Education, Faculty of

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Browsing Education, Faculty of by Author "Bailey, Gail"

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    Rural women's experiences of leaving domestic abuse
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, c2013, 2013) Bailey, Gail; Shepard, Blythe
    Domestic abuse embodies many forms including physical, emotional, sexual, financial, and spiritual abuse (Statistics Canada, 2011a). This study explored the experience of rural Alberta women who have left domestic abuse, as research on domestic abuse tends to be focused on urban settings. The "rural and small town" (du Plessis, Beshiri, Bollman, & Celmenson, 2001, p. 1) definition was utilized in this study: an area outside of census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and census agglomerations (CAs). CMAs have population of 100,000 or more with a core of 50,000, and CAs have a core population of 10,000 plus (du Plessis et al., 2001, p. 1). Participants included both rural women who have left abusive relationships as well as service providers who offer resources to rural women fleeing abuse. Three women told their stories of leaving domestic abuse and five service providers took part in interviews. Using a narrative approach, I gained insight into the women's experiences while offering participants the opportunity to have their stories heard. Through content analysis numerous themes emerged from the interviews. There were four themes that were found to be common to urban and rural women and six themes that were unique to or exacerbated by the rural context. The themes associated with the rural context included (a) Under a Microscope, (b) It Didn't End There, (c) Lack of Resources, (d) Squashing My Spirit, (e) From Numb to Empowered, and (f) Reaching Out. Narratives have also been included to represent each woman's story.