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.