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Exploring the Landscape of Women's Intimate Partner Violence a Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate and P In Her Words: Exploring the Landscape of Women’s Intimate Partner Violence A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Sociology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan by Lisa J. Broda © Copyright Lisa Jean Broda, June 2017. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this dissertation entitled, In Her Words: Exploring the Landscape of Women’s Intimate Partner Violence, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of the University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this dissertation in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professors who supervised my dissertation work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department of Sociology or the Dean of the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in which my dissertation work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this dissertation or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my dissertation. Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Sociology University of Saskatchewan 9 Campus Drive S7N 5A5 Canada Or Dean College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies University of Saskatchewan 107 Administration Place Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A2 Canada i ABSTRACT There are ongoing debates about whether intimate partner violence (IPV) is primarily an asymmetrical problem of men’s violence against women and whether women’s violence is less significant in terms of frequency, severity, and consequences. Such literature highlights the need for more qualitative studies of women’s roles as the perpetrator and is why I chose to use a qualitative approach to this research. The purpose of this exploratory study was to answer the following question: What are the lived experiences of women who have used IPV against their male intimate partner? This study incorporated a qualitative methodological framework using a descriptive phenomenological approach to data analysis. Considering the importance of the women’s lived experience I incorporated the theoretical principles of feminist standpoint theory. The findings emphasize the importance of learning from women’s voices and contribute to a contextual understanding of the complex dynamics of IPV. Textural themes include destructive emotions, bottling negative sentiments/feelings, wanting control, and the complexities of substance use. Structural themes include retaliation, justification, the impact of unhealthy familial and intimate history, and reflective insights. The women’s experiences demonstrate the importance of contextualizing their violence. From this, the findings may also provide experiential insights toward informing professionals working in the area of IPV, specifically where women are perpetrators, as well as strategies and policies to increase effectiveness in intervention and prevention. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to first acknowledge the women who were brave enough to come forward and share their experiences. I respect and admire these women who demonstrate resiliency and strength, and whose reflections and insights brought deeper understanding to the phenomenon of women’s perpetration of intimate partner violence. I would like to extend my greatest appreciation for the commitment and support of my two advisors, Dr. Carolyn Brooks and Dr. Jennifer Poudrier. Their unwavering faith and support in my work, and their tough, yet gentle approach assisted me in completing this academic journey and is gratefully acknowledged. I would also like to express my utmost gratitude and appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Stephanie Martin, Dr. Roanne Thomas-MacLean, and Dr. Karen Wood, for their expertise and commitment to my research, and for their invaluable input into my work. I also graciously thank my external examiner, Dr. Sheri Fabian for her time and commitment in serving as the external examiner for my defence and for her expertise and insights. Finally, I want to thank the late Dr. Patricia Monture for encouraging me to return to academics to complete a doctorate – I thank her for seeing my potential to advance my work in the area of intimate partner violence. Acknowledgements as well to the Department of Sociology in supporting my work in the department over the years and for assisting me in completing this doctorate, particularly Dr. Terry Wotherspoon – Department Head, Dr. Hongming Cheng – Graduate Chair, and Dr. Harley Dickinson for his wisdom and insights. Thank you all for your support. Many thanks to the administrative staff – Lori Giles, Barb Wotherspoon, and Kristen Harms – who were all very iii supportive in keeping me on track. Also, many thanks to all of my co-graduate students and friends in the department for their support. I would be remiss not to acknowledge my many colleagues in government who have had to listen to me talk, process, and lament over the last few years about the trials, tribulations, successes, and challenges of completing my dissertation - you all know who you are and I am extremely grateful for your ongoing support over the years. I would like to extend and say a special thank you to all of my immediate and extended family and friends for all of their love, encouragement and support. Thank you all for always checking in with me, offering support and assistance as these gestures kept me going at the times I felt like quitting. Last, but most importantly of all, I want to thank my husband, Jason Broda, who has been an incredible support to me as I worked to complete, what felt like an insurmountable task, and who kept me going when I felt discouraged. I have immense gratitude to him for the support, love, confidence, and care he has provided to help me achieve this goal. I am also tremendously grateful to my children Chris, Jordan, Jacob, Lucas Hartl and Grace Broda, who have been patient and kind when Mom ‘had to go write’. Thank you all for your love and encouragement to keep me going when you knew I felt overwhelmed and discouraged. Thank you all for listening, laughing, supporting, and loving me through this chapter of my life, and always. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE…..............................................................................................................i ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………..............ix CHAPTER ONE – Introduction 1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………...…1 1.2 Importance of the Research……………………………………………………..…….2 1.2.1. Summary Context of Women’s Violence against an Intimate Partner……..............................................................................................................4 1.3 Description of the Larger Project and Research Questions that Inform this Dissertation..........................................................................................................................5 1.4 Overview.…………………...........................................................................................7 CHAPTER TWO – Review of the Literature: Understanding Women’s Use of Violence 2.1 Setting the Stage: Current Trends of IPV……………………………………………10 2.1.1 Impact of IPV on Women, Men, and Families.............................................13 2.1.2 Impact of IPV on Children…………………………………………………14 2.2 The Empirical Literature on Women’s Use of IPV....……………………………….18 2.2.1 The Gender Symmetry Debate....………………………………..................21 2.2.2 Understanding Reciprocal Intimate Violence..………………………….....23 2.2.3 Women’s IPV from a Motives Framework……………..............................25 2.2.3.1 Victimized Women and Women as Aggressors............................29 2.2.4 Historical, Personal, and Socio-cultural Factors Pertaining to Women’s IPV.........................................................................................................................31 2.2.5 Indigenous Women and IPV.……………................................................... 35 2.2.6 Summary………………………………………………………………...... 38 CHAPTER THREE - Theoretical Framework for Understanding Women’s IPV: Feminist Standpoint Theory 3.1 Introduction .…………………………………………………………………………40 3.1.1 The History of Feminist Contributions and its Use in Understanding Women’s Violence………...……………………………………………………..42 3.2 Feminist Standpoint Theory……………………………….………….…..………….46 3.2.1 The Critical Debates on Standpoint Feminist Theory...……….………….. 50 3.2.1.1 Privileging Advantage and Negating Difference……..………….51 3.2.2.2 Postmodern Critique of Feminist Standpoint Theory.………….. 52 3.2.1.3 Critique of Relativism………………………………..…….…….54 3.2.2 Contributions of Feminist Standpoint Theory to Research.……..……..…..55 v 3.2.3 The Importance of Using the
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