Between support and vulnerability: examining family support among women victims of intimate partner violence in Mexico

Abstract

Based on a recent survey and six focus groups, we use a mixed methods approach to examine the help-seeking behavior of Mexican female victims of partner violence in law-enforcement agencies and among family members. Support the family provides women is critically examined. The results of the study suggest that families are not always a source of support: 41 % of the women who turned to public authorities did not mention it to their families, and 11 % did not seek help because they feared their families would find out. Formal help-seeking at law-enforcement agencies is the only choice for many Mexican women since family support has a dual nature, positive and negative. Families may further victimize female victims since partner violence against women triggers the contradiction among core familistic values: individual expectations (family obligations and support) might go against family expectations.