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Gender and Sexualities

Gender-Based Violence in Rural West Virginia: Practitioner Perspectives Abby Hogan*, Abby Hogan,

This project explores the relationship between rurality and gender-based violence, highlighting the perspectives of victim practitioners in rural West Virginia. Rural gender-based violence victims remain under-studied, despite evidence that rural women may experience elevated risk of physical violence, sexual violence, intimate partner homicide, and other forms of gendered harm. Existing literature has not sufficiently leveraged the unique insights of rural victim practitioners and how they understand the distinct barriers, risks, and intersectional vulnerabilities that condition survivors’ experiences of gender-based violence in rural West Virginia. The project is ongoing (estimated completion in May 2026), and relies on semi-structured interviews with victim advocates employed at a dual rape crisis and domestic violence shelter in rural West Virginia. The study aims to identify key practitioner-observed themes, contributing to sociological understanding of rural gender-based violence and informing more responsive, place-based intervention in rural contexts.