Module Name: SASS Change Maker Research

Dissertation – ASS142-3
Student Name:
Student ID:

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 Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3

Background context....................................................................................................................4

Research question.......................................................................................................................5

“Approach to analysis”...............................................................................................................7

Timeline.....................................................................................................................................8

Conclusion................................................................................................................................10

References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The proposal focuses on the analysis of the impact of domestic abuse influencing women's
mental health in the UK. The rationale of the research indicates in detailing the importance of
mental health and how it creates an issue among women due to domestic behaviour which
they face in society. The topic is important as it highlights the impact that is caused due to the
abuse and promotes mental health so that individual women are appreciated in society. The
focus towards the topic is important as it will result in catering to the position of women in
society and give them opportunity and security within the environment through governmental
rules and regulations. As per the reports published by the UK government, over 29.3% of
women face the issues of mental health leading to critical problems. 25.7% of women in the
UK face the issue of mental health in the country which is caused due to changes in
behaviour and domestic abuse in the year 2022 (Baker and Esme Kirk-Wade, 2023). The
government also implemented equality and domestic abuse policies which serve to mitigate
the cause of violence which are faced by women in society. This helps the women to secure
their position in society.

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Background context
Abuse against women creates an issue in their health dealing with negligence towards mental
and physical health. Domestic abuse of women critically harms the individual's physicality
which leads them to lose work (Gadd et al., 2019). The abuse of women makes them feel the
critical issue of physical injury and might also lead to the occurrence of chronic diseases.
Domestic abuse in women results in higher causes of violence against them that might create
challenging factors in their physical exhaustion and chronic pain in their health. Depression
from domestic violence creates an exhaustion in the mental health of women that causes a
change in their experience leading to a negative approach in their lives. The cause of the
abuse also increases the stress level of women which results in anxiety and panic attacks
causing a potential challenging cause in their mental and physical health. As per the reports
published by “The Crime Survey for England and Wales” over 6.9% of women over the age
group of 16 years face the issue of domestic abuse in the year 2022 (Elkin, 2022). This states
that over 2.4 million adult populations among which 1.7 million are women are abused in the
domestic areas. The public service has recorded over 7.7% of causes related to domestic
abuse in the UK in 2022 that were reported by women victims. The violent and threatening
behaviour against women impacts their mental health and physical health leading to health
complexities.
Women in the UK are victimised and physically injured by violence that also impacts their
behaviour and attitude. Domestic abuse is also linked with mental abuse makes women feel
isolated from society and also prevents them from gaining proper healthcare services in the
UK. This causes a negative impact as women neglect proper and effective treatment of
domestic abuse in society which negatively impacts their mental health status. The UK
government has implemented different policies so that domestic abuse of women in the
country is prevented and they are being made feel secure in society by taking positive actions
to eradicate domestic abuse (Carrie, 2022). The support of the government results in boosting
the morality of women and making them feel encouraged which also tends to enhance their
women’s health with an improved vision of behaviour. There are no such policies framed by
the UK government regarding domestic abuse but the government has imposed other
legislations that inherit in preventing violence and other sorts of violence in different gender
and age groups in the UK. As a measure to safeguard women in the UK, the government has
imposed “The Domestic Abuse Act of 2021” where the government creates awareness for the
victims of domestic abuse and brings justice to the violence in the country (Office, 2021).

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Research question
The background context of the research has indicated that women are facing the issue of
domestic abuse and violence in society. It also focuses on the different irrelevant practices
that lead to a major impact on their mental health that creates negative behaviour leading to
anxiety, stress and depression. For the purpose of the study, the discussion will evaluate the
impact of domestic abuse on women. It will also further elaborate on the ways domestic
abuse affects the mental health of women in the UK. The purpose of the study will also
discuss the policies that effectively offer their support to the women victimised by domestic
abuse.
Research aim
The aim of the research is to analyse the domestic abuse impact on the mental health of
women in the UK.
Research objectives
● To understand the impact of domestic abuse on women.
● To analyse the effect of domestic abuse on women in regard to their mental health in
the UK.
● To understand the policies that support women in domestic abuse in the UK.
Research questions
● What are the impacts of domestic abuse on women?
● How does domestic abuse of women affect their mental health in the UK?
● What are the UK policies that offer support to women in regard to domestic abuse?
“Research design and ethics”
“Impacts of domestic abuse on women”
As per Nash et al. (2023), domestic abuse creates a huge impact on women as the violence
faced by them creates physical and emotional damage to their health. Women victimised by
domestic abuse face the issues of chronic pain as they have been physically injured. The
impact of domestic violence also causes changes in the behaviour of women employees as
they face limited development in the productivity level with a decline in their growth rate.
The income level of women also faces a decline due to the impact of domestic abuse on
women.
“Ways domestic abuse of women affects their mental health in the UK”
According to Bendavid et al. (2021), women critically face a coherent impact on their mental
health due to the implications of domestic abuse in the family or society. The mental health

