PhD thesis, University of Melbourne

Young women are more likely than older women to be subjected to abuse from an intimate partner, though they rarely seek professional help. Instead, they most often disclose the abuse to their friends. In many cases, friends also witness or notice signs of intimate partner violence (IPV). Thus, friends may be critically important sources of support for young women. Yet there is limited research on how young women perceive the responses of friends, and no study
appears to have examined how friends perceive responding to IPV. This hinders the ability of health and welfare professionals to develop effective interventions to guide friends on how to support young women experiencing IPV.

To address this gap, the aim of this PhD study was to explore the interactions between young women experiencing IPV and their friends from the perspectives of both young women and friends. The study was underpinned by a feminist socio-constructionist epistemology and influenced by narrative
methodologies. In-depth interviews were held with eight young women who had experienced IPV. Separate interviews were undertaken with 13 young people who had been a friend of a young woman who had experienced IPV. A thematic
narrative analysis of the stories told by interview participants identified that the interactions between young women and friends in relation to IPV had often ended in disappointment, with friends narrating frustration and helplessness,
and young women describing feeling misunderstood and judged. A further analysis of the young women’s interviews was undertaken using the Listening Guide method to explore how friends’ responses to the IPV shaped young women’s self-perceptions. The analysis identified that when friends had
expected them to leave the abusive relationship but they had been unable to do so, the young women perceived themselves as weak or stupid. However, when friends had recognised the challenges they faced in ending the abuse, it had a
transformative impact on how young women perceived themselves. Finally, a thematic analysis of the interviews with friend participants found that the dynamics, emotions and conflicting expectations associated with friendship had
influenced how friends perceived their role and created tensions in deciding how to respond to IPV. (From the authors' abstract). Record #7273