Intimate Partner Violence and Structural Violence in the Lives of Incarcerated Women

A Mixed-Method Study in Rural New Mexico

Bibliographic Data

ID15470372
AuthorsShilo St Cyr (University of British Columbia), E T Jaramillo (0000-0001-9933-7786, Pacific Institute For Research and Evaluation, corresponding author), Laura Garrison (Pacific Institute For Research and Evaluation), Lorraine Halinka Malcoe (0000-0001-8778-9443, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee), Stephen R Shamblen (0000-0002-4125-8855, Institute for Research and Evaluation), Cathleen E Willging (0000-0001-6446-5083, Pacific Institute For Research and Evaluation)
Year2021
Volume18
Issue12
Pages6185-6185
Publication date2021-06-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph18126185
PMID34201033
OpenAlexW3166658278
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited39

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common feature in the lives of incarcerated women returning to rural communities, enhancing their risk of mental ill-health, substance use, and recidivism. Women's experiences of IPV intersect with challenges across multiple social-ecological levels, including risky or criminalizing interpersonal relationships, geographic isolation, and persistent gender, racial, and economic inequities. We conducted quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with 99 incarcerated women in New Mexico who were scheduled to return to micropolitan or non-core areas within 6 months. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately and then triangulated to identify convergences and divergences in data. The findings underscore how individual and interpersonal experiences of IPV, substance use, and psychological distress intersect with broad social inequities, such as poverty, lack of supportive resources, and reluctance to seek help due to experiences of discrimination. These results point to the need for a more proactive response to the mutually constitutive cycle of IPV, mental distress, incarceration, and structures of violence to improve reentry for women returning to rural communities. Policy and treatment must prioritize socioeconomic marginalization and expand community resources with attention to the needs of rural women of color

Domestic violence · Economic growth · Environmental health · Interpersonal communication · Mental health · Poison control · Population · Poverty · Psychiatry · Qualitative research · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Child Abuse and Trauma · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology