THE PROCESS OF OVERCOMING TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES IN THE NARRATIVE OF AN OLDER PERSON SUBJECT TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: CASE STUDY

Jolanta Mackowicz
Associate Prof., Pedagogical University of Cracow, POLAND

Abstract

Abstract text must be in one column and Arial font, 10 point, normal, justified alignment with single-spaced interline spacing The paper focuses on the problem of elder abuse which has become a global problem. World-wide research indicate that during the last year almost 16% of people aged 60 and more were victims to at least one of the forms of abuse (Yon, Mikton, Gassoumis, & Wilber, 2017).  Violence against older people is one of the social problems that are hard to diagnose. This is mainly due to a conspiracy of silence and a wall of shame that the victims experience. Breaking these barriers is crucial for the thorough diagnosis to be performed. This type of violence usually happens at home, behind the closed door, and information about it reach the public when there is a tragedy. Only some of the victims decide to talk about their, very often difficult, experiences. The paper presents the case of an older woman who experienced a long-term domestic violence. The analysis of the mechanisms of the developing suffering and its impact on the identity of people who suffer was based on the concept of trajectory created by the German sociologist – Fritz Schütze. In this sense, trajectory is a type of a biographical process during which the events are unpredictable and sometimes narrators lose all the control over them.

The goal is to show individual trajectory revealing the biographical struggle with trauma for decades of adult life.  Method: A case study with autobiographical-narrative interview was implemented. The characteristic feature of the analyzed narrative was that the trajectory processes of suffering have left the interviewed senior with the feeling she is completely dependent on the merciless fate on which she have no influence and which she cannot change.

Results: Living in violent relationships, the woman lived with the lowered self-esteem. Long-term, brutal violence evoked very strong, extreme emotions in the narrator, accompanied by suffering, fear and a sense of powerlessness. The analyses show the example of overcoming barriers and a heroic inner fight in the process of dealing with the traumatic life experiences.

Keywords: elder abuse, domestic violence, violence against women, trajectory of violence