In an effort to increase understanding of the perceptions of African Americans toward domestic violence, the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC) established the Community Insights Project. The purpose of the IDVAAC Community Insights Project is to secure information from African Americans who maintain an insider-specific understanding of the causes and consequences of domestic violence and to identify what they consider to be useful solutions that may be effective in preventing domestic violence in African American communities across the United States. As such, the project seeks to inform a wider audience comprised of domestic violence service providers, criminal justice practitioners and public officials about the unique manifestation of domestic violence in the African American community.

Since the inception of the Community Insights Project in 1998, IDVAAC has convened focus groups in nine cities across the united states with large concentrations of African American: San Francisco and Oakland, California; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Memphis, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; and Seattle, Washington. Reports have been developed for each city, which draw from various stakeholders in the community, doing work of relevance to intimate partner violence (IPV) and other intersecting issues. Each session consisted of groups comprised of individuals working in the following areas: children and youth services, human services, community activists, the faith community, GLBTQ advocates and law enforcement.