Citation

Raval VV, Raval PH, Raj SP. J. Fam. Violence 2010; 25(8): 755-764.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10896-010-9333-5

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Within the cultural context of rural India that emphasizes familial roles for women, this qualitative study explored the experiences of adolescent females who run away from their family homes. Ten adolescent females from rural areas or small towns of Gujarat, India were individually interviewed while they temporarily resided in an institution, along with six members of the institution staff. Throughout childhood, participants described experiencing differential attention and care to domestic violence and abuse within their families. In the context of this life-long mistreatment, the immediate trigger for the decision to flee was family disapproval of the romantic partners that adolescent females had chosen for themselves. Each of the females eloped with the male romantic partner, which led to severe opposition from their families, including explicit threats of endangering their or their partners’ lives, in turn, destroying the promise of a better life that the girls likely sought through escape. Prevention and intervention approaches are needed that promote community change and provide adaptive options for adolescent girls in distress.