Disregarded and Under-Protected: Examining Black Women Intimate Partner Violence Survivors’ Help-Seeking in the Criminal Legal System

Abstract

Black women intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors are overwhelmingly burdened with the poorest outcomes due to a dearth of culturally responsive interventions and a plethora of culturally-blunted approaches. Fundamental to improving their outcomes is interrogating systems upon which they are known to rely upon during their IPV help-seeking process. Existing literature primarily examines Black survivors’ experiences within the criminal or legal system separately, disregarding their interconnected experiences across both the criminal and legal systems (CLS). Guided by standpoint epistemology and anti-carceral feminism, this qualitative study examines how 30 self-identified Black women survivors navigate help-seeking via the CLS. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using inductive-deductive thematic analysis, with focused and axial coding to identify cross-participant themes. Six themes emerged from the data: (1) critique of carceral feminism, (2) criminalization, (3) safety concern, (4) intersectional feminism, (5) transformative justice, and (6) limited protective CLS responses. Survivors frequently described disbelief, criminalization, and racialized bias that they believe rendered them invisible, even when reporting life-threatening violence. Many survivors noted they delayed help-seeking or turned to family, churches, and community supports due to mistrust of CLS providers and repeated institutional harm. Although a few women reported empathy and safety from female police officers, most found CLS involvement retraumatizing and unhelpful. Findings are consistent with previous research about the perpetuation of systemic harm rather than ensuring safety for Black survivors. Survivor-centered, community-based approaches grounded in transformative justice may provide more effective and equitable pathways to healing and accountability.