Mandatory Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence
MANREPORT-IPV is a cross-professional study examining service providers’ mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is a serious public health problem. Evidence reveals that in a majority of intimate partner homicides, the perpetrator or the victim has been in contact with service providers previous to the homicide. This finding indicates a potential for prevention.
Service providers have a duty of confidentiality. However, service providers may have a duty of mandatory reporting when receiving information about IPV. There are strong opinions regarding mandatory reporting of IPV. However, the empirical knowledge is scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate what experiences, awareness, and attitudes do professionals and IPV help-seekers have concerning mandatory reporting of IPV.
1. Systematic text studies (court documents, and other legal decisions and reports)
2. Qualitative interviews with service providers and help-seekers regarding experiences, awareness and attitudes to mandatory reporting of IPV
3. Quantitative questionnaires of service providers and help-seekers’ perception of and experience with mandatory reporting of IPV.
In this study, we will examine the prevalence of information about mandatory reporting in juridical sources. We will seek to clarify the content of the law. In addition, we will analyse data from doctors, nurses, domestic violence shelter workers, child protective services, psychologists, the police, and IPV perpetrators and victims. These data enable us to analyse horizontal and vertical interactions between and among service providers, and between helps-seekers and service providers. The project will contribute to innovation by providing knowledge about facilitators and barriers to mandatory reporting of IPV
Volda University College, Molde University College, Norwegian Police University College and Oslo University Hospital are the managers of this project.