The Lived Experience of Intimate Partner Violence in the Rural Setting

Diverse Intimate Partner Violence Survivors' Experiences Seeking Help from the Police: A Qualitative Research Synthesis

Intimate partner violence (IPV), inclusive of all forms of abuse, is an ongoing public health and criminal-legal issue that transcends social boundaries. However, there is a lack of equitable representation of diverse populations who experience IPV in the literature. To garner a holistic knowledge of diverse IPV survivor populations' experiences with seeking help from the police, the current review utilized a qualitative research synthesis methodology to explore police interactions among six IPV survivor populations that are underrepresented in the current literature: women with substance use issues, immigrant women, women in rural localities, heterosexual men, racially/ethnically minoritized women, and sexual minority women. Seven electronic databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed articles on IPV survivors' narrative descriptions (qualitative or mixed-methods) of their encounters with law enforcement. The final analysis included 28 studies that were then coded with an iterative coding strategy. The analysis uncovered the following themes: (a) revictimization by the police, (b) police negligence, (c) discrimination, (d) cultural differences, and (e) positive experiences. These themes demonstrated that while some experiences with law enforcement were shared between under-researched survivor groups, some experiences were explicitly tied to some aspects of survivors' identities. Recognizing the potential law enforcement has to support survivors, the findings of the current review reiterate the need for ongoing efforts to improve law enforcement knowledge and overall response to IPV, especially for diverse populations of IPV survivors.

Differential Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence during COVID-19: A Cross-Regional Study in Mexico

The COVID-19 pandemic brought on a marked increase in intimate partner violence (IPV) worldwide, Mexico being no exception. Factors that exacerbated gender-based violence (GBV) in the household during the pandemic include gendered loss of income, regression in access to social and legal justice resources, reversal to more traditional gender norms and roles, and increased alcoholism. While there are studies about the prevalence and determinants of IPV in rural and urban Mexico, there appears to be a lack of information regarding how these realities differed as they interacted with the compounding pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stemming from 10 ethnographic interviews with women across rural and urban localities of Oaxaca, Mexico City, and Mexico State, who were recruited from NGOs providing psychological and legal services against GBV, we analyze some factors associated with the prevalence of IPV during confinement. We conclude that all women in our study experienced IPV both before and during the pandemic, with variations in IPV patterns influenced by their rural or urban residence, socio-economic status, ethnic-racial identity, and proximity to the abuser's network. We also found that not all impacts were negative, rather COVID-19 measures had a paradoxical effect for some women where restrictions on geographical mobility and decrease in access to alcohol became pivotal protective factors. We recommend that public policymakers and civil society organizations alike pay attention to these differential challenges and benefits in their crisis responses.

Social network responses to victims of potentially traumatic events: A systematic review using qualitative evidence synthesis

Background

A substantial number of qualitative studies examined how adult victims of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) experienced support provided by family members, friends, colleagues, and other significant others in the informal network. Importantly, the large majority of qualitative studies focused on the perceived support of victims of specific events such as sexual offences, partner violence, homicide, accidents and disasters. Although it is likely that across specific PTEs there are similarities as well as differences in experienced support from the informal network, to date no systematic review synthesized the results of qualitative studies on support from the informal network following various types of PTEs. The aim of the present systematic review is to fill this gap in the scientific knowledge, which is also highly relevant for victim services, policymakers, and the informal network.

Methods

A literature search of qualitative studies was conducted using the electronic databases of PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Psych INFO, Scopus, Criminal Justice Abstracts and Picarta. The quality of the identified studies was assessed with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative research (COREQ) checklist, followed by analysis of the results of the identified studies using Qualitative Evidence Synthesis.

Findings

Seventy-five papers were included in the synthesis, involving 2799 victims of PTEs such as accidents, disasters, homicide, intimate partner violence (IPV), and sexual offences. Saturation was only achieved for IPV. Overall, four major categories of perceived social support were identified, namely, support perceived as supportive, supportive but insufficient, unsupportive, and absent from informal support providers, which included friends, family, neighbors, (if applicable) offender’s family, religious group members, work/school colleagues, fellow victims, the local community, and the social network in general. Across the PTE groups, there were similarities in experiencing positive forms of support (particularly empathy and sharing experiences) as well as negative forms of support (abandonment, avoidance, lack of empathy, and not experiencing support despite victim’s request for help). There were also differences across PTE groups, in particular, victims of sexual and intimate partner violence mentioned a number of other supportive (mobilizing support, no unsupportive responses) and non-supportive (e.g., justification or normalization of violence and minimizing responses) responses.

Conclusions

The review showed that different actors within the social informal network can play an important role in providing support after victims experience violence, homicide, accidents, and disasters. However, the review revealed that the large majority of qualitative studies were aimed at victims of IPV, and only for this type of PTE was saturation achieved. This indicates that, although this synthesis identified several similarities and differences, it is still too early to draw more definitive conclusions on similarities and differences in experienced social support after various PTEs and that future qualitative studies focusing on other PTEs are much needed.

Perspectives of Victims of Gender Violence

The purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences of women who have been affected by violence and received mental health care. A qualitative phenomenological design was used with in-depth interviews and personal letters in a sample of 29 women from a public mental health center of Madrid, Spain, who were affected by physical, mental, and/or sexual abuse. The analysis revealed three themes: (1) Living With Fear; (2) Feeling Guilty; and (3) Experiencing the Imposition of So-Called "Womanly Duties" (i.e., being a maid, babysitter, and/or sexual slave). The current study highlights the importance of developing educational programs for the prevention of abuse. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58(6), 30-39.].