the gender debate in domestic violence: the role of … · the gender debate in domestic violence:...

Issues PaPer 25 MAY 2013

THE GENDER DEBATE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: THE ROLE OF DATA

DR ROCHELLE BRAAFSenior Researcher, Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse

ISOBELLE BARRETT MEYERINGResearch Assistant, Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse

Key points• Thegenderdebateisoneoftheenduringcontroversiesindomesticviolenceresearch.Ontheonehand,

feministresearchershavelongidentified‘genderasymmetry’indomesticviolence,arguingthatwomenaretheprimarytargetsofabuseandthatmencomprisethelargemajorityofperpetrators.Ontheotherhand,familyconflictresearcherstypicallyfind‘gendersymmetry’,arguingthatwomenandmenexperienceandperpetrateviolenceatsimilarrates.

• Withinthegenderdebate,twoofthemostcontentiousissuesconcernresearchers’definitionsofdomesticviolenceandtheirmethodsofdatacollection.

• Feministandfamilyconflictresearchersdifferinhowtheyconceptualiseviolenceinrelationships.Feministresearchersemphasisethewiderdynamicsofdomesticviolence:whyitoccurs,howitmanifestsandvictimoutcomes.Familyconflictresearchersdefineviolencemorenarrowly,beingprimarilyconcernedwithmeasuringincidentsofviolencebetweenpartners.

• Feministandfamilyconflictresearchersalsodifferintheirdatacollectionmethods.Feministresearcherstendtofavourqualitativeapproachescommonlyusedinclinicalstudies,aswellasquantitativeinformationcollectedviaofficiallyreporteddataandcommunitysamplesurveys.Familyconflictresearcherstendtofavourquantitativeapproaches,relyingpredominantlyonacts-basedsurveys(suchastheConflictTacticsScale).

• Thesedifferencesinturninfluencefeministandfamilyconflictresearchers’findingsaboutmen’sandwomen’sexperiencesandperpetrationofviolence.Inparticular,theirfindingsconflictinrelationtoperpetratormotivationforviolence,formsandlevelsofabuse,severityofabuse,repetitionofviolenceandimpactsonvictims.

• Certainly,allviolenceinintimaterelationshipsisunacceptable.However,anaccurateanalysisoftherelationshipbetweengenderanddomesticviolenceisessentialtodevelopeffectivepreventionandresponses.

• Nosingletypeofdatacollectionmethodprovidesacompletepictureofdomesticviolence.Furthermore,individualstudiesordatasetsvaryconsiderablyindepthandqualityofinformation.Researchersandpractitioners,therefore,needtobemindfulofthestrengthsandweaknessesofachosenapproachwhendrawingconclusionsandmakingrecommendations.

• Fromthereallifeexamplespresentedinthispaperandinmanyotherstudiescanvassed,practitionersandadvocatesshouldhaveconfidenceinclaimsofgenderasymmetryindomesticviolence.

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INTRODuCTION

Asourknowledgeofdomesticviolencehasdeepenedoverthepastfortyyears,considerablecontroversyhasdevelopedoverexactlywhoisviolentinrelationshipsandwhoarethevictimsofviolence.Feministresearchers,practitionersandadvocateshavelongidentifiedwomenastheprimarytargetsofabuse,withmalepartnersandex-partnerscomprisingthelargemajorityofperpetrators.Yet,increasinglytherehavebeencounterclaimsabout‘gendersymmetry’indomesticviolence.Conflictingacademicfindingscontinuetomount,withGoogleScholarretrievingnearly4000itemsatthetimeofwritingforthecombinedsearchterms‘gender’,‘*symmetry’and‘domesticviolence’.

