Conceptualizing Johnson’s Typology of Intimate Partner Violence in Queer Relationships

Testimonio as a methodology in the study of sexual and intimate partner violence

“…Despite decades of scholarship on SIV in family science, feminist family scientists have critiqued this body of work for its inattention to the structural power inequities that promote violence and restrict survivors' ability to disclose their experiences (Barrios & Caspi, 2020; Bermea & van Eeden‐Moorefield, 2023; Hardesty & Ogolsky, 2020). In line with a LatCrit perspective to address the structural influences that hinder or facilitate disclosure of SIV (Garza, 2021), we should continue to use methods that are specifically intended to identify these structural influences within participants' testimonios .…”

“…The presented methodology, testimonio , draws on Indigenous ways of knowing and consciousness‐raising (Latina Feminist Group, 2001; Silva et al, 2022), which are consistent with later waves of feminist methodologies. Given that many forms of SIV are embedded in systems of power, including racism, sexism, and cis‐heteronormativity (Barrios & Caspi, 2020; Bermea & van Eeden‐Moorefield, 2023), which are also replicated in families, it is critical to use methods that allow for the consciousness‐raising needed to identify and name the systems of power that prevent disclosure (Garza, 2021), particularly to create change that ultimately facilitates positive disclosure experiences. Because of the resistance to acknowledging the validity of testimonio research (Delgado Bernal, 2020) and its application mostly by Latinx scholars, who are, too, marginalized in academic spaces, testimonio has been mostly absent from our work as family scholars and critical feminist family scholars.…”

“…While some family theories that recognize such contexts have been applied to the study of SIV (most notably family systems theory, albeit controversial; Murray, 2006), some family scientists and other violence scholars who study interpersonal violence, do so through a multitude of fields and, therefore, theories. Although not an exhaustive list, some family scientists who study interpersonal violence may frame their work through queer theory (see Bermea & van Eeden‐Moorefield, 2023), intersectionality theory (see Barrios et al, 2021), ecological theory (see Spencer et al, 2024), and, if they do not highlight theory, they highlight their methodological decisions in doing IPV research (Hardesty et al, 2019). Although the focus of this paper is not to develop theory, the theoretical perspectives aligned above are one step in understanding the contexts that are so critical to a testimonio methodology.…”

“…Of these, marginalized women, including women of color (Leemis et al, 2022), queer women (Walters et al, 2013), and/or trans women and transfemme individuals (James et al, 2016) appear to be especially vulnerable. Some family violence scholars have called for increased attention to structural factors, such as patriarchal and cis‐heterosexist gender norms or norms that promote violence, in understanding SIV (Barrios & Caspi, 2020; Bermea & van Eeden‐Moorefield, 2023; Hardesty & Ogolsky, 2020). However, as noted by feminist scholars, most existing research examines individuals' (e.g., predisposition to anger) and relational (e.g., intergenerational transmission of violence) risk factors (Hardesty & Ogolsky, 2020).…”

LGBTQ Victim-Survivors' Experiences and Negotiations of Service Worker and Service System Discrimination

“…Consequently, the experiences of racially-minoritized victim-survivors are likely underrepresented within the above findings. LGBTQ and racial minority identity comprises an intersectional location that reliably denotes profound relational imbalances (Bermea & van Eeden-Moorefield, 2023). Victim-survivors who hold both identities are likely to encounter additionally forms of discrimination within help-seeking contexts which may in turn demand specific strategies of negotiation to manage -as indeed the experiences of our racially-minoritized participants appears to suggest.…”