Battered Women's Entrapment in Shame: A Phenomenological Study

The present study is part of larger research aimed at understanding the impact of the family of origin on battered women's lives, worldviews, and emotional setup in the context of dyadic life in violence. The sample constitutes 20 Jewish Israeli battered women. Every woman was interviewed in depth for 3 hr. This was done in 3 sessions. Shame was found to be prevalent in battered women's phenomenological biographies. This cuts across both the family of origin and the subsequent intimate dyadic relationship. Shame traps the battered women, having a pervasive influence on the self, relationships with others, and emotional experiences (shame as emotional abuse), and becomes an obstacle in leaving the violence. Implications for intervention are suggested.