Situating agency: How time, space and networks shape immigrant women's navigation of intimate partner violence in Iceland

Although immigrant women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence (IPV) in Iceland, little is known about their navigation of IPV. Based on nine interviews and Campbell and Mannell's (2016) concept of distributed agency , this article explores how time, space and networks shape immigrant women's experiences of IPV in Iceland. Using the Listening Guide method, I-poems were created from the interview transcripts to foreground participants' agency and first-person narratives. The women's actions, including survival, coping and resistance, spanned a wide spectrum of agency, from strategic non-action through micro-agentic behaviour to radical change. Examples of these actions included inner processing, carefully weighing options, reading and anticipating moods, avoiding confrontation, strategically complying, selective resistance and risk-taking, managing and avoiding shared spaces, leaving the relationship, controlling disclosure of information, seeking validation and support, navigating institutions strategically, rethinking past selves' actions and setting boundaries. The article also identifies structural barriers and disadvantages faced by victims of IPV, immigrants and women in Iceland. At the same time, Iceland's institutional and discursive context offered affordances that helped women navigate IPV. These results may inform policymakers, service providers and society to better support women navigating IPV.