Perspectives on how we can better address sexual, partner, youth, and community violence

For the last issue of her term as editor-in-chief of Psychology of Violence, Antonia Abbey invited well-regarded scholars in the areas of sexual, intimate partner, youth, and community violence to provide their perspectives on the state of the field. The title for the special issue, “We Can Do Better: Perspectives on Research and Interventions that Address Sexual, Intimate Partner, Youth, and Community Violence," reflects the main theme of the submitted articles. The issue is divided into five sections, with an introductory article (Abbey, 2024) that distills overarching themes and recommendations: (a) failure to meet survivors’ needs and implications for federal funding allocations (Campbell, 2024; Hamby & Yoon, 2024; White & Koss, 2024), (b) failure to modify perpetrators’ behavior and the implications for basic research and the development of interventions (Denson & Choy, 2024; Murphy, 2024), (c) critical new directions for etiologic research to better serve diverse populations and address substantive issues (Bent-Goodley, 2024; Ceballo, 2024; Davis, 2024; Muehlenhard, 2024; Ullman, 2024), (d) methodological advances and challenges (Eckhardt & Parrott, 2024; Krahé, 2024), and (e) critical new directions for prevention research and program development (Banyard, 2024; Farrell, 2024; Orchowski, 2024).

Despite decades of research examining the causes and consequences of sexual, intimate partner, youth, and community violence, rates of violence remain at epidemic levels in much of the world (The Lancet Public Health, 2022; World Health Organization, 2021). Thus, researchers need to question traditional paradigms and funding priorities and explore innovative approaches that include survivors and community members in the search for solutions that meet their needs. This special issue was published at a challenging time to advocate for evidence-based research that eliminates sexual, intimate partner, youth, and community violence and highlights the disproportionate burden of violence on women, people of color, and members of sexual and gender minorities. Artificial intelligence and social media have made it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. Levels of distrust in science, expertise, and institutions of higher education are high. Despite these very real challenges, this special issue was published with the hope that it would inspire new scholarship from researchers at all career stages: early career scholars developing independent lines of inquiry, mid-career scholars broadening their research focus, and senior career scholars sharing the lessons they have learned.

• Violence Against Women Act funding currently prioritizes criminal justice solutions, which fail to address most survivors’ needs (Campbell, 2024). Funding needs to be reallocated to promising evidence-based programs (White & Koss, 2024) that prioritize survivors’ and communities’ needs. Scientists must find ways to convince the public and policymakers that research findings have value and should guide funding decisions.
• There are very few programs for perpetrators of sexual and partner violence, and those programs that do exist are of limited effectiveness (Murphy, 2024). Integrative theoretical approaches are needed to guide the development and evaluation of innovative new prevention and treatment programs that take a biopsychosocial approach, working at multiple levels of the social ecology (Denson & Choy, 2024).
• The Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision impels researchers to develop programs that evaluate the effects of this ruling on violence against women (Davis, 2024). In states that ban or restrict abortion, critical issues include determining how frequently threats of forcing sex without birth control is used as a rape tactic and determining how rape myths affect decisions about rape exceptions (when allowed).
• Researchers need to listen carefully to victims of violence, perpetrators of violence, and community members affected by violence rather than assuming they already have the answers. Many survivors find ways to recover and thrive, yet these processes have not received much theoretical or empirical attention (Hamby & Yoon, 2024; Ullman, 2024). Bent-Goodley (2024) advocates for more research that delineates how entrenched racism and discriminatory treatment from police officers, child protective service workers, and shelter staff discourage Black women from seeking formal services.
• Progress is hindered by unresolved conceptual and methodological issues. Ceballo (2024) gives the example of sexual assault being omitted from most researchers’ definitions of community violence, despite how frequently it is highlighted in the narratives of young women and members of sexual and gender minorities. Muehlenhard (2024) critically examines the criteria for establishing meaningful sexual consent, emphasizing how personal history, economic inequalities, and cultural norms can exert pressure even when one’s partner does not. Krahé (2024) describes the challenges associated with developing accurate self-report measures of victimization and perpetration, which are essential for determining the scope of the problem and monitoring the effects of prevention and treatment programs. Developing more nuanced answers to questions about the causes of violence requires labor intensive research. For example, alcohol administration researchers can address important questions about the role of alcohol as an instigator of violence; however, the requirements associated with running these studies may deter early career researchers from attempting them (Eckhardt & Parrott, 2024).
• Implementation science principles need to be followed when developing and revising interventions (Orchowski, 2024). Individuals can have different profiles of risk and protective factors, even when they display the same level of problem behavior; thus, program developers need to examine subgroup differences to ensure their programs help a wide range of individuals (Farrell, 2024). Prevention programs also need to be delivered within social networks, using examples that draw on participants’ actual experiences rather than abstract standardized scenarios (Banyard, 2024).

