The Bosnian Outreach Program of Project AWARE serves women from a large Bosnian refugee/immigrant population who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). The rate of IPV in the U.S. among this population is unknown, although a previous study demonstrated a 20% prevalence rate for IPV among women living in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Refugee Women’s Resource Project, 2002). IPV is the foremost health care concern for women everywhere. Barriers to accessing services for Bosnian and immigrant women include: limited English language proficiency; unfamiliarity and distrust with service providers; history of lack of services and/or responsiveness to their assaults in their native country; war experience; realities of a refugee life; social stigma; community pressures; and lack of social support. The overlap of domestic violence, frequent poverty and limited English proficiency results in a complex situation that is extremely difficult to overcome, and is of particular concern when accessing domestic violence services. The purpose of this study is to explore battered Bosnian women’s lived experience in the U.S., and to improve the outreach program’s current services by including the voices of Bosnian women as active participants in program development and quality improvement. Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology is the philosophy and method underlying the study. The sample consists of 15 women who either have experienced or are experiencing IPV and are past, current, or potential clients of the program identified through program records, word of mouth and locally posted flyers. Interviews are being conducted by a bilingual client advocate from the program. Audiotapes are being transcribed verbatim in Bosnian, translated into English, and analyzed by the research team using interpretive phenomenology. Findings will be disseminated to assist domestic violence workers in understanding the lived experience of battered Bosnian women. This information will be used to plan culturally meaningful interventions in program policy and practice.
Session #1219 - Poster Session I
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)