Presentation:

Intersecting Identities of Women in Abusive Romantic Relationships

On May 15th, 2024, I had the opportunity to present a poster at a symposium organised by the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) and International Association of Relationship Research (IARR). The paper is based on interviews with young women in Bengaluru who faced different forms of abuse at the hands of their (non-marital) partner.

Using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022), four themes were identified from these interviews-
  1. Intersecting identities of gender and sexuality
  2. Power imbalance
  3. Cultural sanctions of violence and
  4. Renegotiating agency and self.
See the poster below for more details including excerpts from the interview.

EASP-IARR Program

Although these stories and experiences were painful to say the least, I was amazed at the how these three women renegotiated their identity and their resolution to help others going through similar experiences. They were willing to experience the multitude of emotions (anger, loneliness, missing the partner etc) that they were going through post break up and yet decide that there is space for them to grow and evolve from this.

What stood out for me during the presentation was the level of intrigue from the audience! Since they were primarily from the Western countries, they were very shocked to see the role of Eastern culture in these experiences.

Suggested citation- Shaju, A. & Thomas, E. (2024). Exploring the Role of Intersecting Identities in Abusive Romantic Relationships: Insights from Women in Bengaluru, India. Presented at EASP-IARR Joint Virtual Symposium 2024.