Using Resilient Narratives to Empower Survivors of Gender-Based Violence: Exploring Resilience, Recovery, and Strength-Based Approaches.

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how survivors of gender-based violence describe their own processes of resilience and recovery. Grounded in the resilience portfolio model and the principles of trauma- and violence-informed care, we conducted in-depth interviews with 16 participants, centering their narratives as sites of meaning-making. Rather than treating resilience as an outcome, we approach it as an unfolding process shaped by individual agency, relational support, and structural context. Through reflexive thematic analysis, three interconnected themes emerged: (re)claiming agency, realizing autonomy, and fostering personal growth. These themes reflect not linear stages, but overlapping and emotionally complex practices through which survivors made sense of harm, reasserted control, and reconnected with core values. The findings highlight the emotional labor and intentionality embedded in recovery and underscore the need for approaches that honor how survivors shape healing in ways that are personal, nonlinear, and grounded in choice.