Investigating visual stress within family and domestic violence refuges in Australia

Family and domestic violence (FDV) is an issue that impacts on the health and wellbeing of women and children worldwide. Research shows that trauma-exposed individuals commonly experience heightened sensitivity to sensory triggers within the environmental milieu. Despite interest in trauma-informed design, the impact of visual stress has largely gone unexplored in the design of FDV refuges. This research utilises a novel visual stress analysis tool (ViStA) to examine the presence of potential visual stressors within two purpose-built FDV refuges in Australia. ViStA enables an assessment of visual stress, taking into account the complex interplay of size, spatial frequency, duty cycle, and contrast in the overall visual experience. Through an analysis of refuge images (n = 60), this study mapped the presence potential visual stressors. Through this analysis it was found that ‘high contrast linear elements’ were the most common potential visual stressors in both refuges. Common features among the spaces with the highest peak residuals were “perforated panelling” and “highly patterned surfaces”. Additionally, visual stressors were able to be categorised into eight primary functional categories of architectural features. The exploratory nature of this research underlines its importance as a foundational step towards developing evidence-based design practices for trauma-informed environments.