@article{ref1,
title="Psychosocial separation and women's disengagement from prosecutions against abusive intimate partners in Spain",
journal="Journal of interpersonal violence",
year="2020",
author="Garcia-Jimenez, Maria and Durfee, Alesha and Cala-Carrillo, María Jesús and Trigo, M. Eva",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="In order to end and &quot;liberate&quot; themselves from an abusive relationship, female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) usually face a complex process. Although women may decide to seek help through the criminal justice system, some  refuse to participate in legal proceedings against their abusers. While many studies  have focused on exploring variables explaining disengagement from legal proceedings,  the aim of this article is to study the impact of the process of liberation from an  abusive relationship on the likelihood of disengagement (LoD) from legal  proceedings. Liberation was measured through the psychosocial separation overall  score and the LoD was predicted by a logistic regression model developed in a  previous study in Spain. A sample of 80 women involved in legal proceedings for IPV  against their ex-partners in Andalusia (Spain) participated in this study. Exploratory analyses were conducted using ANOVA and Chi-square; multiple linear  regression analyses were used to study the relationship between psychosocial  separation and LoD. <br><br>RESULTS showed that victims who had higher psychosocial  separation from their abusers were less likely to disengage from legal proceedings  against the abuser. We discuss the results in terms of practical implications like  detection of women's need for specific psychological support to ease a comprehensive  recovery. Training programs for legal professionals and judges in the judicial arena  should use the results of this study to increase professionals' understanding of IPV  and survivors' decision-making processes. This would lead to a decrease in  survivors' secondary victimization, as well as decrease the frustration of legal  professionals when victims disengage from legal proceedings.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0886-2605",
doi="10.1177/0886260520984424",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886260520984424"
}