Background:

Violence against women (VAW) is a major public health problem in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2023 report, 23% of Australian women experienced violence by an intimate partner and 12.6% experienced sexual harassment in the past 12 months. Women living in regional, rural, and remote areas are more likely to experience VAW than metropolitan women. VAW commonly results in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is often a comorbid condition of depression and anxiety. The MINDS-W project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the group intervention of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for improving mental health in victims of violence against women living in regional and rural North Queensland.

Methods:

The presentation reports the qualitative findings of the study. More than 30 women participated in the eight-week MBSR intervention between January and July 2024. Qualitative data were collected in midway, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up discussions using a focus group format. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data.

Results:

Three themes emerged: Changes observed by the participants and their family members, what works well in the MBSR intervention, and the challenges experienced during the intervention. Observed changes included being calmer, more mindful and happier; and improved emotional regulation, pain management, and sleeping. The contributing factors of what worked well included group intervention, plenty of meditation options offered by the program, and home practice recordings. The challenges that the participants experienced included making time to attend class and home practice.

Conclusion:

The qualitative data analysis showed improvement in mental health among the participants with some challenges experienced by the participants. MBSR can be an effective group intervention for victims of violence against women.