Piloting an interactive theater program to promote intimate partner violence awareness among refugees resettled in the United States

Objective: This pilot project used an interactive theater approach to teach effective bystander interventions to refugees resettled in the United States. These interventions are utilized to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) in refugee communities. Methods: This project consists of the following procedures: 1) Development of a script; 2) First round of the performance enacting the play based on the original script, in which bystanders were not helpful for the victim of IPV; 3) Second round of the performance where the audience alters the story, making bystanders more helpful and considerate of the victim; 4) Focus group formation to receive feedback from the audience; and 5) Debriefing amongst the research team. Throughout the project, participants expressed a keen interest in IPV prevention and were knowledgeable on the issue. Results: Overall, the focus group participants provided positive feedback including introducing the audience to IPV before the commencement of the play by showing statistics and integrating outside, existing community resources for IPV victims. Conclusively, the IPV theater program was shown to be a learning experience, not only for the audience but for the research team as well. Members of the research team learned effective bystander interventions they could use in their lives while gaining further insight into the community’s thoughts on IPV prevention. Conclusion: This project shows how theater approaches are a useful way to provide IPV awareness and prevention for the refugee communities. Through theater programs, individuals with refugee background can realize the role of communication and difficulty in leaving the situation. The project also suggests the effect theater programs have on participants and their benefits for the wider community.