The Levels and Roles of Social and Institutional Support Reported by Survivors of Intimate Partner Abuse

Abstract

This article explores the roles of social (informal) and institutional (formal) support in the lives of 158 women whose intimate partner abuse (IPA) cases reached the courts in three jurisdictions in the United States.Women were asked who knew about the IPA and their levels of supportiveness. Data analysis includes comparisons across the women in terms of social support and institutional support, and how these were related to the women’s demographic characteristics, whether they were still in a relationship with their abusers, the severity of the violence, and the women’s mental health.

When Abuse Happens Again: Women's Reasons for Not Reporting New Incidents of Intimate Partner Abuse to Law Enforcement

“…The frequencies for the five combined categories are presented in Table 3; additional quotes within these categories, representing common responses among the 102 women, are provided in Table 2. Friends' Opinions About Calling the Police One line of research within the help-seeking literature is identifying who battered women turn to for support and how supportive the disclosure recipient is (Belknap et al 2009;Bosch and Bergen 2006). During the Time 3 interview Said that they did not report the abuse because of being dissatisfied with the criminal legal system 47% Felt that it was not serious enough or were concerned that they would not be taken seriously…”

“…One study that included friends' support in an overall ''social support'' summed variable found that women with more social support reported better mental health, whereas institutional support (a variable that combined the women's levels of support from police, prosecutors, victim advocates, etc.) was unrelated to the women's mental health (Belknap et al 2008). Similarly, another study reported that suicide attempts were lower among survivors of IPA whose friends supported them than those without supportive friends (Meadows et al 2005).…”

“…Furthermore, when women are asked to rate levels of support among those who know about the IPA, friends are often reported by women as the most or among the most supportive (e.g., Belknap et al 2008;Bosch and Bergen 2006;El-Bassel et al 2001). In their efforts to minimize the abuse to themselves, some women do not disclose their IPA victimization to friends or other potential supporters (Dunham and Senn 2000), particularly if they are still with their abusers (Belknap et al 2008). In addition, abusers often isolate women from their friends and other supporters, and some friends become less willing to support the women over time (Waldrop and Resick 2004), especially if the women stay with their abusers (e.g., Belknap et al 2008).…”

“…In their efforts to minimize the abuse to themselves, some women do not disclose their IPA victimization to friends or other potential supporters (Dunham and Senn 2000), particularly if they are still with their abusers (Belknap et al 2008). In addition, abusers often isolate women from their friends and other supporters, and some friends become less willing to support the women over time (Waldrop and Resick 2004), especially if the women stay with their abusers (e.g., Belknap et al 2008). One study that included friends' support in an overall ''social support'' summed variable found that women with more social support reported better mental health, whereas institutional support (a variable that combined the women's levels of support from police, prosecutors, victim advocates, etc.)…”

“…When victims are asked about their disclosures of IPA, friends are frequently identified as the people, or among the people, most likely to know (Belknap et al 2008;Rose, Campbell, and Kub 2000). Furthermore, when women are asked to rate levels of support among those who know about the IPA, friends are often reported by women as the most or among the most supportive (e.g., Belknap et al 2008;Bosch and Bergen 2006;El-Bassel et al 2001). In their efforts to minimize the abuse to themselves, some women do not disclose their IPA victimization to friends or other potential supporters (Dunham and Senn 2000), particularly if they are still with their abusers (Belknap et al 2008).…”