Mothers’ Resilience: Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors at Work

Abstract

Mothers who experience intimate partner violence can be resilient in maintaining employment during periods of abuse. The current qualitative study examines mothers’ experiences of abusive workplace disruptions as well as helpful responses from workplaces. Two main research questions are addressed: 1. What ways do abusive partners use issues related to children to disrupt mothers’ employment? 2. How do workplaces respond to mothers experiencing IPV? How do mothers show resilience? Mothers (n = 18) receiving services for abuse explained that abusive partners disrupted their work through compromising or withholding childcare, manipulating them through children, and jeopardizing child safety during work hours. However, mothers showed resilience when coworkers extend housing, childcare, and genuine concern for their situations. Implications for researchers, practitioners, and employers of survivors are discussed.

The Latina Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence in the Rio Grande Valley

“…This is interesting because there is still a stereotypical belief that IPV victimization only happens to lazy, uneducated, disadvantaged women (Peralta & Tuttle, 2013). Having a higher education was vital to making these Latina survivors more resilient as it provided improved access to social networks of family, and friends, much like that in prior research to leave or end their relationships (Castillo, 2018;Howell et al, 2018;Showalter et al, 2022). Research suggests that survivors are much more likely to seek help from family members, although they do so with some degree of discretion (Gonzalez, 2021;Harper, 2017;Satyen et al, 2019;Tran et al, 2014).…”

Understanding Family Risk and Protective Factors That Shape Child Development

“…Similarly, Maguire-Jack et al found that economic hardship, maternal substance use, intimate partner violence (IPV), and exposure to community violence were related to increased child abuse risk across three stages of child development: early childhood (age 3 years), young school age (age 5 years), and middle childhood (age 9 years) [ 3 ]. Furthermore, Showalter et al’s qualitative study suggested that maternal IPV and IPV-related workplace disruptions threaten the safety and well-being of children [ 17 ].…”