The word “practical” suggests a list of actions that are feasible to implement now. A long-term plan is needed to make the paradigm shifts described by these special issue authors. Some suggestions for how to get started include the following:

• Universities need to reevaluate the criteria used in tenure and promotion decisions. Researchers who use participatory, interdisciplinary, experimental, qualitative, and other labor-intensive methodologies should not be penalized because they produce fewer publications.
• Researchers need to work together across international and disciplinary boundaries to effectively reduce gender-based violence. Researchers and practitioners can begin to build coalitions to advocate for making violence prevention and treatment research a funding priority. In the United States, a new institute is needed within the National Institutes of Health to support basic research devoted to understanding, preventing, and treating the consequences of sexual, intimate partner, youth, and community violence.
• Funding agencies need to require strong evaluation designs and to defund programs that are ineffective, replacing them with evidence-based interventions that address survivors’ and communities’ needs. An important first step requires researchers to convince policymakers and community members that evidence-based programs produce better outcomes for society.

This article is in the Social Psychology and Social Processes topic area.

Abbey, A. (2024). We can do better: Perspectives on research and interventions that address sexual, intimate partner, youth, and community violence. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 373–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000566

Banyard, V. (2024). Have we fully tapped the potential of bystander intervention? Shelve it or sustain it? Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 484–490. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000531

Bent-Goodley, T. B. (2024). Intimate partner violence experienced by Black women: Present and future directions. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 434–440. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000554

Campbell, R. (2024). Systems-centered care versus survivor-centered care: Reimagining help and healing for sexual assault survivors. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 379–385. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000528

Ceballo, R. (2024). Studying community violence: Lessons from feminist theory. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 428–433. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000560

Davis, K. C. (2024). The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision: Considerations for future violence research. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 422–427. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000530

Denson, T. F., & Choy, O. (2024). Reconsidering biological treatments for reducing violent offending. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 412–421. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000532

Eckhardt, C. I., & Parrott, D. J. (2024). Proximal effects of alcohol on intimate partner violence perpetration: Recommendations for investigating “the how question.” Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 467–476. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000558

Farrell, A. D. (2024). Challenges to advancing the development of effective school-based violence prevention programs. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 477–483. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000544

Hamby, S., & Yoon, S. (2024). A call for a basic science of healing. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 396–403. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000538

Krahé, B. (2024). Methodological progress in sexual violence research: Achievements and challenges. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 459–466. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000537

The Lancet Public Health. (2022). Violence against women: Tackling the other pandemic [Editorial]. The Lancet Public Health, 7(1), e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00282-6opens in new window

Muehlenhard, C. L. (2024). A broader view of sexual consent: Prerequisites that make consent more meaningful. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 449–458. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000553

Murphy, C. M. (2024). Four ways to enhance the impact of relationship violence (batterer) intervention programs. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 404–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000549

Orchowski, L. M. (2024). Advancing sexual assault prevention through implementation science. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 491–500. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000561

Ullman, S. E. (2024). Perspectives on future research on sexual assault disclosure and social support. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 441–448. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000529

White, J., & Koss, M. P. (2024). Using research to recalibrate the Violence Against Women Act initiatives for sexual exploitation response. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 386–395. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000559

World Health Organization. (2021). Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018: Global, regional and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/341337/9789240022256-eng.pdfopens in new window

Antonia Abbey, PhD, is a distinguished professor of psychology at Wayne State University. She recently completed her term as editor-in-chief of Psychology of Violence. She has a long-standing interest in eliminating violence against women. Her current research focuses on the etiology and measurement of sexual violence.