Why do they Keep Going Back? Exploring Women's Discursive Experiences of Intimate Partner Abuse
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2013.02.6Keywords:
Intimate partner abuse, lesbian/bisexual/transgender, discourses, romantic love, psychologyAbstract
Abstract: This paper explores how different discourses of intimate partner abuse (IPA) may impact women's decisions to stay or leave their partners. More specifically, we ask: 1) what narratives are available to and used by heterosexual and non-heterosexual female survivors of IPA to make sense of their experiences? 2) How might these narratives impact women's ability, or lack thereof, to disengage from their abusive partners? Prior literature suggests that there are four possible discourses on which women may draw including psychological (victim and offender), gendered political, and the narrative of romantic love. Analysis of discussion forums from online social networking sites revealed that while each of these discourses are utilised by women, scripts of romantic love may provide the strongest motivation for accepting and maintaining an abusive relationship. In contrast, understanding the psychological motivations of their abusers may empower female survivors to extricate themselves from the violence.
References
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1023564404773
Ball, M., & Hayes, S. (2010). Same-sex intimate partner violence: Exploring the parameters. In B. Scherer (Ed.), Queering paradigms. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Bartholomew, K., & Allison, C.J. (2006). An attachment perspective on abusive dynamics in intimate relationships. In M. Mikulincer & G.S. Goodman (Eds.), Romantic love: Attachment caregiving, and sex. New York: Guilford Press.
Brown, J. (2011). Shame and domestic violence: Treatment perspective for perpetrators from self psychology and affect theory. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 19, 39-56.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681990410001640826
Campbell, J., Kub, J.E., & Rose, L. (1996). Depression in battered women. Journal of the American Women's Medical Association, 51, 106-110.
Coleman, V.E. (1994). Lesbian battering: The relationship between personality and the perpetration of violence. Violence and Victims, 9, 139-152.
Crime and Misconduct Commission. (2005). Policing domestic violence in Queensland. Brisbane: Crime and Misconduct Commission.
Craig, R.J. (2003). Use of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory in the psychological assessment of domestic violence: A review. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 8, 235-243.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(01)00058-1
Cranny-Francis, A., Waring, W., Stavropolous, P., & Kirby, J. (2003). Gender studies: terms and debates. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Craven, Z. (2003). Battered woman syndrome. Sydney: Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse.
Davis, K., & Taylor, B. (2002). Voices from the margins: Mapping the narratives of rural lesbian domestic violence. Sydney: University of Sydney.
Dean, M. (1994). Critical and effective histories: Foucault’s methods and historical sociology. London: Routledge
http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203414217
Dutton, D.G., & Corvo, K. (2006). Transforming a flawed policy: A call to revive psychology and science in domestic violence research and practice. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11, 457-483.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2006.01.007
Donovan, C., & Hester, M. (2010). I hate the word “victim”: An exploration of recognition of domestic violence in same sex relationships. Social Policy and Society, 9, 279-289.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1474746409990406
Douglas, H. (2008). The criminal law’s response to domestic violence: What’s going on? Sydney Law Review, 30, 439-469.
Douglas, H., & Stark, T. (2010). Stories from survivors: Domestic violence and criminal justice interventions. Brisbane: University of Queensland.
Dutton, D., & Painter, S. (1993). Emotional attachments in abusive relationships: A test of Traumatic Bonding Theory. Violence and Victims, 8, 105-120.
Epstein, D. (1999). Effective intervention in domestic violence cases: Rethinking the roles of prosecution, judges and the court system. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 11 (3), 3-50.
Evans, I. (2002). Picturesque falsehoods: An examination of romantic love, the press and domestic violence. Outskirts, 9, 1-17.
Flinck., A., Paavilainen, E., & Astedt-Kurki, P. (2005). Survival of intimate partner violence as experienced by woman. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 14, 383-393.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2004.01073.x
Foucault, M. (1982). The Subject and Power. In Faubion, J. (Eds.). Power: essential works of Foucault 1954-1984, volume 3. London: Penguin Books.
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. New York: Vintage Books.
Foucault, M. (1998). The will to knowledge: the history of sexuality volume 1. London: Penguin.
Fraser, H. (2005). Women, love, and intimacy ‘gone wrong’: Fire, wind and ice. Affilia, 20, 10-20.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886109904272094
Giorgio, G. (2002). Speaking silence: Definitional dialogues in abusive lesbian relationships. Violence Against Women, 8, 1233-1259.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/107780102320562709
Hayes, S. & M. Ball (2010). Queering cyberspace: Fan fiction communities as spaces for expressing and exploring sexuality. Scherer, B. (Eds.). Queering Paradigms. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Hayes, S., & Jeffries, S. (2011). Why do they keep going back? Exploring narratives on surviving lesbian intimate partner violence. Paper presented at the 3rd Biennial (First National) LGBTIQ Domestic Violence Conference, Sydney, 15 September.
