Women’s Experiences Receiving Support Online for Intimate Partner Violence: How Does it Compare to Face-to-Face Support from a Health Professional?
Open accessAbstract
There is a growing need for novel approaches in supporting victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), particularly as the demand placed on formal services increases. Online interventions in this space have shown a great deal of theoretical promise. However, currently little is known about how women perceive this form of support, and how their experiences of receiving support online might differ from face-to-face approaches. This study aims to address this gap through qualitative interviews with n = 16 women who had experienced IPV. Eight of the women had received support via an interactive online intervention, and eight had received a counselling intervention delivered by their general practitioner (GP) (family doctor). The findings suggest that many elements of face-to-face support can also be delivered effectively online, leading to greater control over the help-seeking process. On the other hand, a trusting relationship with the GP can also be extremely helpful to women seeking to disclose, and is difficult to replicate online. Which method of delivery is preferred may depend on whether a woman values trust or control in her help-seeking journey. Both online and face-to-face interventions for IPV should focus on providing individualized support that raises awareness, lessens isolation and considers women’s own unique needs and circumstances.
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Baseline survey measures (both arms) could have biased the findings, as the questions themselves potentially functioned as an intervention.
“As previously noted and consistent with previous research, it is also possible that the baseline survey measures (both arms) could have biased the findings, as the questions themselves potentially functioned as an intervention [79], increasing, for example, women’s self-awareness of their IPV experiences, safety actions and mental health.”
From Longitudinal impacts of an online safety and health intervention for women experiencing intimate partner violence: randomized controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
The Results and Discussion report that I-DECIDE participants found completing questionnaires raised their awareness of IPV, supporting the possibility that questions themselves had an intervention-like effect. The paper does not establish that these were baseline measures in both trial arms or that they biased the trial findings; its qualitative account draws on I-DECIDE intervention-arm participants. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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- Authors
- Tarzia, L., Cornelio, R., Forsdike, K., & Hegarty, K.
- Affiliations
- Royal Women's Hospital (AU)
- Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne, 200 Berkeley Street, Carlton, Victoria, Australia
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Tarzia, L
- Venue
- Interacting with Computers
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2018-09-01
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 433-443
- ISSN
- 0953-5438 (ISSN-L)
- 1873-7951
- OpenAlex
- W2891383976
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 3.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Interacting with Computers (publishedVersion)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Australian Research Council (130102799)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- intimate partner violence, online intervention, face-to-face counseling, help-seeking, women's experiences, general practitioners, trust, control, disclosure, victim support, individualized support
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