Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare perspectives on economic empowerment in the context of employment seeking among intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors and service providers specializing in IPV-related trauma. This study addressed the following question is: How do employment-seeking IPV survivors and service providers conceptualize and understand empowerment? Insights into how each group conceives of economic empowerment and its attainment following IPV experiences can help to inform an effective service curriculum that can be used to facilitate optimal employment outcomes among survivors. Methods: A constructivist grounded theory method was used to develop a theoretical framework for conceptualizing how economic empowerment is understood by employment-seeking survivors of IPV, and IPV service providers. Twenty-six participants were recruited (survivors, n = 16; service providers, n = 10) in a large northeastern U.S. city. Interview questions focused on how IPV survivors and service providers identify and conceptualize economic empowerment, and how support services respond to survivors’ needs around empowerment, particularly through help with employment seeking. Results: Data were coded and analyzed following data analysis stages: (a) initial coding; (b) constant comparison; and, (c) focused coding. Three main themes emerged from the narrative data: (1) structural characteristics shape individual experiences and perspectives of empowerment; (2) peer support as an integral component to empowerment; and (3) employment attainment as economic empowerment. Though perspectives on economic empowerment were often aligned, some key differences emerged. Whereas providers tended toward a more restricted, micro-level view of empowerment as primarily an attribute of the individual, survivors were inclined toward a structuralist perspective that considers how individuals’ experiences of empowerment are shaped by broader, institutional-level factors. Conclusions: Findings from this study build on prior research on the experiences of IPV survivors. The focus on experiences of empowerment in the context of employment-seeking can inform work on building more effective support services for survivors that avoid reductionist approaches that could be perceived by survivors as “victim-blaming” by incorporating a sensitivity to empowerment as derived from structural factors that shape individual experience.
Highlights
Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts one in every three women and continues to be a pervasive public health concern [1,2]
This study addressed the following research questions: Research question 1: How do employment-seeking IPV survivors and service providers perceive and define empowerment? Research question 2: What do employment-seeking IPV survivors and service providers identify as experiences relevant to empowerment? Research question 3: How are the different identities of employment-seeking survivors linked to social location, and how do these structural factors impact experiences of empowerment? Research question 4: What are the implications for empowerment practices for survivors of IPV seeking employment?
Findings emphasize the interconnectedness of IPV and structural barriers from the perspective of both employment-seeking survivors and service providers, and supports an in-depth discussion of economic empowerment practice implications
Summary
Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts one in every three women and continues to be a pervasive public health concern [1,2]. IPV is defined as the physical, sexual, coercive, economic and/or psychological harm committed against an individual by an intimate partner [2,3]. Economic abuse is an emerging field within IPV scholarship that has only recently been conceptualized as a distinct form of violence [4,5]. It describes abusive actions that control a victim’s ability to access and utilize financial resources and includes tactics such as limiting employment opportunities and access to finances, and interference in financial decision-making [6]. Some scholars have described it as an “invisible” form of violence that impacts employment, education, finances, and general well-being [4,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