Thescholarlydebatehascontributedtochangingpublicperceptionsaboutgenderanddomesticviolence.Australiansurveysshowthatcommunityattitudeshaveshiftedsincethemid-1990stowardsanincreasingviewofdomesticviolenceasgenderneutral(AustralianInstituteofCriminology,TheSocialResearchCentre&VicHealth2009,p.34).Movestoimplementgenderneutraldomesticviolencepolicy,legislationandprogramshavebecomethesubjectofconsiderablecontentioninAustraliaandoverseas(e.g.seeDeKeseredy&Dragiewicz2009;Hearn&McKie2008;Johnson&Dawson2011;Miller,Gregory&Iovanni2005;Vincent&Eveline2010).Goodqualitydataondomesticviolenceisclearlycriticaltothisdebate,asrecognisedinAustralianpolicydocumentsliketheNational plan to reduce violence against women and their children: including the first three-year action plan(CouncilofAustralianGovernments2011)andConceptual framework for family and domestic violence (AustralianBureauofStatistics2009).However,datacollectionitselfisacknowledgedaschallenging,intermsofensuringitisrepresentative,accurateandbroadenoughtocapturerelevantfactors,whilebeingfocusedenoughtobeuseful.

InthisIssuesPaper,weexaminetheroleofdatainthegenderdebate.Weconsiderwhatdifferentresearchapproachescanandcannottellusaboutgenderandviolenceinintimaterelationships.Keyargumentsaboutresearchmethodsandfindingsmadebyproponentsofgenderasymmetry(i.e.menaremorelikelytobeviolentandwomenmorelikelytobevictims)andproponentsofgendersymmetry(i.e.men

andwomenareequallyviolentandequallylikelytobevictims)arecompared.WhilethisIssuesPapercannotbecomprehensiveinitscoverageoftheliteraturegiventhevastamountofpublishedresearchandyearsofdebateonthisissue,weaimtoguidereadersthroughthecriticalissuesbeingcontested.

Certainly,allviolenceinintimaterelationshipsisunacceptable.Wedonotsuggestthatviolenceperpetratedbyonegenderbecondonedwhiletheotherisreviled.Rather,asFlood(2012)hasargued,weconsiderthatanaccurateanalysisofdomesticviolence–itspattern,riskfactorsanditssocialandstructuralcauses–isessentialtodevelopeffectivepreventionandresponses.Ifmen’sandwomen’sperpetrationandexperienceofviolencearedistinct,thentargetedresponsesarerequiredtoaddresstheirdifferentneedsandexperiences.

ThisIssuesPaperbeginswithadiscussionofdefinitionsanddatacollectionmethodsemployedtoinvestigategenderandviolenceinrelationships,andhowtheymightinfluenceevidencegatheredandconclusionsdrawn.Wethenexaminefoursourcesofdatacommonlyreliedonasevidencetosupportthecasesforeithergenderasymmetryorsymmetry: (i)officiallyreportedviolencestatistics;(ii)communitysamplesurveys;(iii)theConflictTacticsScale(CTS)and(iv)clinicalstudies.Thepaperconcludesbylookingattheimplicationsforpracticeandresearch.

Inconsiderationoftheseissues,ourfocusremainsonviolencebetweenheterosexualintimatepartnersratherthanviolencebetweensamesexcouplesorotherfamilymembers.Thisisbecauseitisthelevelofviolencebetweenwomenandmenthatremainsmostcontestedwithinthegenderasymmetry/symmetrydebate.Throughoutthepaper,wemakereferenceto‘domesticviolence’or‘partnerviolence’asperpetratedbysomeoneagainstacurrentorpreviousintimatepartner.Thebroaderterm,‘familyviolence’,isusedtorefertoviolenceemployedbyanymemberofafamilyagainstanothermember,includingviolenceagainstpartners,children,parentsandsiblings.Dataonfamilyviolencehasonlybeenincludedwheredisaggregatedstatisticsondomesticviolencearenotavailable.Althoughthepaperdoesnotexplicitlyinvestigateviolenceinsame-sexrelationships,itispossiblethatdataprovidedbystudiescitedinthispaperdidincludesomesamesexcouplesintheirsamples.

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RESEARCHING GENDER IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Amongthoseinvestigatingissuesofgenderandviolenceinrelationships,feministresearchersgenerallyfindgenderasymmetryinitsperpetrationandexperience.ThisresearchischaracterisedbytheworkofDaleBagshaw,DonnaChung,MollyDragiewicz,WalterDeKeseredy,RebeccaandRussellDobash,MichaelFlood,MarianneHester,HollyJohnson,MichaelJohnson,MichaelKimmel,EvanStark,JulieStubbsandJaneWangmann.Incontrast,familyconflictresearcherstypicallyreportgendersymmetry,exemplifiedinresearchbyDonaldDutton,RichardGelles,JenniferLanghinrichsen-Rolling,JEStets,SuzanneSteinmetzand,mostprominently,MurrayStraus.Bothgroupsofresearchersmaydrawonarangeofdatasourcesandmethodstosupporttheirargumentsalthoughfamilyconflictresearcherstendtorelyonacts-basedapproaches.Inresearchinggenderanddomesticviolence,someofthemostcontentiousissuesconcernthedefinitionofviolenceandmethodsusedfordatacollection.

