Fractured Identity in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence: Barriers to and Opportunities for Seeking Help in Health Settings.
Intimate partner violence has profound effects on women's identities. However, detailed examination of how abuse affects identity is lacking. We interviewed 14 diverse women (Australia), applying social identity theory to analyze their experiences of identity and help-seeking in health settings. The destabilizing effect of violence on social identities was strongly supported. Women concealed abuse to preserve a public identity. However, when the violence threatened the most integrated identities, women unveiled an abuse identity, receiving mixed responses from health providers. A healing context where a woman can display an abuse identity safely is crucial to enable her to rebuild an integrated self-concept.
Coventry University, UK The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia lorna.odoherty@coventry.ac.uk.
Lorna Jane
LJ
O'Doherty
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Angela
A
Taft
The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Ruth
R
McNair
The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Kelsey
K
Hegarty
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D018585:Battered Women; D030881:Disclosure; D005260:Female; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012649:Self Concept; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012933:Social Identification; D057545:Social Stigma; D013179:Spouse Abuse; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence
help-seeking; identity; intimate partner violence