“Getting out from Intimate Partner Violence: Dynamics and Processes. A Qualitative Analysis of Female and Male Victims’ Narratives”

In the 1970s intimate partner violence became recognized as a major societal problem in Europe. The study of the processes that enable victims to emerge from this violence is still topical. Even more so when it concerns male victims, who remain an under-studied population. This article examines the processes involved in bringing an end to intimate partner violence, including female and male victims. This qualitative study examines the intra- and inter-subjective changes underlying the processes of ending IPV in victims by using a narrative approach. Semi-structured interviews including the use of qualitative life calendars were conducted with 21 victims, 18 women and 3 men. The thematic analysis highlighted eight stages of a process of getting out from intimate partner violence. From the change in perception to the post-separation, victims’ trajectories contain similar stages nuanced by individual and environmental specificities for both female and male. Getting out from intimate partner violence involves a sequence of changes in the perception of self, partner, couple and violence that allows for cognitive and relational transitions.