The intergenerational life course framework for domestic violence states that early exposure to violence in the family context can lead to perpetration of domestic violence in adulthood. However, different communities may draw from ecological, behavioral, and human development risk factors in very different ways. In fact, each of these factors, ecological, behavioral, and human development, is built upon socio-cultural norms, attitudes, beliefs, and histories of communities. Thus, in order to understand the factors that may increase risk of domestic violence perpetration and those that strengthen domestic violence prevention, it is essential to understand the social ecology, behavioral norms, and attitudes and beliefs of a given community.

To this end, the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council (A3PCON) coordinated a community needs assessment regarding domestic violence in five Asian American communities in Los Angeles County. Special Service for Groups – Research & Evaluation (SSG R&E), in partnership with Korean American Family Services (KFAM), Koreatown Youth & Community Center (KYCC), Pacific Asian Counseling Services (PACS), Asian Pacific Counseling & Treatment Centers (APCTC), South Asian Network (SAN), and Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF) conducted 23 focus groups with 163 total participants across five Los Angeles County Asian and South Asian communities: Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, North Indian Hindu, and Pakistani Muslim.

While the needs assessment itself generated important insights regarding intergenerational risk and strengthening factors for domestic violence in these communities, the process of conducting this needs assessment raised some critical learnings around ethical research practices for studying violence in vulnerable minority communities. Specifically:

1. Navigating different immigrant identities and experiences
2. Language access and informed consent
3. Empathic data collection on traumatizing subject matter
4. Barriers to using IRB, alternative approaches to human subjects and community protections
5. Working with mandated reporters for data collection

Ultimately, both the substantive findings as well as the ethical challenges were incorporated into the subsequent pilot testing phase of this project. This presentation with describe some of the ethical challenges we encountered, share some of the solutions we developed, and explain our approach to an ethical research practice that continues to learn and grow.