Blog Archives

5/15/2013

"I connected with other survivors"

5/13/2013

"I began practicing mindfulness meditation"

5/10/2013

"I am no longer ashamed"

5/9/2013

Is the stigma surrounding abuse inevitable?

One of the participants in our studies had this to say:

“I think that until there is more education in the police departments, the courts and the community, there will always be stigmas attached to abuse.”

What else do you think keeps the stigma surrounding abuse from being eliminated?

5/8/2013

"Eventually I became that friend to myself"

5/7/2013

Overcoming stigma

We asked the survivors in our study to describe what it means to them to overcome the stigma of having been abused. Here are some of their responses to that question:

“[Overcoming stigma] would mean that people would respond to my experiences with empathy rather than stereotypes or attempts to shame me. It would mean that my opinions, thoughts, and feelings would be given the same weight as anyone else's rather than being attributed to my status as a survivor.”
“Coming to the point where you realize being loved is not being controlled, but rather being free to be yourself.”
“I think it [overcoming stigma] means making people more aware of the prevalence of DV ... it means giving everyone responsibility for stopping DV occurring in their community.”

Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page to share what it means to you for survivors to overcome the stigma of having been abused.

5/6/2013

"All we can do is share our stories"

5/3/2013

"Abuse is wrong in any form"

5/2/2013

On stigma: "I've got one like her at home too"

In a recent interview study with domestic violence service providers, which was led by Drs. Hamid Nemati and Jackie White at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the following exchange took place between the service provider and interviewer:

Service provider: "When I recently had a police officer that, you know, consoled the man who was being asked to leave the house with, 'I’ve got one like her at home too.' You know and, you can imagine that effect down the line of of how many services that woman is going to be able to take advantage of. I mean.. I… she got mad which is good, 'How dare you…'"
Interviewer: "She heard him say that?"
Service provider: "Um hum."

In what ways do you think this sort of stigma does impact survivors down the line as they seek help in the future?

5/1/2013

"Women need to be educated and empowered"

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