Professional stigma towards Domestic Violence

DDomestic and sexual abuse is a topic that affects each one of us in a different way, whether it is through personal experience or seeing it happen to our close ones. Either way it is heart-wrenching and can affect our lives in more ways than one. In recent years we have seen an increase in reports of victims of domestic violence who feel that the support and help they receive comes with a heavy stigma. Research has found that survivors have reported feeling ‘judged’ and ‘stigmatised’ from mental health professionals, as well as law enforcement. This comes as an addition to the judgement they may already receive from family members and the community.

The idea that survivors of domestic violence can feel judged and stigmatised when seeking help and support from professionals who are trained in their field further adds trauma to what they have already experienced.

In most, if not all occasions, reaching out for help and talking about what they have experienced is often the most difficult part of the process for domestic violence survivors. The courage and fear often conflict where they sometimes feel it is better to suffer in silence than to reach out for help. One research paper by (Crowe & Murray, 2015) found that many survivors have ‘shame’ from their mental health professions, where they sometimes felt blamed for what had happened to them and coded as ‘dismissed’. The qualitative study found that occasionally domestic violence survivors ‘regretted’ even seeking help and support from mental health professionals, and in some instances refused to return for further therapy.

In the instances they decide to reach out to facilitate their healing and receive the tools to recover from their trauma, they can be left with judgement which leaves them to retreat from seeking help in the future.

Why is this?

Unfortunately, where there is a societal stigma, it can often be difficult for professionals to also break through the barrier of talking about what is ‘difficult’ or ‘uncomfortable’ to talk about. As domestic abuse is not seen as a national or even international conversation, it is often disregarded. As such, these individuals who are in positions of power where they can truly make a difference to someone’s life sometimes feel uncomfortable even openly discussing the client’s traumatic experiences. In the cases that it may be discussed, it is not approached in a trauma-informed way and as a result, survivors feel judged and stigmatised.

If survivors cannot go to mental health and medical professionals to seek refuge from abuse in the times that they may need it the most, the question remains, where can they go? Who can support them? In some cases, they feel psychologically forced to go back to their abuser who will further gaslight them considering they have already attempted to flee once. It has been found that it takes on average seven instances to leave an abusive relationship for good. Could a lack of support available from professionals be one of the reasons?

A research focusing on Australian career psychologists found that they sometimes had difficulties inquiring into their clients’ sexual abuse experiences. They also considered the cultural barriers, in terms of the stigma associated with discussing sexual experiences. Furthermore, there was also a declaration of one psychologist saying they did not ‘know what to do’ once a client had disclosed sexual abuse; highlighting that the problem could lie in a lack of knowledge and training relating to domestic and sexual abuse (Nixon and Quilan, 2021).

Considering that mental health professionals are often the first point of contact (alongside police enforcement) for survivors to seek support, it can be worrying to hear the barriers and judgment which can be involved in seeking support for their traumatic experiences. Judgemental comments remain until an abusive situation turns in a fight for survival, where an innocent’s life can be tragically taken by the hands of an abuser, in this case what we hear too often is, ‘why did they not ask for help?’. However, this is in our hands, by raising awareness and by being open about these conversations we can break the stigma and move forward in supporting those who are in dire need. 

Furthermore, professionals own admission of lacking the skills and abilities to discuss the complex issue of Domestic Violence for fear of ‘opening the can of warms’ indicate a need for training to ensure ‘effective and sensitive’ responses. Humphrey and Thiara (2003 p.223).

We find that, in countries such as Albania, the conversation of abuse is something which most professionals would like to ‘stay out of it, as it is a family matter’, leaving those who are in dire need of support unheard hence, unsupported. Considering Albania’s extreme patriarchal views as a society, there is a huge lack of support in place for the most marginalised of society, which includes women and children. Domestic abuse is often seen as heavily normalised, and discussions of a couple’s problems is often faced with scrutiny as there is a heavy belief that all problems should be kept ‘within the marriage’.

The sense of indoctrination almost, which has been passed down through strict traditions and guidelines is a heavy influence in the lives of many survivors of domestic abuse even today. The idea of a woman being abused is normalised, and if anything, it is said to be her ‘fault’. Men are seen as non-wavering authoritarian figures in the household, where a direct translation from ‘zoti I shtepis’ is ‘the God of the house’. As such, all family members have a duty to obey, respect and abide by the laws of the household, wives especially should not be seen as interfering with a ‘man’s’ business, and in some cases, they are not permitted to ask their husband questions such as where he is going, as this is seen as provoking considering a man does not answer to a woman.

