”Att gå vid första slaget känns som en omöjlighet när det går obemärkt förbi” En kvalitativ studie om kvinnors uppbrottsprocesser när de lämnar en våldsam relation

Sammanfattning: This study aimed to investigate how women who are victims of domestic violence describe the process of leaving their violent partner. The study took empirical data from three autobiographies written by women who had experienced domestic violence before managing to leave their abuser. The research questions used to answer the study’s aim revolved around the women’s descriptions of the factors that made leaving difficult, their descriptions of the breakup process, and how they mentally processed their relationship with their abuser after they had left. The methodological approach taken to satisfy the study’s aims was a thematic analysis of the autobiographical documents. The theoretical perspectives that were used to drive the study’s analysis were the concept of the normalization of violence, a sociological understanding of emotions, and the effects of emotions within violent relationships. The study found that the normalization of violence created a significant emotional bond between the women studied and their abusers which made the process of breaking up complex. The study also found that there were similarities in how the women studied described the process of breaking up which could be connected to earlier research but that each woman had unique experiences. Finally, the study showed that whilst all three women were eventually able to sever the emotional bond that tied them to their abuser, the process and length of time it took varied considerably.