Our co-produced rapid evaluation examined Young People’s Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (YPIDVA) services for young people who had experienced abuse within their own intimate relationships. This article draws on 16 interviews with young people who accessed YPIDVA support across five services in England and Wales. Findings indicated that initial engagement was most successful when young people retained control over whether and how to engage and did not feel rushed or pressured into decisions. Trial periods and open, non-judgemental conversations were key in fostering autonomy. A significant barrier to engagement was previous negative experiences with other services, particularly the police. Many described feeling unheard or dismissed, which contributed to hesitancy in accessing further support. In contrast, young people were overwhelmingly positive about YPIDVA support. They valued its relational and trauma-informed nature, delivered through equitable, trusting relationships. A blend of practice safety planning, emotional support and advocacy was central to providing a young person-centred, holistic approach. Our findings broadly align with Herman’s (1997) three-stage interconnected model of trauma recovery. However, at the time of research, funding cuts to YPIDVA services raised serious concerns about the sustainability of such provision.
Domestic abuse definitions have broadened from physical violence to include coercive control, a pattern of behavior that includes threats, stalking, psychological abuse, economic abuse, sexual coercion, isolation and denying autonomy. This shift parallels rising international parental child abduction cases, especially mothers and children escaping abuse. The 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction mandates rapid cross-border child return yet allows exceptions when return creates grave harm or intolerable conditions for the child. We argue courts should refuse return orders upon finding evidence of coercive control, since such abusive behavior fundamentally endangers children’s psychological and physical wellbeing and exposes them to intolerable situations.
In Western, English-speaking countries, women in Christian and/or church-attending families experience domestic abuse (DA) at the same rate as the general public, yet research on DA in UK churches is sparse. Literature from North America and Australia points to churches being slow to recognise and respond to DA in their communities, and to Christian teaching and theology playing key roles in condoning DA, particularly theologies that encourage male ‘headship’ and female submission. Despite being a church committed to gender equality in leadership already in its formative years, The Salvation Army (TSA) is only now taking formal steps to address DA. Utilising a survey completed by 172 individuals across TSA, this study supports the claim from existing research with UK churchgoers that churches’ responses to disclosures of DA are often inadequate. With 59 per cent of survey respondents having experienced abuse, barriers that prevent individuals from disclosing DA within TSA are underpinned by fear. This fear shows up in three ways: denial (DA doesn’t happen in TSA to TSA’s people); danger (officers/ordained ministers aren’t equipped to handle a disclosure well); and distrust (TSA lacks confidentiality, placing the victim-survivor at further risk of their abuser finding out they’ve disclosed).
Technology-facilitated coercive control (TFCC) is an increasing feature of intimate partner violence. As technology continues to rapidly expand and change, so do the tactics for enacting various forms of coercive control. We situate TFCC within a gendered framework, with devices such as smartphones, computers, cameras and global positioning system (GPS) applications used by perpetrators to watch, monitor and control victim-survivors. In this study we use an innovative composite character method to examine the life of a fictional character we have named Sarah, based on her lived experience of TFCC during the time of separation from her male partner. This is a period of liminality; a transitional threshold between established relationship patterns and newfound independence, characterised by increased vulnerability, and heightened risk of technology-facilitated abuse. We describe Sarah’s experiences of TFCC through the three categories of surveillance, image-based abuse and omnipresence. Additionally, we repurpose Foucault’s idea of the panopticon used in 20th century prisons to understand the experiences of surveillance via contemporary mobile panoptic devices that operate 24/7. We argue that technology companies need to take greater responsibility for TFCC and put in place proactive measures to combat this growing form of gender-based violence.
