Women’s Resistance Strategies in Abusive Relationships

Abstract

Though abused women are often depicted in the media as passive, women in abusive relationships often resist their partner’s abuse. However, the experience of an abused woman will depend on her position in the social structure. First, an overview of resistance in abusive relationship is presented followed by a series of resistance strategies often used. The goal of this paper is to retell the intimate partner violence story and identify structural reforms that are consistent with the experience of intimate partner violence survivors. The response to intimate partner violence should move beyond criminal justice sanctions by involving the community.