Factors influencing silencing of women who experience intimate partner violence: An integrative review

Abstract Although researchers have explored factors that reinforce the silencing of women who experience intimate partner violence, integrated understanding of how factors at each level of ecological subsystem interact to reinforce the silencing is missing. So, we used an ecological lens to synthesize the evidence base to examine the factors influencing the silencing of women who experience intimate partner violence. We used the integrative review method. We included qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies published in the English language that focused on women above 16 years of age experiencing intimate partner violence and discussed reasons for their silencing on the issue. We extracted qualitative data on factors reinforcing the silencing and coded the data into the subsystems of the Bronfenbrenner's ecological model (macro-, meso-, exo-, and microsystem). Twenty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Microsystem factors (self-blame, concern for family, concern for children) were the most common factors that reinforced the silencing of women irrespective of the country of origin. Macrosystem factors (societal expectations, normalization of violence, religious values, immigration policies) followed in the second position. Service provider's knowledge of these factors is crucial to facilitate women's disclosure respectfully and empathetically.