Nurses’ Attitudes
Nurses themselves need support in interacting with victims of domestic violence. Frustration, anger, and helplessness are common reactions to a situation that evokes strong empathy. Victims are notorious for missing appointments, not following through with treatment plans, offering vague complaints and requesting tranquilizers, and not leaving the men who abuse them.
It is important to know that it takes an average of six to eight tries before a woman finally separates from her abuser and that ending an abusive relationship is no guarantee that she will not be subjected to more violence. As nurses, we are called upon to examine our expectations of how best we can intervene in what must be looked upon as a process of change. Realistically, women cannot radically transition from one situation to another independently of partners, families, and the surrounding culture.
When women stay in a relationship that has been abusive, it does not mean that intervention has failed. Supporting abused women through a process of raising awareness and exploring options will alter their intimate partnerships in some way, although without knowing how their abusers will react, it is difficult to know how. Change for women victimized by DV occurs in increments and can be facilitated by interactions with nurses prepared with the insight to know what words and actions are needed when.
For more excellent resources, return to endabuse.org.