“You Can’t Look the Other Way”: Justice as “Recognition” for Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This study explores how (some) women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) conceptualize justice. The examination is part of a larger project and grounded in in-depth, one-on-one interviews with twelve women who have been in abusive relationships that are no longer intact. Building on socio-political, legal, and feminist-informed conceptions of justice, it finds the participants envisage justice socially, with it consisting of a multifaceted and dynamic interplay between several factors: constructive accountability, acknowledgment and validation, safety and social regard. The research finds that, despite how contemporary conceptions of justice position it via juridical pathways and law, the women prioritize to a large extent protective solutions throughout the social ecology, with recognition and redistribution being integral to achieving justice for IPV.