Intimate Partner Violence and Structural Violence in the Lives of Incarcerated Women: A Mixed-Method Study in Rural New Mexico

Shilo St. Cyr, Elise Trott Jaramillo, Laura Garrison, Lorraine Halinka Malcoe, Stephen R. Shamblen and Cathleen E. Willging
Additional contact information
Shilo St. Cyr: Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
Elise Trott Jaramillo: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
Laura Garrison: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
Lorraine Halinka Malcoe: Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53205, USA
Stephen R. Shamblen: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
Cathleen E. Willging: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common feature in the lives of incarcerated women returning to rural communities, enhancing their risk of mental ill-health, substance use, and recidivism. Women’s experiences of IPV intersect with challenges across multiple social–ecological levels, including risky or criminalizing interpersonal relationships, geographic isolation, and persistent gender, racial, and economic inequities. We conducted quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with 99 incarcerated women in New Mexico who were scheduled to return to micropolitan or non-core areas within 6 months. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately and then triangulated to identify convergences and divergences in data. The findings underscore how individual and interpersonal experiences of IPV, substance use, and psychological distress intersect with broad social inequities, such as poverty, lack of supportive resources, and reluctance to seek help due to experiences of discrimination. These results point to the need for a more proactive response to the mutually constitutive cycle of IPV, mental distress, incarceration, and structures of violence to improve reentry for women returning to rural communities. Policy and treatment must prioritize socioeconomic marginalization and expand community resources with attention to the needs of rural women of color.

Keywords: intimate partner violence; rurality; structural violence; incarceration; race/ethnicity; substance use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6185/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6185/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6185-:d:570762

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().