"Why would straight people think of it if we don't?" Intimate partner abuse amongst women in same sex relationships

Abstract

This thesis presents an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of intimate partner (IPA) between an adult sample of non-heterosexual women living in Ireland who experienced IPA in a female-to-female relationship. The research on which it is based is concerned with understanding the nature and the experience of intimate partner abuse. With a principal aim of capturing and representing the participants' own unique views and subjective experiences, this thesis is also concerned with presenting an understanding of the broader societal contexts that ultimately shape and influence the subjective experiences of those women. Utilising a qualitative methodological approach, an in-depth understanding of intimate partner abuse is achieved by engaging adult women. Situated within an interpretative phenomenological perspective, the research draws on qualitative data generated via semi-structured, in depth interviews with 9 women who self-identified as having experienced intimate partner abuse in a previous same sex relationship. Key findings emerging from this thesis suggest that non-heterosexual women are experiencing diverse forms of abusive behaviours from their female partners involving coercive control, physical, financial, identity, and sexual abuse, and incurring impacts during and post-relationship, and longer-term, that affect mental and physical well-being. Help-seeking is principally directed toward informal support options (friends), counselling services are the most sought formal support option while domestic violence services are the least sought. Key findings from this research further identify that stereotypical perceptions of femininity, female-to-female relationships, and violence, negatively influence the familial and professional response to victims of female-to-female intimate partner abuse.