“Talkstory”, an Accessible Intervention for IPV

Purposes/Aims The purpose of “Talkstory” as a culturally accessible intervention was to determine if community owned, community led “talkstory” groups lead to an increased awareness of the gender based crime of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and increased community leadership to prevent and address IPV.

Rationale/Conceptual Basis/ Background Violence between intimate partners results in significant health consequences that are both physical and psychological and impact individuals within households and across communities.  In Hawaii murders from IPV are highest among Native Hawaiian and Pilipina women.  Past practice has focused on Western concepts of professional intervention. Yet in previous studies women in these communities did not rely on traditional services, but sought support and safety from their families, friends and other community members to prevent and intervene early when relationships were difficult. Critical Social Theory (CST) serves as the theoretical framework that guides this gender based intervention.  The intent of this theory is to “challenge conventional assumptions and social arrangements and to move beyond the ‘what is’ to the ‘what could be.  Community based participatory research (CBPR), the approach used in this study, is consistent with the perspective of CST and combines research and community capacity-building strategies. This presentation focuses on results of the intervention .

Methods The quasi experimental intervention includes 5 “talkstory” sessions over 7 months.  Pre and post testing was conducted to determine changes in between group means on the following measures: 1) Perceptions of the Acceptability of Violence; 2) Awareness, Knowledge, and Confidence regarding IPV; 3) Perception of the Capacity to Address IPV in the community; and 4) Utilization/Outcomes. The research study has been completed in 8 groups testing the intervention and 6 control groups matched for age, gender and ethnicity. 

Results

In the intervention group changes between pre and post testing of the measures showed a statistically significant change on measures of the acceptability of violence (p .001) and awareness (.001) and confidence (.001; .001; .001; .001)  in their ability to prevent and address IPV. In the control group changes between pre and post testing of the measures did not show a statistically significant change on measures of the acceptability of violence but did on confidence (.01; .001)  in their ability to prevent and address IPV.

Implications. The change in the intervention group regarding the acceptability of violence demonstrates the potential of “talkstory” as an accessible intervention, using a culturally acceptable strategy to change social norms.  Traditional assumptions regarding gender have guided perceptions of IPV and resulting attitudes in the communities. Increased awareness and confidence among the participants has led to identification of leaders who are engaged in further training to conduct the community intervention. Consistent with CST, capacity building and empowerment develop via questioning taken-for-granteds, reflective participatory dialogue, consciousness-raising, and, ultimately, action in the community.