?The carousel of violence': experiences of abused women

• Author: Mihaela Dana Bucuta
• Position: Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
• Pages: 71-78

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 8 (57) No. 1 - 2015

‘THE CAROUSEL OF VIOLENCE’:

EXPERIENCES OF ABUSED WOMEN

Mihaela Dana BUCUŢĂ1

Abstract: Domestic violence is a phenomenon under expansion and affects

women all over the world, irrespective of culture, race, status and education.

The aim of this paper is to bring an in-depth understanding of the

experiences of women who had been within the cycle of domestic violence for

some years, in order to help professionals working in the field develop an

increased empathy and knowingness about their situation. The study is of

qualitative nature using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) on a

sample of 10 abused women who were interviewed. This paper reports on

one theme, `The carousel of violence` which is described by its sub-themes:

“I before, I now”, “…waiting for that change he was talking about”, “living

with fear” and “dependency”. Recommendations for specialists working in

the field of prevention and intervention of gender based violence are drawn.

Key words: abuse, domestic violence, interpretative phenomenological

analysis.

1 Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.

1. Introduction

Family and gender violence are

recognized by the international community

to act against fundamental human rights

such as safety, dignity, liberty, physical

and psychical integrity, which have

resulted in a broad range of social policy

actions and administrative and financial

measures [1]. Romania’s social and

welfare strategies were strongly influenced

by the European Union’s requirements and

standards to take consistent legislative

measures based on the principle of zero

tolerance towards any form of violence.

Hence, the first specific legislative

framework for preventing and combating

family violence was released in 2003 (Law

217/2003) [2], while an amendment

addressing essential gaps such as the

protection order was adopted only about

ten years later (Law 25/ 2012) [3].

Alongside legislative measures, an

increasing number of services are

developed to address this phenomenon.

The most recent international statistics, on

the violence against women in Europe,

carried out on a large scale, by the

European Union Agency for Fundamental

Rights [4] shows that Romania is placed in

the second group: 30% of the women

declare to have been affected by physical

or sexual violence at some point in life,

after 15 years old (which falls under the

European average). 77% of the Romanian

women think that violence against women

is spread and widely spread. 28% of the

women know victims of such violence in

their circle of relatives and friends.

A recent study carried out by 11 NGO’s