Women's experience of leaving an abusive partner : a phenomenological inquiry
Date
1987
Authors
Armstrong, Morgan
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Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study is to build an understanding of women's experience of ending a relationship with a physically abusive partner. An experiential process of disengagement is emphasized with attention to critical incidents of leave-taking and the context in which these occur.
Data were collected in approximately seven hours of informal and unstructured interviews with each of three women who had been abused by their former partners. Data analysis, aimed at describing and exploring the meaning of critical incidents and emergent themes in each women's experience of leave-taking, is guided by methods established by Collaizi (l978), Spradley (l980) and van Manen (l984). Each woman's experience of decision-making, of separating and of recovery is described in her own words. Each story is woven around a single dominant theme which best describes the essence of her experience. The meaning each woman attributes to her experience is also explored. Experiences of the three women are compared and contrasted within a framework of decision-making.
Leave-taking is seen to be a complex process with numerous levels. Leaving occurs prior to a woman's ending her relationship and continues long after that event. Initially, none of the participants claimed to have made a decision to leave their partners. However, each woman had made several decisions about survival. All three women contrast images of life and death: freedom and bondage. Their choices were described in those terms. Future planning was not a part of the decision-process. Participants expressed past difficulty with decision-making, which can be partially attributed to depression.
Central themes in a process of disengagement revolved around the issues of "responsibility", "selfishness" and "hope." A shift was made from selfishness to self-interest, responsibility for her partner's behaviour to responsibility for self and/or children, and from hope for a better future to hopelessness about way. All three women the present continuing in the same spoke of the necessity of living in accordance with their values which they saw to be incompatible with their partner's. Religious beliefs were of significance for two of the participants.
Significant events of decision-making and leaving were seen to have a physical component. Participants described felt experiences of disengaging from their partners.
There were several critical incidents of leave-taking for each woman. One common critical incident involved having a sexual encounter with someone other than a partner. Another common theme was "fighting back" in a new and significant manner. These women gained a sense of personal power in discovering a capacity for physical aggression.
Implications are discussed for counsellors and for researchers of counselling.