Such mentalities and traditions do remain to this day, whilst there has been movement forward in terms of the feminist movement and ideologies, Albania is heavily influenced by the culture and traditions, which is something which has inevitably impacted the professional opinions of intellectuals in Albania also.

As such, many of the research into professionals and their views of domestic violence has been conducted in countries with Western values, which does not provide an accurate insight into the stigma faced by Albanian sexual and domestic violence survivors. Recent statistics have shown that more than half of Albanian women and girls (age ranges from 15-74 years old) have ever experienced one of the following types of violence during their lifetime: intimate partner violence, dating violence, non-partner violence, sexual harassment and/or stalking. 

Traditions are deeply ingrained within the Albanian culture; it is often terrifying for a survivor to seek support or even talk about their victims. There is a high prevalence of stigma which exists, as women are taught that domestic affairs should be kept between husband and wife and should not involve other people. Due to this, abusers often feel they can ‘get away’ with attacks and violence as their partner may fear the repercussions of the abuse more than the actual act of being abused. 

In Albania the only place that survivors can even think to seek refuge is to a mental health provider (which are scarce) or to the police (where they may be laughed at). These women and survivors often have no other choice but to sit in silence and fear, as they are judged by friends and family members and told to have ‘patience’ as a ‘man will be a man’.

This can lead to an infinite cycle of violence and shame, where the culture says that women should ‘obey’ their husband in all circumstances, which leads women to believe that they may be to blame for being abused, where they are told that they stepped out of ‘line’ and as such will be blamed for ‘pushing’ and ‘provoking’ their significant other to that point (Caro, Bailey and Van Wissen, 2012).

These survivors are pushed out of society for talking, pushed out of their families for admitting the abuse they have suffered, and as a result are forced to live the rest of their lives in trauma and often fear. They are spoken about and ridiculed, even though their experiences were horrific. In some cases, they are used as examples of the ‘type of wife you should not be’ to younger girls who are due to get married. The cycle continues as they are taught to unconditionally, please, obey and respect their husband, despite the abuse, the manipulation and in many cases, the horrific violence they are forced to endure for the rest of their lives.

It is the duty of those who have positions of care, whether they are in Albania or of Albanian origin to speak up for these survivors and women who are currently suffering untold and silent horrors. Mentality and old traditions have created a façade and a mirror which many professionals do not want to face or admit. They may refer to abuse and violence as ‘not family friendly’ or as ‘inappropriate conversations’…

What is inappropriate is that women are being raped, violated, abused, gaslit, tortured, and in many instances, their children bear witness to this. Look a woman in the eye and tell her that her trauma and horror is not appropriate to talk about in a situation where you have the position to educate and inform the wider community.

Awareness begins with conversations, with posting, with talking, it begins with educating and allowing open discussions. Mental health should not be taboo. Sexual and domestic violence should not be hidden. It is the duty of professionals to pioneer and begin these conversations. 

Let us join together and ensure that those with no voice are being heard…

References:

Çaro, E., Bailey, A. and Van Wissen, L., 2012. Negotiating between patriarchy and emancipation: Rural-to-urban migrant women in Albania. Gender, Place & Culture, 19(4), pp.472-493.

Crowe, A. and Murray, C.E., 2015. Stigma from professional helpers toward survivors of intimate partner violence. Partner abuse, 6(2), pp.157-179.

Como, A., n.d. Mental health services in Albania and in the countries around – Comparative reflections on workforce. | Instituti i Shëndetit Publik. [online] Ishp.gov.al. Available at:

https://www.ishp.gov.al/mental-health-services-in-albania-and-in-the-countries-around-comparative-reflections-on-workforce/

[Accessed 31 January 2022].

Doukani, A., Pashoja, A.C., Fanaj, N., Qirjako, G., Meksi, A., Mustafa, S., Vis, C. and Hug, J., 2021. Organizational readiness for implementing an internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for depression across community mental health services in Albania and Kosovo: Directed qualitative content analysis. JMIR formative research, 5(11), p.e29280.

Humphreys, Cathy, and Ravi Thiara, ‘Mental Health and Domestic Violence: ‘I Call It Symptoms of Abuse’’, The British Journal of Social Work, 33.2 (2003), 209–26 

Nixon, B. and Quinlan, E., 2021. Asking the Hard Questions: Psychologists’ Discomfort With Inquiring About Sexual Abuse Histories. Violence Against Women, p.10778012211014558.

Search