annotated bibliography of new zealand research into family violence

towards a Masters in Public Health. Thirty women were interviewed from aphenomenological perspective and the resulting data was analysed from a feministperspective. This article examines negative mental health effects of domestic violence, whichinclude suicide, alcohol abuse, mental illness diagnoses, and learned helplessness. Six themesemerged from the research: abuse makes women think they are crazy; the impact of beinglabelled with a mental illness; services can reinforce and mimic the abuse women experience;women’s own stories are not always believed or are reinterpreted; abuse needs to be renamedby each woman to help them talk about their experiences; social expectations of marriage andrelationships complicate domestic violence. From the results and themes of the research, theauthor has produced a list of what women want, some general recommendations, andrecommendations to mental health services to improve how they work with women who havebeen abused. The author of this article concludes that abused women are very limited bywhere they can go for help. It is suggested that specialist refuge services are needed thatprovide safety and assistance with these women’s symptoms.Halsted, S., & Elder, D. E. (2001). Delays in the investigation of allegations of child sexual abuse inthe Wellington city district 1995-1996: A retrospective study [Electronic version]. The NewZealand Medical Journal, 114(1125), 33-35.See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/12990.pubTopic Areas: Child abuse and neglect, Sexual abuse, Children as victims, Justice, Health,Prevention/intervention/treatment, Demographics/statistics, Intersectoral collaborationAbstract: This article examines the length of time taken in the investigation of child sexualabuse after referral to the Serious Abuse Team (SAT). The data for this study involved aretrospective review of 123 sexual abuse complainants under 17 years of age who werereferred to the Wellington city SAT between January 1995 and December 1996. The resultsindicate a median duration of 47 days from the initial complaint through to the evidentialinterview stage. The time taken to investigate children under 5 years old was longer than theinvestigation for children aged 5 years and older. The results of the study also show thatMaori were over-represented in the sample of child sexual abuse complainants, and femaleswere more likely to be referred. Findings also highlight significant delays in the investigationof child sexual abuse in the Wellington city region.Hamlin, P., & Nation, G. (1997, October). Expert evidence in sexual abuse cases: New Zealand LawSociety Seminar. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Law Society.See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/13250.pubTopic Areas: Sexual abuse, Children, Perpetrators/offenders, Victims/survivors, Children asvictims, Justice, Legislation, Mental healthAbstract: This paper, presented at the New Zealand Law Society Seminar, October 1997,was written to assist lawyers with difficult sexual abuse cases, for example, cases where thecomplainant and the defendant are both convincing. It aims to provide information forlawyers who are investigating the legitimacy of a complainant’s allegations against thecomplainant’s memory of events. The authors explore the provision of evidence in relation tomedical and psychological evidence, s23(g) of the Evidence Act (1908), and memory inrelation to expert opinion. Prosecution and defence perspectives and expert knowledge, thatmay be beneficial to both parties, are presented. Also covered is information for the practicalapplication of this knowledge to assist in the proving of allegations. The authors suggest thatfuture trends in the area of expert evidence in sexual abuse cases are likely to see reforms inthe areas of admissibility and disclosure. The defence perspectives summary suggests that a78