“Being Married Doesn’t Mean You Have to Reach the End of the World”: Safety Planning With Intimate Partner Violence Survivors and Service Providers in Three Urban Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051987923
Author(s):  
Shannon N. Wood ◽  
S. Rachel Kennedy ◽  
Zaynab Hameeduddin ◽  
Ben Asira ◽  
Catherine Tallam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Personal Property ◽  
Safety Strategies ◽  
Urban Informal Settlements

Intimate partner violence (IPV) harms women physically, sexually, and psychologically. Safety strategies, or harm reduction techniques implemented by women undergoing recurrent violence, may help mitigate the negative health, economic, and social consequences of IPV. This study aimed to understand recommended and utilized safety strategies among three urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Semi-structured key informant discussions (KIDs; n = 18) with community-based service providers and focus group discussions (FGDs; n = 49) with IPV survivors were conducted. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated verbatim from Swahili to English. Inductive thematic analysis was used to structure codes. Convergence matrices were used to analyze emergent strategies by data source (service providers vs. IPV survivors). Women preferred safety strategies that they could implement unassisted as first line of harm reduction. Strategies included removing stressors, proactive communication, avoidance behaviors, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), economic, leaving partner for safety, child safety, and securing personal property. Strategies recommended by service providers and utilized by IPV survivors differed, with clear divergence indicated for leaving the abusive relationship, SRH, and personal property strategies. Innovative strategies emerged from IPV survivors for safeguarding property. Similar to upper-income and other low and middle-income contexts, women experiencing IPV in urban informal settlements of Nairobi actively engage in behaviors to maximize safety and reduce harm to themselves and their families. Integration of strategies known to be helpful to women in these communities into community-based prevention and response is strongly encouraged. Increased synergy between recommended and implemented safety strategies can enhance programming and response efforts.

Implementing a Harm Reduction Approach to Substance Use in an Intimate Partner Violence Agency: Practice Issues in an Irish Setting

Partner Abuse ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Morton ◽  
Melinda Hohman ◽  
Amanda Middleton
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Substance Use Services ◽  
Barriers And Challenges ◽  
Integrated Response ◽  
Reduction Approach

There has been growing recognition of the co-occurrence of substance use and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in women’s and men’s lives, yet many IPV service providers have not developed an integrated response to these issues. Fewer still have implemented substance use services from a harm reduction approach. This article outlines the approach, policy changes, initial outcomes, and learning points for an IPV agency in Ireland, which implemented a harm reduction response to female IPV survivors who were also using substances problematically. Barriers and challenges for staff and management seeking to coordinate and integrate service delivery on the dual issues are also presented.

scholarly journals Mapping Complex Systems: Responses to Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Three Refugee Camps

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Horn ◽  
Karin Wachter ◽  
Elsa A. Friis-Healy ◽  
Sophia Wanjku Ngugi ◽  
Joanne Creighton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Seeking Help

Armed conflict and forced migration are associated with an increase in intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. Yet as risks of IPV intensify, familiar options for seeking help dissipate as families and communities disperse and seek refuge in a foreign country. The reconfiguration of family and community systems, coupled with the presence of local and international humanitarian actors, introduces significant changes to IPV response pathways. Drawing from intensive fieldwork, this article examines response options available to women seeking help for IPV in refugee camps against the backdrop of efforts to localize humanitarian assistance. This study employed a qualitative approach to study responses to IPV in three refugee camps: Ajuong Thok (South Sudan), Dadaab (Kenya), and Domiz (Iraqi Kurdistan). In each location, data collection activities were conducted with women survivors of IPV, members of the general refugee community, refugee leaders, and service providers. The sample included 284 individuals. Employing visual mapping techniques, analysis of data from these varied sources described help seeking and response pathways in the three camps, and the ways in which women engaged with various systems. The analysis revealed distinct pathways for seeking help in the camps, with several similarities across contexts. Women in all three locations often “persevered” in an abusive partnership for extended periods before seeking help. When women did seek help, it was predominantly with family members initially, and then community-based mechanisms. Across camps, participants typically viewed engaging formal IPV responses as a last resort. Differences between camp settings highlighted the importance of understanding complex informal systems, and the availability of organizational responses, which influenced the sequence and speed with which formal systems were engaged. The findings indicate that key factors in bridging formal and community-based systems in responding to IPV in refugee camps include listening to women and understanding their priorities, recognizing the importance of women in camps maintaining life-sustaining connections with their families and communities, engaging communities in transformative change, and shifting power and resources to local women-led organizations.

An Integrative Review of Safety Strategies for Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon N. Wood ◽  
Nancy Glass ◽  
Michele R. Decker
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Safety Planning ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Safety Strategies ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent and a leading source of morbidity and mortality to women worldwide. Safety planning is a cornerstone of harm reduction and violence support in many upper income countries. Far less is known about safety strategies used by women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where the IPV support service infrastructure may be more limited. This study aimed to review the literature regarding safety strategies in LMICs. A PubMed search was conducted using search terms “safety,” “coping,” “harm reduction,” and “intimate partner violence.” Inclusion criteria comprised IPV studies mentioning characterization and utilization of safety strategies that were written in English and conducted in an LMIC. Our search yielded 16 studies (in-depth interviews, n = 5; focus group discussions, n = 2; case study, n = 2; mixed qualitative methods, n = 4; mixed methods, n = 1; and semi-structured quantitative survey, n = 2). Four distinct themes of strategies emerged: engaging informal networks, removing the stressor/avoidance, minimizing the damage to self and family through enduring violence, and building personal resources. IPV-related safety strategies literature primarily emerged from site-specific qualitative work. No studies provided effectiveness data for utilized strategies. Across geoculturally diverse studies, results indicate that women are engaging in strategic planning to minimize abuse and maximize safety. Women highlighted that safety planning strategies were feasible and acceptable within their communities. Further research is needed to test the effectiveness of these strategies in decreasing revictimization and increasing health and well-being. Further adoption of safety strategies into violence programming could increase monitoring and evaluation efforts.

How Research Evidence is Defined, Acquired, and Shared Across Systems That Address Intimate Partner Violence

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122110259
Author(s):  
Taryn P. Lindhorst ◽  
Erin A. Casey ◽  
Claire Willey-Sthapit ◽  
Barbara Toews
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Research Information ◽  
Professional Networks ◽  
Victim Services ◽  
Academic Settings

This exploratory study examined the flow of research evidence through systems that address intimate partner violence (IPV), including victim services, law enforcement, and criminal justice organizations. Qualitative interviews with representatives of these disciplines assessed how respondents define, acquire, and share research evidence. Findings suggest that research evidence is defined more broadly in the field than in academic settings, and is accessed primarily from trusted intermediaries within professional networks. State IPV coalitions and victim service providers are key intermediaries across sectors. Findings suggest the need for more tangible supports to support sharing of research information within and across service sectors.

The Intersections of Race and Immigration

2020 ◽  
pp. 133-166
Author(s):  
Xavier L. Guadalupe-Diaz ◽  
Carolyn M. West
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Victim Services

As in the cisgender intimate partner violence (C-IPV) literature, transgender IPV (T-IPV) is often presented as a one-size-fits-all phenomenon, where all transgender survivors experience the same IPV tactics and barriers to escape. Consequently, IPV victim service providers may falsely assume that most transgender survivors are white, native-born citizens. In reality, transgender survivors who are people of color, immigrants, and/or undocumented face a variety of unique IPV tactics and barriers to escape shaped by racism, xenophobia, language challenges, and fewer legal rights. This chapter reviews the still-emerging body of research on T-IPV and intersectionality, specifically the intersections of race and immigration, supplemented by studies on race and immigration in the C-IPV literature. Ultimately, this literature emphasizes the need for tailoring IPV victim services to the unique needs of various transgender subgroups.

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