Women's Experiences of Engaging in Intimate Partner Violence in Heterosexual Relationships: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

摘要

Historically, intimate partner violence (IPV) has been conceptualised as a genderedudproblem of men’s violence towards women, based on a model of male patriarchy.udWithin this paradigm, ‘victims’ are considered female, and ‘perpetrators’ male. Despiteudthe growing body of research challenging this perspective and suggesting more parityudbetween men and women in their propensity for violence, UK services and treatmentudprogrammes continue to be influenced by the gender paradigm, thus neglecting men andudwomen whose experiences do not fit this dominant discourse.udThe current study aimed to give voice to women who have been abusive and violentudtowards male partners, to learn more about their subjective experiences. Interviews wereudconducted with seven women. Transcripts were analysed using InterpretativeudPhenomenological Analysis, underpinned by a phenomenological hermeneuticudepistemology. Three themes were developed; the women foregrounded past abusiveudtraumatic experiences in their accounts, and the way they repeated, replayed, and reenactedudthese is illustrated in ‘Repeating the Past’. ‘From Pain to Violence’ capturesudhow their rage and violent behaviour appeared to be a complex manifestation of theseudearlier unresolved experiences. ‘Disconnecting’ illustrates the way they disconnectedudfrom their experiences, and experienced breakdowns in social connection.udThe findings highlight the need for practitioners working with IPV to provideudmultidimensional, relational approaches to treatment, in which the therapeuticudrelationship is carefully considered. Individualised clinical interventions that developudemotional, psychological, and neurobiological capacities may be beneficial. The studyudadvocates the need for practitioners to be aware of, and open to challengingudassumptions about intimate partner violence, thus reflective practice and supervision isudfundamental.