Victimization and revictimization among women of Mexican descent.

Objective: To gain an understanding of the experiences of women of Mexican descent, born in Mexico or the United States who live with intimate partner abuse. The study was part of a larger study of the process of disclosure by women of Mexican descent who are subjected to intimate partner abuse.

Design: Descriptive qualitative approach.

Setting: Two sites in a South Texas-Mexico border community: a woman's shelter and an outreach agency.

Participants: Twenty-six women of Mexican descent were interviewed.

Methods: A semistructured interview guide was used to elicit participants' views of their experiences with intimate partner abuse.

Results: These narratives illuminate how the process of victimization and revictimization creates an environment that blinds people to abuse, promotes denial of abuse, and leads women to remain in a harmful situation.

Conclusion: Nurses and other health care and service providers working with women must take the initiative to assess for abuse; a few simple questions might change the woman's life and her children(s).