DEFINING VIOLENCE

Feministandfamilyconflictresearchersgreatlydifferinhowtheyconceptualiseviolenceinrelationshipswhich,weargue,inturninfluencestheevidencetheygather.Tounderstanddomesticviolence,feministresearchersinvestigateitswiderdynamicwithinrelationships:whyitoccurs,howitmanifestsandvictimoutcomes.Familyconflictresearchersfocustheirinvestigationsmorenarrowly,beingprimarilyconcernedwithmeasuringincidentsofviolencebetweenpartners.Importantly,feministresearchersseedomesticviolenceastakingplaceinandcontributingtoacontextofgenderinequality(Reedetal.2010;Stark2010).Theylinkmen’suseofviolenceintheirrelationshipstowidersocialnormsandstructuresthatlegitimisemaleaggressionandprivilegemaledominance,notingthatmen’sgreateruseofviolenceoutsidethehomeisreplicatedinsidethehome.Whilesomegendersymmetryproponentsacknowledgeviolencecanbeamanifestationofgenderinequality,theyarguethatthisdoesnotaccountfortheirfindingsofwomen’suseofviolence.Theyalsopointtoawiderangeofothercausesofviolenceinrelationships,suchaspoorangermanagement,conflictor,inseverecases,psychopathology(Dutton2012;Straus2009).

Motivation:Akeypointofdifferencebetweentheseresearchersconcernsaperson’smotivationtobeviolent.Feministresearchersdirecttheirgazetoviolentbehaviourthatis‘instrumental’;thatis,whereapersoncoercesandcontrolstheirpartnerinordertogainbenefitsandresourceswithintherelationship(Johnson2006;Kimmel2002;Stark2010).Someviolentincidentswould,therefore,beexcludedfromthisdefinition,suchaswhenapersonisviolentonasingleoccasionbecausetheyareangry,ratherthaninordertocontroltheirpartner(Dragiewicz&DeKeseredy2012;Hamberger2005;Kimmel2002;Osthoff2002;Stark2010).Similarly,apersonwhoactsviolentlyinself-defence,retaliationorfrustrationtoyearsofabuseagainstthemwouldnotbeconsideredadomesticviolenceperpetrator.Familyconflictresearchersdonotgenerallydrawthisdistinctionandmeasureanyviolentincidentbetweenpartnersthatfallswithintheirparameters.Thisincludes‘expressive’violentbehaviour,suchasconflictoverdisagreements,annoyances,badmoodortiredness(Straus1979),ratherthannecessarilyadesiretocontrolone’spartner.Notably,Strausetal.(1996)initiallyarguedthataperson’smotivationisunimportanttoanexaminationofviolence,althoughmorerecentlyheandotherfamilyconflictresearchershavearguedthatwomen’sandmen’smotivationsforviolencearethesame(Carney,Buttell&Dutton2007;Dutton&Nicholls2005;Straus2008).

Forms of violence:Perpetratorsmayuseoneormultipleformsofviolencetohurt,intimidateandcontroltheirpartner.Feministresearchersmayconsidersomeorallofthefollowingintheirstudiesofdomesticviolence:physical,sexual,emotionalandfinancialabuse;propertydamage;threatstokillorabuse;andpostseparationviolence(suchasstalkingandhomicide).Familyconflictresearcherstendtoidentifyasmallerrangeofbehavioursasaggressiveorviolent.Thesearetypicallylimitedtoactsofphysicalassault(andsometimessexualviolence),psychologicalaggressionandcoercivenegotiation.Theyalsotypicallyfocusonviolencebetweencurrentpartners,therebyexcludingallpostseparationviolence.

