Community-tailored film to improve intimate-partner violence knowledge among African immigrants and refugees in the USA

Purpose Among immigrant women in the USA, African immigrants face significant barriers seeking help for intimate partner violence (IPV) due to gender inequality, a culture of acceptance of IPV and lack of knowledge about IPV. This project aims to test the use of a participatory film to address IPV among African immigrants from Central Africa in the USA. Design/methodology/approach The film was developed in collaboration with community members and a community-advisory board. Twenty-two African immigrants attended the community film-screening event and participated in the focus groups following the screening in May 2022. Data were collected by audio recordings and surveys during the event, which was followed by breakout focus-group discussions. The audio recordings were translated and transcribed from Kirundi to English by a health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPPA)-compliant professional language-translation company. The transcriptions were reviewed by a community member for accuracy. Qualitative content analysis was used for assessing the focus-group transcripts. Findings Both women and men expressed that IPV is not acceptable but exists in their community. IPV Help sources are primarily informal and include family, friends and neighbors, as well as community health workers. Participatory community events including both men and women were recommended as a strategy to promote culturally tailored IPV prevention. Originality/value There are gaps in knowledge, including issues of unreported IPV cases and cultural differences that play an important role in determining the impact of IPV in immigrants. This study took a unique approach to facilitate a conversation about IPV-related knowledge, beliefs and community norms.