This thesis identifies discourses of women leaving abusive male partners by examining the works on the matter by famous IPVAW researchers Viveka Enander, Carin Holmberg, and Margareta Hydén. Using discourse analysis, and thus a social constructivist approach, I have studied how the researchers explain women’s leaving processes and the resistance associated with those by drawing on the theories of Normalization of Violence and Neutralization of Violence respectively. Further, this thesis examines both what women are included in the research studies and how women leaving their abusive partners are portrayed in the material. By using an intersectional perspective, I explore who is missing from the research material and what impact their absence might have. I argue that discourses have an impact on people’s lived realities, thus who is depicted as a victim of abuse by being included as a subject in research is highly important. In short, the findings draw attention to how researchers within the same field provide different modes of explanation and thus comes to different conclusions based on the theories chosen for the study, ultimately leading to that they (re)produce different discourses which create a discursive struggle. The thesis also highlights the necessity of including an intersectional framework when researching women exposed to violence.

Violence against women is an issue faced by women all over the world. Violence conducted by a partner or husband is the most common form of violence that women are targeted by. Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is internationally recognized as a human rights violation as well as a major global health issue. Economic empowerment is sometimes presented as means to reduce this violence. However, if it generates protection or increased risk is debated and contradictory findings characterize the research field. This study aims to contribute by testing the two main theories (the marital dependency theory and the relative resource theory) within a previously unstudied setting: the national level. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regressions find a negative relationship between female labor force participation and physical and sexual IPV prevalence among women. Support is thereby provided for the marital dependency theory. No relationship at all is found when focusing on attitudes towards physical IPVAW and the conclusion emphasis that economic empowerment is helpful but not sufficient as a national strategy to reduce intimate partner violence targeting women.