The specialist voluntary sector (SVS) provides distinctive and much-valued support to victim-survivors of sexual violence. Nevertheless, in England as in other countries, the funding and commissioning landscape in which SVS services are situated is complex and frequently characterised as fragmented and uncertain. In turn, this context unsettles, and sometimes threatens, SVS services’ unique ways of working and their long-term sustainability. Drawing on the concept of boundary spanning, this article reports an interview study with 16 commissioners who had responsibility to commission sexual violence services. We found that commissioners saw themselves as promoting and protecting SVS services, for example through the development of local partnerships, adaptation of commissioning requirements and conventions, and building professional alliances with service leaders. We also found that commissioners worked to broker strategic partnerships with commissioners in other public sector organisations; however, this work was often time-consuming, deeply political and uncertain in its outcomes. This article contributes to the sparse academic literature on the experiences and views of commissioners of SVS sexual violence services. By drawing on the theory of boundary spanning, the article offers a novel way of conceptualising the sophisticated and sometime precarious nature of commissioning practices, including the emotional and political labour required to bring about changes to the commissioning status quo.
This study analysed the impact of time pressure on police officers' willingness to deal with domestic violence incidents at work and proposed whether domestic violence alienation (DVA) - a cognitive state of psychological disconnection from domestic violence cases - plays a mediating role in this process. We also explored how far gender differences moderate the association between time pressure and DVA. Survey data were collected from 802 police officers from China. The survey assessed their time pressure, willingness to deal with domestic violence cases and DVA. Furthermore, a moderated mediation effect model was constructed to assess the research questions. After control variables, such as gender, educational level, marital status and health condition, were added, time pressure had a significant negative impact on police officers' willingness to deal with domestic violence cases in their daily scheduled work. This study used a bootstrapping approach and found that DVA played a mediating role between time pressure and police officers' willingness to deal with domestic violence cases. Furthermore, gender moderated the association between time pressure and police officers' DVA. This study contributes to understanding the theoretical concept of DVA, which helps explore police officers' attitudes to domestic violence cases in their work.
This study explores the relationship between violent and non-violent criminal behaviour and various factors among university students. The factors include criminal thinking styles, childhood traumas, male gender, drug use, harming animals, frequent fighting in childhood and the level of disciplinary punishment received. The study involved 854 university students from 96 universities, all of whom are over 18 and have not received any judicial punishment. The analysis revealed that higher levels of childhood traumas, criminal thinking, drug use and disciplinary punishments in school correlate with an increase in both violent and non-violent criminal behaviours. Additionally, males, those who harmed animals and those who fought frequently in childhood are more likely to exhibit these behaviours. Notably, intimate partner violence was uniquely linked to power orientation, entitlement, and emotional and sexual abuse. The research highlights the complex interactions between individual psychological factors and childhood experiences in leading to criminal behaviours and emphasizes the need for more studies focusing on societal and cultural risk factors for intimate partner violence.
This article uses an online survey of 586 victim-survivors to examine how safety and wellbeing shape decisions about reporting sexual violence to the police in England and Wales. Feeling physically and psychologically safe is central to wellbeing, so reporting decisions involved a complex and ongoing negotiation between these considerations. Both reporting and non-reporting were therefore active decisions based on the victim-survivor's appraisal of how best to meet their social, emotional and justice needs. Reporting decisions were also dynamic, with some victim-survivors withdrawing from investigations as risks to safety and wellbeing became clearer. Similarly, both reporting and non-reporting victim-survivors felt considerable ambivalence about the reporting decision over time-many who reported described the legal process as retraumatising, while non-reporters often felt guilty about not fulfilling a perceived moral duty. Ultimately, we argue that portraying reporting as inherently altruistic unfairly responsibilisesvictim-survivors and obscures these realities. We call for reduced pressure to report, expansion of non-police support pathways, improved procedural justice within the legal process, and shifting responsibility for preventing sexual violence away from victim-survivors and onto institutions and society.
Young adults frequently face various forms of abusive behavior, including physical, sexual, and psychological violence in their romantic relationships. Despite this, limited research exists on their understanding of power and control dynamics, particularly in the Turkish context. This study addresses this gap by exploring the perspectives and experiences of Turkish young adults regarding power and control in romantic relationships, grounded in gender and power theory. Based on semistructured interviews with 30 participants (26 women, four men) aged 18-25, two key themes emerged: awareness versus normalization of power and control; and recognizing the consequences and taking action. These findings highlight how young people recognized dynamics of power and control in their relationships, leading them to either normalize or reject such behaviors by continuing or ending the relationship.
