Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought Online

Women, as victims of violence, among which intimate partner violence prevails, venture online to seek a supportive community. Members of online support groups differ in the experiences and needs they have and support they seek. The objective of this research was to explore the difference in types of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tinkara Pavšič Mrevlje, Vanja Ida Erčulj
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/11/1066
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850267353180274688
author Tinkara Pavšič Mrevlje
Vanja Ida Erčulj
author_facet Tinkara Pavšič Mrevlje
Vanja Ida Erčulj
author_sort Tinkara Pavšič Mrevlje
collection DOAJ
description Women, as victims of violence, among which intimate partner violence prevails, venture online to seek a supportive community. Members of online support groups differ in the experiences and needs they have and support they seek. The objective of this research was to explore the difference in types of support sought and support received between women who self-report having been a witness/victim of violence and others who directly ask for help without explaining their circumstances. For this purpose, content analysis of 600 randomly selected starting posts from an online support community was performed. The results reveal an association between the needs expressed and the experience of violence described. Although users most frequently sought informational support, those recounting sexual violence more often asked for emotional support or were looking for an emotional release. Posts describing a different kind of violence were more likely to bring more support than short posts directly asking for help. The findings are important since women in a violent relationship tend to become more isolated or controlled by their partners, pointing to the crucial role of online support in helping and encouraging those women to take the first step in seeking help from formal institutions.
format Article
id doaj-art-8a10fd8b3c52455e9177abfcf1fe6a5c
institution OA Journals
issn 2076-328X
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Behavioral Sciences
spelling doaj-art-8a10fd8b3c52455e9177abfcf1fe6a5c2025-08-20T01:53:49ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2024-11-011411106610.3390/bs14111066Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought OnlineTinkara Pavšič Mrevlje0Vanja Ida Erčulj1Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Kotnikova ulica 8, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Kotnikova ulica 8, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaWomen, as victims of violence, among which intimate partner violence prevails, venture online to seek a supportive community. Members of online support groups differ in the experiences and needs they have and support they seek. The objective of this research was to explore the difference in types of support sought and support received between women who self-report having been a witness/victim of violence and others who directly ask for help without explaining their circumstances. For this purpose, content analysis of 600 randomly selected starting posts from an online support community was performed. The results reveal an association between the needs expressed and the experience of violence described. Although users most frequently sought informational support, those recounting sexual violence more often asked for emotional support or were looking for an emotional release. Posts describing a different kind of violence were more likely to bring more support than short posts directly asking for help. The findings are important since women in a violent relationship tend to become more isolated or controlled by their partners, pointing to the crucial role of online support in helping and encouraging those women to take the first step in seeking help from formal institutions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/11/1066online supportsupport typesviolence
spellingShingle Tinkara Pavšič Mrevlje
Vanja Ida Erčulj
Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought Online
Behavioral Sciences
online support
support types
violence
title Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought Online
title_full Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought Online
title_fullStr Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought Online
title_full_unstemmed Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought Online
title_short Different Deeds, Different Needs—Types of Violence Against Women and Social Support Sought Online
title_sort different deeds different needs types of violence against women and social support sought online
topic online support
support types
violence
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/11/1066
work_keys_str_mv AT tinkarapavsicmrevlje differentdeedsdifferentneedstypesofviolenceagainstwomenandsocialsupportsoughtonline
AT vanjaidaerculj differentdeedsdifferentneedstypesofviolenceagainstwomenandsocialsupportsoughtonline