Women's help seeking for intimate partner violence in Jordan.

Little is known about Jordanian women's help seeking for intimate partner violence (IPV), despite local and international investment in victim services. Using a clinic based survey (n = 517; response rate 70%) and focus group discussions (FGDs, n = 17) we explored Jordanian women's nonfamily help seeking for physical or sexual IPV. We evaluated survey data using bivariate and multivariate regression and examined FGD transcripts using open coding methodology. Nonfamily help seeking was uncommon, an option only in serious circumstances after familial help was ineffective, and correlated with violence severity and relative violence. Nonfamily resources are underutilized but critical for vulnerable Jordanian women.

A mixed methods study of participant reaction to domestic violence research in Jordan.

Research on domestic violence against women has increased considerably over the past few decades. Most participants in such studies find the exercise worthwhile and of greater benefit than emotional cost; however, systematic examination of participant reaction to research on violence is considerably lacking, especially in the Middle East region. This study begins to fill this gap by examining women's reactions to domestic violence research in Jordan and whether a personal history of violence is associated with unfavorable experiences. This sequential exploratory mixed methods study included 17 focus group discussions (FGD) with women in Amman followed by a survey conducted in reproductive health clinics throughout the country (pilot n = 30; survey n = 517). Open coding was used to identify the theme related to participant reaction in the FGD data. This construct was further examined by the subsequent survey that included dichotomous questions inquiring whether the respondent thought the study questions were important and whether they were angry or felt resentment as a result of the survey. One open-ended question on the survey provided additional qualitative data on the theme that was combined with the FGD data. Themes identified in the qualitative data pertained to expressions of gratitude and comments on the survey's value. Findings of this study indicate that Jordanian women's responses to the research process are similar to women currently represented by the extant literature in that a vast majority of its participants felt that the study was important (95%) and it did not evoke anger or resentment (96%). Many even found the study to be useful to them personally or to society. Among those who had a negative emotional reaction, most still found the research to be important. This study's findings highlight the safety and potential benefits of ethically conducted violence research.