Intimate Partner Violence Proposal

Courtani Asher

Research Proposal 1

California State University, Long Beach

SW 594A Sec 04

Introduction

General Overview

Domestic Violence (DV) commonly referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent issue affecting women all over the world. It is estimated that 20-64% of all violence against women is committed by a romantic partner (DeJonghe & Levendosky, 2008). The term Domestic Violence includes “all verbal, physical, and sexual assaults which violate a woman’s physical body, sense of self and sense of trust” (Alhabib & Jones, 2010, p. 369). Intimate partner violence, on the other hand, can be defined as emotional or verbal abuse, threats, isolation or intimidation, physical violence, rape, and death (Lenahan, 2009). Due to the high prevalence of intimate partner violence worldwide, IPV has been declared as a major public health problem (Lenahan, 2009) affecting between 25% and 41% of women (Williams, Wyatt, Meyers, Green, & Warda, 2008). In 2010, it was reported that 1 in 3 women (35.6%) in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner (Black, et al., 2010). Women who experience IPV at least once in their lifetime are at higher risk for death, or more common injuries such as immune disorders, difficulty sleeping, gastrointestinal

However, research suggests that poor, immigrant women are at higher risk for experiencing intimate partner violence (Wong & Mellor, 2014). Women from immigrant and refugee communities do not report intimate partner violence, and consider IPV a private family matter (Xu, et al., 2005). For instance, in the Asian culture, men and women believe that “Beating is love, and scolding is intimacy” (Xu, et al., 2005, p. 78), and the abuse is usually concealed and protected by both partners, and is ignored within the community (Xu, et al.,