Poster #19

Barriers to Criminal Justice Involvement Among Ethnically Diverse Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

By: Taryn Thrasher. Co-authored by Olivia Backley, B.A., and Diana Than

Abstract:

When addressing the needs of survivors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), we must consider experiences and barriers to engaging with the Criminal Justice system. These experiences may vary among survivors from different ethnocultural backgrounds. To better understand the IPV experiences of survivors from different cultural backgrounds, the current study will conduct a qualitative analysis of interview data from survivors of European, Mexican, Korean, and Vietnamese backgrounds. Participants were recruited through community-based outreach in the Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan area. A total of 112 women completed interviews. Of these women, 30 were of European descent, 43 were of Mexican descent, 19 were of Korean descent, and 20 were of Vietnamese descent. Researchers conducted a semi-structured interview to assess cultural influences on survivors’ experiences of IPV. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated to English when necessary. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify key themes through marginal coding, conceptual sorting, the development of a codebook, and independent coding of the transcripts. Through this process we identified four major codes concerning Criminal Justice involvement, including: 1) level of police involvement (e.g., police not contacted, made official police report); 2) reasons for not contacting police (e.g., the need to protect the perpetrator, distrust of police); 3) how police were contacted (e.g., others called the police, survivor initiated contact); and 4) police interactions (e.g., helpful reactions such as conducting an investigation, unhelpful reactions such as refusing to help). This work emphasizes the importance of compassionate and effective police intervention, as well as the need to address both internal and external barriers to help-seeking for survivors of IPV.

taryn thrasher

Taryn Thrasher is a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in Psychological Research at California State University Long Beach. Previously, she has worked with organizations that advocate for improvement in mental health care to develop interventions on a community level. Additionally, Taryn has completed independent research projects through the UCLA undergraduate research department and Psychological Research Opportunities Program concerning minority mental health. As a crisis counselor and certified mental health advocate, her work has provided hands-on experience with conflict resolution and mental health intervention. In her full-time role, she oversees the development of new Psychological assessments by managing the necessary data collection to standardize each measure. Her research focuses on the role of resilience resources in the relationship between intimate partner violence and postpartum depression in Ethnic minority women.