Violence Against Women with Mental Illness and Social Norms and Beliefs: Nursing Professional Perspective

Violence against women is a priority public health issue globally and women with mental illness are at double disadvantage. While social norms and beliefs play a critical role in influencing violence among women, limited or no research is available from India. To explore nurses and nursing students' views on social norms and beliefs that support Violence against women with mental illness. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out among randomly selected registered nurses and nursing students (N = 209) using self-reported questionnaires. Majority of the participants confronted norms (76.7%) and situations that justify (67.7%) abuse among women with mental illness. Nurses reported more negative attitudes than nursing students with regard to norms and beliefs (t = - 2.714, p < 0.007) and justifiability of abuse (t = - 3.089, p < 0.002). The findings suggest suitable academic programs to extinguish the prevailing cultural beliefs that support abuse in women with mental illness.