The Social Sanctioning of Partner Abuse: Perpetuating the message that partner abuse is acceptable in New Zealand

The pace of cultural change is slow, and informal social sanctions that support the abuse of women by male partners continue to undermine the effectiveness of legislation and policy. The perceptions of New Zealand women in a grounded theory study identified “blaming the victim ” and inadequate enforcement of existing sanctions against abusers as social constraints to victim disclosure and recovery. From very early in the relationship women learn to fear punishment for disclosure when friends, community and social service providers respond by blaming the woman for causing the abuse, or blaming her for staying in the relationship. Women’s recovery from experiencing abuse by a male partner is a slow process and requires clarification of the attribution of blame, and resolution of the unfairness of their experience. Recovery can be impeded by social responses that blame women, or discount women’s experiences of abuse. Processes of personal identity development are relevant to participants’ experience and, despite constraints to maintaining separation, women who recover achieve considerable personal growth