Falling for the Ones That Were Abusive: Cycles of Violence in Low-Income Women’s Intimate Relationships

Abstract

This study examines low-income women’s cycles of lifelong violence victimization. A qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 24 low-income women living in Eastern Washington State illustrates the complexity of abusive interpersonal relationships, and the decision-making processes that abused women utilize to escape violence. The data illustrate patterns of a discursive process of normalization, wherein early experiences of violence socialized women to treat abuse as a normal and expected component of adult intimate unions. The normalization of abuse also set the stage for later abuse within intimate relationships to be downplayed. The participants’ narratives demonstrate victims’ efforts to interrupt cycles of violence by identifying protection of children and partners’ other problematic behaviors as motivators in terminating their relationships. Abuse itself, however, is rarely stated as a main reason for victims to leave their abusers. The study’s findings also highlight the importance of utilizing alternative sampling strategies, as the sample of domestic violence victims was not recruited via victim support services, but rather for a study of economic strain. The patterns elucidate the multiple ways in which abuse goes unrecognized and unreported within marginalized communities. These findings also provide insight for those within the victim advocacy network and researchers of domestic violence by showcasing the experiences of victims who are often excluded from studies of domestic violence. To those who work actively in the field, this study serves as a call to action to widen sampling strategies and examine abuse in ways that better fit victims’ understandings and experiences of intimate partner and domestic violence.