Information Support for
Victims of Intimate Partner
Violence
An Analysis of Police
Department Cyber-Connections
Lynn Westbrook, School of Information,University of Texas at Austin,
Paper given at the Library Research Round Table Research Panel
American Library Association Conference, 6/2006
What’s the problem?
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DV seriously impacts individuals & society
5.3 million victimizations occur every year
among U.S. women age 18 and older
(CDC, 2003)
DV survivors have 60% more health
problems (Campbell, 2002), leading to
nearly $4.1 billion in direct medical/mental
health costs (CDC, 2003).

In households with children, 40-60% of
perpetrators also abuse their children
(Goelman, 2004)

Domestic violence causes more serious
injuries to women ages 18-49 than “car
accidents, rapes, and mugging combined
(Prevalence, Perceptions and Awareness,
2003, 6).”
What are the escape problems?

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Leaving is the point of greatest danger
Hard to ask for help due to shame, fear,
poverty, hostages (children/pets), etc.
Bridge of support is weak from first
responder to medical to social service
Need cognitive (e.g., knowledge of
options), affective (e.g., emotional
support), and behavioral (e.g., pack for
escape) elements to work in sync
Theoretical Context

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Reijo Savolainen’s “Everyday Life
Information Seeking” (ELIS) model posits
active information-seeking as a useful
behavior for problem-solving and life
mastery (1995, 1999)
ELIS behaviors vary along 4 dimensions:
information needs, affective states,
cognitive mastery, and available resources
(Savolainen & Kari, 2004, 431)
E-Government: PD Web Sites
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Increasing use of e-government for the
delivery of social services impacts the
ELIS experience (Becker, 2005)
Weak standards & inconsistent protocols
make navigation hard (Gil-Garcia/Pardo,
2005)
Digital divide issues in terms of access
and mastery (Theofanos & Mulligan, 2004)
Methodology
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Population: city PDs in 100 largest cities in
the U.S.; total of 172 departments
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Data sources: official PD web sites
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Data points: access (e.g., search, site map,
language, click-path, fine motor) and
content (e.g., referrals and information)
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Data types: quantitative and qualitative
Click path example: “Bureaus”
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Click path, 2: “Investigations”
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Click path 3: “DV/Elder Abuse”
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Click path 4: Domestic Violence
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End of click path: actual information
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Findings:
60% had some information
Total Click Paths to Hits
2%
No hits
1%
1 hit
4%
7%
2 hits
6%
3-4 hits
40%
5-6 hits
10%
7-10 hits
11-20 hits
21-30 hits
10%
31-52 hits
20%
% Sites with Hits at Each Click-Path Level
37%
40%
39%
35%
30%
26%
25%
20%
15%
10%
10%
5%
5%
2%
0%
0 clicks
1 click
2 clicks
3 clicks
4 clicks
5 clicks
Basic Information
23%
25%
19%
20%
14%
15%
9%
10%
5%
1%
0%
Warning signs
Escape plan
SH phone
SH web site
SH email
Access concerns
100%
95%
87%
90%
80%
70%
49%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
6%
10%
0%
Only English
Required fine
motor
No site guide hit
No site search
hit
Criminal justice concerns
57%
60%
50%
40%
27%
24%
30%
20%
8%
10%
1%
0%
Cyber-safety RO/injunction Notify abuser
notice
release
Define DV
Refer to police
Referrals to Immediate Aid
33%
35%
30%
23%
22%
25%
17%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Victim's services
Social services
Emergency shelter
Legal aid
Referrals to Ongoing Aid
18%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
10%
8%
10%
8%
6%
3%
4%
2%
0%
Medical aid
Job services
Addiction
recovery
Suicide
prevention
Counseling
Implications
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Police departments need information
assistance in terms of content,
organization, access, and safety
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Public libraries could partner with
departments and shelters to bridge
the gaps in service facilitation
Additional research
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Since many survivors lack safe web
access, what can libraries do to promote
use of library work stations?

What kind of web-based information is of
most use to survivors, to the friends and
family who want to help them, and to the
service providers who try to work with
them?
Please share feedback
Lynn Westbrook, Assistant Professor
School of Information
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station, D7000
Austin, TX 78712-0390
512/232-7831, phone
512/471-3971, fax
lynnwest@ischool.utexas.edu
Examples
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The remaining items exemplify some
of the types of information and
approaches to organizing
information in these 172 police
department web sites.
If you’d like to discuss any of this
work, then please let me know at any
time.
Las Vegas: Cycle of Violence
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Portland: Cyber-safety
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WA, DC: Help a friend
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Troy: 4 types of court orders
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San Antonio: Referral Directory
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El Paso: Mug shots intro
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El Paso: mug shot example
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