Severity: Theperpetrationofseveredomesticviolencecanhavemajorimplicationsforvictims.Aswellasthelongtermmentalhealthconsequencesassociatedwithviolence-inducedtrauma,physicaloutcomesmayinclude:seriousinjury;chronicpain;disability;miscarriage;and,atitsmostextreme,victimdeath.Feministresearchersseeseverityofdomesticviolenceasparticularlyimportanttounderstandingthisissueandobservealargegendergapintermsofseverityof

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DATA COLLECTION

Inadditiontodefinitionaldifferences,feministandfamilyconflictresearcherscandifferintheirdatacollectionmethods.

Feministresearcherstendtofavourqualitativeapproachescommonlyusedinclinicalstudies.Clinicalstudiesrelyonclientgroupsofagenciesorservicesorself-selectedgroups.Typically,theyuseinterviewsorfocusgroupswithvictimsorperpetrators.Theymayalsomakeuseofdetailedpractitionernotes.Feministresearchersmayadditionallydrawonquantitativeinformationcollectedviaofficiallyreporteddataandcommunitysamplesurveys.

Familyconflictresearcherstendtofavourquantitativeapproaches,measuringthenumberofviolentincidentstakingplacebetweenpartners.Theyrelypredominantlyonacts-basedapproachesemployinglistsofviolentactstomeasureconflictbetweenintimatepartners.TheConflictTacticsScale(CTS)isthemostwidelyusedlistofthiskind,althoughtheymayalsomakeuseofothercommunitysamplesurveysandofficialdata.

Asaresultoftheirpreferencesfordifferentresearchmethods,researchersonbothsidesofthegenderdebatehavecontroversiallysuggestedthatfeministandfamilyconflictstudiesmayinfactbesamplingdifferentgroupsofpeopleorcapturingdifferenttypesofviolence,accountingfortheirconflictingfindings.Forexample,bothMurrayStraus(1990)andMichaelJohnson(2010)havehypothesisedthat:(i)minorpartnerviolenceisprevalentinthegeneralpopulationandperpetratedbybothgendersequallyand,thus,islikelytobecapturedinCTS-basedstudies;and (ii)moresevereviolenceisrarerandasymmetricalingenderand,thus,dominatesofficiallyreporteddataandclinicalstudiesbecauseitsseriousnesspromptsvictimstoseekhelporservicestointervene.EvanStark(2010)hassuggestedaslightlydifferentargument:thatfeministresearchersaremoreconcernedwithinstrumentalviolenceinrelationships,whichiscontrollingandcoercive,whilefamilyconflictresearchersaremoreconcernedwithexpressiveformsofviolence.Thetwogroupsselecttheirresearchtoolsaccordinglyand,thus,theygeneratedifferentfindings.

Morerecently,Straus(2011)andDutton(2012)havedisputedtheargumentofdifferentsamples.Straus(2011,pp.285-286)nowproposesthatfamilyconflictresearchersassertgendersymmetryonthebasisofperpetrationrates(findingthatmenandwomenareequallyviolent),whereasfeministresearchersassert

men’sandwomen’sviolence.Whileacknowledgingthedangersposedbyseverephysicalviolence,theyalsorecognisethatmanyvictimsconsiderpsychologicalabusebypartnerstobeworsethanphysicalabuse,withlongerlastingconsequences.Familyconflictresearchersalsoconsiderseverity,rankingviolentactsaseitherminororsevere.However,thesestudiesfrequentlyexcludesexualassaultandotherseriousformsofviolencelikestalkingandhomicide,thelatterduetoonlyconsideringviolencebyandagainstcurrentpartners.

Repetition of violence:Trackingrepetitionofviolenceinarelationshipinformsastowhetherincidentsformpartofapatternofbehaviour,whethertheviolenceisfrequentand/orescalating,andwhethertheabuserrepresentsanongoingthreat.Asfeministanalysisidentifiesdomesticviolenceasapatternofcontrollingbehaviour,repetitionisanimportantconsideration.Consequently,theywouldnotgenerallyconsideranisolatedabusiveepisodeasdomesticviolence,exceptwhereaperpetratorusedthateventtosubsequentlyintimidateorthreatenavictim.Familyconflictresearchers,incontrast,generallyfocusonviolentactstakingplacewithinatwelvemonthperiod.Thus,theyareunabletoconsiderlongerhistoriesandpatternsofviolence.Anyviolentepisodetakingplacewithinthattwelvemonthperiodwouldbeconsideredevidenceofaviolentrelationship.

