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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Rachel PainORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Drawing from feminist and social geography perspectives, this article examines how intimate partner violence (IPV) reshapes the meaning of home for women who have experienced abuse. Arguing that IPV transforms the home in more complex ways than previous studies have shown, the article seeks to bring conceptualization of trauma into closer dialogue with feminist analysis of the space of the home. Findings from a qualitative study conducted in Chile reveal two interconnected dynamics. First, IPV survivors describe their homes as spaces of coercion where perpetrators exert surveillance and control, leading to emotional and material consequences. Second, the study highlights a crucial process of spatial and emotional recovery after IPV. Once separated from their aggressors, women redefine their homes as spaces of resistance and healing. Through everyday acts of resilience, they reclaim domestic spaces as places of security and self-determination. Ultimately, while IPV survivors frequently endure precarious living conditions after leaving abusive relationships, their ability to reconstruct a sense of home emerges as a critical strategy for empowerment. These newly built or reclaimed spaces, though modest, serve as fortresses of autonomy, allowing women to regain control over their lives and reestablish a sense of belonging.
Author(s): Trujillo-Cristoffanini M, Pain R, Carroza-Athens N, Koecker-Pérez K, Zagal-Ehrenfeld G
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Emotion, Space and Society
Year: 2025
Volume: 57
Print publication date: 01/11/2025
Online publication date: 07/10/2025
Acceptance date: 25/09/2025
Date deposited: 26/09/2025
ISSN (print): 1755-4586
ISSN (electronic): 1878-0040
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2025.101125
DOI: 10.1016/j.emospa.2025.101125
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/gh3c-5y58
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