Highlights

  • Through a $257,384Β two-year grantΒ from the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence,Β faculty fromΒ ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™sΒ Violence Against WomenΒ research cluster areΒ conductingΒ aΒ statewideΒ domestic violence needs assessment.

  • The interdisciplinary group of researchers will analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Florida’s Departments of Law Enforcement and Children and Families, as well as survey organizations that provide domestic violence services. They are also interviewing survivors who sought services and those who didn’t to understand access to care and risk factors.

  • Findings from the assessment will help policymakers and local agencies develop better strategies to fund and support domestic violence prevention programs that empower survivors in Florida, nationally and worldwide.

Florida is turning to ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ experts to find better ways to prevent domestic violence and give survivors a stronger voice in the services they need.

Through a $257,384 two-year grant from the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence, faculty from ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s Violence Against Women research cluster are conducting a statewide domestic violence needs assessment. Their findings will help policymakers and local agencies develop better strategies to fund and support domestic violence prevention programs that empower survivors.

β€œThe collective goal of our work is to give people working in these programs and people using these services a voice,” says Bethany Backes, associate professor of social work at , who leads the Violence Against Women cluster and is the project’s principal investigator. β€œHaving research that practitioners can understand and interpret in a way that’s helpful is important to us. “What we’re creating now is hopefully something that can be used for years to come.”

The World’s Women

Violence against women is a global issue. According to UN Women, nearly one in three women worldwide have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life. In 2024, around 50,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members.

β€œWe’re looking at criminal justice, sociology, health, and so much more that altogether could create solutions beyond any one discipline.” β€” Kim Anderson, Professor of Social Work

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s faculty cluster β€” working across the disciplines of education, social work, criminal justice, sociology and medicine β€” was created a decade ago to change these outcomes. β€œWe know how complex this social problem is,” says Kim Anderson, a professor of social work and cluster member. β€œWe’re looking at criminal justice, sociology, health, and so much more that altogether could create solutions beyond any one discipline.”

Informing Florida’s Strategy

The researchers have already identified some key needs for the state to examine.

β€œFor example, we’re seeing people facing abuse who are having to spend more on food or other necessities as they navigate shifts in funding for certain assistance programs,” Backes says. β€œWhat we’re also seeing is the effect of population booms, and how rapid growth and rapid decline in some areas affects the need for services.”

2x2 grid of Karina Villalba (top left) outside College of Medicine; Bethany Backes (top right) among trees; Alison Cares (bottom left) in office at desk; and Kim Anderson (bottom right)
Several of the members of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s interdisciplinary Violence Against Women Faculty Cluster: Karina Villalba (top left), Bethany Backes, Alison Cares (bottom left) and Kim Anderson (bottom right)

The researchers are analyzing data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Florida’s Departments of Law Enforcement and Children and Families and are surveying organizations that provide domestic violence services. They are interviewing survivors who sought services and those who didn’t to understand access to care and risk factors.

Creating opportunities where more people feel comfortable sharing their domestic violence experiences is cluster member Karina Villalba’s expertise.

β€œMy focus is on intimate partner violence, specifically within the Hispanic community,” says Villalba, an assistant professor in the β€™s Population Health Sciences Division. β€œThere are certain beliefs, like the concept of β€˜machismo’, that may give an avenue for some men to pursue this kind of violence. Because it can be part of the cultural acceptance, it might not even be seen as violence by the survivors.”

She hopes efforts to prevent domestic violence in the U.S. will have impact globally.

β€œYou’re seeing a ripple effect in countries in Latin America where people are becoming more aware,” Villalba says. β€œIt helps us keep pushing forward with our work so we cannot just be a beacon here in Florida and the United States, but to show the world what we can do.”

Keys to Preventing Violence

Preventing domestic violence means identifying early warning signs and behaviors and providing services to lower the risk of continuing violence, Backes says.

Domestic violence is β€œnot always physical and it’s not just seeing someone with a black eye,” she says. β€œPhysical violence can happen after there’s been psychological abuse such as coercion, controlling, isolation or stalking.”

Cluster member Alison Cares, associate professor of sociology at , says preventing domestic abuse involves changing misconceptions.

β€œThere’s this expectation of how abusers or survivors look. It’s easy to think the people doing this abuse look like monsters,” she says. β€œBut the reality is these are people we know. They can be friends or family members or people we work with.”

The researchers say they are encouraged by the resilience of the survivors and service providers they have met.

β€œWe see incredible bravery of people who talk to a support person,” Anderson says. β€œWe’re hoping that information we get from this assessment can elevate the voices of staff and survivors.”