Gender-based violence in Australia is a critical issue, with rising rates of victimisation and fatalities. Co-production initiatives involving victim-survivors offer a promising approach for achieving translational research outcomes. This study examines the experiences encountered when co-producing research with an academic who discloses being a survivor of sexual violence during a project, which was externally funded. Drawing on duo-ethnography, this article provides insights into the academic’s disclosure of her lived experience of sexual violence to the research team and to the funders, and the validation of her lived experience. It also details how further harm through involvement in the project was reduced by applying a feminist ethic of care, resulting in the emergence of a safe and productive working relationship through trauma-informed practice. This study acknowledges that not every researcher has the privilege to disclose their lived experience of violence, and the development of researcher well-being guidelines for gender-based violence projects could promote a safer research practice environment for all researchers, while reducing the likelihood of re-traumatisation for those who may not have disclosed their victim-survivor status.
This article provides an overview of the increased focus on the role of religion, religious leadership and faith-based organisations in ending gender-based violence including domestic violence. In understanding the rationale for this development, we identify three key areas that need further consideration. First, what is the role of religious communities in ending gender-based violence; second, what is the role and practice of faith-based pastoral care in responding to people experiencing domestic violence; and third, what is the role of the faith-based organisation in considering frequent gender-based hierarchies? We ask these questions drawing on findings from Australian research with two Christian denominations. Findings demonstrate the need for further consideration of the potential for religious-based community and leadership engagement with and responses to victim/survivors, as well as perpetrators, of domestic violence. We also consider what will support safe and effective pastoral care practice to address gender-based violence.
Forced marriage is conceptualised differently across the scholarship, including within frameworks of gendered violence, domestic and family violence (DFV), and modern slavery. These conceptualisations influence how the issue is defined and addressed. In Australia, forced marriage is legally classified as a 'slavery-like' practice and sits within policy frameworks spanning human trafficking, slavery practices, and DFV. However, the evidence base for this legal and policy positioning is limited, raising questions about how forced marriage is experienced. This article addressesthis knowledge gap by drawing on interviews with 12 young women who had experienced or were at risk of experiencing forced marriage. The findings reveal that marriage must be understood within interconnected contexts of young women's lives as a gendered, social and familial institution. This article argues that forced marriage may be more appropriately understood through the lens of coercive control, departing from Australia's dominant modern slavery discourse. The findings advance current conceptualisations of forced marriage and gendered harm experiences grounded in consent and coercion, providing empirical evidence to inform understandings both within Australia and internationally.
Peru has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in Latin America. Here we describe our intervention, titled 'Strengthening capacities of teachers for the prevention of gender-based violence in Tambogrande, Per & uacute;'. This intervention was developed with local partners and implemented in 2023 with preschool teachers in a Jesuit school on the northern coast of Peru. The programme aimed to strengthen the capacities of preschool teachers to promote gender equality in their classrooms. To evaluate the impacts of the programme, we administered pre-and post-intervention surveys (n = 31) and collected qualitative notes during the programming. Post-intervention surveys showed a significant increase in the teacher's ability to describe how gender differs from biological sex (p = 0.025) and in awareness of school policies to promote gender equality (p = 0.002). Teachers requested additional support to engage parents in ways that are culturally appropriate. Thus, we propose incorporating Catholic Social Teaching into future programming to correspond with the community and school's religious beliefs.
Sexual violence affecting university students is a significant problem worldwide. Though recent legislation introduced into UK universities aims to tackle the problem, it remains to be seen how effective this will be. Furthermore, within much existing research and legislation, the voices of minoritised students in relation to the issue are absent. This research utilised qualitative focus groups and interviews with 38 minoritised students from two universities in England. Most are female (n=23) and ages range from 18 to 44 years. Using vignettes, interviews explored help-seeking behaviours in relation to sexual violence and considered intersections with minoritised identities. Thematic analysis suggests that sexual violence is normalised within universities and underpinned by 'community knowledges'. Structural vulnerabilities and minoritisation impact perceptions of 'who' and 'what' counts in relation to sexual violence. Students also display a lack of knowledge about support provision at their universities, a finding which highlights universities' difficulties with informing students about what support is available. Furthermore, we found that students rely heavily on their informal networks in relation to decision-making about help-seeking. Overall, structural vulnerabilities experienced by minoritised students hindered their willingness to report. Intersectional recommendations for university action and policy are offered.
