“It's Not Something That I Realized Until I Started Working Here”: A Constructivist Grounded Theory of Knowledge Transmission in Victim Service Providers

Abstract

National estimates indicate that intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts people of all social demographics. Although IPV is a pervasive issue, LGBTQ+ individuals and heterosexual men note stark disparities in responses from victim advocates compared to heterosexual women. To highlight the influence of agency training on advocates’ perceptions of IPV and diverse survivor populations, interviews were conducted with victim advocates and constructivist grounded theory methods were employed. Analyses show that advocates undergo a three-phase process of learning about IPV when starting at their agencies. Advocate's narratives highlight limitations in training and the importance of workplace experiences in growing understanding of IPV.

Keywords

intimate partner violence victim service providers constructivist grounded theory LGBTQIA knowledge transmission

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Basow

S. A.

Thompson

(2012). Service providers’ reactions to intimate partner violence as a function of victim sexual orientation and type of abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(7), 1225–1241. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260511425241

Campbell

Sullivan

C. M.

Davidson

W. S.

(1995). Women who use domestic violence shelters: Changes in depression over time. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 237–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1995.tb00290.x

Charmaz

(2008). Constructionism and grounded theory. In Holstein

J. A.

Gubrium

J. F.

(Eds.), Handbook of constructionist research (pp. 319–412).

Charmaz

(2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Sage.

Charmaz

(2017). The power of constructivist grounded theory for critical inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(1), 34–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416657105

Charmaz

(2020). “With constructivist grounded theory you can’t hide”: Social justice research, critical inquiry, and the public sphere. Qualitative Inquiry, 26(2), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419879081

Chen

Khatiwada

Chen

M. S.

Smith

S. G.

Leemis

R. W.

Friar

N. W.

Basile

K. C.

Kresnow

. (2023). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 report on victimization by sexual identity . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/nisvsReportonSexualIdentity.pdf.

Corbin

Strauss

(2007). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Sage.

Crenshaw

(1993). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

10.

Creswell

J. W.

Poth

C. N.

(2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.

11.

Dixon

Treharne

G. J.

Celi

E. M.

Hines

D. A.

Lysova

A. V.

Douglas

E. M.

(2022). Examining men’s experiences of abuse from a female intimate partner in four English-speaking countries. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(3-4), 1311–1337. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520922342

12.

Dolan

C. V.

Conroy

N. E.

(2021). Centering transgender survivors’ experiences of intimate partner violence victimization: A critique of dominant approaches to research and service provision. Violence and Victims, 36(4), 493–508. https://doi.org/10.1891/VV-D-20-00077

13.

Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs. (2017). Power and control wheel. Theduluthmodel.org. https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/PowerandControl.pdf

14.

Douglas

E. M.

Hines

D. A.

(2011). The helpseeking experiences of men who sustain intimate partner violence: An overlooked population and implications for practice. Journal of Family Violence, 26(6), 473–485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-011-9382-4

15.

Fauci

J. E.

Goodman

L. A.

(2020). “You don't need nobody else knocking you down": Survivor-mothers’ experiences of surveillance in domestic violence shelters. Journal of Family Violence, 35, 241–254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s1-896-019-00090-y

16.

Few

A. L.

(2005). The voices of Black and White rural battered women in domestic violence shelters. Family Relations, 54(4), 488–500. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2005.00335.x

17.

Fontana

Frey

J. H.

(2013). The interview: From neutral stance to political involvement. In Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(Eds.), Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials (4th ed., pp. 115–159). Sage.

18.

Glaser

B. G.

Strauss

(1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Aldine.

19.

Goodmark

(2013). Transgender people, intimate partner abuse, and the legal system. Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review, 48(1), 51–104.

20.

Greenberg

(2012). Still hidden in the closet: Trans women and domestic violence. Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, 27(2), 198–251. https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38J678W3D

21.

Gruber

. (2021). The feminist war on crime: The unexpected role of women's liberation in mass incarceration. Oakland: University of California Press.

22.

Guadalupe-Diaz

X. L.

(2019). Transgressed: Intimate partner violence in transgender lives. New York University Press.

23.

Guadalupe-Diaz

X. L.

Anthony

A. K.

(2017). Discrediting identity work: Understandings of intimate partner violence by transgender survivors. Deviant Behavior, 8(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2016.1189757

24.

Guadalupe-Diaz

X. L.

Jasinski

(2017). I wasn’t a priority, I wasn’t a victim”: Challenges in help seeking for transgender survivors of intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 23(6), 772–792. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801216650288

25.

Hassouneh

Glass

(2008). The influence of gender-role stereotyping on women’s experiences of female same-sex intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 14(3), 310–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801207313734

26.

Hines

D. A.

Douglas

E. M.

(2011). The reported availability of US domestic violence services to victims who vary by age, sexual orientation, and gender. Partner Abuse, 2(1), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-011-9382-4

27.

Hughes

(2020). Women's advocates and shelter residents: Describing experiences of working and living in domestic violence shelters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(15–16), 3034–3053. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517707307

28.

Huntley

A. L.

Potter

Wiliamson

Malpass

Szilassy

Feder

(2019). Help-seeking by male victims of domestic violence and abuse (DVA): A systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis. BMJ Open, 9, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021960

29.

