Violent lives of women: Critical points for intervention/life charting

Each year, 5.3 million women are abused and several thousand die at the hands of intimate partners. If family violence were better understood, it could be predicted, described by patterns and prevented. Life charting (LC) is a method developed to explicate complex phenomena, such as bipolar disorder. This study tested the feasibility and usefulness of LC in deriving data about critical points in life when interventions could reduce or prevent family violence. Two research questions guided the study: (1) Does LC yield valid, reliable data when used as a review with women exposed to violence? (2) Is LC feasible for use in research?