Promoting and Maintaining the Separation from an Abusive Partner: A Dual Perspective

Promoting women’s decision to leave the perpetrator is an important goal in the process of counteracting domestic violence and abuse (DVA). However, the literature addressing the factors promoting the decision of leaving the abuser has often focused on objective indicators (e.g. the survivor’s economic resources) (Anderson & Saunders, 2003), failing to consider the psychological and emotional components of this choice. Therefore, the first part of the present study has involved 12 DVA survivors, who participated in semi-structured interviews aimed at gaining information about the psychological and emotional factors that promoted their decision of leaving the perpetrator. An interesting difference emerged between the factors that led them to the separation gradually, and factors that acted as “triggers”. However, as a large number of women who leave tend to return to the perpetrator (Griffing et al., 2002), it is equally relevant to consider the factors that keep the survivors away from the abuser permanently, as little is known about these factors (Abdulmohsen et al., 2012), especially with regard to subjective elements. This considered, the survivors were also asked about the factors making the separation long-lasting. Novel factors not yet addressed by the literature have emerged. Finally, in the last part of the study 16 support workers have been interviewed about what, according to their experience, can promote survivors’ decision of ending the violent bond and what prevents the risk of returning to the abuser. There is a lack of literature considering the opinions of support workers, despite their pivotal role in helping DVA victims. They confirmed some of the factors identified as relevant by the survivors, but also added unmentioned ones. A comparison between the information emerging from the 2 samples has been made, in order to inform future practice.