BRATTLEBORO — The awareness around intimate partner violence (IPV) has been brought to the fore with the COVID-19 pandemic - media attention has highlighted that globally, women already experiencing abuse are at risk of heightened violence along with a general proliferation of IPV overall during the pandemic.
Pandemic or not, however, in 2013 the World Health Organization described this type of gender violence as “a global health problem of epidemic proportions” - affecting 30 percent of women worldwide.
The violence women endure results in a myriad of health issues both physical and psychological, which at times can be long lasting and chronic.
Having worked in the field of domestic and sexual violence for over nine years, I know well the ways in which it interrupts and affects women's lives in brutal ways. My doctoral studies in public health at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have given me the time to delve deeper into understanding this public health epidemic - an epidemic that I believe continues to be highly stigmatized, invisible to many, and dangerously mischaracterized and largely treated as a private issue.
Having lived in Brattleboro since 2007, I decided to conduct my research in this area and bring a much-needed lens on rurality and intimate partner violence.
Research shows that IPV rates are generally similar across rural, urban, and suburban areas. However, victims in rural areas overall tend to experience more severe IPV and worsened overall psychological and physical health due to a variety of rural characteristics that lead to conditions of exacerbated violence.
One profound difference between rural areas and urban centers is the geographical isolation and limited services such as transportation, emergency services, and hospital care in rural regions.
Another unique and crucial characteristic of rural IPV is the close-knit communities that mark these regions, producing a lack of anonymity that make women less likely to report.
I am currently recruiting women who have experienced (or are experiencing) violence in the New England area to participate in an interview to share their experiences. I hope to learn what obstacles rural women face, how services can be strengthened to meet the needs of these women, and how both crisis center service providers and victims envision changes to improve services and push toward a world void of this type of violence.
If you are interested in being a part of this study, please contact me at [email protected] or at 802-275-4505 (talk or text). Participants will be paid for their time. You must be 18 or older, and abuse must have occurred in rural New England.