Shattered Voices, Silent Struggles: A Case Study of Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) remains a pervasive yet underreported issue in Sri Lanka, often obscured by socio-cultural norms that prioritize family unity, marital endurance, and female submissiveness. Shattered Voices, Silent Struggles delves into the lived realities of intimate partner violence (IPV) as experienced by three Sri Lankan women, using a qualitative, narrative-based case study approach. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews, the study uncovers the physical, sexual, psychological, and social consequences of prolonged abuse, alongside the coping strategies and support systems survivors engage. The women, aged 40 to 45, were purposively selected through snowball sampling and with support from a Women-in-Need Help Centre. Ethical guidelines were stringently followed to ensure participants’ safety and emotional well-being. While initial coding followed thematic analysis, findings are presented through cross-case analysis to highlight patterns across narratives. The study reveals how entrenched cultural norms around marriage, gender roles, and endurance silence women’s voices and prolong their suffering, often delaying help seeking and reinforcing dependency and control. Despite socio-economic differences, all three narratives expose shared threads of coercive control, emotional manipulation, and social isolation. These findings emphasize the critical need for survivor-centered, culturally sensitive interventions and the strengthening of both informal and formal support mechanisms. Though limited by its small sample size, this study offers rich insights into the psychosocial complexities of IPV in Sri Lanka and contributes to the broader conversation on gender-based violence in South Asia.