Minoritetsnorske og majoritetsnorske kvinners erfaring med partnervold

Abstract

The chapter explores commonalities and differences in the experience of women who have been exposed to violence from their male partners and in some cases from their in-laws. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with women of ethnic majority and minority backgrounds. Four dimensions of diversity in the patterns of violence are identified: 1) How the relationship started: the analysis differentiates between an individual and a collective practice, where the latter refers to arranged marriages. 2) Who is the perpetrator: there is a difference between women who have been exposed to violence and control from an individual partner and those who have been abused by both their partner and their in-laws. 3) What characterizes the violence and control itself: two patterns are discerned, one dominated by psychological mechanisms and one that is more material and concrete. 4) What prevented the women from leaving the abuser: a major difference is drawn between women who face stigma and ostracism if they are divorced, and those women who find it shameful and stigmatizing to reveal that they have not left their abuser.