Women's Studies Journal 19(2) 2005 : 56-78

This article presents a discussion of the authors' research on general practitioners' (GPs) understanding of domestic violence, and the physical, emotional and social effects on women victims. Ten GPs responded from a total of 90 GPs canvassed in a central North Island province. Semi-structured interviews were employed to gather information, and the narratives of the participating GPs were analysed for common themes. The findings show that, in general, GPs were not certain about how to detect evidence of domestic violence, primarily due to a lack of adequate training in this area. The GPs identified physical signs of abuse as easier to detect than psychological or emotional indicators of abuse. The authors found that GPs did not have sufficient knowledge of social problems that contribute to poor health outcomes. Many of the participants disclosed that they believed that women should take some action towards leaving an abusive relationship, and that they felt frustrated if a patient continued to return to their abusive partner. The authors suggests that training for health professionals involving a psycho-social perspective would be beneficial, as GPs are often the first point of contact for domestic violence victims.