Research about the factors that maintain situations of abuse has generally focused separately on the coping strategies of women, barriers to leaving the relationship and the perpetrators' means of abuse.
Using grounded theory we generated four themes: Commonalities and contradictions in the experience of abuse; living with abuse; the response of systems reinforced or challenged the abuse and dealing with abuse beyond the relationship.
These findings illustrate how situations of domestic abuse can be prolonged by limited options available to victims for support and protection, and a lack of active public acknowledgement that domestic abuse is unacceptable.
Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key words: Domestic abuse; domestic violence; …show more content…
FINDINGS The twelve participants all described the violence and abuse they had experienced and the analysis of their accounts identified four major themes: Commonalities and contradictions in the experience of abuse; how women lived with abuse; the response of systems reinforced or challenged the abuse; dealing with the abuse beyond the relationship.
Some participants believed that initial incidents of abuse and violence were isolated and that abuse would not be a frequent feature of their relationships.
Factors maintaining the relationship included the perpetrator's contrition, promises that the abuse would not happen again and, in some cases, denial that the abuse had occurred.
Participants outlined various kinds of abuse which included emotional abuse and intimidation, isolation from others, exerting financial control and making threats and acts of violence against participants, their children, families and pets.
Caitlin had been abused by her husband over a period of 30 years, and this abuse included financial control, isolation, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical violence and extramarital …show more content…
Reporting the abuse initially to the police or social services contributed to participants being further exposed to abuse and harassment from the perpetrator because the perpetrator was not effectively prevented from repeating the violence.
Reinforcing the abuse: Not recognizing that abuse is unacceptable.
Participants conveyed a sense that most people were not aware of domestic abuse and did not understand the needs of the needs of someone experiencing abuse: Most people say they don't know much about domestic violence... just get out of it, get a grip kind of thing.
The same agencies who were seen to be reinforcing the abuse could also be perceived as challenging the abuse when they took the victim's side; provided effective help and offered a common bond with women.
The identification of a staged process of moving from the abuse can perpetuate the view that the end of the abuse is contingent upon the 'inner resources' of individual women and independent of wider social or economic
Using grounded theory we generated four themes: Commonalities and contradictions in the experience of abuse; living with abuse; the response of systems reinforced or challenged the abuse and dealing with abuse beyond the relationship.
These findings illustrate how situations of domestic abuse can be prolonged by limited options available to victims for support and protection, and a lack of active public acknowledgement that domestic abuse is unacceptable.
Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key words: Domestic abuse; domestic violence; …show more content…
FINDINGS The twelve participants all described the violence and abuse they had experienced and the analysis of their accounts identified four major themes: Commonalities and contradictions in the experience of abuse; how women lived with abuse; the response of systems reinforced or challenged the abuse; dealing with the abuse beyond the relationship.
Some participants believed that initial incidents of abuse and violence were isolated and that abuse would not be a frequent feature of their relationships.
Factors maintaining the relationship included the perpetrator's contrition, promises that the abuse would not happen again and, in some cases, denial that the abuse had occurred.
Participants outlined various kinds of abuse which included emotional abuse and intimidation, isolation from others, exerting financial control and making threats and acts of violence against participants, their children, families and pets.
Caitlin had been abused by her husband over a period of 30 years, and this abuse included financial control, isolation, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical violence and extramarital …show more content…
Reporting the abuse initially to the police or social services contributed to participants being further exposed to abuse and harassment from the perpetrator because the perpetrator was not effectively prevented from repeating the violence.
Reinforcing the abuse: Not recognizing that abuse is unacceptable.
Participants conveyed a sense that most people were not aware of domestic abuse and did not understand the needs of the needs of someone experiencing abuse: Most people say they don't know much about domestic violence... just get out of it, get a grip kind of thing.
The same agencies who were seen to be reinforcing the abuse could also be perceived as challenging the abuse when they took the victim's side; provided effective help and offered a common bond with women.
The identification of a staged process of moving from the abuse can perpetuate the view that the end of the abuse is contingent upon the 'inner resources' of individual women and independent of wider social or economic