The Social Response to Survivors of Attempted Intimate Partner Homicide

Abstract

Research on women survivors of attempted intimate partner homicide and their postattack experiences, including the response from family, friends, and institutions like police and welfare agencies, is limited. Using the disenfranchized grief framework, this study explores survivors’ perceptions of the social response to their experiences. Thirteen participants were interviewed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, yielding four themes: (a) detachment and disregard; (b) disbelief and victim blame; (c) lack of institutional support, and (d) marginality in the legal process. The study findings suggest that both individuals and institutions failed to acknowledge and validate the participants’ experiences and thereby hindered their healing process.