by PsySSA-Web Support | Oct 10, 2019 | Uncategorized
Genevieve Burrow, PsySSA Student Division
South Africa has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence (GBV). Local reports indicate that one in five women are physically and/or sexually abused, although this figure rises to one in three in poorer-income homes (Aitken and Munro, 2018. However, these figures are likely much higher as many cases are not reported. Women who experience mental health challenges as a result of GBV are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or completed suicide (Aitken and Munro, 2018).
GBV refers to psychological, physical or sexual harm committed against an individual against their will. GBV stems from societies or environments that promote gender inequality, where masculinity is perceived as superior to femininity, and where patriarchy is encouraged.There are a multitude of mental health conditions that may affect abused women, including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder (Mngoma, Fergus, Jeeves and Jolly, 2016). These conditions significantly increase the risk of attempted or completed suicide amongst women. Studies have shown that psychological violence is as detrimental to mental health as other forms of violence, thus equally increasing the prediction of PTSD mental health disorders (Lagdon, Armour and Stringer, 2014).
Several organisations offer support and counselling for women who have been affected by GBV. The South African Government provides the following resources:
People Opposed to Woman Abuse (POWA)
Powa provides counselling, both over the phone and in person, temporary shelter for and legal help to women who have experienced violence.
Families South Africa (FAMSA)
Famsa provides counselling and education to help improve marriages and families. It helps in cases of domestic violence and trauma, divorces and mediation. There are 27 offices across the country.
The Trauma Centre
The Trauma Centre provides trauma counselling and violence prevention services for people affected by violence
Thuthuzela Care Centres
Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) are one-stop facilities that have been introduced as a critical part of South Africa’s anti-rape strategy, aiming to reduce secondary victimisation and to build a case ready for successful prosecution. The website also provides access to information on gender-based violence.
References:
- Aitken, R. and Munro, V. (2018). Domestic abuse and suicide: Exploring the links with Refuge’s client base and work force. [online] Refuge.org.uk. Available at: https://www.refuge.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/domestic-abuse-suicide-refuge-warwick-july2018.pdf (accessed on 6 October 2019).
- Gov.za. (2019). Where can I find an organisation that offers assistance to victims of violence? | South African Government. Available at: https://www.gov.za/faq/justice-and-crime-prevention/where-can-i-find-organisation-offers-assistance-victims-violence (accessed on 9 October 2019).
- Lagdon, S., Armour, C. and Stringer, M. (2014). Adult experience of mental health outcomes as a result of intimate partner violence victimisation: a systematic review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. Available at: http://Adult experience of mental health outcomes as a result of intimate partner violence victimisation: a systematic review (accessed on 7 October 2019).
- Mngoma, N., Fergus, S., Jeeves, A. and Jolly, R. (2016). Psychosocial risk and protective factors associated with perpetration of gender-based violence in a community sample of men in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. South African Medical Journal. Available at: http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/11600/7748 (accessed on 6 October 2019).
- Parekh, R. (2017). American Psychiatric Association. Psychiatry.org. Available at: https://www.psychiatry.org/ (accessed 8 October 2019).
by PsySSA-Web Support | Oct 10, 2019 | Uncategorized
The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) joins the various mental health organisations around the world in commemorating World Mental Health Day on Thursday 10 October. With the multiple sources of stress, trauma and vulnerabilities in South Africa and our continent, we are acutely aware of the mental health issues affecting our communities.
The theme for World Mental Health Day 2019 is ‘Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention’. We believe that these two facets form the fundamental pillars in mental health care, and that public health approaches must strive towards reaching these crucial goals. To this end we must use every opportunity to promote positive mental health and reduce stigma. It is also critical that we seek to reduce, discourage, and ultimately prevent all forms of self-harm, suicide ideation and self-destructive behaviours. The inclusion of mental health topics in school curricula is important. The more we help children develop a basic knowledge of mental health problems and services, the more likely they will be to access resources should they or significant others require help at a later stage.
As professional organisations and civil society we must seek to use every social space, group and interpersonal context to spread these messages, while alerting the public to mental health problems, their treatability and the various mental health care services and resources that are available. PsySSA encourages discourse and the dissemination of mental health information in schools, tertiary education facilities, work environments, religious and civic groups, and all possible gatherings – because nobody is immune to mental health problems.
The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA)
Johannesburg
by PsySSA-Web Support | Oct 7, 2019 | Uncategorized
It is with great sadness that the psychology fraternity announces the sudden passing of Professor Deon Meiring on Friday 4 October 2019. Deon was humble with a generous demeanor, impacting our profession and the lives of many through knowledge contribution, supervision and leadership. Professor Meiring will be sadly missed by the psychology community and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, Ilse and his daughters, Chloe and Kylie. Please share your condolences or stories: memorial page https://www.remembr.com/en/deon.meiring
A Memorial Service for the late Professor Deon Meiring will be held on 11 October (Friday) at 10:30am in the Kerksondermure, Hippo Avenue &, Hendrik Verwoerd Dr, Centurion Central, Centurion, 0157
by PsySSA-Web Support | Oct 7, 2019 | Uncategorized
by PsySSA-Web Support | Oct 7, 2019 | Uncategorized
It is with utter sadness that PsySSA announces the sudden passing of yet another of its great leaders, Mirah Wilks.
The victim of a violent crime that took place at home, Mirah’s untimely death during the morning of Sunday, 6 October 2019, has left us with a deep sense of loss. Mirah was known to a great many of her colleagues in the psychology fraternity, and the communities she served with distinction, as someone who in the Jewish culture is referred to as “a mensch”. It is probably one of the greatest honours to be called a mench: A good soul; a person with integrity and honour; kind and considerate; someone who always treats others with the utmost respect and dignity; someone who is admired and emulated. Indeed, Mirah was well respected and much loved and these memories of her will stay with us. Mirah’s early professional life was in Fine Arts, Architecture and Education. In her own words, her second career in Psychology provided her “… with a life filled with appreciation for human talent, intellectual curiosity and resilience”. Mirah was in private practice for 12 years as a HPCSA Registered Counsellor. She served in PsySSA as Chair of the Registered Counsellors & Psychometry Division for many years. A PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Africa, Mirah’s research was on the phenomenon of resilience as a means of adaptation, survival and thriving in life. At the time of her passing Mirah was on the verge of embarking on her fieldwork. Her study promised to make a seminal contribution to the lives of many, especially in the LGBTIQA+ community. In the letter in which she introduced herself to prospective participants, she starts off with: “Everyone has a story.” She writes that during her lifetime, she was often the identified ‘outsider’, among others, as an immigrant to South Africa to avoid war in another country; due to her religion; and as a survivor of childhood polio and adult kidney cancer. She later continues: “I have often wondered how I survived, rebounded and found new pathways to health. What was the source of my ability to regenerate? Where was my source of hope and positivity? … Did my attitude on life and my personality have anything to do with my experiences of resilience in adversity?” And hopeful and positive, she was. Always…
Our thoughts are with her family and friends and, in particular, her husband, Frank, and two children, Tarryn and Brett, and grandchildren, Shaina and Leo. A funeral service will be held today, 7 October 2019, at 16.00 at Westpark, Jewish Cemetery (entrance is at the corner of Montpark and West Park Road, Montgomery Park).
On behalf of PsySSA & Division of Registered Counsellors and Psychometrists (RCP)
