The Crooked Path: Forgiveness in the Aftermath of Intimate Partner Violence
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Shaalan, Marisa Urgo
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Abstract
This thesis is an exploration of forgiveness in the aftermath of IPV. It argues that forgiveness plays a paradoxical role in the life of IPV victims, and identifies a specific rhetorical use of forgiveness that the author terms “silencing forgiveness.” “Silencing forgiveness” simultaneously diminishes the victim’s experience, marginalizes their voices, while placing the onus for conflict resolution on them. In the process of researching and writing this thesis, the author conducted a literature search and review in a broad array of disciplines including criminology, conflict resolution, psychology, sociology, and victims’ narratives. The author’s IPV narrative offers the reader an account of a victim’s emotional growth in the period leading up to separation from an IPV abuser. It provides a window into the intimate and social dynamics in which forgiveness has a place.
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Keywords
Intimate partner violence, Domestic violence, Forgiveness, Conflict resolution, Autoethnography