Based on interviews with 22 women who have experienced partner violence, the research report provides insight into the value of work on experiencing partner violence and the impact of partner violence on the value of work.
Based on interviews with 22 women who have experienced partner violence, the research report provides insight into the value of work on experiencing partner violence and the impact of partner violence on the value of work.
The value of work in preventing and stopping partner violence
"Even if you have the best job you can have, you just have to hit the wrong person." With this, one of the women interviewed articulates an important conclusion of the study. Having a paid job is not the only, nor the decisive factor in preventing and stopping partner violence. Women who have experienced partner violence outline a sum of factors, in which a financially precarious situation but also having paid work can be a 'trigger'.
Paid work can offer protection against the recurrence of violence by providing access to alternative resources, increasing social resilience, providing a safe haven, a potential signalling function and the opportunity to maintain personal identity. But there are several factors that determine a dependency position and the risk of (repeat) partner violence, and the experience of partner violence changes the value of work. For example, the violent partner may block access to work (and thus the potential value of work). But also, the value of work during, and because of, the violent relationship is reduced and eventually negated.
"For me at one point, yes, it became like a little bird. Going into that cage, you have to recover. And at some point then they open the little door and you are allowed back into society."
The value of work in recovery after partner violence
After the violent relationship ends, a phase follows that can be interpreted as a transition from 'victim' to 'ex-victim'. This transition is erratic and, according to one of the women interviewed, can best be compared to a rollercoaster. The recovery process can be divided into the phases: coping, orientation and reintegration. The value of work varies in each phase.
The value of work in the coping phase
The processing phase is all about 'working on yourself' for women who have experienced partner violence. In this phase, paid work can provide distraction, social support and build self-confidence. However, it is also an interruption of the coping phase and therefore a delaying factor of the entire recovery process.
Simultaneously, there is a taboo on victimisation and women have the urge, after a period of dependence on the violent partner, to be independent. The help needed to cope with the impact of partner violence is therefore experienced as perpetuating a position of dependency, with the counsellor determining when the 'door of the cage' is opened. For example, one interviewee says: "For me, at one point, yes, it became like a little bird. Going into that little cage, you have to recover. And at some point then they open the little door and then you are allowed back into society. And that feeling gives this a bit. That that's kind of the last thing, and then I'm like: and then I'm just like everybody else again. I work, I have weekends, and that."
'Work' thus also takes on a symbolic function. Through paid work, women gain access to their own financial resources and are no longer dependent on their partner, or the government. Women describe a sense of freedom. A sense of a normal life. And a feeling of being able to live again. Or as one of the women put it, "And if you work, then you can really live...Yes, I can't express it any other way."
The value of work in the orientation phase
The orientation phase centres on (re)discovering one's own identity. For instance, the labour market may have changed during the violent relationship and women need to reorient themselves to their employment options. When children come to live (almost) entirely with the women after leaving the violent partner, a new work-care balance must also be sought. Women who have (also) experienced psychological partner violence not infrequently describe that their identity has been affected by this violence and they have to 'find themselves again'. As one of the women interviewed put it, "It is not just that you have been physically abused, you have also been mentally abused. That's much worse. Your whole self-esteem is just destroyed. And then you no longer know what you want for yourself, you no longer know who you are, you no longer know where you stand. You have to completely reinvent yourself on all facets."
The women described the orientation phase as "very hard work", where there is felt to be little room for paid work. In addition, (re)discovering the role as "working", is part of the orientation phase and there is a need to find out what work suits them first, before starting paid work. However, other forms of participation, such as expanding a social network, volunteering, education and empowerment and reintegration pathways, are valued in this phase.
The value of work in the reintegration phase
Typical in the reintegration phase is the need to participate in society. Women in this phase face unique obstacles related to the violence they have experienced. Besides physical and psychological complaints, low self-esteem and low self-confidence, there is a chance of a 'relapse' to the processing phase. The 'step to work' therefore brings tensions. Or as one of the women put it, "No, it's not exciting. It's terrifying."
For this reason, women prefer to go through the reintegration phase incrementally and through other forms of participation and unpaid work.
"And if you work, then you can really live...Yes, I can't put it any other way."
What is the value of work for women who have experienced partner violence?
Overarching, it can be concluded that the value of work for women who have experienced partner violence is variable. Both during and after the violent relationship, events related to the violence overshadow the value of work.
Recommendations for policy and practice
Recognise that women's dependency position is influenced by more than just economic independence and needs to be addressed in conjunction when preventing partner violence.
Recognise that the risk of experiencing partner violence involves a combination of factors, related not only to the individual level but especially to the relational level and influenced by social inequalities and prevailing gender norms.
Recognition that the value of work is tangible as well as intangible and symbolic in nature.
Recognition that the value of work is not fixed. It is determined by contextual factors (such as societal norms and available help) and individual events (such as experiencing partner violence).
Recognition that unpaid work and other forms of participation are of value in recovery from partner violence.
Recognition of victimisation even after the violent relationship ends.
This research highlights the need for a gender-sensitive approach to partner violence, paying attention to the correlation and intertwining of other background characteristics. Also, the approach to partner violence should pay more attention to recovery after partner violence. This requires policies embedded in coherent flanking government policies. Recognising the signs and impact of partner violence also deserves wider implementation in implementation practice. This applies not only to professionals working in counselling. Employers, HR staff, company doctors, reintegration staff and job coaches should also recognise the signals and take note of the recovery process after partner violence in individual job counselling in order to make paid work of value.
