Prior to working in domestic violence and sexual assault services I was working in addiction recovery. Intersectionality is a key component to understanding social issues. Substance abuse and mental illness can be a result of DV as well as a cause/factor. They all go hand in hand. It is important to have a well-rounded understanding. Different ideas of justice and healing can lead to feelings of hurt and disappointment. I think it is important to recognize that healing is not dependent solely on justice and we have to look at what other things may define healing for a person.
There are incredibly high rates of intersectionality between abuse, mental illness, and substance abuse. They often feed into one another as well. Mental illness can make a person more likely to be victimized, but being abused also increases the odds of having mental health problems. Substance abuse is similar, especially since it is often categorized as a mental health disorder unto itself.
I agree with substance abuse being an obvious issue; However, it is not the cause of abuse. Although drugs and alcohol can intensify abuse and make it worse, that's for sure!
I work for the police department. It is shocking how many cases have a combination of mental illness, substance use, and/or intimate partner violence. I think I would even say the majority of DV cases I see involve either substance use or mental illness, and often both. I think all 3 of those things feed off of eachother. DV increases mental illness and substance use. Mental illness increases substance use and DV. Substance use increases DV and mental illness. Different ideas of "healing" and "justice" affect peoples responses because when beliefs differ so vastly, people are not going to act uniformly.
