title: "I Didn't Know Whether I Was Right or Wrong or Just Bewildered": Ambiguity, Responsibility, and Silencing Women's Talk of Men's Domestic Violence.
abstract: Little has been written about the impact on women of the man's obscuring and deflecting of responsibility when domestic violence is used by him against her. Women's advocates report that women who seek shelter from domestic violence assume blame for the violence and struggle to shift from this position of responsibility. Women are likely to be silenced if they assume responsibility and are less likely to come forward. In this study, we use discourse analysis to describe the ambiguities around responsibility that worked to silence 20 women and the sociocultural influences that supported this ambiguity. We discuss the implications for prevention.
authors.affiliation: Honorary Academic, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand atowns@pl.net.
authors.forename: Alison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Towns
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: blame; domestic violence; intimate partner violence; prevention; responsibility