Transformation of the identity of homeless women with an experience of domestic violence: changing from a victim to a survivor: an example from shelters for mothers in the Czech Republic

The objective of this article is to analyse the situation of transformation of a victim's identity into a survivor's identity in mothers living in a shelter in Czech Republic. Domestic violence and commonly associated homelessness can be a very traumatic experience affecting the identity of homeless mothers. To understand victimological concept of reframing a victim into a survivor, we used analysis of data collected in qualitative participative research with 33 single mothers living with their children in shelters. The data shows that changing a victim's identity to a survivor's identity is realised in four stages that include: (1) the narratives of silence, (2) the narratives of total silence, (3) the narratives of transformation, and (4) the narratives of self-transcendence. An important element in the process of identity transformation is the relationship with the social worker. The results of the research are discussed in terms of relational psychoanalysis.