The reactions of women who have been assaulted and their efforts to gain redress

Women who are subjected to violence are affected by the traumatic event but also by the resultant negative or positive social situations arising from the manner in which society works. The aim of this study was to investigate, against the background of a traumatic incident, the significance of social events that occur after the act of violence itself. The picture of victimization and how it is experienced is complex. Two case studies illustrate the attempts of assaulted women to gain redress, but they also show how this is made more difficult by secondary traumatization. An analytical model gives some of the factors in the process of victimization. Assaulted women react to the assault on the basis of their current and previous life situation at the same time as the extent of the assault and the relation of the victim to the attacker are of importance. The representatives of society, volunteers and family and friends act in accordance with the "status" the victim has been implicitly given, which affects the woman's autonomy and her own ability to act. Secondary traumatization caused by a negative attitude from various actors in society makes the process of redress and a return to normal life more difficult.     

Connecting and engaging with health and social care: Exploring the core components of a telephone and web-mediated family navigation prevention service

Early engagement with health care, mental health care, and social services can promote the well-being of children and families. How practitioners can best support family engagement with these services however remains largely unknown. To address this gap in knowledge, data from a voluntary 12-week telephone and web-mediated family navigation preventive intervention called Navigate Your Way were subject to mixed-methods analysis. Twenty-nine caregivers and five family navigators contributed data to the study. Thematic analysis of weekly navigator check-ins, participant closing interviews, navigator discharge notes, and lab meeting notes was conducted and followed by quantitative analysis of navigator effort across project activities. Results were then mixed to illuminate the essential conditions for supporting family connection to health care, mental health care, and social services. Qualitative analysis identified themes related to empathic engagement and person-centred navigation as central to connecting families to needed services. Quantitative analysis of navigator effort identified participant outreach, weekly check-ins, service identification, and ongoing supervision as essential navigation activities. Together, providing an environment that is supportive, consistent, flexible, person-centred and tailored to families' specific needs are important for connecting to health and social care.     

An application of the nonprofit virtual accountability index: Accountability in sport for development and peace

In this research note, we examine web-based accountability practices of human service nonprofits. Data were collected directly from the organizational websites of an international sample of 532 organizations involved in operating sport for social change programs, more commonly known as the field of sport for development and peace. Websites were coded using the nonprofit virtual accountability index—a theoretically grounded and robust tool—to measure information and interactivity available for stakeholders across five dimensions of accountability. Analyses of variance and independent t-tests were used to test potential group differences based on geographical region, the thematic types of social change efforts, and the type of sport used to deliver programming. The results of this analysis highlight the critical importance of geographical location and other organizational variables for web-based accountability practices. Furthermore, the results allow nonprofit leaders to identify common areas in need of improvement for smaller and emerging nonprofits.