Accessing Community Supports Among Women Who Have Experienced Trauma

Abuse related trauma has serious consequences on individuals'' health and their state of well-being. Rates of violence against women have increased in the last two decades and consequently there has also been an increase in welfare dependency and experiences of social exclusion among women. This book uses a narrative inquiry and a framework of social inclusion and social exclusion to explore epiphanies, customs, routines, images, and everyday experiences of accessing community supports among eight women who experienced abuse-related trauma. The findings demonstrate connections between experiences of trauma and social exclusion in their past, further isolation in the present, and uncertainty about what the future will bring. The findings emphasize the importance of relationships in the women''s lives and social connections and interactions needed to enhance their social inclusion in community.