Intimate Partner Violence and Work: A Scoping Review of Published Research

Abstract

Increasingly, intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as having important impacts on work. The purpose of this scoping review is to describe the nature and extent of research on IPV and workers, the workplace, and/or employment. Using multiple search strategies, including searches conducted by a professional librarian from database inception to May 2018, 2,306 unique articles were retrieved and independently screened for eligibility by two team members. A total of 235 articles met predefined inclusion criteria, which were that articles must: (1) report findings of a research study, (2) be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and (3) be focused on IPV and the workplace, workers, and/or employment. The most common topics examined were the relationship between IPV and employment, IPV- and work-related factors, and the impacts of IPV on work. Most articles were quantitative and cross-sectional and focused on the abuse of women by men. Major research gaps include evaluations of interventions to address IPV and work and research focused on the experiences and needs of perpetrators and gender and sexual minorities. Further evidence synthesis is recommended in several areas and implications for policy and practice are discussed.