An Intersectional Exploration of Service Needs Among Individuals who Survived and/or Engaged in Intimate Partner Violence

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive public health and human rights issue, service systems often remain fragmented and inadequately responsive to the intersecting social and structural conditions that shape experiences of violence and access to care. This qualitative study explored the service needs of individuals who had experienced IPV, engaged in IPV, or both, with particular attention to how intersecting identities, cultural contexts, and systemic factors influenced help-seeking, beliefs about IPV, and access to support. Guided by intersectionality theory, twenty-four adults participated in semi-structured interviews between November 2024 and July 2025. Data were analyzed using practical thematic analysis, with interpretation supported by reflexive team discussions and lived-experience input from a Community Advisory Team and a Patient/Client & Family Council representative. Two overarching themes and seven subthemes were identified: (a) available and desired services, encompassing community supports, mental health care, housing, and legal systems; and (b) culture, identity, and lived experience in service access, focusing on cultural belonging, intersecting identities, and lived experience as a resource for navigating services. Participants described IPV-related services as siloed, under-resourced, and frequently retraumatizing. Access depended on service availability, as well as affordability, acceptability, cultural safety, continuity, and responsiveness to diverse lived realities. Community-based, culturally grounded, and trauma-informed supports were highly valued, while safe housing, sustained mental health care, and more nuanced legal and rehabilitative responses were identified as critical unmet needs. Participants with dual experiences or histories of engaging in IPV emphasized the importance of compassionate, accountability-oriented supports rather than exclusively punitive approaches. The findings shed light on the need for integrated, intersectional, and trauma- and violence-informed IPV service systems that embed lived experience and culturally safe, community-led approaches to improve equity, access, healing, and prevention.