The Effects of a Police Second Response Program on Domestic Violence Survivors

Second response programs are a coordinated community response to domestic violence (DV). The goal is decreased DV by providing survivors with resources and increasing the monitoring of offenders. However, program effects on violence are mixed and the relationship between survivors’ resource use and future violence has not been tested in this context. The broader DV literature connects resource use with lower risk of future violence, but some safety strategies predict increased violence. As part of this study, fifteen domestic violence survivors were interviewed after taking part in a second response program in Reykjavik, Iceland. I used thematic analysis to identify five different themes in the data: Intervention components, intervention impact, violence context, life context and recommendations. Intervention fidelity was a major issue in this study, as the follow-up component of the study was not always implemented as planned. Survivors were mostly satisfied with the intervention, except for the lack of follow-up. Survivors used a range of different resources and safety strategies to improve their safety. On the whole survivors believed that a second response program could be effective in improving their safety and well-being, as long as social services engaged in active and ongoing follow-up to secure survivors the resources that they need. This study shows that the a second response program has the potential to improve the lives of survivors, but that this type of program needs more rigorous and quantitative evaluation in the future.