Strategic Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Cycle of Violence in the Autobiographical Text – When I Hit You

Abstract

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a globally recognised societal problem that requires intensive research to raise public awareness. Accordingly, this paper aims to analyze IPV at the physical, psychological, and social aspects of abuse. Further, the current study correlates IPV to the personal experiences of notable Indian writer, MeenaKandasamy, according to the autobiographical account of her abusive married life in the award-winning novel When I Hit You , which depicts the horrible treatment of women by their perpetrators within a closed sphere. To substantiate, the selected autobiographical work is compared with Lenore Edna Walker's prominent Cycle of Violence theory, which best describes why women become victims and also the abuser's tactics in controlling the women in a violent relationship. The findings of the study indicate that IPV should be treated as a critical global problem that necessitates government intervention and strict legal enforcement to save women's lives from the clutches of the abuser.