Barriers to Domestic Violence Help Seeking Implications for Intervention

Data were obtained from the Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study, in which 491 abused women were interviewed in public health centers and a hospital. Responses of a subgroup of these women who did not seek help through the identified interventions are examined. Common themes emerge across the help-seeking interventions studied: individual thresholds for the seriousness of the violence, a perceived requirement to end the relationship, and certain specific barriers. The responses provide a glimpse into abused women’s reasons for not seeking particular interventions. Implications for public health, mental health, domestic violence counseling agencies, and the police are discussed.