Peer Mentorship for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Pilot Program Highlighting Challenges and Opportunities for Further Refinement.

The aim of this study is to describe the collaborative development and pilot implementation of a peer-support program for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). The program paired six IPV survivors who were actively in crisis with four survivors who identified as equipped to support other survivors. The program was piloted for 6 months and pre- and post-intervention in-depth interviews were conducted with mentors and mentees. In in-depth interviews, survivors and mentors discussed the value they saw in the peer-support model and described strong motivations for participation. However, program engagement was limited and drop-out was high among mentors (n = 3; 75%). Mentors cited difficulty establishing boundaries with mentees and engaging with mentees' experiences of IPV given their own histories. This study highlights the value of the peer-support mentorship model while also revealing significant challenges associated with the implementation of such a model in a community-based IPV crisis organization. Adaptations in structure, recruitment, training, and monitoring are necessary for future peer-support programs to effectively meet the needs of survivors.