Clare’s Research

by Clare Murphy PhD

Clare Murphy’s PhD Research: 2009

The title of Clare Murphy’s PhD thesis: Men’s Intimate Partner Abuse and Control: Reconciling paradoxical masculinities and social contradictions.
Clare conducted two rounds of qualitative in-depth interviews with 16 men of white European ancestry born and educated in New Zealand or Australia, who admitted to being physically violent and/or emotionally, intellectually, sexually or financially controlling of a live-in female partner. This research was guided by two theories compatible with contemporary feminisms, namely Raewyn Connell’s theory of masculinities and Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory. These theories enabled an exploration of the complexities of each individual man, of men as a collective and of the influences from multiple contexts outside the family.

Clare Murphy’s Masters Research: 2002

The title of Clare Murphy’s Masters thesis is: Women Coping with Psychological Abuse: Surviving in the Secret World of Male Partner Power and Control.
Clare conducted two rounds of qualitative in-depth interviews with 12 women of white European ancestry who were living in New Zealand. All the women had experienced psychological abuse, independent of physical violence, by their male live-in partner. To qualify for the research the women had to have been out of their relationship for more than one year. This research explored the contradictory social influences on women and the complex multitudinous strategies women used to cope and make sense of the abuse. A copy of this thesis can be downloaded from the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse: http://www.nzfvc.org.nz/PublicationDetails.aspx?publication=13113

Articles that cite Clare Murphy’s Masters research:

  1. Hann, Sheryl. (2007). Power and control in family violence. Social Work Now, September, 17-25. Retrieved October, 2008, from http://www.cyf.govt.nz/documents/swn37.pdf
  2. Hart, Sarah. (n.d.). “She’s crazy!” … But who says she’s crazy? The effects of psychological abuse on women in Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 24 January, 2009, from http://www.homeworkstrust.org.nz/Crazy.pdf
  3. Hart, Sarah. (n.d.). The Rape of Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1-19): Through the hermeneutical lens of Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 24 January, 2009, from http://www.wsrt.net.au/seachanges/volume4/html/hart.html

University of Auckland Research Assistant: 2003-2004

The project: World Health Organisation Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences.
Principal Investigator: Janet Fanslow PhD, School of Population Health, University of Auckland.
Clare’s Roles: Face-to-face interviews with the women and Supervised the other interviewers. Supervision involved quality checking use of random sampling in the field, sitting in on interviews to monitor consistency of interview technique, detailed checking for mistakes in hand-written responses in questionnaires, detailed checking of computer data entries and collating data ready for analysis.
This study: was the biggest of its kind in New Zealand to gauge the lifetime prevalence of physical and sexual abuse against women – especially intimate partner abuse.

Articles detailing the New Zealand WHO research findings:

  1. Fanslow, Janet. (2004). Responding to partner abuse: understanding its consequences, and recognising the global and historical context. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 117(1202), 1-4.
  2. Fanslow, Janet & Robinson, Elizabeth. (2004). Violence against women in New Zealand: Prevalence and health consequences. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 117(1206), 1-12.
  3. Fanslow, Janet, Robinson, Elizabeth, Crengle, Sue & Perese, Lana. (2007). Prevalence of child sexual abuse reported by a cross-sectional sample of New Zealand women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31, 935-945.
  4. Fanslow, Janet, Silva, Martha, Robinson, Elizabeth & Whitehead, Anna. (2008). Violence during pregnancy: Associations with pregnancy intendedness, pregnancy-related care, and alcohol and tobacco use among a representative sample of New Zealand women. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 48, 398-404.
  5. Fanslow, Janet, Silva, Martha, Whitehead, Anna & Robinson, Elizabeth. (2008). Pregnancy outcomes and intimate partner violence in New Zealand. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 48, 391-397.
  6. Fanslow, Janet, Whitehead, Anna, Silva, Martha & Robinson, Elizabeth. (2008). Contraceptive use and associations with intimate partner violence among a population-based sample of New Zealand women. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 48, 83-89.
  7. World Health Organization. (2005). WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women: New Zealand. Retrieved 19 June, 2008, from http://www.who.int/gender/violence/who_multicountry_study/fact_sheets/New%20Zealand2.pdf

Queensland University of Technology Research Assistant: 2006-2007

The Project: Autopsy Decision Making in Queensland.
Principal Investigator: Associate Professor Belinda Carpenter, School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Clare’s roles: Part of a team reading autopsy reports and police reports at the scene of a death. Literature searches.
Purpose: Unpack the decision making process between magistrates, police and pathologists as it was deemed too many unnecessary autopsies were being performed.

To find out more about Clare and this SpeakOutLoud website click on the following:

About this SpeakOutLoud website
Clare’s story
Clare’s qualifications
Clare’s philosophy
How Clare could help you
Clare’s work as a trainer, speaker – domestic violence
Clare’s work as a counsellor and coach
Testimonials
Contact Clare
This page last updated 25 November 2009