"There was no-one I could turn to because I was ashamed" : shame in the narratives of women affected by IPV

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is physical, verbal and psychological mistreatment that occurs between people in an intimate relationship (Breiding, Basile, Smith, Black, & Mahendra, 2015). According to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) definition, IPV encompasses “any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship” (WHO, 2012, p. 1). This includes acts of physical violence, sexual violence, emotional abuse and controlling behaviours, such as threats of harm, humiliation and isolating a person from family and friends. While such abuse is often categorised as domestic or family violence, the term IPV is used to specifically address violence between those in an intimate partnership. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines an intimate partner as “a person with whom one has a close personal relationship that may be characterized by the partners’ emotional connectedness, regular contact, ongoing physical contact and sexual behaviour, identity as a couple, and familiarity and knowledge about each other’s lives” (Breiding et al., 2015, p. 11). This includes heterosexual couples, same-sex couples, casual or committed couples, dating partners, sexual partners, and those in a terminated relationship.