Why Women in Peru Stay in Violent Relationships: How Location Affects Reasons to Stay

摘要

In Peru, the focus of the proposed study, domestic violence remains prevalent. According to Peru's Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations, approximately 4 in 10 women in Peru are victims of domestic violence. This percentage has stayed the same since 2000, which, officials interpret to mean that Peru has not made progress in ending gender violence. While some research exists on domestic violence in Peru, and specifically on why Peruvian women stay in violent relationships, the majority reflected public opinion or perspectives from women living in Lima, the largest city in Peru and also its capital. A large gap is present in the research regarding how geographic location may affect the reasons why people stay in domestic violence relationships. By comparing the lived experiences of participants from Lima and participants from Chimbote, whether geographic location affected these reasons may be determined. The research method used is a qualitative method, specifically an empirical phenomenological approach. This approach was chosen because it focuses on the whole picture of participants' experiences by examining the information from a multitude of angles and perspectives to reach a clearer, more unified understanding of the experience. Ten women living in Lima and 10 women living in Chimbote participated in this study. All participants were either from Chimbote, Peru or from Lima, Peru. All participants were or had been members of programs to help with the trauma left from the abusive relationship.