Women survivors of intimate partner violence: the difficult transition to independence^*

Mujeres supervivientes de la violencia ejercida por sus parejas: la difícil transición hacia la autonomía

Objective

To understand the trajectories that women go through from entering into to leaving relationships involving intimate partner violence (IPV), and identify the stages of the transition process.

Method

We utilized a constructivist paradigm based on grounded theory. We ensured that the ethical guidelines of the World Health Organization for research on domestic violence were followed. The analysis focused on narratives of 28 women survivors of IPV, obtained from in-depth interviews.

Results

The results showed that the trajectories experienced by women were marked by gender issues, (self) silencing, hope and suffering, which continued after the end of the IPV.

Conclusion

The transition process consists of four stages: entry - falls in love and becomes trapped; maintenance - silences own self, consents and remains in the relationship; decides to leave - faces the problems and struggles to be rescued; (re) balance - (re) finds herself with a new life. This (long) process was developed by wanting (and being able to have) self-determination.

Violence against women; Spouses; Women’s health; Gender and health; Nursing care