Background: One in four women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime in the U.S. The use of guns, fatally or non-fatally, is not rare in IPV. About 4.5 million people have had an intimate partner who threatened them with a gun, and nearly 1 million have been shot by an intimate partner. The consequences of gun violence (GV) in IPV can be lethal and irreversible physically and psychologically among survivors and their families. Nevertheless, this subject has been understudied, partly due to challenges in collecting actionable data related to GV in IPV. Our preliminary studies showed the enormous potential of social media data for surveillance, prevention, and intervention with IPV, as we could collect live streaming data unobtrusively, at scale, anonymously, and at low cost. Thus, this study aimed to examine the availability of information on gun use in IPV disclosed on Reddit.

Methods: Using natural language processing, we collected publicly available data from four IPV-related subreddits (e.g., /r/domesticviolence) between January 2020 and March 2021. Of 4,000 collected original posts (OPs), we extracted OPs (n = 55) containing keywords, including “gun” and “firearm.” We conducted a quantitative content analysis. Guided by a codebook, three individuals independently encoded the data and resolved the coding discrepancies through discussions. We calculated the frequency of the identified codes on gun use in IPV.

Results: In addition to general IPV experiences (i.e., timing, type/subtype of IPV, help-seeking status, and needs), survivors’ narratives included rich information regarding GV: (a) the gun ownership (e.g., type/number of guns owned or registration status), (b) who used a gun (e.g., perpetrator or victim), (c) why (e.g., threaten to commit suicide, injure/kill the partner, or self-defend), and (d) how (e.g., showing a gun, pointing a gun at, or shooting). We also found the availability of risk/protective factors for GV among survivors and perpetrators.

Conclusion: With rich data on the patterns and factors for GV in IPV, social media can be a novel way to reach out to and support survivors to prevent devastating outcomes of gun use by their perpetrators and improve survivors’ health and safety.

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent public health problem that disproportionately affects Black women. The current justice response relies on the criminal justice system, which is counterproductive for Black women IPV survivors. Specifically, racialized, sexist stereotypes prevent society from viewing Black women as victims or survivors than white counterparts, which heightens dual arrest rates and hinders the healing and accountability process. Transformative justice, a community-based justice approach designed to repair harm between the survivor and perpetrator in addition to transforming the social conditions that perpetuate violence, may be a promising approach to IPV justice and accountability. However, little is known about the justice preferences for Black women IPV survivors. Therefore, the study sought to understand Black women IPV survivors’ experiences interacting with police for IPV and their justice preferences.

Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 Black women experiencing IPV were conducted from March 2021 to April 2022. Inductive analytic techniques from grounded theory were used to contextualize Black women IPV survivors’ experiences.

Results: One theme was identified that captured experiences interacting with the police among Black women IPV survivors: 1) fear and distrust of the police. Four themes were identified that captured justice preferences: 1) resolution through dialogue, 2) therapy and counseling services, 3) resource support, and 4) protection and prevention for children. Black women IPV survivors shared that fear and distrust of the police was mainly driven by anticipated discrimination by the police. Survivors’ justice preferences encompassed solution-based dialogue between the survivor and perpetrator mediated by family and trusted individuals in the community, therapy services, housing support, and attention to preventing the intergenerational cycle of IPV for children as part of a community-based, holistic justice response.

Conclusion: Interacting with police as part of the current justice response is counterproductive for Black women IPV survivors. Their preferences went beyond perpetrator accountability and addressed responsibilities of external systems and communities. Transformative justice may serve as a tool to promote equity and center Black women IPV survivors and their communities in the justice response for IPV.

Background: Black women experience Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) at disproportionately high rates in the U.S; some of this disparity is explained by structural racism. For IPV survivors, domestic violence protection orders (DVPOs) can provide safety. However, over half of DVPOs filed are voluntarily or involuntarily dismissed. We sought to determine the relationship between structural racism and DVPO dismissals in North Carolina (NC), and the extent to which that relationship is moderated by electronic filing (e-filing) of DVPOs. We hypothesized that e-filing mitigates some of the impact of structural racism due to the involvement of domestic violence advocates throughout the process.

Methods: To measure structural racism, we calculated dissimilarity index scores for all NC counties. The dissimilarity index is a measure of residential segregation often used as a proxy for structural racism. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses measuring the association between structural racism and DVPO dismissals and a moderation analysis assessing how e-filing impacts the relationship between structural racism and DVPO dismissals.

Results: Structural racism was significantly positively associated with involuntary dismissals (r=1.8, p=0.01). Additionally, through linear regression modeling we found that the interaction term between e-filing and structural racism was significant (r=-0.6, p=0.0215). Next, through post-hoc graphical probing we found that the relationship between structural racism, involuntary dismissals, and e-filing was consistent with our hypothesis as the relationship between structural racism and involuntary dismissals became weaker in counties that offered e-filing, indicating moderation. Voluntary dismissals were not associated with structural racism.

Conclusion: Findings support hypotheses that structural racism impacts DVPO dismissal rates in NC and that this relationship is mitigated by e-filing. Additionally, findings suggest that the expansion of e-filing may increase access to civil justice for IPV survivors.

This IRB-approved study examines job satisfaction, intent to leave and occupational stressors at a full-service center supporting victim/survivors of intimate partner violence. Previous work finds high rates of occupational hazards, high stress levels, and poorer health than workers of a similar age. However, few studies examine job satisfaction/intent to leave.

Staff completed the study on-line or in-person and were offered a small incentive to do so. Most (n=46) participated in the study. Participant characteristics include being full-time (75%), an average of 11 years’ experience, majority female (95%), varied in age ( 26-64) and somewhat diverse (White-62%, Hispanic-19%, and Black-14%, LGBTQ-16%).

A majority (69%) report being somewhat-very satisfied at work, but 43% say they are somewhat -very likely to seek a job elsewhere. Only a minority (20%) agree they have the resources to get their work done and the great majority (79%) overwork (coming in on days off, staying late or arriving early one or more times a month).

While 44% report stress from working with survivors of violence, even more (52%) are stressed by the larger political climate and perceive it as oppressive to vulnerable populations. Clients can be challenging and in a given month, staff serve clients who are: severely mentally ill (76%), actively hallucinating/delusional (24%), have physical disabilities (46%), or severe physical illnesses (26%). Staff face personal stressors, including rent-stress (66%), food insecurity (20%) and caregiver roles for children (48%) or older/disabled adults (28%). Staff health is sub-optimal: 33% rate their health as fair/poor and over half missed a day of work due to poor health (25% missed three + days). The majority of staff are not engaging in good self-care. as only about half get enough sleep, only one-third exercise regularly and almost none (7%) have good nutritional habits.

Organizations that serve victim/survivors can support their workforce with a strategic wellness plan that is specific, informed by specific staff needs and that assigns the responsibility for wellness activities to a specific position. This plan should seek to ensure the continuity of wellness programming and contain measurable objectives to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.