Why I Stayed/Left: An Analysis of Voices of Intimate Partner Violence on Social Media

Abstract

A common response to intimate partner violence is to ask victims why they stay in the abusive relationship. Unfortunately this can have the effect of blaming or holding the victim responsible for the abuser's actions. Recently, social media brought attention to this issue following the highly publicized case of intimate partner violence (IPV) with NFL player Ray Rice and his fiancé. Twitter users responded to the media's perceived victim blaming by posting their own stories of why they stayed or left abusive relationships. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative content analysis of these Twitter postings. The Twitter hashtags generated N = 676 responses (''whyIstayed'' n = 409; ''whyIleft'' n = 267) and these were examined to answer the following research questions:(1) what factors influence victims of IPV to stay in an abusive relationship? (2) What factors influence victims of IPV to leave an abusive relationship? 12 themes and 8 subthemes emerged that highlight the numerous factors that influence decisions about abusive relationships. Clinical implications and future research recommendations are discussed.

#MyDepressionLooksLike: Examining Public Discourse About Depression on Twitter

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“…As Twitter provides a public platform for users to interface, is widely accessible, and is among the most used social media sites, tweets should be considered public conversation [ 32 ]. Furthermore, the anonymity allowed by Twitter, in combination with the creation of virtual communities and simulated social interaction, makes Twitter an optimal setting to examine the effects of anonymity on public discourse surrounding mental health, patient needs, and symptomology.…”

A Grounded Theory Study of How Couples Desist from Intimate Partner Violence

“…Some victims stay because of limited resources, threats, or constraints, but many desire to rehabilitate the relationship (e.g. Cascardi, Langhinrichsen, & Vivian, ; Cravens, Whiting, & Aamar, ; Langhinrichsen‐Rohling, ; Stith, McCollum, & Rosen, ). Because the consequences of IPV are prevalent, enduring, and potentially grave, it is important to understand how some couples successfully stop being violent and learn healthy ways of relating.…”

Virtual Relationships and Systemic Practices in the Digital Era

“…Cravens et al (2015) researched publically accessible tweets after a media-story of intimate partner violence of a well-known football player and his fiancée (they subsequently married). Twitter users posted their own stories of why they stayed in or left abusive relationships.…”

“…The qualitative content analysis revealed 7 themes/5 subthemes in "#WhyIstayed" (n = 409) and 4 themes/3 subthemes in "#WhyIleft" (n = 267) tweets. While Cravens et al (2015) use the material to gain more insight into intimate partner violence and its dynamics, it is remarkable that far more persons responded in the same way the media-model behaved ("WhyIstayed") than contrariwise. The self-disclosure of the fiancée has to be regarded as a performative act that gives legitimization to voice a decision normally hard to understand and therefore usually kept unuttered.…”