Intersectional Barriers to Protection: Service Providers’ Perspectives on Supporting Black, Latino, and Immigrant Male Victims of Female-perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Abstract Aim This study examined service providers’ perspectives on how race, ethnicity, and immigration status shape help-seeking experiences and institutional responses for Black, Latino, and immigrant male victims of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV). Method Semi-structured Zoom interviews were conducted with 10 service providers, primarily from the United States (with one provider each from Canada and Ireland), who work with male victims of female-perpetrated IPV. Participants included 5 attorneys, 2 domestic violence agency professionals, 2 mental health clinicians, and 1 executive director of a men and families center. Data were analyzed using an inductive reflexive thematic analytic approach. Results Three themes were identified: (1) Barriers to Help-Seeking, Protection, and Support, reflecting intersecting internal, structural, immigration-related, and institutional constraints; (2) Identity-Responsive Practices, describing providers’ strategies for adapting services to diverse male victims; and (3) Gender as the Initial Lens of Institutional Interpretation, reflecting providers’ descriptions of gender as the initial lens through which male victimization was interpreted, with race, ethnicity, and immigration status shaping institutional responses. Conclusion From the perspective of service providers, improving protection for Black, Latino, and immigrant male victims of female-perpetrated IPV requires more than stigma reduction. Findings suggest that systems should address credibility bias, expand culturally and linguistically responsive services, and integrate immigration-informed pathways to promote more equitable access to safety.