The social construction of intimate partner violence and abuse

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a worldwide social issue perpetrated by intimate male partners against their wives. Studies on IPV have generated accurate comparative information since the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women to guide strategy and track progress in attempts to comprehend the IPV issues. In many attempts to understand violence against women, the social construction of IPV was not well documented in the literature. This article aims to explore IPV survivors’ social construction of IPV by analyzing the experiential narratives of IPV survivors. To address the objective, this article used the phenomenological approach by examining the lived experiences of 15 IPV survivors. Our study finds that IPV made IPV survivors empowered, and with this social construction, survivors were able to overcome violence perpetrated by their intimate partners. The findings further proved that giving preferential attention to the needs of IPV victims could lead to victim empowerment, a factor needed in the elimination of violence against women and children in all forms. It is suggested for any intervention activities to (a) ultimately address the empowerment of individuals and (b) respond to the needs of individuals because what may work for one victim may not work for another.

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The Social Construction of Roles in Intimate Partner Violence: Is the Victim/Perpetrator Model the only Viable one?

Journal of Family Violence ◽

10.1007/s10896-016-9879-y ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 31 (8) ◽

pp. 995-998 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zvi Eisikovits ◽

Benjamin Bailey

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Social Construction ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

The Social

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“When we talk about intimate partner violence we talk in an adult way” – Social workers’ descriptions of intimate partner violence between teenagers

Qualitative Social Work ◽

10.1177/14733250211002890 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 147332502110028

Author(s):

Emmy Högström Tagesson ◽

Carina Gallo

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Social Workers ◽

Social Services ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Treatment Quality ◽

Age And Gender ◽

The Social ◽

And Gender

This article examines how seven social workers within the Swedish social services describe intimate partner violence between teenagers (IPV-BT). The article adds to the literature by examining IPV-BT outside a U.S. context, where most studies have been conducted. Based on semistructured qualitative interviews, the authors analyze descriptions of IPV-BT in relation to Charles Tilly’s notion of category making through transfer, encounter, negotiation, and imposition. They also analyze how the social workers’ descriptions of IPV-BT relate to the intersection between age and gender. The results show that the social workers mostly described IPV-BT by referring to encounters with teenagers and by transferring knowledge and theoretical definitions from their specialized working areas, primarily intimate partner violence between adults (IPV-BA) and troubled youth. More rarely, the social workers based their definitions of IPV-BT upon negotiating dialogues with teenagers. Also, those who worked in teams specialized on IPV had the mandate to impose their definitions of IPV-BT to other professionals and teenagers. When taking age and gender hierarchies in consideration, the results show IPV-BT risks being subordinate IPV-BA on a theoretical level, a practical level and in terms of treatment quality. The study suggests that social work with IPV-BT needs to be sensitive to the double subordinations of the teenage girl and of the teenagers who do not follow gender expectations.

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COVID-19 and Romantic Relationships

Encyclopedia ◽

10.3390/encyclopedia1040079 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 1038-1046

Author(s):

Octav-Sorin Candel ◽

Mihaela Jitaru

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Romantic Relationships ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Well Being ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Human Interaction ◽

The Other ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

The Social ◽

Emotional Safety

Since the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted most people’s activities and relationships. Romantic relationships are a crucial source of fulfillment and emotional safety for many individuals. However, due to the risk of illness and the social distancing norms, human interaction, even inside one’s couple or family, suffered great changes. Some of these changes have the potential of disrupting people’s relational or psychological well-being, but they can also have positive impacts. On the other hand, one of the most negative consequences is the growing number of intimate partner violence (IPV) incidents. Considering all these aspects, therapy would be beneficial for those affected.

