Case Studies in Domestic Violence

Ivana, Alita, and Heather come from different areas, grew up in different cultural milieus, and have different life situations, but all three were forced to deal with intimate partner abuse for years before they could escape. This course relates their journeys from shock, denial, and disbelief through pain and loss to eventual recovery. You will see how various parties in their lives, including themselves, sometimes subscribed inadvertently to domestic violence myths and how the social systems the women had to contend with – the lawyers, courts, social workers, counsellors, and others – at times contributed to their remaining in difficult, unsafe relationships that shattered their confidence and sense of themselves, to say nothing of contributing further physical and mental/emotional harm.