Graduation Year
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Major Professor
Michelle Hughes Miller, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Maddy Coy, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Colby Valentine, Ph.D.
Keywords
Abolition Feminism, Intimate Partner Violence, Protection Orders, Restraining Orders, Structural Intersectionality, Survivor Hypothesis
Abstract
Injunctions for protection (also known as restraining orders or civil protection orders) are often used by survivors as a line of defense against continued instances of physical violence or stalking by abusers (Houseman et al., 2024). This study aims to fill these gaps by examining whether survivors of domestic violence perceive IFPs as more helpful than other available support resources. Understanding this process may offer important insights into IFP accessibility, survivor perspectives, and/or alternative resources that may be equally, if not more, helpful to survivors than IFPs. Grounded in Gondolf & Fisher’s (1988) Survivor Hypothesis and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s (1989) Structural Intersectionality, I conduct a survey to explore survivors’ perceptions of IFP helpfulness as compared to other support services, filling critical gaps in domestic violence scholarship. Findings indicate that survivors in this sample viewed support services such as shelter, childcare, and talking to an advocate as more helpful than IFPs, although a majority of them (60%) did pursue an IFP nonetheless. I discuss the importance of taking into consideration survivors’ mixed reasonings for pursuing IFPs, diverse definitions of IFP success, and help-seeking strategies in conjunction with survivors’ goals in alignment with the study’s guiding frameworks. Finally, I conclude with a call for further research that enlarges the respondent pool in order to better analyze potential decision-making patterns and make statistically significant claims of support service helpfulness, especially as it relates to legal support services.
Scholar Commons Citation
Lopez Romero, Aleidys, "Examining Whether Survivors of Domestic Violence Perceive IFPs as More Helpful Than Other Available Support Resources" (2026). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/11340
