Social support services for abused women in shelters : perspectives of social workers

Abstract

Violence against women is a global phenomenon and it has over the past three decades occupied a central position in international discourse. Despite the extensive literature, little has been documented about the social support services offered to the abused women in shelters. A qualitative research approach was employed in this study to explore, describe, and contextualise the experiences and challenges of social workers in the social support services rendered to abused women in shelters. The participants were selected using purposive sampling, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers involved in rendering services to abused women in shelters in Gauteng. Ethical issues were taken into consideration. Data were analysed using Tesch’s eight steps (in Creswell, 2009) and verified using Guba and Lincoln’s model (in Krefting, 2003) to test the trustworthiness of the data.

The key findings of the study highlight the important role that social workers who provide social services to abused women in shelters play in the process of empowerment and protection of these women, who benefit from the social support service programmes that the shelters render on a daily basis. These findings also reveal that due to limited resources, the social workers cannot provide these social support services effectively without assistance. This study also reflects the need for a multidisciplinary approach, and emphasises the need for other stakeholders such as the SAPS, Health, Home Affairs, Department of Social Development, and the embassies of foreign countries to play a more significant role within the sheltering services in order to provide a comprehensive service to abused women. It is clear that social workers have limited professional support and experience many challenges in rendering social services.