Survivors of honour-based abuse face significant challenges when communicating with professionals, yet their lived experiences of these interactions remain underexplored. This interpretative phenomenological analysis examined five survivors' accounts of professional communication. Four themes emerged: seeking validation amidst cultural misunderstanding; navigating the disclosure paradox; professional responses as potential re-traumatisation; and building bridges through authentic connection. Participants described struggling to be believed, fearing disclosure escalation and bearing the burden of educating professionals about cultural contexts. Positive experienceswere characterised by genuine rapport, clear support pathways and balanced autonomy. These findings highlight the need for culturally informed, trauma-sensitive professional training.
Violence against women is a significant human rights violation, with intimate partner violence (IPV) being a major form. In Burkina Faso, cultural norms and structural inequalities contribute to the acceptance of IPV. This study examines the determinants of this acceptance using data from the 2021 Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey, focusing on ever-married women aged 15-49 and their attitudes towards IPV. The outcome variable-whether women justified or rejected IPV-was based on five indicators. Descriptive statistics, bivariate tests and multilevel logistic regression identified individual and contextual effects. Results show that 49 per cent of women justified IPV in at least one circumstance. Acceptance was higher among rural residents (43.8 per cent) than urban women (30.2 per cent), and among those with no formal education (52.7 per cent) compared to those with secondary education or higher (21.6 per cent). Women in the poorest wealth quintile (51.1 per cent) were more likely to justify IPV than those in the richest quintile (17.4 per cent). Regional disparities were pronounced, with the Cascades (57.2 per cent) and Centre-East (54.6 per cent) regions showing the highest prevalence, while the Central Plateau had the lowest (18.3 per cent). Multilevel analyses revealed that limited participation in household decision-making, a greater number of live births and wider spousal age gaps increased acceptance of IPV. In contrast, higher education, improved economic status and joint decision-making were protective. These findings underscore the need for gender-transformative, regionally responsive interventions to challenge patriarchal norms and promote progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 5.2.
It has been globally recognised that COVID-19 has impacted the prevalence of domestic violence (DV). Various international research has reported obstacles for DV workers in reaching out to victims during the pandemic. To investigate how DV victims experienced seeking help and experienced support received from specialised units within social services or women's shelters during the pandemic, an interview study was conducted. Fifty-one women subjected to DV who turned to domestic violence support units in Sweden during the pandemic were interviewed on how the pandemic affected the support received. Through a thematic analysis, two themes were identified: the path to treatment; and support during the pandemic. Contact with a DV worker could most often continue through personal meetings with the necessary safety precautions maintained. When switched to digital meetings, it could still be effective if contact had initially been established through physical meetings. For women who participated in group sessions, the consequences were significant as the group sessions were completely cancelled. The findings indicate the need for a wide range of work methods that are sensitive to the needs of DV victims where continuity is crucial for treatment progress.
This article presents a pilot study of the Identification and Referral to Improve Safety (IRIS)/ Healthcare Responding to Violence and Abuse (HERA) model of complex interventions for genderbased violence (GBV) in tertiary healthcare settings in Bihar, India. The study involved field-based intervention training with healthcare providers in two hospitals across four departments. The study emphasises the importance of multi-sectoral responses to GBV and strengthening care pathways in low- and middle-income countries. HERA adapts the UK's IRIS model-based HERA model, which incorporates community-based organisations due to the lack of a universalised national health system in developing countries. While models like the One-Stop Centres and non-governmental organisation-led approaches are gaining traction in India, they lack rigorous evaluation and evidence of efficacy in reducing GBV. Systemic biases, including encouraging reconciliation with perpetrators and budgetary constraints, often result in poor quality care. Unlike the UK, these models are not integrated with comprehensive social care provisions. This study underscores the need for rigorously tested models led by women survivors tailored to the Indian context to enhance knowledge and development in health and social care for low-income settings.
