Citation

Velonis AJ, Daoud N, Matheson F, Woodhall-Melnik J, Hamilton-Wright S, O'Campo P. J. Interpers. Violence 2017; 32(21): 3321-3345.

Affiliation

St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260515598953

PMID

26303937

Abstract

Women in physically and psychologically abusive relationships face numerous decisions related to their safety: decisions that historically have been viewed by researchers and human service practitioners as related to individual or interpersonal factors, such as how they feel about their partner, what they (or those they are close to) think is best for their children, or whether they have a safe place to go to. Social and structural factors, such as poverty, sexism, and barriers related to disability, are either left out or viewed at their individual-level consequence, such as a woman's employment status. Using interview data and case studies from a larger study on housing instability, partner violence, and health, the authors apply ecological and macro-level theoretical models that go beyond the individual level to the stories of women who struggled with partner violence, arguing that it is critical to examine the large social and structural forces that impact women's lives if we are to understand the decisions women make when facing a violent partner.

Language: en