The Power To Break the Cycle of Intimate Partner Violence in Rural America
By Ziwei Qi
Dr. Ziwei Qi is an assistant professor of Criminal Justice at Hays State University and cofounded the Center. .
In the U.S., intimate partner violence is a significant public health epidemic. Among many social, economic, and cultural obstacles victims face, financial abuse is one of the most
common tactics used by abusers.
Women in rural areas tend to have a higher rate of victimization than women in urban areas. Rurality usually means geographical isolation, "close-knit"
ties within the community, lack of resources for access to health, legal, and
shelters, and toxic masculinity that perpetuates family violence.
Victims were also afraid to report their abusive relationships to law enforcement because the abusers usually socially networked with the law enforcement. IPV has economic impacts on survivors throughout their lifetimes. Those who are living in poverty who experience IPV furthers the reciprocal relationship between abuse and financial hardship.
In March 2020, along with Dr. Hsin-Yen Yang (Communication Studies), and Dr. Tamara Lynn (Criminal Justice), we started the Center for Empowering Victims of Gender-based Violence at Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS. We have been systematically examining various vocational rehabilitation programs in the United States and creating feasible career counsels and training sessions addressing the needs of IPV and human trafficking survivors.
The Center also facilitates interdisciplinary approaches in addressing survivors' needs by engaging research collaborations among scholars. Social Entrepreneurship promotes innovation to find new ways to help people in need.
Dr. Hsin-Yen Yang.
Our initiative is the initial stage of a social movement using entrepreneurial approaches to give IPV
survivors power and freedom. The ability of a survivor of IPV to be economically secure is fundamental to that survivor's safety. Our initiative aims to reduce the constraints survivors face, promote freedom of economic independence, and empower survivors to seize opportunity freely. It commits to providing sustainable support and improvement to help survivors to break the cycle of violence.
Dr. Lynn Tamara.
““The ability of a survivor of IPV to be economically secure is fundamental to that survivor’s safety. Our initiative aims to reduce the constraints survivors face, promote freedom of economic independence, and empower survivors to seize opportunity freely.” — Dr. Ziwei Qi. #PowerToChangeStories ”
Dr. Ziwei Qi is an assistant professor of Criminal Justice at Hays State University. https://www.fhsu.edu/criminaljustice/center-for-empowering-victims-of-gender-based-violence/index ; The Center's Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/EmpoweringVictimsofGenderbasedViolence .