”blir jag slagen är det klart jag kommer lämna fanskapet!” : våldsutsatta kvinnors berättelser om att lämna

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to gain an increased knowledge of what it is that makes a woman who is or has been subjected to violence, by a man with whom she had a close relationship, leaves. With the study, we wanted to get an insight into what made the break-up possible and examine the importance of the people around her, to understand how we better can provide the support she needs both before, during and after the break-up. The empiric material consisted of eight semi-structured qualitative interviews based on an interview guide with eight women who had been subjected to violence by a male partner. The material has been analysed through the exit theory and the normalization process of violence, and related to previous research on the subject. The results and the conclusions shows that the man after some time began to show new sides, and a period of mental degradation through isolation and psychological violence followed, which made many of the women start thinking about leaving. Breaking up proved to be difficult and often consisted of several attempts before the final leave. A specific event with particularly severe violence or that he became a danger for her or the children’s lives proved to be common reasons for her to leave, because it gave her the strength she needed or because she simply had to. We found that the women often were exposed to the man's violence even after the break-up and that violence could be perceived as worse than the relationship itself. After leaving, the understanding comes, and a long period of depression, therapy and sick leave follows. The need for support and help from the woman's network turned out to be the greatest after the break-up. Several women withdrew to report to the police due to fear of not being believed. We found that police reporting, interrogations and the legal process that followed could have a healing effect if the woman felt believed and confirmed, but an opposite effect if she was met with incomprehension. The women seemed to find it easier to absorb information about intimate partner violence from social media than from information leaflets from authorities and organizations. Sharing their own story on social media contributed to both healing and processing. It was also easier to talk to strangers on social media about what you have been exposed to, because of the anonymity.