Patterns of help-seeking among women experiencing intimate partner violence in Malaysia

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is not a new phenomenon and has consequences for women's well-being. Experiencing IPV is considered very stressful and the women who experience it struggle to survive emotional, physical and sexual violence. The purpose of this study is to identify the pattern of help-seeking by women who have experienced intimate partner violence and their level of satisfaction with the help they receive. Furthermore, this study has also explored the reasons that influence women's decisions on whether or not to seek help. A cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2009 and May 2010 among 316 women who experience IPV and seek help from women's non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Malaysia. They were interviewed using the translated and validated WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Life Experiences Questionnaire. In addition, the data was analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 software. Chi-square tests were used to determine associations between severity of violence and help-seeking behavior. From the study, it is known that a majority of the abused women sought help from both formal and informal resources. The results suggest that more interventions are needed to help women recognise and deal with IPV as well as strengthen the support networks available for abused women.