Firearms and Domestic Violence: Understanding Survivor Experiences

• In Event: Data, Policy, and Experience: Justice-Involved Women and Domestic Violence

Abstract

The National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) is the only 24/7/365 national hotline that serves victims of domestic violence and dating abuse, their friends, and family. As a large direct service provider The Hotline regularly conducts research through surveys with those who use our services (via call, chat and/or text), through our websites, and through our social media platforms. Last year, The Hotline released an updated report with the Battered Women’s Justice Project on the role of firearms in domestic violence. The presentation discusses The Hotline’s work with survivors and key findings from its updated study, which builds on a 2014 report by providing a more detailed look at how abusers use firearms to threaten, control, and harm victims. Many survivors noted that an abuser’s access to firearms influenced their decisions about seeking help or staying in the relationship. The report also highlights the barriers survivors face in using legal measures to prevent abusers from obtaining firearms. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence aimed at policies to protect survivors and prevent domestic violence-related homicides.

Author

• Marium Durrani, National Domestic Violence Hotline