Session: Beyond Exposure: Mechanisms, Measurement, and Health Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence In Informal Settlements (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

The first paper examines fear as a unifying mechanism linking community violence and IPV, demonstrating how institutional failure and normalized insecurity collapse distinctions between public and private violence, suppress help-seeking, and erode trust in formal systems. The second paper investigates male authority and household power dynamics, identifying how economic dependence, gender norms, and the role of male partners shape women’s ability to engage in IPV and mental health interventions, with implications for gender-transformative programming. The third paper contributes a validated, low-burden measure of technology-facilitated IPV, addressing a critical gap in measurement and enabling more accurate assessment of coercive control in resource-constrained settings. The fourth paper documents the embodied health consequences of gender-based violence among urban refugee women, illustrating the interrelated mental, physical, and reproductive health impacts of sustained violence under conditions of displacement and structural marginalization.

Together, these studies articulate IPV as a multi-scalar, structurally embedded phenomenon shaped by intersecting forms of violence, institutional breakdown, and gendered power. By integrating qualitative, quantitative, and community-participatory approaches, the symposium advances rigorous, contextually grounded evidence to inform intervention design, strengthen measurement, and highlight pathways to more equitable and responsive health and social service systems.

Aligned with the conference theme, this work demonstrates how social work research can contribute to the common good by illuminating hidden mechanisms of harm, strengthening institutional accountability, and advancing access to care for marginalized populations living under conditions of structural constraint.