Citation

Moe CA, Iverson KR, Asa N, Lyons VH, Adhia A. Violence Gend. 2024; 11(2): 72-80.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/vio.2022.0019

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem in the United States and can be severely exacerbated when a partner has access to a firearm. The aim of this study is to explore gender differences in nonfatal firearm abuse. We administered a web-based survey, implemented by YouGov, to a national panel of U.S. adults who reported experiencing any form of IPV by their current or most recent partner, and oversampled those who had experienced nonfatal firearm abuse (i.e., were threatened with a firearm, had a firearm used on them, or were threatened by a partner who possessed or had easy access to a firearm; n = 954). The prevalence (weighted to be representative of U.S. adults) of nonfatal firearm abuse was 13.6% among women and 5.9% among men. The majority of both women (88.7%) and men (66.1%) who experienced nonfatal firearm abuse felt fearful as a result of the abuse, and similar proportions of women (30.0%) and men (31.8%) survivors called the police. We observed differences in the behaviors and consequences of nonfatal firearm abuse experienced by gender. Future research should investigate the interaction between firearm access, firearm use, gender identity, and sexual orientation in the context of IPV. Our findings highlight the need for strong community resources to support men and women who have experienced nonfatal firearm abuse, and particularly underscore the need for primary prevention as many survivors, especially men, do not seek help from any source.