Nature, gender, trauma: The role of nature in recovering from intimate partner violence

Scholars in public health, urban planning, and social work embrace the notion that contact with nature promotes health and wellness, including in the context of trauma. This article analyzes the lived experiences of women recovering from Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) to explore two propositions: (a) contact with nature promotes trauma recovery for women and (b) access to nature as a healing aid is compromised by experiences of gender and trauma. Based on qualitative interviews with eighty IPV survivors, I found significant support for the first proposition: many participants experienced nature as an important source of support during the recovery process. However, I also found significant evidence for the second proposition: because access to nature is mediated by gender and violence, IPV creates negative feedback loops where the people most likely to experience IPV also have reduced access to nature as a wellness aid. Examining these gendered and trauma-related experiences reveals how power and inequity are woven into the natural environments often associated with healing. • Contact with nature promotes health and wellness. • Women recovering from IPV experience nature as a healing space. • Gender and trauma reduce access to nature as a healing space. • Disparities in access to nature can be addressed once they are better understood.