Outcomes:Knowledgeofoutcomesofviolenceforvictimsallowsforeffectivetargetingofresponsestotheirneedsandacknowledgmentdomesticviolenceasaserioussocialissuerequiringconcertedaction.Outcomesforvictimsareviewedbyfeministresearchersascriticaltoanunderstandingofdomesticviolence;inparticular,victims’fearfortheirandothers’safety,experienceofphysicaland/orpsychologicalinjuries,homelessnessorotherfinancialdeprivation.Fearisanimportantconsiderationgiventhatfearforpersonalsafetyorforone’slifeisacriticaloutcomeofviolenceandisinherentlyboundtoformsofcontrolandcoercion(Kimmel2002;Stark2010).Familyconflictresearchersplacelessemphasisonvictimoutcomes,althoughinjuryismeasuredinsomestudies.Indeed,whileacknowledgingthatwomenarelikelytoexperiencemoreharmsthenmenasaconsequenceofpartnerviolence,familyconflictresearchersaccordthisfindinglimitedimportance,particularlyastheyconsiderthatitbearslittleimpactonestimatesofperpetrationofviolencebymenandwomen(Dutton2012;Frieze2005;Robertson&Murachver2007; Straus2011).

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officiallyreporteddataarelikelytounderestimate(butnotoverestimate)actualviolenceprevalence.Victimreluctancetoreportinturnsuggeststhatsuchdatacapturemoreseriousdomesticviolence;thatis,violenceseriousenoughtopromptavictimtoseekhelporaserviceoranagencytointervene.Somefamilyconflictresearchershavealsosuggestedthatofficiallyreporteddataareskewedtowardsfemalevictimisationbecauseofagreaterreluctanceofmalevictimstoreportduetoshame(Dutton&Nicholls2005;Steinmetz1977/78).Thistheoryiscontestedbystudiesindicatingthatmenhaveagreaterpropensitytominimisetheirownperpetrationofviolenceanddisclosewomen’severyaggressiveact(Dobashetal.1992;Kincaid1982;Schwartz1987;Taft,Hegarty&Flood2001;Watson&Parsons2005).

ForthisIssuesPaper,weexaminefourwidelycitedAustralianofficiallyreporteddatasets:policecrime,homicide,homelessnessandhealthdata(seeTable1).

Community sample surveys

Communitysamplesurveysalsoprovidepopulationleveldataaboutdomesticviolence.Surveysareadministeredtolargerepresentativesamplesofa(usuallyadult)population,generallyusingtickboxquestionsaboutcrimeorviolence.Questionsmaybeaskedaboutperpetrationofviolencebutmostoftenfocusonvictimexperiences.Communitysamplesurveysarehighlyvaluedforcapturingbothreportedandunreporteddomesticviolence.Importantly,administrationofsurveysnationallyandinternationallyhasgeneratedcomparativedataaboutprevalenceacrossjurisdictionsandovertime.

Surveysvarysubstantiallyinscopebutinprinciplecanprovidewide-ranginginformationabout:levelsandformsofviolence;severity;repetition;victimimpactsandhelp-seeking;andtheresponseofservicesandagencies.Theyarelessabletocapturemotivationforviolence.Moreover,theirrelianceontickboxresponsesrestrictstheamountofdetailgathered.Anemphasisonsingleincidentsoractsofviolencealsodetractsfromconsiderationsofcoerciveorcontrollingbehaviourpatterns.Thisisnotnecessarilyacriticism,ascapturingthistypeofdataisnotagoalofsuchinstruments.Rather,itsignalsaneedtocomplementsurveydatawithqualitativeinformation.

Communitysamplesurveysrelyonrespondents’perceptionandrecall,whichmaybesubjecttoinaccuraciesduetorespondentbiasand/orgapsinmemory.Recallislikelytoimproveifdiariesorcalendarsareusedwithrespondents.Aswithall

genderasymmetryonthebasisofvictimisation(findingthatfemalevictimsexperiencemoreinjuriesandmoreseriousinjuries,fearandhomicidethandomalevictims).Withoutproperinvestigation,itisdifficulttoascertainthetruthtotheseclaims.However,Stark’sassertionisperhapsmorelikelygiventhatevenusingthesamesample,feministandfamilyconflictresearchersmightderivedifferentfindingsduetowhoandwhattheyincludeandexclude.

