The Effectiveness of the Communication Training Program for Combating Violence Against Women

Abstract

Domestic violence (also named as domestic abuse, battering, or family violence) is a pattern of behaviour which involves violence or other abuse by one person against another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence against women can be categorized as physical, sexual, psychological or economical violence. It can be seen that women exposed to such types of violence develop physical or psychological problems, even in some cases the violence ends up with domestic homicide or suicide. It is thought that an educational program which will enable these women to reconstruct their self-esteem and look to the future with hope with healing and developing skills should be prepared. Therefore, Elimination of Violence Communication Training Program was prepared and it is aimed to find the effectiveness, positive/negative conditions occurring during the application of the program or the shortcomings of the program. In this experimental research, pre and post-test control group design was used. The duration of the application of the study was 16 sessions (48 hours). Quantitative data were gathered through "Family Evaluation Scale", which highlights the dimensions of domestic violence against women within the family; "Violence within the Family Scale", which highlights the violence experiences; "Communication Skills Evaluation Scale", which highlights the communication skills; "Life Satisfaction Scale", which scales the life experiences of the participants. In addition, the quantitative data were supported with observation forms, interview records and forms including participant opinions. The participants of the experimental group showed no meaningful relationship between their pre and post test results in terms of communication skills, whereas the sub-categories of violence within the family-verbal violence, emotional response of family functionality, and behaviour control- showed meaningful relationship in favour of post-test and it was found that the mean of pre and post test results of the experimental group showed an increase in favour of post-test in terms of all dimensions of the scale.