Using case studies to evaluate IPV prevention in immigrant and refugee communities

Almost a third of women in the United States experience physical or sexual abuse by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. Intimate partner violence (IPV) prevalence is difficult to measure because it occurs in private and victims are reluctant to report abuse because of shame, stigma and fear of reprisal. Available data suggest that IPV is not more prevalent in immigrant and refugee communities than in other groups. However, there are several factors that make it especially difficult for victims to seek or obtain help, such as immigration status, language barriers, and lack of knowledge of U.S. social systems. Moreover, mainstream organizations serving battered women may lack cultural and linguistic competence to work effectively in these communities.

To expand the knowledge base of effective IPV prevention, particularly for vulnerable populations, methods should be developed to evaluate community level interventions that have not been tested systematically. In the framework of the Strengthening What Works Initiative, eight grantee organizations participated in a collaborative evaluation of their IPV prevention programs. The evaluation used a mixed methods approach; however, due to the small number of participants, quantitative analysis did not lend itself for generalizations with statistical reliability. Thus, in order to assess the effectiveness of these programs, the evaluation became theory driven, whereas each program was a theory to be tested in real life conditions, and the results presented in the form of eight case studies that explore promising approaches to IPV prevention utilizing rigorous qualitative methods.