The Picture of Texas

According to the Texas State Plan, the most important form of informal support for survivors included family, with the second most common being a friend or confidant. Notably, however, survivors across all layers interviewed for the Texas State Plan discussed wishing that they had someone to talk to who would not judge them for their situation. Many survivors did not want to talk to family about their situation for fear for their family’s safety, judgement from family members, and/or not wanting to bother family members with their situation.

Survivors who reported having more positive informal social supports were more likely to access services and achieve more positive outcomes¹. Isolation from family and friends is a common tactic employed by partners who use violence, and this isolation leads to survivors feeling like they have limited or no options. This reality is further exacerbated for immigrant survivors, a majority of whom interviewed reported having no one to turn to in an emergency situation. Many survivors mentioned that while they didn’t have healthy connections to family or friends, the domestic violence program had become a cornerstone of their support system. As one staff put it, “When they’re cut off [from their communities], they come to us. We have to kind of fill that void temporarily until they can stand on their own two feet.”

¹Sylaska, K. M., & Edwards, K. M. (2014). Disclosure of Intimate Partner Violence to Informal Social Support Network Members: A Review of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838013496335

Help-seeking in the context of family violence is linked to access to social support, which may ease the negative consequences of domestic violence and promote improved mental health outcomes ^1,2. Throughout survivor interviews, the three most common sources for survivors’ initial disclosures about the abuse were to members of their own family, to a close friend, or to law enforcement. A majority of survivors interviewed described vital family support networks who took survivors into their own homes multiple times, came to get them to take them to safety, and were there to listen and be supportive. Despite reporting some high levels of support, survivors still discussed needing more support, specifically referring to emotional support and/or someone who could provide suggestions in a non-judgmental way. Family violence programs have the opportunity to help survivors rebuild connections with friends and family by sharing conflict resolution skills, providing safe spaces to process past experiences, helping with reunification, and may have policies that encourage socializing and engaging with friends when staying at shelters.

Several survivors expressed an interest in wanting to provide support and services to other survivors through a mentor program or community service outreach project to form a support network. Peer support programs and services promote flexible and dynamic relationships, sometimes in a group setting, and are led by other survivors as equals outside of a professional hierarchy³. Peer support services are the perfect opportunity for non-judgmental, supportive figures in a survivor’s life and long-term connection. Peer support can take many forms and include traditional support groups, advocacy, education, mentorship, etc. As one survivor powerfully said, “When you hear others talking about what they have gone through and you have gone through the same thing and they were able to get through it, I can, too.”

¹ Sylaska, K. M., & Edwards, K. M. (2014). Disclosure of Intimate Partner Violence to Informal Social Support Network Members: A Review of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838013496335

²Coker, A. L., Watkins, K. W., Smith, P. H., & Brandt, H. M. (2003). Social support reduces the impact of partner violence on health: Application of structural equation models. Preventive Medicine: An International Journal Devoted to Practice and Theory, 37(3), 259-267.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0091-7435(03)00122-1.

³Blanch, A., Filson, B., Penney, D., & Cave, C. (2012). Engaging Women in Trauma-Informed Peer Support: A Guidebook. Retrieved at https://www.nasmhpd.org/sites/default/files/PeerEngagementGuide_Color_REVISED_10_2012.pdf.