Intimate Partner Violence and Structural Violence in the Lives of Incarcerated Women: A Mixed-Method Study in Rural New Mexico.

Shilo St Cyr,Lorraine Halinka Malcoe,Stephen R Shamblen,Elise Trott Jaramillo,Cathleen E Willging,Laura Garrison

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126185

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common feature in the lives of incarcerated women returning to rural communities, enhancing their risk of mental ill-health, substance use, and recidivism. Women’s experiences of IPV intersect with challenges across multiple social–ecological levels, including risky or criminalizing interpersonal relationships, geographic isolation, and persistent gender, racial, and economic inequities. We conducted quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with 99 incarcerated women in New Mexico who were scheduled to return to micropolitan or non-core areas within 6 months. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately and then triangulated to identify convergences and divergences in data. The findings underscore how individual and interpersonal experiences of IPV, substance use, and psychological distress intersect with broad social inequities, such as poverty, lack of supportive resources, and reluctance to seek help due to experiences of discrimination. These results point to the need for a more proactive response to the mutually constitutive cycle of IPV, mental distress, incarceration, and structures of violence to improve reentry for women returning to rural communities. Policy and treatment must prioritize socioeconomic marginalization and expand community resources with attention to the needs of rural women of color.

Highlights

Cynthia is a 26-year-old Native American woman from a rural community in NewMexico, serving her second prison sentence for violating parole conditions by drinking with her boyfriend in a residential treatment facility
We asked: how have women prisoners returning to rural communities experienced Intimate partner violence (IPV) prior to incarceration? How have experiences of IPV intersected with inequities at other socialecological levels, including mental health and substance use, socioeconomic inequality, and racial/ethnic discrimination? How do these experiences impact their prospects for successful reentry? We hypothesized that racial disparities and socioeconomic marginalization would correlate with increased vulnerability to psychological and physiological harms for incarcerated women returning to rural areas
We found that women with housing at the time of incarceration had an increased risk of most IPV types compared to women who were homeless or precariously housed

Summary

Introduction

Cynthia is a 26-year-old Native American woman from a rural community in New. Cynthia is a 26-year-old Native American woman from a rural community in New Mexico, serving her second prison sentence for violating parole conditions by drinking with her boyfriend in a residential treatment facility. She will leave prison in six months and plans to live with him. Cynthia has no safe place to go upon release from prison She does not feel safe near her male relatives and remains traumatized after witnessing her stepfather beat up her brother. She expects that her criminal record and lack of a high school diploma will prevent her from getting a job and providing for her children

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion