Highlights
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Through a $257,384聽two-year grant聽from the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence,聽faculty from聽麻豆原创鈥檚聽Violence Against Women聽research cluster are聽conducting聽a聽statewide聽domestic violence needs assessment.
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The interdisciplinary group of researchers will analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Florida鈥檚 Departments of Law Enforcement and Children and Families, as well as survey organizations that provide domestic violence services. They are also interviewing survivors who sought services and those who didn鈥檛 to understand access to care and risk factors.
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Findings from the assessment will help policymakers and local agencies develop better strategies to fund and support domestic violence prevention programs that empower survivors in Florida, nationally and worldwide.
Florida is turning to 麻豆原创 experts to find better ways to prevent domestic violence and give survivors a stronger voice in the services they need.
Through a $257,384 two-year grant from the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence, faculty from 麻豆原创鈥檚 Violence Against Women research cluster are conducting a statewide domestic violence needs assessment. Their findings will help policymakers and local agencies develop better strategies to fund and support domestic violence prevention programs that empower survivors.
鈥淭he collective goal of our work is to give people working in these programs and people using these services a voice,鈥� says Bethany Backes, associate professor of social work at , who leads the Violence Against Women cluster and is the project鈥檚 principal investigator. 鈥淗aving research that practitioners can understand and interpret in a way that鈥檚 helpful is important to us. “What we’re creating now is hopefully something that can be used for years to come.”
The World鈥檚 Women
Violence against women is a global issue. According to UN Women, nearly one in three women worldwide have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life. In 2024, around 50,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at criminal justice, sociology, health, and so much more that altogether could create solutions beyond any one discipline.鈥� 鈥� Kim Anderson, Professor of Social Work
麻豆原创鈥檚 faculty cluster 鈥� working across the disciplines of education, social work, criminal justice, sociology and medicine 鈥� was created a decade ago to change these outcomes. 鈥淲e know how complex this social problem is,鈥� says Kim Anderson, a professor of social work and cluster member. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at criminal justice, sociology, health, and so much more that altogether could create solutions beyond any one discipline.鈥�
Informing Florida鈥檚 Strategy
The researchers have already identified some key needs for the state to examine.
鈥淔or example, we鈥檙e seeing people facing abuse who are having to spend more on food or other necessities as they navigate shifts in funding for certain assistance programs,鈥� Backes says. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e also seeing is the effect of population booms, and how rapid growth and rapid decline in some areas affects the need for services.鈥�
The researchers are analyzing data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Florida鈥檚 Departments of Law Enforcement and Children and Families and are surveying organizations that provide domestic violence services. They are interviewing survivors who sought services and those who didn鈥檛 to understand access to care and risk factors.
Creating opportunities where more people feel comfortable sharing their domestic violence experiences is cluster member Karina Villalba鈥檚 expertise.
鈥淢y focus is on intimate partner violence, specifically within the Hispanic community,鈥� says Villalba, an assistant professor in the 鈥檚 Population Health Sciences Division. 鈥淭here are certain beliefs, like the concept of 鈥榤achismo鈥�, that may give an avenue for some men to pursue this kind of violence. Because it can be part of the cultural acceptance, it might not even be seen as violence by the survivors.鈥�
She hopes efforts to prevent domestic violence in the U.S. will have impact globally.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e seeing a ripple effect in countries in Latin America where people are becoming more aware,鈥� Villalba says. 鈥淚t helps us keep pushing forward with our work so we cannot just be a beacon here in Florida and the United States, but to show the world what we can do.鈥�
Keys to Preventing Violence
Preventing domestic violence means identifying early warning signs and behaviors and providing services to lower the risk of continuing violence, Backes says.
Domestic violence is 鈥渘ot always physical and it鈥檚 not just seeing someone with a black eye,鈥� she says. 鈥淧hysical violence can happen after there鈥檚 been psychological abuse such as coercion, controlling, isolation or stalking.鈥�
Cluster member Alison Cares, associate professor of sociology at , says preventing domestic abuse involves changing misconceptions.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this expectation of how abusers or survivors look. It鈥檚 easy to think the people doing this abuse look like monsters,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut the reality is these are people we know. They can be friends or family members or people we work with.鈥�
The researchers say they are encouraged by the resilience of the survivors and service providers they have met.
鈥淲e see incredible bravery of people who talk to a support person,鈥� Anderson says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that information we get from this assessment can elevate the voices of staff and survivors.鈥�
