“You lose control“: the experience of intimate partner violence and the consequences from the perspective of perpetrators and victims in a small Nordic country, Iceland

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to explore the experience of intimate partner violence among victims and perpetrators in Iceland which is a small Nordic welfare society, as well as the context that it takes place in. A qualitative method was used, interviews were carried out with six perpetrators and six victims, who had taken part in a treatment programme for batterers and their spouses. The interviews were transcribed and analysed. The main results were that the violence had great consequences for all involved. The victims mentioned consequences such as anxiety, depression and arthritis. The perpetrators thought that the violence had a negative impact on the atmosphere in their home and that it had had detrimental effects on the victims, reduced communication and even effected relationships with people outside the immediate family. Furthermore, that the violence had detrimental influences on their children’s wellbeing as well as on their physical and emotional health. Even though Iceland is a small Nordic welfare society and often considered advanced regarding gender equality, there are examples of serious physical violence incidents there. Patriarchal views as well as other risk factors might explain why violence against women remains in welfare societies like Iceland.