets 3-R's program on veterinary professionals' confidence and capacity to recognize, respond and refer victims of DV. Participants were invited to complete online surveys before and after the training to evaluate their understanding of DV and their capacity to support suspected victim-survivors with animals who present at their service.ResultsThe pre-training self-evaluation scores indicated that while most veterinary professionals are aware of the link between animal abuse and DV, they lack the confidence to respond and refer individuals when confronted with suspicions or disclosures of abuse. However, upon completion of the Vets 3-R's program, participants reported marked improvements in their ability to recognize, respond, and refer victim-survivors. The most significant improvement could be seen in participants' self-reported ability to respond appropriately to suspicions of DV.DiscussionWhile results are indicative only due to the small sample size, this study suggests that veterinary professionals may be an underutilized intervention point for DV victim-survivors with animals. The Vet-3R's training program can be a useful tool for increasing effectiveness of this intervention point to safely assist DV victim-survivors. More research on similar programs with a larger cohort of participants would be beneficial to measure the impact of such programs on a wider scale

Fertility levels in Australia: what can the 1991 census tell us?

The information which can be gathered from the 1991 Census on trends in fertility in limited. But an analysis of the one per cent users’ sample tape indicated that women with advanced educational qualifications are now having families which are considerably smaller than those of women who have no post-school qualifications

Researching collaborative processes in domestic violence perpetrator programs : Benchmarking for situation improvement

∙ Summary: This article reports on research undertaken in Victoria, Australia with workers from men’s behavior change programs (perpetrator programs) to explore the extent of the collaborative processes established with police, child protection, and other human service organizations. It poses the question: how do regional collaborative arrangements and the pathways to referral reflect the responsiveness of men’s behavior change programs to domestic violence service integration? It builds on a strand of research highlighting the significance of the wider domestic violence intervention system in holding men who use violence accountable. ∙ Findings: A research tool was designed around a Practice Matrix to outline different dimensions against which expectations of collaboration could be benchmarked in men’s behavior change programs. It was found that at this early stage within the domestic violence reform process in Victoria that the integration of programs within the wider domestic violence sector was relatively undeveloped. The feedback loops between agencies, which enable reporting on attendance, breaches of intervention orders, changes to the risk assessment, and progress at formal review points were relatively undeveloped. However, the formal engagement within domestic violence regional committees and with police was more developed. ∙ Application: Social workers, particularly in the vulnerable children’s area provide referrals to men’s behavior change programs. Active involvement in feedback, risk assessment review, monitoring for change support the accountability and collaborative effort required to strengthen the effectiveness of men’s behavior change and enhance the safety of women and their children. © The Author(s) 2013

The development of phonological awareness literacy measures for isiXhosa

This study outlines the development of linguistically based, language-specific   measures of phonological awareness in isiXhosa and presents some preliminary findings. Hitherto, the study of phonological awareness has predominantly focussed on English, and to date phonological awareness in Bantu languages has not been   adequately addressed. This study explicitly discusses the decisions made when   developing a phonological awareness test for isiXhosa, which can easily be adapted for other Bantu languages. Our results show how participants perform better in syllableawareness tasks and how this is conditioned by the language-specific structures of isiXhosa. We demonstrate the need for micro-linguistic and language-specific  considerations in the development of phonological awareness tests

Fertility levels in Australia: what can the 1991 census tell us?

The information which can be gathered from the 1991 Census on trends in fertility in limited. But an analysis of the one per cent users’ sample tape indicated that women with advanced educational qualifications are now having families which are considerably smaller than those of women who have no post-school qualifications. Copyright. Monash University and the author/

An analysis of changes in the prevalence and patterns of intimate partner violence against women in seven Asian countries

Abstract Background Assessments of changes in prevalence and patterns of violence against women are critical to inform prevention and response approaches and to monitor progress towards elimination. Most countries in the Asia Region have data on violence and several have completed second and third waves of surveys. This study sought to assess and compare the prevalence and patterns of physical and/or sexual partner violence in seven Asian countries with at least two rounds of comparable national-level data. Methods We conducted primary descriptive analyses using Demographic and Health data from India, Nepal, and Pakistan (South Asia), and from Cambodia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and extracted data from reports from Vietnam (Southeast Asia). We examined differences in partner violence by type of violence, reference periods, severity of violence, and age group. Pearson chi-square tests and Mantel-Haenszel test for trend were used to assess whether differences between time points were significant (p < 0.05). Results Prevalence and patterns of violence vary across countries and sub-regions. In Southeast Asia, women in Cambodia and Vietnam experienced increasing and relatively high levels of sexual violence alongside declining physical violence. Reported levels of violence were lowest in the Philippines and prevalence showed consistent declines. Timor-Leste stands out as having the highest prevalence of physical partner violence, and there were consistently significant increases in estimates. Women in South Asia experienced predominantly physical violence and there were consistent declines in all three countries, though physical violence increased among older women in India. Conclusions Data from Asian countries where more than one prevalence survey had been done provided a unique opportunity to analyse differences in estimates of violence against women at two time points. Deeper analyses into types and severity of violence revealed that overall prevalence estimates hid more complex patterns. There are clear limitations in using survey data to understand the nuances which highlighted the need for depth analysis identifying contextual factors of violence to inform situation specific policies and interventions for the greatest impact. It is also clear that more than two data points are necessary to identify change over time, and interventions driving or preventing that change

Attitudinal support for violence against women: What a population-level survey of the Australian community can and cannot tell us

Violence against women (VAW) is a serious and prevalent problem globally. Societal-level norms, practices and structures are among the factors contributing to it, sometimes referred to collectively as representing “cultures of support” for VAW. Understanding factors contributing to these cultures is important for prevention, but remains the subject of debate. Population-level surveys of attitudes toward VAW are one means to strengthen this understanding. Although there are a number of such surveys internationally, scholarly research based on secondary analysis of data, at least from surveys in high-income countries, is scant. This article reports on new analyses of the Australian National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women survey to explore its potential to further empirical and conceptual understanding of cultures of support for VAW. To facilitate this, a scale to measure attitudes toward VAW was developed post hoc from the survey (the Violence Supportive Attitudes, or VSA-18, Scale). Subsequent analyses investigate the relationship between this scale and relevant demographic factors and a measure of attitudinal support for gender equality (GE). The GE measure, place of birth, employment and occupation, generation, education and sex contribute to variance in the VSA-18 Scale. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical debates and directions for future research.</p

Australians’ attitudes to violence against women: Full technical report:Findings from the 2013 National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS)

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