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Few studies investigating disaster have examined the risks associated with surviving both disaster and intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is psychological or physical abuse in a personal relationship. Using an intersectional approach, the purpose of this study is to investigate contributions to and differences in perceived stress and personal resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of predominantly female-identified IPV survivors (n = 41) to examine risks associated with this vulnerable population during disaster.

Using a structured interview guide, IPV survivors were interviewed regarding their perceived stress (i.e. perceived stress scale), personal resilience, (i.e. Connor Davidson Resilience Scale), type of violence experienced (i.e. physical violence), COVID-19-related stressors (i.e. loss of income due to the pandemic) and relevant socio-demographic characteristics (i.e. race).

These interviews indicate that participants exhibited low levels of resilience and a moderate amount of stress exposure highlighting risk factors associated with experiencing personal violence during disaster.

At the height of their need for support and assistance, the disaster generated additional rent and nutritional stress compounding the pressures violence survivors face. These findings suggest those who are socially vulnerable due to violence need structural support services to cope with disaster and violence-related stresses.

Scholars who study humility tend to think of it in highly individualized terms, such as an absence of vanity or an accurate self-assessment. Individuating definitions can lead to such jarring concepts as the “humble white supremacist” (Roberts & Wood, 2007). Qualitative sociological research in the (predominantly North American) evangelical movement to accept and affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) identities, same-sex marriage, and sex/gender transition reveals that humility is not simply the awareness that “I could be wrong.” That awareness is rooted in what we have found to be humility’s defining element, concern to foster relationship. These findings prompt us to define humility as a fundamentally social disposition, as concern to protect the kinds of intimate connection with others that can transform the self. Recognizing the social nature of humility reveals why humility is incompatible with injustice.