“It’s a Long Process, and It’s a Long Journey”: Autistic Adult’s Experiences of Support and Recovery after Experiencing Intimate Violence and Abuse

Abstract

Background: Many services designed to support victim/survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) do not have a specific focus on, or understanding of neurodivergence, which may impact autistic access to meaningful support. The aim of this project was to examine the support and recovery needs of autistic adults who have experienced IPV. Method:We recruited 21 autistic adults (mean age = 42) to take part in a semistructured interview about the experience of IPV. We asked questions about their support seeking, and recommendations for future intervention. We analysed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. One author coded all data, engaging in reflexive discussion with the whole team. They then organised these into themes in collaboration with a second team member. These were circulated to the whole team for discussion and refinement. Results:We identified three themes in the data, which focused on support and recovery: 1) Recovery is a journey (recovery is non-linear and involves multiple disclosures over time). 2) Building better systems (addressing systemic gaps in knowledge and practice, combatting under-resourcing), and 3) How do we stop this? (recognising potential individual risk factors and increasing relationship education). Conclusions:Our findings suggest that approaches to supporting autistic victim/survivors in recovery needs a nuanced, multi-pronged approach. Intervention should focus on relationship education ensuring access to appropriate therapies and support for individuals and ameliorating systemic issues such as a lack of professional understanding, and lack of practical support for survivors