Diversity in Interpersonal Violence Research

By Tricia Bent-Goodley and Emiko A. Tajima

The JIV diversity requirement, established in 2016 calls on interpersonal violence (IPV) researchers to address diversity and inclusion in the questions they pose, the literature they build upon, and in their methods, analyses and findings. By requiring authors to describe how they have attended to diversity concerns, JIV sought to increase the cultural inclusiveness and responsiveness of IPV research, expand the literature on IPV in diverse communities, and underscore that diversity, equity and inclusion are always relevant. The journal does not specify how researchers and scholars should demonstrate the ways in which they have considered diversity and been inclusive in their methods; this is left to individual authors. Our articles offer guidance for how authors might do this (please see article links below). Attending to diversity and equity is especially critical in the field of interpersonal violence because social and economic disadvantages which disproportionately affect BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities and other marginalized groups, create added risk of IPV, and exacerbate the impact of violence for these communities.

There is no formula or complete checklist for how to address diversity and inclusion in one’s research. Rather, a diversity requirement such as this represents an opportunity to be open about how one has sought to promote diversity, to be inclusive, and to seek equity. It calls for researchers to be self-reflective and reflexive as a continuous practice, for deliberate critical examination of our positionality, our worldview, and our methods, and encourages us to collaborate with others, build authentic relationships in and engage with communities at all stages of our research. Requiring all authors to share how they attended to diversity and inclusion can help shift norms in research and scholarship to promote cultural responsiveness in the IPV field.

Recognizing the synergy of diversity with IPV research, Bent-Goodley’s article focuses on how to conceptualize IPV research specifically as it relates to race and ethnicity. The article explores each part of the research process and diversity intersects with each area from the development of research questions to the dissemination process. Her article provides concrete examples of how to ensure that diversity is embedded in IPV research and not an add-on to the research process. She highlights how this approach can further knowledge development and the creation of new discoveries while enhancing current knowledge. In addition, she identifies how the recognition and integration of diversity in IPV research strengthens the ability of researchers to conduct more effective, relevant and impactful research that has the potential to be innovative and create change.

With a focus on race and ethnicity and other intersecting social identities, Tajima’s article strives to inform and advise IPV researchers and reviewers as they endeavor to be inclusive and responsive to diverse cultures, groups and contexts. Through examples, she illustrates ways researchers might support diversity and inclusion with respect to sampling and measurement, cultural validity, and the conceptualization and operationalization of race. She offers recommendations to promote diversity, equity and inclusion when analyzing data, interpreting results, and writing up the study. Her article also calls on IPV researchers to pursue research that addresses root causes, that seeks to empower, and sets its sights on practice and policy reforms to achieve just system change. To that end, her article encourages structural level analyses and urges individual researchers and the IPV field to pursue an equity, anti-racism and anti-oppression research agenda.

In 2016, JIV established its diversity requirement in part to disrupt norms that perpetuated the status quo in scholarly reviews. Today, we are at a historical moment in a centuries-long struggle for racial equity and justice in the US and attention to diversity, inclusion, and equity in all domains is an imperative. The COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2020 and overlaid on an existing pandemic of institutional and structural racism, highlighting the disproportionate burden of both on BIPOC communities. In the field of IPV, research that critically considers diversity and inclusion and that is justice-driven can expose this burden, dismantle barriers, create meaningful change and promote culturally responsive IPV policies and practices. We hope that our articles can help guide researchers engaged in this important work and committed to using research to inform new knowledge inclusive of and relevant to diverse communities.

Diversity in Interpersonal Violence Research

By Tricia Bent-Goodley and Emiko A. Tajima

Related articles from the Journal of Interpersonal Violence