TY - JOUR
T1 - Belonging: women living with intellectual disabilities and experiences of domestic violence
AU - Pestka, Katrina
AU - Wendt, Sarah
PY - 2014/8
Y1 - 2014/8
N2 - Women with an intellectual disability are under-represented in domestic violence research, yet they are one of the most vulnerable groups who are at risk of violence and abuse. This article aims to contribute to the domestic violence field by reporting on a narrative dialogic performative study, which utilised a feminist poststructural perspective to explore significant relationships and the concept of belonging in the lives of women with a mild intellectual disability. Four in-depth narrative interviews were conducted. The study found that the women shared similar stories of devaluation and rejection in childhood and hence the women's search for belonging contributed to their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse in domestic violence relationships. The paper argues that gendered discourses and constructions of intellectual disability regulate domestic violence as a personal problem or way of life for women with intellectual disabilities.
AB - Women with an intellectual disability are under-represented in domestic violence research, yet they are one of the most vulnerable groups who are at risk of violence and abuse. This article aims to contribute to the domestic violence field by reporting on a narrative dialogic performative study, which utilised a feminist poststructural perspective to explore significant relationships and the concept of belonging in the lives of women with a mild intellectual disability. Four in-depth narrative interviews were conducted. The study found that the women shared similar stories of devaluation and rejection in childhood and hence the women's search for belonging contributed to their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse in domestic violence relationships. The paper argues that gendered discourses and constructions of intellectual disability regulate domestic violence as a personal problem or way of life for women with intellectual disabilities.
KW - belonging
KW - domestic violence
KW - intimate partners
KW - women with intellectual disabilities
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09687599.2014.902358
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84905110859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09687599.2014.902358
DO - 10.1080/09687599.2014.902358
M3 - Article
VL - 29
SP - 1031
EP - 1045
JO - Disability & Society
JF - Disability & Society
SN - 0968-7599
IS - 7
ER -