Exploring Women's Histories of Survival of Violence and Victimization in a Midwestern State, 2004-2005

This study explored the histories of physical and sexual victimization reported by incarcerated and non-incarcerated women. It sought to identify the survival strategies women activated at various points in their life span. In Phase One, 424 women were interviewed from March 2004 to March 2005 on a variety of topics covering victimization and disclosure experiences and risk and protective factors. Information from those interviews is contained in Part 1, Phase One, Interview Data. In Phase Two, 17 women from the prison and/or the community who had participated in the Phase One interviews were again interviewed in an effort to provide more depth about their experiences of victimization and of the resources, social services, and supports they may have received or not, subsequent to the victimization(s). Information from these qualitative follow-up interviews is contained in Parts 2-18. Variables cover topics such as personal attitudes, health and well-being, relationships with family and friends, coping with stress, emotional health, alcohol and drug use, childhood maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual experiences, services and resources received, traumatic experiences, suicide, resource generating strategies, legal issues, and demographics.