Herbert, T.B., Silver, R.C., & Ellard, J. (1991). Coping with an abusive relationship: How and why do women stay? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 311-325.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/352901
Hockenberry, S.L. (1995). Dyadic violence, shame and narcissism. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 31, 301-315.
Hotten, J. (2009). The ‘utopian nightmare’: Key issues about lesbian domestic violence according to Brisbane domestic violence services. (unpublished Honours dissertation). Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.
Houskamp, B.M., & Foy, D.W. (1991). The assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 367-375.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626091006003008
Hunter, R. (2006). Narratives of domestic violence. Sydney Law Review, 28, 733-776.
Johnson, H., Ollus, N., & Nevala, S. (2006). Violence against Women: An International Perspective. London: Springer.
Johnson, R., Gilchrist, E., Beech, A.R., Weston, S., Takriti, R., & Freeman, R. (2006). The psychometric typology of U.K. Domestic Violence Offenders, 21, 1270-1285.
Karan, A., & Keating, L. (2007). The precursor to domestic violence. Judges’ Journal, Summer, 23-28.
Kemp, A., Rawlings, E.I., & Green, B.L. (1991). Post-traumatic stress disorder in battered women: A shelter sample. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 4, 137-148.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490040111
Laing, L., & Bobic, N. (2002). Economic costs of domestic violence. Sydney: Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse.
Launius, M.H., & Linquist, C.U. (1988). Learned helplessness, external locus of control, and passivity in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3, 307-318.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626088003003004
Leonard, W., A., Mitchell, M., Pitts., S., & Patel, S. (2008). Coming forward: The underreporting of heterosexist violence and same sex partner abuse in Victoria. Melbourne: Victoria Law Foundation.
Mason, G. (1997). Boundaries of sexuality: Lesbian experiences of feminist discourse on violence against women. Australian Gay and Lesbian Law Journal, 7, 41-59.
Merrill, G.S. (1996). Theoretical Perspectives – Ruling the Exceptions: Same-Sex Battering and Domestic Violence Theory. In Renzitti, C.M. & Miley, C.H. (Eds.). Violence in Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partnerships. Binghamton: Harrington Park Press.
Mouzos, J., & Makkai, T. (2004). Women’s Experiences of Male Violence: Findings from the Australian Component of the International Violence Against Women Survey. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Mugford, J. (1989). National Committee on Violence: Domestic Violence. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Olson, L.N. (2010). The role of voice in the (re)construction of a battered woman’s identity: An autoethnography of one woman’s experience of abuse. Women’s Studies in Communication, 27, 1-33.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2004.10162464
Patzel, B. (2006). What blocked heterosexual women and lesbians in leaving their abusive relationships. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurse Association, 12, 208-215.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1078390306294897
Pitts, M., Smith, A., Mitchell, A., & Patel, S. (2006). Private Lives: A Report on the Health and Wellbeing of GLBT Australians. Melbourne: Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society.
Power, C., Koch, T., Kralik, D., & Jackson, D. (2006). Lovestruck: Women, romantic love and intimate partner violence. Contemporary Nurse, 21, 174-185.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/conu.2006.21.2.174
Ptacek, J. (1999). Battered Women in the Courtroom: The Power of Judicial Responses. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Renzetti, Claire M. (1992). Violent Betrayal: Partner Abuse in Lesbian Relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Ristock, Janice L. (2002). No More Secrets: Violence in Lesbian Relationships. New York, NY: Routledge.
Rhodes, N.R., McKenzie, E.B. (1998). Why do battered women stay?: Three decades of research. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 3, 391-406.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(97)00025-6
Ryan, K.M., Weikel, K., & Sprechini, G. (2008). Gender differences in narcissism and courtship violence. Sex Roles, 58, 802-813.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9403-9
Seeley, J., & Plunkett, C. (2002). Women and Domestic Violence: Standards for Counselling Practice. Sydney: Salvation Army.
Strube, M.J., & Barbour, L.S. (1983). The decision to leave an abusive relationship: Economic dependence and psychological commitment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 785-963.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/351791
Van der Kolk, B.A. (1989). The compulsion to repeat trauma: Re-enactment, revictimisation, and masochism. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12, 389-411.
