Abstract
Professionals in the health and education sector require knowledge and understanding of issues of family violence. Violence in the family home against women and children continues to present alarming problems. Significant evidence suggests that not only current and former female partners, but also children, are exposed to violence in the home. Research into intimate partner violence provides insight into the complex overlap between different forms of violence and resulting mental health problems along with maladaptive coping mechanisms. This article first reports on findings of an anonymous study among 227 community women’s experiences of different types of intimate partner violence to correct assumptions of single type violence. It then elaborates on opportunities of providing knowledge transfer using technology to assist teachers who have been entrusted with the provision of school-based prevention programs. Recent recognition of teachers’ unique position to provide preventative intervention poses challenges. It is argued that what educators know about intimate partner violence and its impact on victimised women and children affects their willingness to integrate prevention programs into the curriculum. In particular, technology may help to support and enhance the acquisition of critical knowledge and understanding about violence in the family home of in-service teachers. Teachers are encouraged to establish a platform through which they connect through internet technology to share information, learn from and encourage each other in the task of integrating IPV prevention into their curriculum. This may increase effectiveness of school-based prevention programs to address violence against women and children in the family home.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ayre, J., Lum On, M., Webster, K., Garley, M., & Moon, L. (2016). Examination of the burden of disease of intimate partner violence against women: Final report. Sydney: Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.
Buraga, M. (2015). PDHPE teacher toolkit for implementing content relating to the prevention of domestic violence. Sydney: Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW.
Campo, M. (2015). Children’s exposure to domestic and family violence: Key issues and responses. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/childrens-exposure-domestic-and-family-violence/introduction.
Carmody, M., Evans, S., Krogh, C., Flood, M., Heenan, M., & Ovenden, G. (2009). Framing best practice: National standards for the primary prevention of sexual assault through education, national sexual assault prevention education project for NASASV. Sydney: University of Western Sydney.
Cousins, M., & Callary, M. (2012). Domestic violence: An important social issue for schools. TEACH Journal of Christian Education, 3, 10–14.
Cox, P. (2015). Violence against women in Australia: Additional analysis of the ABS personal safety survey 2012. Sydney: Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.
Dobash, R. E., Dobash, R. P., Cavanagh, K., & Lewis, R. (2000). Changing violent men. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ellsberg, M., Morton, M., Gennari, F., Kiplesund, S., Contreras, M., & Watts, C. (2015). Prevention of violence against women and girls: What does the evidence say? The Lancet, 385, 1555–1566.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191.
Field, R., Jeffries, S., Rathus, Z., & Lynch, A. (2016). Family reports and family violence in Australian family law proceedings: What do we know? Journal of Judicial Administration, 25, 212–236.
Guggisberg, M. (2006). The interconnectedness and causes of female suicidal ideation with domestic violence. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 5(1), 53–59.
Guggisberg, M. (2012). Sexual violence victimisation and subsequent problematic alcohol use: Examining the self-medication hypothesis. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 5(6), 723–736.
Gwizdalski, A. (2016). Blog your way to digital mobility in teaching and learning. Proceedings of a conference held in Perth, Western Australia, 28–29 January 2016. Teaching and Learning Forum 2016 (pp. 36–37), Perth: Curtin University.
James, L., Brody, D., & Hamilton, Z. (2013). Risk factors for domestic violence during pregnancy: A meta-analytic review. Violence and Victims, 28, 359–380.
Kalkstein, D. A., Kleiman, T., Wakslak, C. J., Liberman, N., & Trope, Y. (2016). Social learning across psychological distance. Journal of Personal Social Psychology, 110, 1–19.
Kerrin, L. (2016, 21 March). Domestic violence prevention lessons to begin in NSW classrooms. Retrieved from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-21/domestic-violence-lessons-begin-in-nsw-classrooms/7262644.
Lum On, M., Ayre, J., Webster, K., & Moon, L. (2016). Examination of the health outcomes of intimate partner violence against women: State of knowledge paper. Sydney: Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.
Reid, J. (2015, 24 July). Schools to teach students about domestic violence prevention. The Educator. Retrieved from http://www.educatoronline.com.au/news/schools-to-teach-students-about-domestic-violence-prevention-203064.aspx.
Richards, K. (2011). Children’s exposure to domestic violence in Australia. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice, 49. Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi419.pdf.
Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The conflict tactics (CT) scales. Journal of Marriage and Family, 41, 75–88.
Thomas, K. A., Joshi, M., & Sorensen, S. B. (2014). Do you know what it feels like to drown?: Strangulation as coercive control in intimate relationships. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 38, 124–137.
Weaver, T. L., Gilbert, L., El-Bassel, N., Resnick, H. S., & Noursi, S. (2015). Identifying and intervening with substance-using women exposed to intimate partner violence: Phenomenology, comorbidities, and integrated approaches within primary care and other agency settings. Journal of Women’s Health, 24, 51–56.
World Health Organization. (2010). Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women: Taking action and generating evidence. Geneva: author.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this project was obtained from the Commonwealth of Australia, Edith Cowan University, and The University of Western Australia. The author would like to thank the education professionals who reviewed the drafts of this manuscript and provided valuable feedback.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guggisberg, M. Violence Against Women in the Family Home: Acknowledging the Role of Education and the Opportunities to Utilise Technology in Prevention Efforts. Tech Know Learn 22, 227–235 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-017-9303-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-017-9303-6