A Critical discourse analysis of Narratives of Victims of intimate partner violence

This thesis is a critical discourse analysis that analyzes the narratives of victims of intimate partner violence as it relates to "power" and "police". The analysis demonstrates that victims of intimate partner violence have unique understandings of power due to the violence they face. As well as, they have unique perceptions of police due to this understanding of power and their past perceptions of law enforcement. This combined creates a unique ideology held by victims of intimate partner violence that may influence the interactions they have with the police. This thesis is comprised of fourteen narratives of women who have experienced intimate partner violence and reside at a local domestic violence shelter. The names of the women have been anonymized.