Reasons for Not Seeking Professional Help by Abused Refugee Women: A Qualitative Study

This study aimed to gain insight into factors that have an impact on
Syrian abused refugee women’s decision for seeking professional help
regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) against them. This study
attempted to answer the following question; what are the reasons for
not seeking professional help by victims of IPV among refugee women?
The qualitative method was used with semi-structured interviews in an
accessible sample of 30 abused refugee women, who were identified by
cooperated local community organizations working with the refugee. Five
reasons emerged from the interviews affecting seeking help behaviors
for refugee women: misconceptions about IPV problem; difficulties to
access and approach different care centers; lack of awareness about
the negative consequences of IPV; unaware, negative expectations,
negative experiences, and incorrect thoughts about IPV’s services; and
psychological and physical health difficulties. The authors suggested
some recommendations in light of this study results. Raising awareness
activities toward the negative impact of violence on women’s and children well-being, improving service availability, building professional capacities
to work with abused women, and providing professional services for
depressed and amputee’s refugee women.