Research Summary: Informal Help-Seeking in Moments of Acute Danger: Intimate Partner Violence Survivors’ Emergency Outreach Efforts and the Forces That Shape Them
Date
2022-10
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Publisher
Center for Victim Research
Abstract
Heightened attention to police brutality has created momentum for alternative, community-based responses to violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV). Many IPV survivors rely on the police for intervention and at the same time, many (especially those from racially marginalized communities) are deeply reluctant to seek police assistance given the harms that the criminal-legal system has caused people in their communities. This tension comes into sharpest focus in moments of acute danger, when survivors face a risk of acute harm or even death. What do survivors want in those moments, and what influences their decision-making? A survivor-centered approach to this critical issue must begin with an exploration of what already occurs when survivors face crisis moments. Although activists and survivors have supplied valuable narratives that begin to address this question, limited systematic research exists in this area. This qualitative descriptive study set out to fill this gap, exploring survivors’ process of seeking help from network members, the outcomes of their efforts, and the contextual, interpersonal, and individual influences on that process. We hope that these findings will be useful as we work to build on existing community responses to better meet survivor needs.
Description
Research summary for advocates..
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Keywords
IPV, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, help-seeking, empathy, listening, disclosure, intervention