Help-Seeking Barriers for Latinx Victims of Intimate Partner Homicide: Insight From Survivors, Advocates, and Community Practitioners

Abstract

Limited studies have considered the experiences of Latinx intimate partner homicide (IPH) survivors. A federally designated, culturally specific gender-based violence resource center partnered with nine community-based organizations to enhance culturally specific knowledge on IPH prevention by conducting listening sessions and key informant interviews with Latinx survivors, advocates, and community practitioners. The current study analyzed data from the larger project to explore help-seeking barriers encountered by Latinx IPH survivors, specifically cisgender and transgender women. Results identified six themes impacting help-seeking: an inaccessible criminal justice system, inequitable resources, immigrant identity, gender role beliefs and expectations, a lack of culturally sensitive services, and family concerns. Policy implications and future research are discussed.