Recognition and responses to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Gambler’s Help services: A qualitative study

Intimate partner violence commonly co-occurs with gambling problems, and is a common issue among clients in gambling help services. 

Through interviews with 20 Gambler’s Help staff from Victoria and South Australia, this study explored the potential role gambling help services can play in the identification and response to clients who had either experienced or used violence in their intimate relationships.

Findings

The research uncovered four key themes:

• ‘It’s loaded with complexity’: participants emphasised the clinical complexity of patients who disclosed both gambling problems and intimate partner violence, with many having co-occurring mental health and psychosocial issues, as well as intersecting cultural issues.
• ‘The hidden nature of gambling and IPV’: participants regularly referenced the stigma, shame and secrecy attached to both gambling and intimate partner violence, as well as difficulties naming or identifying these issues.
• ‘The big thing is putting it on the radar’: participants identified factors that either enabled client disclosures of IPV, or alternatively, kept these issues hidden.
• ‘It’s everyone’s business’: Participants described salient responses of gambling help services to intimate partner violence, which commonly emphasised intra-agency or inter-agency collaboration.

The study draws attention to the role gambling help services can play in identifying and addressing intimate partner violence, which should be one part of a multi-sector response to these issues.

The authors recommend that:

• Strategies should be considered that promote the identification of intimate partner violence, and provide safe contexts for disclosure in gambling help services.
• There should be tailored policies, training and resources on intimate partner violence for gambling help services.
• There should be system-level initiatives to promote cross-sector collaboration.