Services and Indigenous Healing Practices to Address Intimate Partner Violence Against Indigenous Women in the Canadian Prairie Provinces
Date
2022-01-26
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Abstract
This mixed method study used qualitative secondary analysis to explore the experiences of 40 Indigenous women from the Canadian prairie provinces who were abused by their intimate partners. It focuses on the services that they accessed, including violence against women shelters, second stage shelters, community counselling agencies, and traditional healing practices. The original research was a four-year longitudinal tri-provincial study exploring intimate partner abuse in 665 women, 91 of whom completed in-depth interviews. Of the 40 Indigenous women, 35 were heterosexual, and 5 were LGBTQ Two-Spirit, thus two of the abusive intimate partners were female. Consistent with the literature the male partners (55% of whom were Indigenous, and 45% were White) physically assaulted the respondents so severely that the women were injured and could, perhaps, have died. Almost half of the men (47.4%) used sexually coercive strategies and/or sexually assaulted the women. A considerable amount of background information placed the women’s use of IPV services in context: 90% had experienced childhood maltreatment; the 10 women who lived on reserves all raised concerns regarding community violence, while 40% of the women from urban areas also noted this. In contrast to the literature, the women were not, on average, experiencing severe mental health distress. The women’s resilience is highlighted: they were committed to improving their lives through accessing multiple sources of assistance. Across counselling services, the women found the support helpful, although their critiques emphasize issues related to colonialism and systemic oppression. Of concern is that it was not clear whether mainstream counsellors were educated in or had any understanding of Indigenous history or cultures. The critiques of Indigenous programs/services indicate the legacy of colonialism through instances of internalized oppression. Nor is it clear whether community counsellors had any training/understanding of IPV. The importance of traditional healing and cultural practices is highlighted.
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Intimate Partner Violence, Intimate Partner Violence against Indigenous Women, LGBT!Q Two-Spirit, Violence Against Women Shelters, Second Stage Shelters, Community Counselling, Trauma, Historic Trauma
Citation
Ogden, C. L. (2022). Services and Indigenous Healing Practices to Address Intimate Partner Violence Against Indigenous Women in the Canadian Prairie Provinces (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.