Family and cultural protective factors as the bedrock of resilience and growth for Indigenous women who have experienced violence

ABSTRACT

Despite Indigenous women in the United States experiencing elevated rates of intimate partner violence (IPV), little is known about family resilience and relevant protective factors, particularly those related to family and culture. Using a framework of historical oppression, resilience, and transcendence, the purpose of this research was to uncover family and cultural-level protective factors for Indigenous women who have experienced IPV. Thematic analysis of 49 ethnographic interviews with Indigenous women who experienced IPV and with professionals who work with them indicated the following emergent protective factors: (1) family support through IPV, (2) family affirming nonviolent values, (3) tight-knit extended family unity and connectedness, (4) elders’ instilling Indigenous principles through storytelling, and (5) enculturation fostering nonviolence and ethnic pride. Depending on the family’s response to IPV, families can be protective or risk factors for Indigenous women’s wellness and recovery from IPV.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous women
• intimate partner violence
• resilience
• protective factors

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Dr. Sara Sanders, the American Indian and Alaska Native Social Work Educators Association, as well as the collaborating tribal communities, whom made this article possible.

Funding

This work was supported by the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation Doctoral Dissertation Grant Program (grant number 500-11-1340-00000-18905800-20), the University of Iowa Executive Council of Graduate and Professional Students Research Grant, the University of Iowa School of Social Work Dissertation Travel Grant, Tulane’s Committee on Research fellowship, and Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research.

Notes

1. IPV is the act of physical, sexual, and psychological violence, or the threat of such violence, by a current or former partner (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation Doctoral Dissertation Grant Program (grant number 500-11-1340-00000-18905800-20), the University of Iowa Executive Council of Graduate and Professional Students Research Grant, the University of Iowa School of Social Work Dissertation Travel Grant, Tulane’s Committee on Research fellowship, and Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research.