Walker, L.E. (1977). Battered women and learned helplessness. Victimology, 2, 525-534.
Wallace, P. (2007). How can she still love him?: Domestic violence and the stockholm syndrome. Community Practitioner, 80, 32-34.
Wood, J. T. (2001). The normalisation of violence in heterosexual romantic relationships: Women’s narratives of love and violence. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 239-261.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265407501182005
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1023564404773
Ball, M., & Hayes, S. (2010). Same-sex intimate partner violence: Exploring the parameters. In B. Scherer (Ed.), Queering paradigms. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Bartholomew, K., & Allison, C.J. (2006). An attachment perspective on abusive dynamics in intimate relationships. In M. Mikulincer & G.S. Goodman (Eds.), Romantic love: Attachment caregiving, and sex. New York: Guilford Press.
Brown, J. (2011). Shame and domestic violence: Treatment perspective for perpetrators from self psychology and affect theory. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 19, 39-56.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681990410001640826
Campbell, J., Kub, J.E., & Rose, L. (1996). Depression in battered women. Journal of the American Women's Medical Association, 51, 106-110.
Coleman, V.E. (1994). Lesbian battering: The relationship between personality and the perpetration of violence. Violence and Victims, 9, 139-152.
Crime and Misconduct Commission. (2005). Policing domestic violence in Queensland. Brisbane: Crime and Misconduct Commission.
Craig, R.J. (2003). Use of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory in the psychological assessment of domestic violence: A review. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 8, 235-243.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(01)00058-1
Cranny-Francis, A., Waring, W., Stavropolous, P., & Kirby, J. (2003). Gender studies: terms and debates. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Craven, Z. (2003). Battered woman syndrome. Sydney: Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse.
Davis, K., & Taylor, B. (2002). Voices from the margins: Mapping the narratives of rural lesbian domestic violence. Sydney: University of Sydney.
Dean, M. (1994). Critical and effective histories: Foucault’s methods and historical sociology. London: Routledge
http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203414217
Dutton, D.G., & Corvo, K. (2006). Transforming a flawed policy: A call to revive psychology and science in domestic violence research and practice. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11, 457-483.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2006.01.007
Donovan, C., & Hester, M. (2010). I hate the word “victim”: An exploration of recognition of domestic violence in same sex relationships. Social Policy and Society, 9, 279-289.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1474746409990406
Douglas, H. (2008). The criminal law’s response to domestic violence: What’s going on? Sydney Law Review, 30, 439-469.
Douglas, H., & Stark, T. (2010). Stories from survivors: Domestic violence and criminal justice interventions. Brisbane: University of Queensland.
Dutton, D., & Painter, S. (1993). Emotional attachments in abusive relationships: A test of Traumatic Bonding Theory. Violence and Victims, 8, 105-120.
Epstein, D. (1999). Effective intervention in domestic violence cases: Rethinking the roles of prosecution, judges and the court system. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 11 (3), 3-50.
Evans, I. (2002). Picturesque falsehoods: An examination of romantic love, the press and domestic violence. Outskirts, 9, 1-17.
Flinck., A., Paavilainen, E., & Astedt-Kurki, P. (2005). Survival of intimate partner violence as experienced by woman. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 14, 383-393.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2004.01073.x
Foucault, M. (1982). The Subject and Power. In Faubion, J. (Eds.). Power: essential works of Foucault 1954-1984, volume 3. London: Penguin Books.
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. New York: Vintage Books.
Foucault, M. (1998). The will to knowledge: the history of sexuality volume 1. London: Penguin.
Fraser, H. (2005). Women, love, and intimacy ‘gone wrong’: Fire, wind and ice. Affilia, 20, 10-20.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886109904272094
Giorgio, G. (2002). Speaking silence: Definitional dialogues in abusive lesbian relationships. Violence Against Women, 8, 1233-1259.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/107780102320562709
Hayes, S. & M. Ball (2010). Queering cyberspace: Fan fiction communities as spaces for expressing and exploring sexuality. Scherer, B. (Eds.). Queering Paradigms. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Hayes, S., & Jeffries, S. (2011). Why do they keep going back? Exploring narratives on surviving lesbian intimate partner violence. Paper presented at the 3rd Biennial (First National) LGBTIQ Domestic Violence Conference, Sydney, 15 September.
Herbert, T.B., Silver, R.C., & Ellard, J. (1991). Coping with an abusive relationship: How and why do women stay? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 311-325.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/352901
Hockenberry, S.L. (1995). Dyadic violence, shame and narcissism. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 31, 301-315.
