Counteracting abuse and breaking free: The process of leaving revealed through women's voices
Abstract
In a feminist, grounded-theory study, we interviewed rural survivors of abusive relationships to discover a substantive theory to explain the process of leaving. The central process for survivors was reclaiming self. In this article, we discuss the initial stages of reclaiming self: counteracting abuse and breaking free. Our findings reveal that the abused women were not passive victims. From the beginning, they counteracted abuse by relinquishing parts of self, minimizing abuse, and fortifying their defenses. The work of counteracting abuse prepared the survivor for testing the exits in the process of breaking free. These findings support the view of abused women as survivors and clearly demonstrate the societal infrastructure required to support women's efforts to counteract abuse until they have acquired the strength and resources to leave. In addition, questions are raised about the roles of lay and professional helpers in facilitating and inhibiting the process of reclaiming self.
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Studies show that both formal and lay supporters may at times facilitate and at times inhibit the process of breaking free of abuse.
“Studies show that both formal and lay supporters may at times facilitate and at times inhibit the process of breaking free of abuse.25”
From Help‐seeking amongst women survivors of domestic violence: a qualitative study of pathways towards formal and informal support (2016) · cites this paper as [25]
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- Authors
- Merritt‐Gray, M., & Wuest, J.
- Affiliations
- University of New Brunswick (CA)
- ORCID
- Wuest, Judith
- Venue
- Health Care for Women International
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1995-09
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 399-412
- ISSN
- 0739-9332 (ISSN-L)
- 1096-4665
- OpenAlex
- W2013401320
- Cited by
- 194
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 4.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Care For Women International (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Demography › Elder Abuse and Neglect
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- intimate partner violence, leaving abusive relationships, women survivors, abuse survivors, rural women, defensive coping, survivor support
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Defense Mechanisms, Female, Humans, Models, Psychological, Rural Population, Self Concept, Spouse Abuse, Nursing Methodology Research, Spouses
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