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of women is declining which often challenges their mental behaviour causing issues of
depression, stress anxiety and substance abuse. Women also face a huge impact on their
social behaviour as they isolate themselves from different societal engagements which creates
a negative outcome caused due to domestic violence.
“Policies that support women in regard to domestic abuse”
As per Carrie (2022), the policies regarding domestic abuse and violence offer great support
to women and others in society. The UK government has imposed “The Equality Act of
2010” so that women are being treated in society equally and are being given proper support
regarding domestic abuses in the country. Another UK-based policy that is being
implemented by the government is “The Domestic Abuse Act of 2021” which supports the
women and individuals who are victimised by abuse cases. The legislation helps in creating
justice in cases of domestic abuse.
“Data Collection Strategy”
The data will be collected by the researcher through indulging with the secondary data
collection method. The secondary data collection method is signified by obtaining
information from authentic resources (Pandey and Pandey, 2021). The information that will
be gained from the secondary method will help in analysing the integration of the topic of
domestic abuse. The researcher will use a secondary data collection method by obtaining
information from journals, books and articles with detailed information and the prevention of
domestic abuse affecting women. The researcher has evaluated the academic papers to obtain
information regarding the research topic (Khosla, 2021). This will let the researcher generate
ideas based on domestic abuse that is faced by women in the UK. The academic papers
detailed the information regarding the violence and abuse impact that are faced by women
which will help the researcher to know about the policies and the regulations for support to
women. The academic papers which have been reviewed for the literature by the researcher
have included information based on the impact of domestic abuse on women in the UK.
The academic papers by the researcher were selected through Google Scholar so that
authentic and updated information is included in the research. The use of Google Scholar has
assisted the researcher in including information from books, journals and articles that
included knowledge regarding the research topic. The validity of the academic papers was
used by evaluating the CASP for the further evaluation of the research studies. The utilisation
of the CASP will help the researcher to focus on the different criteria of the research topic.
The research in the data collection process will also implement thematic analysis so that the
themes of the research are being evaluated through properly gaining information (Salter et

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al., 2023). This will help the researcher to effectively conduct the research that will measure
the analysis of the research topic based on the domestic abuse of women in the UK and its
impact on their mental health.
The researcher is required to maintain and validate the confidentiality of the research while
obtaining information. The researcher is also required to maintain ethical considerations for
the secondary method by maintaining relevance to the sensitive data and also maintaining the
autonomy of the research (Pandey and Pandey, 2021). The researcher is also required to
maintain the authenticity of the data and information infiltrated in the research.

“Approach to analysis”
Theme Author Year Source Findings

Importance of ‌“Adhvaryu, A., 2019 Early life The findings

mental health Fenske, J. and circumstance state the
Nyshadham” and adult mental situation of
health. Journal mental health
of Political among adults in
Economy, their lives while
127(4), indulging in
pp.1516-1549 daily activities.

Impact of “Pescosolido, 2019 Evolving public It states that

mental health B.A., Manago, views on the individuals with
due to abuse B. and likelihood of mental health
Monahan, J.,” violence from issues face the
people with influence of
mental illness: violence and
stigma and its abuse in society.
consequences.
Health Affairs,
38(10),
pp.1735-1743.

Impact of “Friskney, R., 2021 Frontline The findings

domestic abuse Brooks-Hay, O. responses to indicate that the

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 and Burman, domestic abuse responses are
M.,” in Scotland. being offered by
the individuals
regarding the
domestic abuse
state the cause
of the impact.

Table No. 1: Thematic Analysis

(Source: Created by the learner)
Importance of mental health
According to Adhvaryu et al. (2019), the mental health of individuals is important as it leads
them to develop their aptitude and behaviour and aids them in preventing issues in society.
The enhanced mental health of the adults in society helps them reduce their impact of
depression, anxiety and stress from different activities. The indulgence of individuals in
different activities including women helps them improve their state of mental health.
Impact of mental health due to abuse
Based on Pescosolido et al. (2019), the cause of abuse relating to mental and domestic abuse
creates a negative impact on the mental health of individuals. They feel isolated from society
which causes negative attitudes and behaviour among them. Depression and stress are the
major causes that impact the mental health of individuals who are faced with abuse and
violence in society.
Impact of Domestic Abuse
As per Friskney et al. (2021), the impact of domestic abuse creates a great change in society
that is maintained through the implementation of policies and rules. Domestic abuse causes
behavioural change and also limited opportunities in society. Women in society are mainly
facing the issues of domestic abuse in society which also impacts their mental health. This
also creates a negative impact on the process of work and limits the opportunities which are
available socially.

