Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study that draws upon a collaborative research strategy and has two main objectives: 1) Translating and adapting into French the Measure of Victim Empowerment Related to Safety (MOVERS scale) (Goodman et al. Psychology of Violence, 5(4), 355-366, 2015a); 2) Validating the French version of the MOVERS scale in a population of French-Canadian women receiving shelter services. The French-Canadian MOVERS (FCM) was administered to 189 women receiving shelter services in the province of Québec (Canada). The factorial structure, reliability and validity of the FCM were tested. This paper highlights that the FCM replicates the three dimensions found in the original version (Goodman et al. Psychology of Violence, 5(4), 355-366, 2015a), displays significant correlations with measures of depression, anxiety and stress, self-esteem, perceived social support, satisfaction with life and self-efficacy, and has overall good reliability estimates. The FCM is a valid and reliable scale to assess safety-related empowerment among women receiving shelter services. Furthermore, the scale provides interesting opportunities to shelter workers, which will be discussed in the paper.
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Notes
From here on out, this paper will focus on literature on abused women since our study draws upon data from domestic violence shelters who work with women.
For example, “Keep safe” better translates to “Ensure my safety” in French.
For example, “Resources and services” made more sense than “Community programs and services” since community organizations in the province of Québec usually don’t offer programs as they are mission-funded.
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The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Louise Lafortune (Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale) and Mylène Bigaouette (Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes).
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Côté, I., Gagnon, J., Lapierre, S. et al. Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Movers Scale in a French-Canadian Population. J Fam Viol 36, 871–883 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-020-00213-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-020-00213-w
Keywords
- Domestic violence
- Empowerment
- Safety
- Quantitative research
- Shelters