Youngson Nicole, Saxton Michael, Jaffe Peter G, Chiodo Deborah, Dawson Myrna, Straatman Anna-Lee
Western University, London, Ontario Canada.
Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children, Western University, 1137 Western Road, Room 1158, Faculty of Education Building, London, Ontario N6G 1G7 Canada.
J Fam Violence. 2021;36(5):537-550. doi: 10.1007/s10896-021-00248-7. Epub 2021 Feb 9.
Through interviews the present study examined the perspectives of service providers ( = 14) in the violence against women (VAW) sector regarding risk factors and challenges in assessing risk for women experiencing domestic violence (DV) in rural locations. The present study also examined what promising practices VAW service providers are utilizing when working with women experiencing DV in rural locations. Interviews were coded and analyzed in a qualitative analysis computer program. Analysis indicated several risk factors including the location (i.e., geographic isolation, lack of transportation, and lack of community resources) and cultural factors (i.e., accepted and more available use of firearms, poverty, and no privacy/anonymity). Moreover, analyses indicated several challenges for VAW service providers assessing risk including barriers at the systemic (i.e., lack of agreement between services), organizational (i.e., lack of collaboration and risk assessment being underutilized/valued), and individual client (i.e., complexity of issues) level. However, participants outlined promising practices being implemented for rural locations such as interagency collaboration, public education, professional education, and outreach programs. The findings support other research in the field that highlight the increased vulnerability of women experiencing DV in rural locations and the added barriers and complexities in assessing risk for rural populations. Implications for future research and practice include further examination of the identified promising practices, a continued focus on collaborative approaches and innovative ways to prevent and manage risk in a rural context.
通过访谈，本研究考察了暴力侵害妇女行为（VAW）领域的服务提供者（n = 14）对农村地区遭受家庭暴力（DV）的妇女进行风险评估时的风险因素和挑战的看法。本研究还考察了VAW服务提供者在与农村地区遭受DV的妇女合作时所采用的有前景的做法。访谈在一个定性分析计算机程序中进行编码和分析。分析表明了几个风险因素，包括地点（即地理隔离、交通不便和社区资源匮乏）和文化因素（即枪支的接受程度和更多可获得的使用、贫困以及缺乏隐私/匿名性）。此外，分析表明VAW服务提供者在评估风险时面临几个挑战，包括系统层面的障碍（即服务之间缺乏一致性）、组织层面的障碍（即缺乏协作且风险评估未得到充分利用/重视）以及个体客户层面的障碍（即问题的复杂性）。然而，参与者概述了针对农村地区正在实施的有前景的做法，如机构间协作、公共教育、专业教育和外展项目。这些发现支持了该领域的其他研究，这些研究强调了农村地区遭受DV的妇女的脆弱性增加以及农村人口在风险评估方面存在的额外障碍和复杂性。对未来研究和实践的启示包括进一步考察已确定的有前景的做法，持续关注协作方法以及在农村背景下预防和管理风险的创新方式。