Timeline
Activities Start Date Duration End Date

Selction of topic 15-Nov 5 19-Nov

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Analysis of research 20-Nov 3 22-Nov

Selection of research 23-Nov 7 29-Nov

approach

Conduction of 30-Nov 5 04-Dec

research

Process of data 05-Dec 9 13-Dec

collection

Evaluation of data 14-Dec 8 21-Dec

collected

Research 22-Dec 2 23-Dec

assimilation

Submission of 24-Dec 3 26-Dec

research

Table No. 2: Timeline

(Source: Created by the learner)

Fig No.1: Gantt Chart

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 (Source: Created by the learner)

Conclusion
The research has been conducted in evaluating the analysis of the domestic abuse impact on
the women of the UK. The discussion has included that domestic abuse creates a huge impact
on the mental health of women and creates a limitation of behaviour and social approach.
Domestic abuse creates an impact on mental health by causing stress, depression and social
isolation from the environment and society (Turner et al., 2019). The understanding from the
evaluation of the research also depicts that the prevention of domestic abuse is being
controlled by the UK government through implementing legislation and policies which serve
to enhance the outlook towards abuse in society. The researcher in the proposal also
highlighted secondary data that was evaluated by using academic papers. The researcher will
also include in conducting the thematic analysis so that evaluation of the understanding
towards domestic abuse and its impact on the mental health of women has been highlighted.

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References
‌Adhvaryu, A., Fenske, J. and Nyshadham, A., (2019). Early life circumstance and adult
mental health. Journal of Political Economy, 127(4), pp.1516-1549.
Baker, C. and Esme Kirk-Wade., (2023). Mental health statistics: prevalence, services and
funding in England. [online] House of Commons Library. Available at:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06988/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2023].
Bendavid, E., Boerma, T., Akseer, N., Langer, A., Malembaka, E.B., Okiro, E.A., Wise, P.H.,
Heft-Neal, S., Black, R.E., Bhutta, Z.A. and Bhutta, Z., (2021). The effects of armed conflict
on the health of women and children. The Lancet, 397(10273), pp.522-532.
Carrie., (2022). UK Government launches new strategy to tackle domestic violence - Miles
and Partners. [online] Miles and Partners. Available at: https://milesandpartners.com/uk-
government-launches-new-strategy-to-tackle-domestic-violence/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2023].
Elkin, M., (2022). Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview. [online] Ons.gov.uk.
Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/
bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2022 [Accessed 10 Nov.
2023].
Friskney, R., Brooks-Hay, O. and Burman, M., (2021). Frontline responses to domestic abuse
in Scotland.
‌Gadd, D., Henderson, J., Radcliffe, P., Stephens-Lewis, D., Johnson, A. and Gilchrist, G.,
(2019). The dynamics of domestic abuse and drug and alcohol dependency. The British
Journal of Criminology, 59(5), pp.1035-1053.
Khosla, I., (2021). Book review: Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative
approaches.
‌Nash, K., Minhas, S., Metheny, N., Gokhale, K.M., Taylor, J., Bradbury-Jones, C.,
Bandyopadhyay, S., Nirantharakumar, K., Adderley, N.J. and Chandan, J.S., (2023).
Exposure to domestic abuse and the subsequent development of atopic disease in women.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
‌Office, H., (2021). Domestic Abuse Act 2021: overarching factsheet. [online] GOV.UK.
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-
factsheets/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-overarching-factsheet [Accessed 10 Nov. 2023].
Pandey, P. and Pandey, M.M., (2021). Research methodology tools and techniques. Bridge
Center.

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Pescosolido, B.A., Manago, B. and Monahan, J., (2019). Evolving public views on the
likelihood of violence from people with mental illness: stigma and its consequences. Health
Affairs, 38(10), pp.1735-1743.
Salter, M.B., Mutlu, C.E. and Frowd, P.M. eds., (2023). Research methods in critical security
studies: An introduction. Taylor & Francis.
Turner, E., Medina, J. and Brown, G., (2019). Dashing hopes? The predictive accuracy of
domestic abuse risk assessment by police. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(5),
pp.1013-1034.

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