Master of Arts (Applied Psychology)

This study explored the help-seeking behaviour of abused women in Singapore in terms of their preferred sources of help, possible barriers they faced in seeking help and their reasons for seeking help. Their help-seeking behaviour was examined across severity of physical and non-physical abuse, as well as their socio-demographic characteristics.

The results showed that majority of abused women preferred to seek help from their family/relatives and friends. A large proportion of women in this study also turned to the police for help, which is a positive sign for Singapore. More than half of the respondents had applied for a Protection Order as a way to seek help for the abuse. The central barriers to help seeking among abused women were self-sufficiency followed by stigma. While these barriers existed, they ultimately reached a decision to seek help when the impact of abuse became evident in their lives. This study showed that the severity of abuse might have an effect on abused women's help-seeking behaviour. However, due to the unequal proportion of respondents in each category, it is difficult to accurately conclude its effect on their help-seeking behaviour. Finally, differences in help-seeking behaviour can be observed across respondents with different socio-demographic characteristics.

The findings of this study provide useful insights into how abused women in Singapore seek help from various sources of help. The findings are also valuable for social workers and counsellors in their work with abused women, especially to help them stop the abuse and rebuild their lives.