Women's experiences of violence and seeking help

Every day, women survive physical or sexual violence. Some survive as a result of services they receive in the aftermath of the abuse. The study presented here explored women's experiences of victimization and their use of and perceptions about the services they received. It is learned that what providers usually prioritize and what the women in this study used-namely emotional, psychological, and legal support-are not what these women identified as the most helpful. Instead, tangible supports, such as food, housing, and financial assistance, were viewed as the most helpful, along with religious or spiritual counseling.