Interview Guide for Victims of IPV/SV

INTRODUCTION

Violence between couples causes a lot of injury, death, and disability. The Latino Development Agency, with the support of the University of Oklahoma and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is developing a program to reduce this kind of violence. We are asking you to participate in an interview about the experiences women/men have when they need help to stop the violence with their partner. We will be talking to men who have been violent towards their current or former wives, girlfriends, or other intimate partners and we will also be talking to women who have been victims of violence by their current or former husbands, boyfriends or other intimate partners. We would like to talk to you because you’ve had experience with intimate partner violence. The purpose of this interview is to talk about your experiences and to advise us in creating better ways to help other women/men who have problems like your own.

In this interview we will ask you some things about yourself and the violence in your past. We will ask you about the kind of help you wished you had had and the help you actually got. We want your opinions about the best ways that the Latino Development Agency can help women/men who have a history of partner violence. We would like to improve the services available and need your ideas to help us develop a program that women/men who have a history of partner violence will find helpful and will use.

The interview will last about one hour an you will be paid $ 20.00 in WalMart gift certificates for your participation. You will not be asked to give us your name and you will not be asked to write your answers. The interviewer will take notes while you are talking. To help us in remembering your answers we would like to tape record the interview. If you do not wish this to be done, tell us and we will not record anything. Your participation is voluntary, and you may refuse to answer any question or leave at any time during the interview if you wish. Your participation or what you say in the interview will not affect your services at the Latino Development Agency or elsewhere.

RISKS

The risks for you if you participate are small. Some of the questions may be upsetting and may make you feel uncomfortable. It this happens, we will refer you to someone who can provide counseling if you wish. In addition, if you would like more information, we can give you a list of helpful resources.

BENEFITS

Many people find it helps to talk about their experiences with violence. This may be true for you. In addition, the information you give us can be used to help plan better ways of providing services for women and men involved in partner violence. You will also receive $20.00 in WalMart gift certificates for your time and inconvenience.

CONFIDENTIALITY

What you talk about will be kept secret. In fact, your name will not appear on any of our notes. You will be assigned a number for this project and that number will be the way we keep your ideas separate from everybody else’s. As soon as the information you give us is put into the computer, any papers we take notes on will be destroyed as well as all tapes, if we record your responses.

If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to ask now or you can call CONTACT PERSON. Do you have any questions? Would you like to participate?

1. When and how did you first become aware that you had a problem?

2. When did it begin (how long after meeting him or getting married)? What was the first sign? What other things did your partner do to you? How often did these things occur? Why do you think it occurred?

3. When did you decide to get help for yourself?

4. What made you decide to get help?

5. What problems did you encounter in trying to get help?

6. Where did you get information on your possible options for receiving help?

7. What made you decide to use the services at (X agency)?

8. What problem did you find in trying make use of the services?

9. How could we get more people like you to come?

10. What services has the Agency provided for you?

11. Of these services, what did you find most helpful? Why?

12. (If participated in a support or educational program) What sessions did you like the most? The least? Why? Any sessions feel demeaning? Irrelevant?

13. Was anything missing from the services that you would have liked to have received?

14. What problems have you encountered in this process?

15. Has anything changed since you’ve been in the program and if so, in what ways?

Demographics

Age:

Level of education:

Years living in the U.S.

Country of origin:

Number of children: