Continuous traumatic stress: examining the experiences and support needs of women after separation from an abusive partner

Hulley, J; Wager, K; Gomersall, T; Bailey, LJ; Kirkman, G; Gibbs, G; Jones, AD

Abstract

Intimate partner violence causes significant, long-lasting harm to almost one-third (27%) of the world’s population of women. Even when women leave abusive relationships, some men continue to exercise control over their ex-partners through psychological control, threats, violence, stalking, and other forms of harassment. In this qualitative study, 52 purposively sampled women who self-identified as victims or survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) from male partners were interviewed. Data were analyzed with a theoretically informed thematic analysis, supported by Nvivo® software. We found that leaving a violent relationship was a long-term process fraught with difficulty and ongoing risks of psychological harm. The concept of Continuous Traumatic Stress (CTS), first developed to understand the impact of state-sponsored violence and war, was found to be a particularly useful tool for the analysis of the impact of post-separation abuse. Additionally, CTS encourages researchers and practitioners to think anew about resilience-centered approaches to improving protection and access to justice for female victims.

Citation

Hulley, J., Wager, K., Gomersall, T., Bailey, L., Kirkman, G., Gibbs, G., & Jones, A. (2022). Continuous traumatic stress: examining the experiences and support needs of women after separation from an abusive partner. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221132776

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Nov 13, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 13, 2022
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 7, 2022
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence
• Print ISSN: 0886-2605
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-6518
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221132776
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221132776
• Additional Information: Funders : Global Challenges Research Fund; Projects : AH/P014240/1