Recognition and responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) in gambler's help services: A qualitative study

Abstract

Accumulating evidence shows a strong association between gambling problems and reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) but provides limited guidance about how to respond to these issues in specialised gambling services. The aim of this study was thus to improve understanding of the potential role of gambling help providers in identifying and responding to IPV. This was addressed via 20 semistructured interviews with gambling help service staff in Australia (15 female and 5 male). Data were analysed in the context of a social constructivist approach to thematic analysis, which produced four themes: (1) “It's loaded with complexity,” which highlights the clinical complexity of clients who disclosed both gambling problems and IPV; (2) “The hidden nature of gambling and IPV,” describing stigma, shame and secrecy attached to both gambling and IPV; (3) “The big thing is putting it on the radar,” which outlined factors in the service context that either enabled client disclosures of IPV or kept it hidden; and (4) “It's everyone's business,” which described current approaches to interagency collaboration, with reference to factors that either limited or facilitated such responses to addressing IPV.