Citation

Argyroudi A, Flora K. J. Interpers. Violence 2018; ePub(ePub): 886260518819877.

Affiliation

Neapolis University Pafos, Cyprus.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260518819877

PMID

30574828

Abstract

The present study refers to the meaning attributed to intimate partner violence by counselors supporting women who have experienced abuse and seek for help. The main focus of the study is the investigation of the effect of the counselors' work experience in changing the meaning of intimate partner violence. The research involved 10 counselors working in social services (counseling centers and shelter services), in Greece, who support women who have suffered intimate partner violence in their relationships. The research data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and their analysis followed the interpretative phenomenological method. The qualitative analysis of the interviews showed that the counselors' work experience broadens the meaning of intimate partner violence. The broadened definition of intimate partner violence seems to affect simultaneously the counselors' sense of (their) vulnerability to violence.

Language: en

Keywords

battered women; counseling; intimate partner violence