DATA SOuRCES

Wearguethatthevarianceinstudyfindingsisdueinlargeparttoframingsofdomesticviolenceanddatacollectionmethodsused.Toillustratethesedifferences,weexaminefourkeysourcesofdatatoconsiderwhattheycanandcannottellusaboutgenderandviolence.UsingexamplesfromAustralianandinternationalliterature,wepresentfindingsfromofficiallyreporteddata,communitysamplesurveys,theCTSandclinicalstudies.ThefourdatasourcesarediscussedbelowandindividualstudiesaredetailedinTable1.

Officially reported violence data

Officiallyreportedviolencedataareaprimarysourceofinformationaboutgenderandviolentrelationships.Theytypicallycaptureinformationaboutincidentsanddemographicsofthoseinvolved.Policeandotheragenciesandsupportservicesroutinelycollectdata,whicharethencompiledintostatisticalanalyses.Collectedacrossentirejurisdictions,theyareespeciallyusefulingeneratingpopulationlevelinformationaboutdomesticviolence.Thecollectionofdataonformsofviolence,injuryandhomicideallowsustodrawconclusionsabouttheseverityofabuseandimpactsforvictims.Notably,theVictorianFamilyViolenceDatabaseprovidesaparticularlyusefulmodelforthecompilationofofficiallyreporteddata.ThedatabasetrackstrendsinfamilyviolenceincidentsreportedinVictoriasince1999andisnowinitsfifthvolume.Itdrawsondatafromthepolice,courts,housingagencies,hospitalemergencydepartments,victims’assistanceservicesandlegalaidservices.Thetrendanalysispresentedinthedatabasereportsisattentivetotheissueofgender.

Whatsuchdatasetsarelesswelldesignedtocaptureisrepetitionofviolenceorperpetratormotivations,beingmorefocusedonincidentsratherthantrackingindividualrelationships.Wealsoknowfrompopulationsurveysthatmanyincidentsofpartnerviolenceareneverreportedtothepolice(AustralianBureauofStatistics2006,p.21)orothersupportservices(Mouzos&Makkai2004,p.100).Consequently,

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scaleonlyconsidersviolencebyoragainstcurrentpartners,doesnotaskaboutperpetratormotivationsandalsofaceschallengesofaccuracyofrespondentperceptionandrecall.

InthisIssuesPaper,weexaminefindingsfromtwoCTSstudies:theInternational Dating Violence Study(Straus2004)andYoung People and Domestic Violence Survey (NationalCrimePrevention2001),amodifiedCTSstudy(seeTable1).

Clinical studies

Clinicalstudiesformanothercommonlyusedsourceofevidence.Theserelyonsamplesdrawnfromagencydatasets,serviceclientgroupsorself-selectedgroups,andusuallyincludeaqualitativecomponent.Whilesuchstudieshavemostlyfocusedonsamplesoffemalevictimsormaleperpetrators,agrowingnumberofstudieshavelookedatmalevictims(e.g.Cook2009;Douglas&Hines2011)andfemaleperpetrators (e.g.Leisring2009;Swan&Snow2003;Ward&Muldoon2007).Somestudieshavealsoattemptedtopairormatchequalnumbersofwomenandmenasperpetratorsand/orvictims.

Thecapacityofclinicalstudiestodrawonqualitativeandquantitativedatatoprovideinsightintodomesticviolencefromtheperspectivesofvictimsorperpetratorsisimmenselyvaluable(Leisring2009).Theyaremostsuitedtoinvestigating:perpetratormotivation;levelsandformsofviolencefortheirsample;severityandrepetitionofviolence;andvictimoutcomes.Theirrelianceonagencyandservicedataoraccesstoclientssuggeststhat,likeofficiallyreporteddata,theyarelikelytocapturemoreseriousviolenceinrelationships.

