The experiences of Taiwanese women who have experienced domestic violence.

BACKGROUND Domestic violence has a history that stretches back before recorded time. It frequently has a lasting and traumatic impact on victims, families, and communities. According to the official statistics of many countries, most domestic violence victims are women who were assaulted by intimate male partners. This issue is gaining increasing attention in Taiwan's current society. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to gain an empathic understanding of domestic violent abuse experienced by women in southern Taiwan. Perspectives were provided through the personal descriptions and views of the women interviewed. METHODS P.F. Colaizzi's (1976) descriptive phenomenological method was applied to conduct this study. A total of eight abused women from the southern Taiwan Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Center participated in this study and associated in-depth interviews, which were tape-recorded, transcribed, and reviewed for accuracy by the interviewee. Verbatim manuscript transcriptions were then analyzed. Finally, major themes from extracted data were summarized. RESULTS The following four themes emerged: feeling sorry about their marriage, living in an unsafe environment, economic difficulties, and enduring unhappy lives. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS These results may help health professionals understand the assault experiences and the nature of domestic violence from victims' viewpoints. This may also help health professionals obtain a comprehensive assessment and develop appropriate interventions for these abused women.