The Phenomenology of Domestic Violence: An Insider’s Look: An Insider's Look

In the course of our research and therapy we often seek to gain an understanding of violence from the ‘inside,’ that is to say, how those involved articulate the violence and explain it to themselves. This chapter proposes to introduce two key concepts designed to aid understanding the experience of violence as perceived by those who experience it, namely battering men and battered women. The concepts are based primarily on the phenomenological approach. The concepts are language and intentionality. The chapter leans on research conducted by the authors and others in accordance with the phenomenological tradition. Since the phenomenological approach is descriptive rather than argumentative, it provides an opportunity to understand complex situations that require a both/and approach and not only an either/or approach. The citations presented here were taken and adapted from various studies (some of which were conducted in Israel, and others by a variety of researchers throughout the world) in order to illuminate and illustrate all that has been stated theoretically in a more personal and realistic manner.