Over her shoulder: What are women’s relationship perceptions when there has been lived experience of domestic violence within that relationship?

Author

Amy Hannan, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

School

School of Social Work

Faculty

Faculty of Regional Professional Studies

First Supervisor

Ms Rebecca Burns

Abstract

Research into the social phenomena of domestic violence is a relatively new area of exploration. The focus for domestic violence researchers has been across a broad range of topics with a key theme being the reasons that women stay or leave the relationship. The study described in this thesis engaged with women in discussions regarding their perception of their relationship when there had been experiences of domestic violence. The methodology included the use of a focus group with three women from the South West of Western Australia.

The focus group consisted of both individual and group sessions. For the focus group, word association and brainstorming were tools used to enable deep reaching, in-depth discussion that produced rich data. Data was thematically analysed using a process of coding. The analysis found a number of themes present, of which, four thematic chapters were developed. The findings of this study have implications for how the realities of domestic violence are understood by the greater community, and how services engage with women who have been subjected to abuse.

Recommended Citation

Hannan, A. (2015). Over her shoulder: What are women’s relationship perceptions when there has been lived experience of domestic violence within that relationship?. Edith Cowan University. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/239