The Harris County Health and Relationship Study: Using Research-Practice Partnerships to Assess the Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic Violence Survivors

The Center for Victim Research (CVR) invites you to attend our upcoming webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence survivors in Harris County, Texas, on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm EST.

Researcher and practitioner presenters share the results of the Harris County Health and Relationship Study, a collaborative partnership to examine the impact and needs of domestic violence survivors in Harris County (Houston) Texas. Over 400 survivors were surveyed and 48 follow-up interviews were conducted about their experiences, mental health, needs, and safety strategies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study findings include the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on violence experiences; survivor community and social support needs; and safety approaches. This presentation will focus on study findings and implications for domestic violence and other community-related services.

A copy of the report and executive summary are available at https://www.hcdvcc.org/hchrstudy/.

RECORDING

Presenters:

Barbie Brashear, MSW is the Executive Director for the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, a non-profit organization that works to coordinate a community response to domestic violence in Harris County, Texas. She has worked in the domestic and sexual violence field for 26 years and has provided leadership to sexual assault programs, domestic violence programs, and long-term housing programs for over 20 years. She is adjunct Faculty at University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, and she is an expert witness in domestic violence cases. She has presented and trained at multiple local and statewide conferences on domestic and sexual violence for over, and she has provided training to hundreds of law enforcement professionals, health care professionals, advocates, social service providers, criminal justice system professionals, teachers, students, and general public. She has provided case management and advocacy services to victims for over 20 years.

Abeer Monem has worked for 25 ½ years with survivors of intimate partner and family violence. She has an extensive history as a shelter director with the Fort Bend County Women’s Center and conducted significant work related to traumatic brain injury screening and intervention. In 2015, Abeer also worked part time with the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council as an advocate with the Special Victim’s Unit at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Once HUD Continuum of Care Program housing was added, she became the Housing Program Director. Beginning in October 2019, she left FBWC and began fulltime at HCDVCC.

Leila Wood, PhD, MSSW (she/her) is assistant professor and the Director of Evaluation at the Center for Violence Prevention Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Dr. Wood’s program of research focuses on community-based intimate partner violence and sexual assault intervention and prevention efforts, including college campuses. Dr Wood’s service evaluation work involves research on advocacy, or supportive service models, for survivors of violence. Dr. Wood is rooted strongly in a community participatory and practitioner-led research approach. Over the last several years, she has conducted research and evaluation studies in close collaboration with community agencies, campus, city, state and federal partners on the extent and impact of sexual assault, dating violence, stalking and sexual harassment, with a focus on vulnerable and underserved populations. Dr. Wood is a mixed methods researcher with expertise in qualitative methods. Dr. Wood has extensive social work practice experience working survivors of intimate and interpersonal violence. Her work is funded by the National Institute on Justice and the Criminal Justice Division, State of Texas.