James

S. E.

Herman

J. L.

Rankin

Keisling

Mottet

Anafi

(2016). The report of the 2015 U.S. transgender survey . https://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/USTS-Full-Report-FINAL.PDF

30.

Kattari

S. K.

Walls

N. E.

Whitfield

D. L.

Magruder

L. L.

(2017). Racial and ethnic differences in experiences of discrimination in accessing social services among transgender/gender-nonconforming people. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 26(3), 217–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2016.1242102

31.

Kennedy

A. C.

Prock

K. A.

Adams

A. E.

Littwin

Meier

Saba

Vollinger

(2024). Can this provider be trusted? A review of the role of trustworthiness in the provision of community-based services for intimate partner violence survivors. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(2), 982–999. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838-231168641

32.

King

K. A.

Yockey

R. A.

Vidourek

R. A.

(2022). Transgender individuals and psychological intimate partner violence: A national study. Journal of Family Violence, 37, 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-020-00219-4

33.

Kunkel

Guthrie

J. A.

(2016). Survivor: Women's stories of navigation and tensions in a domestic violence shelter. Western Journal of Communication, 80(1), 100–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2015.1078904

34.

Leemis

R. W.

Friar

Khatiwada

Chen

M. S.

Kresnow

Smith

S. G.

Caslin

Basile

K. C.

(2022). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2016/2017 report on intimate partner violence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/NISVSReportonIPV_2022.pdf

35.

Maxwell

J. A.

(2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Sage.

36.

Merchant

L. V.

Whiting

J. B.

(2015). Challenges and retention of domestic violence shelter advocates: A grounded theory. Journal of Family Violence, 30, 467–478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9685-y

37.

Messinger

A. M.

(2017). LGBTQ intimate partner violence: Lessons for policy, practice, and research. University of California Press.

38.

Messinger

A. M.

Guadalupe-Diaz

X. L.

(2020). Transgender intimate partner violence: A comprehensive introduction. New York University Press.

39.

Naples

N. A.

(2003). Feminism and methods: Ethnography, discourse analysis, and activist research. Routledge.

40.

National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2022). 16th Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report . https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/16th-Annual-Domestic-Violence-Counts-Full-DV-Counts-Report-FINAL.pdf

41.

Nichols

A. J.

(2014). Feminist advocacy: Gendered organizations in community-based responses to domestic violence. Lexington Books.

42.

Nnawulezi

N. A.

Sullivan

C. M.

(2013). Oppression within safe spaces: Exploring racial microaggressions within domestic violence shelters. Journal of Black Psychology, 40(6), 563–591. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798413500072

43.

Patton

M. Q.

(2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Sage.

44.

Peitzmeier

S. M.

Malik

Kattari

S. K.

Marrow

Stephenson

Agénor

Reisner

S. L.

(2020). Intimate partner violence in transgender populations: Systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence and correlates. American Journal of Public Health, 110(9), e1–e14. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305774

45.

Porta

C. M.

Gower

A. L.

Brown

Wood

Eisenberg

M. E.

(2020). Perceptions of sexual orientation and gender identity minority adolescents about labels. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 42(2), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945919838618

46.

Reed

S. M.

(2022). Institutional framings of domestic violence by victim service providers: A qualitative assessment of agency discourse and knowledge transmission using service provider literature and interviews with staff [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

47.

Renzetti

C. M.

(1989). Building a second closet: Third party responses to victims of lesbian partner abuse. Family Relations, 38(2), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.2307/583669

48.

Rowlands

(2006). Domestic abuse among gay and bisexual men: An exploratory study in South Wales. Social Work Monographs.

49.

Seelman

K. L.

(2015). Unequal treatment of transgender individuals in domestic violence and rape crisis programs. Journal of Social Service Research, 41(3), 307–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2014.987943

50.

Silverman

(2017). More domestic violence shelters for men opening. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2017/07/15/537381161/more-domestic-violence-shelters-for-men-opening

51.

Simpson

E. K.

Helfrich

C. A.

(2014). Oppression and barriers to service for black, lesbian survivors of intimate partner violence. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 26(4), 441–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2014.951816

52.

Smith

C. M.

(2014). Examining access barriers to emergency domestic violence shelter services for transgender identified survivors of intimate partner violence in New York state [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. St. John Fisher College.

53.

Sumerau

J. E.

Grollman

E. A.

Cragun

R. T.

(2018). Oh my god, I sound like a horrible person: Generic processes in the conditional acceptance of sexual and gender diversity. Symbolic Interaction, 41(4), 62–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.326

54.

Sweet

P. L.

(2021). The politics of surviving: How women navigate domestic violence and its aftermath. University of California Press.

55.

Thwaites

(2017). (Re)Examining the feminist interview: Rapport, gender “matching,” and emotional labour. Frontiers in Sociology, 2, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2017.00018

56.

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, S. 47, 113 Cong. (2013).

57.

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021, H. R. 1620, 117 Cong. (2021).

58.

Wilson

J. M.

Goodman

L. A.

(2021). A community of survivors”: A grounded theory of organizational support for survivor-advocates in domestic violence agencies. Violence Against Women, 27(14), 2664–2686. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801220981143