Narrative Possibilities: Poor Women of Color and the Complexities of Intimate Partner Violence

• NCJ Number: 233721
• Journal: Women Against Violence Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2011 Pages: 267-286
• Author(s): Floretta A. Boonzaier; Samantha van Schalkwyk
• Date Published: February 2011
• Length: 20 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: South African Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines methods to use when exploring dynamics of intimate partner violence in women who have traditionally been marginalized.

Abstract

This article shows how a narrative methodological approach is particularly suited to examining the dynamics of intimate partner violence, especially among poor women of color in South Africa. We show how a narrative approach allowed women to represent their experiences of violence according to their own frames of meaning, examining the complexities of abuse as it is informed by sociocultural factors of gender, poverty, and deprivation. In particular, we show how a narrative approach departs from other qualitative work by enabling women to construct particular forms of identity, thereby giving them agency in authoring their own stories of violence. (Published Abstract)