Incarcerated Women’s Strategic Responses to Intimate Terrorism

Incarcerated women disproportionately experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Using Johnson’s typology as a guiding framework, we investigated 114 women’s strategic responses to intimate terrorism (IT) prior to their incarceration. Research questions included: (1) What formal help-seeking strategies do women use to cope with IT?; and (2) Is the nature of IT and/or the subsequent consequences associated with formal help-seeking? Face-to-face interviews occurred in an upstate New York jail. Physical violence, coercive control, psychological distress, violence-related injuries, perceived social support, and several demographics were examined as correlates of seven formal help-seeking strategies in a series of logistic regression models. Incarcerated women sought help to end IT and did so from multiple sources. Women most commonly called the police, contacted a mental health counselor, and/or sought domestic violence (DV) counseling. Coercive control was related to filing a protection order and contacting a DV counselor. Perceived social support was associated with contacting a DV counselor. Violence-related injuries were marginally related to contacting a DV counselor. Findings empirically challenge erroneous beliefs that IT victims are passive recipients of abuse. Understanding incarcerated women’s experiences of IPV and help-seeking prior to incarceration has implications for: (1) the development and implementation of trauma-informed interventions within correctional facilities that meet women’s immediate needs; (2) the development of safety-planning strategies that can assist women in their escape from intimate terrorists following their release; and (3) a greater cultural understanding of how IT impacts incarcerated women’s lives both in the short- and long-term.