Muslim women’s service utilization for intimate partner violence: Front line service providers’ perceptions of what constitutes a culturally informed response

Abstract

We explored Muslim women’s involvement in social services in response to intimate partner violence [IPV] from the perspective of frontline service providers. Participants identified several barriers embedded in current services including the absence of individualized support which offers women a continuum of options based on their needs and preferences. Furthermore, lack of sensitivity and appropriate response to abuse experiences based on women’s culture leads to further marginalization of women in services, which decreases service utilization. Participants suggested a strong collaboration among mainstream services, and Muslim centered services providing coordinated community response to IPV. Given women’s collectivist culture, involvement of women’s collective such as family member, and cultural community leaders upon women’s discretion was also recommended. Finally, participants recommended cultural diversity of service providers, while providing an ongoing education on culturally informed practices for all frontline workers. Our results support the development of survivor-defined and culturally informed services in addressing varied needs. To do so, we recommend building a bridge between Muslim communities and formal services, which help with the development of high quality services, and also facilitate women’s access to and use of formal support for IPV.