Guilt, shame, and myths about intimate partner violence in lesbian couples in Catalonia

Mónica Laliga-Mollá; Conchi San Martín-Martínez; Gerard Coll-Planas; Jesús Manuel Martínez González

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl.2580

Authors

Mónica Laliga-Mollá University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1785-6767
Conchi San Martín-Martínez University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8815-974X
Gerard Coll-Planas University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2294-2707
Jesús Manuel Martínez González Francisco de Vitoria University https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3364-6544

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2580

Keywords:

intimate partner violence, lesbian women, guilt, shame, myths

Abstract

Of the 128 women who participated in this non-experimental cross-sectional study, 83 said they were or had been victims, with the majority Spanish (83.1%), with higher education (66.3%), and indicating feelings of guilt and shame (76.3%). They also recognized the existence of violence in lesbian relationships (98.7%). Only a minority of the women considered that this type of violence is less serious than that found in the heterosexual couples’ relationships (15%). The younger participants were more likely to report feelings of shame and to associate the violence with triggering factors, while women with higher levels of education tended to show greater awareness of guilt and the seriousness of the violence and to give less weight to external factors such as the consumption of substances. The results will help to improve the support resources for these women. This study has limitations and includes recommendations for future research.

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Author Biographies

Mónica Laliga-Mollá, University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia

Mónica Laliga-Mollá holds a degree in Law from the University Jaume I, Castellón, Master’s degree in Gender and Equality Policies from the University of Valencia, and a Master's degree in Legal Feminisms, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. She is a PhD candidate in Gender Studies: Cultures, Societies and Policies at the University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia, Spain. Her main lines of research are Gender Studies, especially intimate partner violence and gender diversity, from a socio-legal and victimological perspective. E-mail: monica.laliga@uvic.cat

Conchi San Martín-Martínez, University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia

Conchi San Martín-Martínez holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Barcelona. She is a lecturer at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia. She is a member of the research group “Estudis de gènere: traducció, literature, història i comunicació”. Her research interests are psychological effects of violence, and support for survivors. E-mail: conchi.san@uvic.cat ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8815-974X

Gerard Coll-Planas, University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia

Gerard Coll-Planas holds a PhD in sociology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and full professor at the University of Vic. He has published the books Illustrating Gender (Egales, 2013), La carne y la metáfora (Egales, 2012) and La voluntad y el deseo (Egales, 2010). He was the academic coordinator of the project 'Connected Equalities. Interseccionality in local public policies', and co-PI of ‘Polyhedral perspectives on gender violence: proposals for prevention in secondary schools from an intersectional perspective'. He is currently coordinating the project 'Zoom out. Approaching children's literature from an intersectional perspective' and participates in 'InterHEd: Intersectionality in Higher Education', both co-funded by the European Commission. E-mail: gerard.coll@uvic.cat

Jesús Manuel Martínez González, Francisco de Vitoria University

Jesús Manuel Martínez González holds a PhD in Research in Humanities, Arts and Education from the University of Castilla-La Mancha and a Master’s in Applied and Advanced Artificial Intelligence from the University of Valencia. He is a lecturer at the Department of Law, Business and Government at Francisco de Vitoria University (Madrid, Spain). His research focuses on educational innovation, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and statistical analysis applied to education and business. He has published in indexed journals such as Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Cogent Education, and Sustainability. E-mail: jesus.martinez@ufv.es

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