Bethany L. Backes

It is estimated that over 25% of women and 10% of men in the United States (U.S.) will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, which includes sexual or physical violence, stal...

Vicarious trauma in research is a growing area of inquiry. Discussion about vicarious trauma experienced as part of the research process builds on studies on the effects of trauma in other professions, such as domestic and sexual violence services, counselling, and emergency services. It is an extension of earlier feminist work that challenges the sharp distinctions between the academic, the personal and the political in knowledge production. This special issue brings together original empirical research, policy and practice recommendations, and personal reflections on vicarious trauma from emerging and experienced researchers. The contributors come from six countries and diverse disciplines and interdisciplinary fields, offering pragmatic advice for research leaders and students to recognise, mitigate and ultimately prevent vicarious trauma for researchers.

Adult forensic interviewing (AFI) collects evidence for the investigation and prosecution of interpersonal violence in a trauma-informed setting. The present study uses mixed methods evaluation data from an AFI program in the U.S. to assess survivors’ perceptions of safety and the utility of participating in these interviews. Most participants felt the process was beneficial to their personal lives and criminal justice system engagement by: (a) allowing them to share their stories in more detail, (b) supporting their healing journeys, and (c) helping them feel safer through resource referral. AFI is a promising practice that warrants continued research.

Despite a plethora of research examining campus dating and sexual violence (DSV) risk and protective factors, little of this research has been conducted at non-traditional institutions such as minority-serving institutions (MSIs), community colleges, or non-predominantly white institutions. A review of research on statistically significant protective and risk factors for campus perpetration or victimization at non-traditional institutions resulted in 12 articles. The inclusion criteria for the study were that the article was in English, in a peer-reviewed journal, and published between 2010 and 2021. Keyword searches identified 1,160 articles on campus DSV, which were then screened to ensure the quantitative research was conducted at a non-traditional institution. Significant perpetration and victimization factors, characteristics of the samples and institutions of these studies, and the research design were extracted. Few studies included in the review investigated DSV at MSIs, commuter campuses, or community colleges. Also, studies more commonly examined victimization, risk factors, and sexual violence, as opposed to perpetration, protective factors, or dating violence. Cross-cutting factors for both dating and sexual violence included alcohol and drug use, demographics, and prior abuse. Cross-cutting factors for both victimization and perpetration included personality characteristics, alcohol and drug use, demographics, and history of abuse. Future research should investigate DSV at non-traditional institutions to increase our understanding of risk and protective factors at these rarely studied institutions.

The current study examines the help-seeking experience of Latina intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. By relying on data from a statewide IPV service needs assessment, this study answers the following research questions: (RQ1) What is the experience of seeking help from an IPV service agency like for Latina survivors? (RQ2) What are the most prevalent unmet needs among Latina survivors seeking help from an IPV service agency? Based on various rounds of thematic analysis, findings reveal there is a lack of culturally competent services and that housing, language barriers, and legal status are all interrelated factors that serve as a triple disadvantage for Latina IPV survivors.

Throughout the last two decades, research on poly-victimization (PV) has evolved from examinations of a core set of past-year victimization types in youth samples to investigations of a broad range of victimization types experienced during variable time intervals in diverse samples of varying ages. As the concept of PV expands, greater clarity regarding the definition and measurement of PV is needed to advance understanding of its risk and protective factors as well as its associated outcomes. This scoping review aimed to (a) identify approaches used to operationally define and measure PV across studies and (b) synthesize empirical findings concerning risk factors and outcomes associated with PV. A systematic search of peer-reviewed research published before 2022 across 12 databases yielded 98 studies that met inclusion criteria. Study characteristics including the research design, sample type, victimization timeframe, operational definition(s) of PV, measurement of PV, analytic methods, and key findings were synthesized across studies. Findings indicated that the majority of reviewed studies were cross-sectional investigations that utilized categorical measures of lifetime PV in samples of youth. Results also demonstrated that PV is robustly associated with a broad range of predictors, including mental health symptoms and diagnoses as well as family- and community-level factors. PV is also associated with numerous adverse outcomes including depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance use, and delinquency across diverse study types and populations. Future research that examines the conditional effects of PV is needed to identify subgroups of individuals at higher risk of adverse outcomes following PV and modifiable targets for interventions.

Law enforcement has used video recording devices (e.g. dash camera, body-worn camera) for more than 40 years, with body-worn cameras emerging in 2005 as a policing tool. However, little is known regarding how video evidence is leveraged in case decision-making and outcomes for domestic violence. Law enforcement may use cameras to enhance evidence collection in domestic violence cases, take statements from victims, witnesses, and offenders, record injuries and damages, and document the administration of risk/injury assessments. Preliminary research has indicated video evidence may have strong evidentiary value in domestic violence cases, however, has rarely controlled for other contributing factors. This study furthers our knowledge by examining how video evidence taken by law enforcement impacts case outcomes and length of time to disposition in a sample of closed, misdemeanour domestic violence cases within a large county in a southwestern state. A random sample of cases (n = 612) with and without video evidence were examined for differences in case disposition and case length. Additional evidentiary factors and case characteristics are considered such as prior criminal charges, victim–offender relationship, presence of non-video evidence, presence of witnesses, and gender of offender. Analyses indicate significant differences, such that cases with video evidence are associated with increased guilty pleas, increased convictions, and less time to closure/final case disposition. Findings have implications for the use of video evidence in strengthening the criminal justice response to domestic violence incidents in combination with other case factors.