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Dimensions of Suffering among Old and Young Battered Women

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Abstract

This article is a qualitative analysis of the ways in which young and old battered women perceive, understand and experience suffering from violence. The sample included 40 participants, composed of 17 elderly Israeli Jewish women, aged 60 to 84, and 23 younger women, aged 23 to 49. We collected data by in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with young and old battered women. Content analysis yielded several common themes: Suffering through isolation and control; enduring bodily pain; estrangement, alienation and loneliness in one’s own dwelling; time as a source of suffering; significant; others as a mirror of the self; enduring to emotional suffering; and accumulated life wisdom. These themes constitute the basis for the forthcoming analysis and discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gerontology, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 31905, Israel

    Zvi Eisikovits & Tova Band-Winterstein

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  1. Zvi Eisikovits
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  2. Tova Band-Winterstein
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Correspondence to Tova Band-Winterstein.

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Zvi Eisikovits, PhD, School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, and Center for the Study of Society, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; Tova Band-Winterstein, PhD, Department of Gerontology Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.

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Eisikovits, Z., Band-Winterstein, T. Dimensions of Suffering among Old and Young Battered Women. J Fam Viol 30, 49–62 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-014-9655-9

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