APPROPRIATE SERVICES
7.3 Recommendations
convicted of violating a protection order, this was seldom enforced. What becomes apparent is that the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act was hugely problematic. In theory the Act is one of the most progressive pieces of legislation in the world in protecting the rights of the victims of domestic violence.
The reality as pointed out by the study and supported by Kooverjee (1999) is that many victims experienced great difficulties accessing this protection. Welfare organisations contacted by the participants had different reactions to husband abuse, but the general consensus was that these services focused on helping women only. Only one participant reported that individual counselling that he has been engaged in for many years had helped him. Other sources of help accessed by people were religious/cultural leaders, family, friends and work colleagues. The study concluded that the most helpful source of assistance for most participants were their families. This was confirmed by Stephens and McDonald (in Vincent and Jouriles, 2000) who found that victims tended to approach friends and family first. Social welfare agencies and the criminal justice system were seen as the last resort.
1998. The researcher contends however, that knowledge alone of one's rights was insufficient. It is therefore suggested that the process of enforcing one's rights be facilitated by a user-friendlier criminal justice system. More training and education needs to be conducted with all service providers. Domestic violence in general and more specifically husband abuse needed to be included in training and re-training curricular of all counsellors, be they professional or volunteer, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, members of the South African Police Service, magistrates, judges, nurses and doctors. This will ensure that all those working with the victims of violence will be better equipped to assist these victims. It is crucial that services to victims be accessible and effective. Service providers should be held accountable for providing such a service. Sullivan (in Cardarelli, 1997) and Human Rights Watch (1995) supported the necessity of training of police officers to educate them in the Domestic Violence Act, improve their attitudes towards victims by eliminating gender bias and to diligently enforce protection orders. Kooverjee (1999) recommended that police officers also be trained in what she termed as 'soft' skills such as listening, empathy and understanding. Such training and re-training will also limit the degree of secondary victimisation that victims of domestic violence experience.
Social welfare agencies need to develop programmes to address the issue of husband abuse. Such programmes should be widely advertised rather than being offered only when requested. This would eradicate the current problem of abused husbands feeling that there are no services for them, as victims would become aware that services are available. Services should include telephonic helplines, support groups for abused men, individual and couple counselling and shelters for abused men. Services should also include intervention programmes for the perpetrators as well (Babcock and Taillade, in Ezell and Jouriles, 2000).
Such programmes should also take into consideration ethnic minorities and abusers who are chemically dependant.
Broad scale community awareness programmes highlighting the rights of men in general and more specifically focusing on husband abuse would be beneficial.
Segal and Labe (in McKendrick and HoffmanI 1990) supported the necessity of educating the public on domestic violence issues as a means of eradicating this social issue. This will reduce the stigma associated with victims of abuse and will encourage other abused men to disclose the abuse and access the required services. Sullivan (in Cardarelli, 1997) recommended community awareness programmes that focus on changing attitudes of society away from using violence as a problem solving method towards more peaceful resolution to problems. The author contended that media, which was a powerful force in changing societal attitudes, could realistically portray domestic violence and debunk some of the myths that exist.
Society should also take responsibility to eradicate violence. As Segal and Labe (in McKendrick and Hoffman, 1990) stated, in conditions where there is overwhelming violence, violence is accepted as the norm. The use of violence therefore did not produce any sense of outrage. Society however needs to stop shielding perpetrators and denying the existence of husband abuse. It is recommended that educational programmes occur on a preventative level as well. Life skills programmes with young people that focus on teaching them peaceful conflict resolution skills, would result in a generation of young people who have altematives to violence (Angless in Gray, 1998). Preventing violence was important as well so as to eradicate the problem completely.
Finally, further research needs to be conducted into men's issues in South Africa.
Very little focus has been placed on men's experiences related to relationships, parenting, impact of legislation and services. More specifically however, further research needs to be conducted into husband abuse in South Africa. Whereas this exploratory study fulfilled the objectives outlined in chapter 1, by providing insights into various aspects of husband abuse, further research should be conducted. This would provide a greater understanding of husband abuse.
Babcock and Taillade (in Vincent and Jouriles, 2000) emphasized the need for research to be an integral aspect of addressing domestic violence. This will enable helping professionals to design effective intervention strategies for abused men and to scourge all forms domestic violence from our society.