The Grandmothers Against Gun Violence Foundation Board has awarded HIPRC researchers, Alice Ellyson, PhD, and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, MD, PhD, MPH for their grant titled, “Firearm threats and violence against children and youth in Domestic Violence Protection Orders in King County, WA.”
This study will (1) determine the frequency and characteristics of the use of firearm threats and acts of violence involving firearms against children and youth in homes with IPV among a random sample of DVPO cases in King County, WA and (2) examine the impact of firearm removal enforcement and dispossession on violence against children during the 24-month follow-up period after a DVPO is granted. The goal of this research program is to provide policymakers and practitioners with actionable evidence and guidance on reducing firearm-related IPV.
Background: It is unknown how often children and youth living in households with intimate partner violence (IPV) are the focus of threats and violence involving firearms. Given the lethality of firearms and the fact that two in three of child deaths related to IPV involve guns, it is important to learn where these threats overlap and study public policies that have the potential to prevent firearm-involved IPV. DVPOs with firearm removal enforcement have the potential to be an effective tool to both reducing firearm violence against petitioners and involved children and youth as well as reducing the psychological harms for children who witness IPV
The Foundation will award $50,000 to support the completion of this study.