3190.0 - How intersecting systems of racism, sexism, and classism contributed to housing inequities for black women survivors of intimate partner violence

Session: Gender-Based Violence Among Marginalized Populations and Implications for Prevention

Program: Women's Caucus

Time: 12:30 - 1:30

Presenters:

Shannon Whittaker, MPH

Abstract

Background: Housing insecurity is a prevalent public health concern among women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and this concern was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic created financial strain, which placed women at increased risk for homelessness and IPV. Although extant research addresses the confluence of housing and IPV during the pandemic, an intersectional analysis of Black women IPV survivors is largely absent. Research has failed to consider how systems of power and oppression (racism, sexism, classism) produce housing obstacles unique to Black women surviving IPV during a pandemic. This qualitative study sought to describe Black women’s experiences obtaining and maintaining safe housing during the COVID-19 pandemic while navigating socio-structural challenges.

Methods: From January to April 2021, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 50 Black women experiencing IPV in the United States. Guided by intersectionality, a hybrid thematic and interpretive phenomenological analytic approach was used to identify sociostructural factors shaping housing insecurity.

Results: Five themes were identified to capture factors contributing to housing experiences: challenges with separate and unequal neighborhoods; pandemic-related economic inequalities; economic abuse limitations; mental toll of eviction; and strategies to maintain housing.

Conclusions: Obtaining and maintaining safe housing during the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for Black women IPV survivors who were also navigating racism, sexism, and socioeconomic position. Structural-level interventions are needed to reduce the impact of these intersecting systems of oppression and power to facilitate the resources necessary for Black women IPV survivors to identify safe housing.