The role of healthcare professionals (Social Workers) in helping people experiencing domestic violence and abuse

 

Domestic violence and abuse, often known as domestic abuse, can have an impact on both men and women, regardless of their race, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation (Robbins and Cook, 2017). There are numerous definitions for domestic violence and a wide variety of terminology used to characterise it. In many wealthy countries, phrases like domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and family abuse are often employed. These phrases are widely used to describe various forms of abuse and/or violence that may happen to adults over the age of 18, which is often different from child abuse, sexual violence, and abuse (Rakovec-Felser, 2014).

Financial, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse are just a few of the abuse types that can occur. (2012), page 1 (Home Office) (Home Office). The government's revised definition now allows 16 and 17-year-olds to request assistance from adult domestic violence services rather than child services. In order to provide focus for this article, the government definition will be applied, but it will only include those who are 16 years of age or older and who are in intimate relationships. Domestic violence and abuse will also be used interchangeably throughout the article.

Evidence suggests that domestic abuse has an effect on every facet of the victim's life, including the financial, social, economic, and mental ones (Femi-Ajao et al., 2018).

Also, persons who suffer domestic violence are more likely to have a number of health problems, which increases the possibility that they will be absent from work and results in economic loss for the UK as well as a higher financial burden for the NHS (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2014).

a quarter of the women in the world, the to a quarter of the a in a a the a as of the, a (2017). As previously said, domestic abuse is expected to affect 6 out of every 100 adults, with 1.2 million women and 713,000 men experiencing it on average, while men experience it at a rate of 4.3%. (Office for National Statistics, 2017).

Healthcare workers in UK must support persons who are the victims of domestic abuse, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (2014) guidelines. However, Stanley et al. (2010) discovered that social workers tend to focus more on children and child protection issues and less on assisting adult victims.

According to recent research by Robbins and Cook (2017), people who have suffered domestic abuse and have worked with social workers commonly believe that these individuals are unhelpful in supporting them in obtaining the care they need to deal with their experience. The three roles that social workers can play are therefore covered in this essay.

These are: 1. Identification of the victim; 2. Referral to specialised services for domestic abuse; and 3. Legal support. These three viewpoints will be discussed in more detail in the next portion of this essay.

The function of social workers in identifying victims

In terms of healthcare professionals, it has been determined that identifying victims of domestic abuse is very important (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2014). There is mixed evidence regarding whether routine screening is necessary for identifying victims of domestic abuse (O'Doherty et al., 2014), however healthcare professionals still need to do more to be involved in identifying persons who are experiencing domestic violence.

It has been suggested that recognising those who are experiencing domestic abuse can help to ensure that they get the support they need right away, breaking the cycle of abuse (Trevillion et al., 2012). Due to the likelihood that social workers may engage with families that are experiencing relationship problems, there are opportunities to improve the identification of domestic violence victims.

The right reaction is an essential part of identification when people confess their experiences with domestic violence (Bacchus et al., 2018). Since there are concerns about the removal of children from these homes and scepticism of social workers in helping those who are facing domestic abuse, social workers must be sympathetic in their responses (Robbins and Cook, 2017). Building the trust levels required to identify victims will be simpler as a result.

Conclusion

Domestic violence is a private problem that harms not just the health and wellbeing of those affected but the entire country. It results in severe health problems that affect the economy, the victim's ability to find work and pursue an education, as well as the healthcare system. This essay gives a summary of the definition and terminology of domestic abuse as background knowledge for the ideas discussed on the function of social workers in helping those who are victims of domestic violence and abuse.

There were three important duties identified. First, it was mentioned that social workers have a duty to identify victims of domestic violence, especially since research has shown that doing so can help break the cycle of abuse. Second, it was emphasised how important it is to point domestic violence victims towards specialised assistance. It was mentioned that by making referrals, social workers could be able to speed up this procedure. Finally, the law modification that now allows social workers to provide official documents in support of legal aid was brought to the public's attention. These three roles are how social workers can help persons in need.