Critical Discourse Analysis of Trauma Bonding in Female Victims of Intimate Partner Abuse: A Phenomenological Constructivist Approach

Abstract

Purpose: Intimate partner abuse is a socially prevalent issue across cultures. Despite establishing survivor institutes and anti-domestic violence NGOs, the voices of battered women have not yet reached the legal governmental policies. Recent research on IPA indicates that women remain chained to the dangerously controlled and maintained relationship despite its social and psychological repercussions. Exitance of Intimate Partner Abuse has been seen through the lens of criminal activity. Therefore, the perpetuation of IPA is linked to the psychotic and criminal intentions of the perpetrator (Gibbs et al., 2018). Empirical evidence suggests that there is a dearth of data to highlight the female voice on the domestic violence issue. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research design focuses of critically deconstructing the labels, reinforces identities and professed believes mentioned in the article to identify the meaning and motive behind them. This study is built on the socio-cognitive approach to understand the cognitive link between the societal ideals and the way they shape the thought process of the victim in choosing their reaction towards abuse. Findings: The findings suggest that the co-existence of these contributing factors create trauma bonding in victims that forces them to stay in abusive relationships. Implications/Originality/Value: This study explores recently published newspaper articles on Domestic Violence portraying Intimate partner abuse to analyses discursive elements used to discuss the issue in the light of varying psychological, emotional and socioeconomical backgrounds.