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“Whose Fault Is It?” How Rural Chinese Women Explain Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Study

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.711819 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Fengsu Hou ◽

Catherine Cerulli ◽

Marsha N. Wittink ◽

Eric D. Caine ◽

Peiyuan Qiu

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Ecological Model ◽

Migrant Worker ◽

Chinese Women ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Social Characteristics ◽

The Social

Women are often the victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Though China has established its first statute against domestic violence, the service developments for victims fall behind. It is important to assess community members' perceptions of what causes IPV to create interventions to prevent and address IPV. This study completed the Short Explanatory Model Interview (SEMI) among a subset sample from a large epidemiology study in rural Sichuan China. The social ecological model was applied to analyze qualitative interviews. Among 339 participants, the average age was 46.01 ± 12.42 years old. There were 31.86% of them had been educated, 14.75% of them had migrant worker partners, and 49.26% of them had experienced violence from their partners in the last year. There were 252 participants attributed IPV to individual factors, and they primarily discussed the social characteristics, behaviors, personalities or even health problems of the husband or the wife in the vignette. Under this theme, there were 86 participants blaming the victim for being anxious, social disconnectedness or lazy; and there were 166 participants blaming to the perpetrator being abusive, irresponsibility, lack of understanding, and cheating. There were 44 women believed the cause was relational, in which there were 41 participants attributed the problem to the broken relationship between the couple and three participants attributed to the lack of support. There were 28 participants believed the cause was communal and societal, such as being poor, family problems, fate, and believed IPV was a common scene. There were 15 participants could not identify the cause of IPV. These participants usually provided very brief responses and barely had insight on violent behaviors or confidence in discussing the cause. Our findings offer a direction for understanding the rural Chinese women's beliefs about the etiology of IPV to better develop interventions which must consider raising a public awareness campaign about the risk factors of IPV and focus on reducing self-blame among victims.

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Undermining Transgender Survivors

Transgender Intimate Partner Violence ◽

10.18574/nyu/9781479830428.003.0003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 62-88

Author(s):

Amanda Koontz

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Social Context ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Identity Work ◽

Transgender People ◽

Transgender Identity ◽

Gender Binary ◽

The Social ◽

Almost All

This chapter examines the theoretical underpinnings as to how transgender people experience intimate partner violence, in a social context dominated by romantic love ideals and the gender binary. It examines how abusers manipulate transgender-specific insecurities and discredit identities through controlling gender transitions and other aspects of transgender identity construction. The processes of identity work—that is, constructing oneself as an image in relation to one's self-concept and perceptions of others’ reactions—influence almost all realms of life. Given the social context and distinct experiences corresponding with transitions, this chapter explores transgender peoples’ identity work as a potential site for identity abuse, identifying two altercasting strategies of retroverting (reinforcing past, undesired identities) and maneuverting (making desired identities unachievable by holding idealized traits and props over victims). In so doing, this chapter also considers ways in which discrediting identity work offers insight into “why victims stay” in abusive relationships within the context of transgender intimate partner violence.

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Social Determinants of Married Women’s Attitudinal Acceptance of Intimate Partner Violence

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260515597436 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 32 (21) ◽

pp. 3226-3244 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Syeda S. Jesmin

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Social Determinants ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Population Based ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Wife Beating ◽

Future Research ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Social ◽

Secondary Population

Informed by the social determinants of health (SDH) framework, this study examined whether women’s attitudinal acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV) varies according to material circumstances, such as characteristics of their communities. Data were obtained from the sixth Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys (BDHS) of 2011, a cross-sectional and secondary population-based study that covers the entire population residing in noninstitutional dwelling units in Bangladesh. The sample included 16,480 married women living in 600 communities who were 15 to 49 years old. Results showed that community characteristics were significantly associated with married women’s attitudes toward IPV. The associations, however, were considerably more complicated than previously thought. Community poverty and wife beating justification were inversely related, such that regardless of their socioeconomic status (SES), living in poorer communities increased women’s likelihood of condemning IPV ( p < .001). Also, unexpectedly, as illiteracy increased in the community, women’s likelihood of viewing IPV as justified decreased ( p < .01). Living in communities with strong patriarchal norms was associated with greater tolerance for IPV ( p < .001). Use of the SDH framework in this study provided empirical evidence of the importance of social determinants in determining risk for attitudinal acceptance of IPV among women, which can be targeted for future research and intervention.

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