Hotten, J. (2009). The ‘utopian nightmare’: Key issues about lesbian domestic violence according to Brisbane domestic violence services. (unpublished Honours dissertation). Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.
Houskamp, B.M., & Foy, D.W. (1991). The assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 367-375.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626091006003008
Hunter, R. (2006). Narratives of domestic violence. Sydney Law Review, 28, 733-776.
Johnson, H., Ollus, N., & Nevala, S. (2006). Violence against Women: An International Perspective. London: Springer.
Johnson, R., Gilchrist, E., Beech, A.R., Weston, S., Takriti, R., & Freeman, R. (2006). The psychometric typology of U.K. Domestic Violence Offenders, 21, 1270-1285.
Karan, A., & Keating, L. (2007). The precursor to domestic violence. Judges’ Journal, Summer, 23-28.
Kemp, A., Rawlings, E.I., & Green, B.L. (1991). Post-traumatic stress disorder in battered women: A shelter sample. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 4, 137-148.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490040111
Laing, L., & Bobic, N. (2002). Economic costs of domestic violence. Sydney: Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse.
Launius, M.H., & Linquist, C.U. (1988). Learned helplessness, external locus of control, and passivity in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3, 307-318.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626088003003004
Leonard, W., A., Mitchell, M., Pitts., S., & Patel, S. (2008). Coming forward: The underreporting of heterosexist violence and same sex partner abuse in Victoria. Melbourne: Victoria Law Foundation.
Mason, G. (1997). Boundaries of sexuality: Lesbian experiences of feminist discourse on violence against women. Australian Gay and Lesbian Law Journal, 7, 41-59.
Merrill, G.S. (1996). Theoretical Perspectives – Ruling the Exceptions: Same-Sex Battering and Domestic Violence Theory. In Renzitti, C.M. & Miley, C.H. (Eds.). Violence in Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partnerships. Binghamton: Harrington Park Press.
Mouzos, J., & Makkai, T. (2004). Women’s Experiences of Male Violence: Findings from the Australian Component of the International Violence Against Women Survey. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Mugford, J. (1989). National Committee on Violence: Domestic Violence. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Olson, L.N. (2010). The role of voice in the (re)construction of a battered woman’s identity: An autoethnography of one woman’s experience of abuse. Women’s Studies in Communication, 27, 1-33.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2004.10162464
Patzel, B. (2006). What blocked heterosexual women and lesbians in leaving their abusive relationships. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurse Association, 12, 208-215.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1078390306294897
Pitts, M., Smith, A., Mitchell, A., & Patel, S. (2006). Private Lives: A Report on the Health and Wellbeing of GLBT Australians. Melbourne: Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society.
Power, C., Koch, T., Kralik, D., & Jackson, D. (2006). Lovestruck: Women, romantic love and intimate partner violence. Contemporary Nurse, 21, 174-185.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/conu.2006.21.2.174
Ptacek, J. (1999). Battered Women in the Courtroom: The Power of Judicial Responses. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Renzetti, Claire M. (1992). Violent Betrayal: Partner Abuse in Lesbian Relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Ristock, Janice L. (2002). No More Secrets: Violence in Lesbian Relationships. New York, NY: Routledge.
Rhodes, N.R., McKenzie, E.B. (1998). Why do battered women stay?: Three decades of research. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 3, 391-406.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(97)00025-6
Ryan, K.M., Weikel, K., & Sprechini, G. (2008). Gender differences in narcissism and courtship violence. Sex Roles, 58, 802-813.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9403-9
Seeley, J., & Plunkett, C. (2002). Women and Domestic Violence: Standards for Counselling Practice. Sydney: Salvation Army.
Strube, M.J., & Barbour, L.S. (1983). The decision to leave an abusive relationship: Economic dependence and psychological commitment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 785-963.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/351791
Van der Kolk, B.A. (1989). The compulsion to repeat trauma: Re-enactment, revictimisation, and masochism. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12, 389-411.
Walker, L.E. (1977). Battered women and learned helplessness. Victimology, 2, 525-534.
Wallace, P. (2007). How can she still love him?: Domestic violence and the stockholm syndrome. Community Practitioner, 80, 32-34.
Wood, J. T. (2001). The normalisation of violence in heterosexual romantic relationships: Women’s narratives of love and violence. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 239-261.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265407501182005
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2013-04-17
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Hayes, S., & Jeffries, S. (2013). Why do they Keep Going Back? Exploring Women’s Discursive Experiences of Intimate Partner Abuse. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2, 57–71. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2013.02.6
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