The Latina Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence in the Rio Grande Valley

Abstract

<i>Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a severe public health and criminal justice issue that disproportionately affects women more than men. This sought to explore Latina experiences of IPV in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Twelve Latina IPV survivors from the RGV, ages 24 to 40 years old, were interviewed using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Several primary themes were discovered: </i><i>types of abuse; perceived reasons for the abuse; education and economic insecurity; why stay or leave an abusive relationship; the criminal justice system’s role; and self-blaming. All participants (n = 12) were college educated and endured IPV victimization at the hands of their male significant others. This study should be replicated on a larger scale to determine if the results are representative of all RGV IPV victims. These findings have implications for positively affecting IPV prevention, services, and interventions to reduce Latina IPV victimizations in the RGV. </i>