Twokeylimitationsofclinicalstudiesarethattheirsmallersamplesmeantheyhavelimitedcapacitytobegeneralisedtoawiderpopulationand,likecommunitysamplesurveys,theyrelyonperceptionandrecallofrespondentsifthestudyusesinterviews.FourstudiesarediscussedinthisIssuesPaper:DobashandDobash(2004);Hester(2009);MeltonandBelknap(2003);andWangmann(2010)(seeTable1).

studies,thebreadthofinformationgatheredisentirelydependentonthescopeofquestionsasked.

WepresentfindingsfromthreeAustraliancommunitysamplesurveysthatexaminedbothmaleandfemaleexperiencesofviolence:Crime Victimisation, Australia 2010-11(AustralianBureauofStatistics2012); Personal Safety Survey (PSS)(AustralianBureauofStatistics2006);andDalGrandeetal.(2003),‘DomesticviolenceinSouthAustralia:apopulationsurveyofmalesandfemales’(seeTable1).

Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) studies

TheCTSisaspecificcommunitysamplesurvey,whichusesstandardisedquantitativequestionstomeasureaggressionandnegotiationtowardsapartnerinamarital,cohabitatingordatingrelationship(Strausetal.1996).TheCTSisusuallyappliedtosmallersamplesthanotherformsofcommunitysamplesurveys.

Standardisedquestionsareadministeredtomenandwomen,althoughtypicallytoonepartnerinarelationship.Respondentsareaskedabouttheirexperienceofviolencefromacurrentpartnerovertheprevioustwelvemonths,aswellastheirownperpetrationofviolence.Thescalemeasuresdiscreteaggressiveactsandevents,whicharethengroupedintotypesofbehaviour:negotiation;psychologicalaggression;andphysicalassault.

Followingcriticismsaboutfactorstheoriginalscaleexcluded,itwasrevisedinthe1990sastheCTS2withadditionalscalestomeasuresexualcoercionandvictiminjury.Atthesametime,theoriginalCTSwassignificantlycriticisedforequatingallviolentactsasthesame(sothatamildslaporpushequatedwithaseverebeating).Inresponse,therevisedversionnowclassesphysicalassaultsaseitherminororsevere.

Asasubsetofcommunitysamplesurveys,CTS-basedstudiessharetheformer’sstrengthsandweaknesses.Theyareabletocapturebothreportedandunreportedincidentsofviolence.Limitationsremainregardingtheexclusionofsomeformsofviolence(suchaseconomicorsocialabuse)andimpactsforvictims(suchasfear).Studieswhichdonotusethesexualcoercionscalearealsocompromised,asthisformofviolenceishighlygenderedandhasseriousoutcomesforvictims.The

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Table 1: Details of studies cited

Police crime data:Crimesreportedtopolicearerecordedascrimedata.Statesandterritoriescollectcrimedataandtheinformationrecordeddependsonlegislationoperatingineachjurisdiction.Inthispaper,dataareprovidedfor:domesticassaultsincidentsbyapartnerrecordedbyNewSouthWales(NSW)Policefor2010(Grech&Burgess2011);offenderschargedfordomesticviolenceassaultbyNSWPolicefor1999-2009(Holmes2010);assaultandsexualoffencesbyapartnerorex-partnerreportedtoQueenslandPolicefor2010-11(QueenslandPoliceService2011);andfinalisedapplicationsforprotectionordersforfamilyviolenceinVictoriafor1999-2010(VictimsSupportAgency2012).

Homicide data:PoliceineachjurisdictionrecordhomicidedataandtheAustralianInstituteofCriminology(AIC)compilesthisdatafromacrossthecountryintotheNationalHomicideMonitoringProgram(NHMP).Homicidesaredefinedasincludingallcaseswhereoneormorepeoplearechargedwithmurder,allmurdersuicidesandallotherdeathsclassedbypoliceasmurder,whetherornotanoffenderhasbeenapprehended.Homicidedataprovidedinthispaperrelatetovictimsof‘intimatepartnerhomicide’,wherethevictimandoffendershareacurrentorformerintimaterelationship,includinghomosexualandextramaritalrelationships,fortheperiod2008-10(Chan&Payne2013).

Homelessness data:TheAustralianInstituteofHealthandWelfare(AIHW)collectsnationaldataabouthomelessness,drawingoninformationaboutmen,womenandchildrenaccessingthegovernment’sSpecialistHomelessnessServices.Whenenteringsuchservices,clientsaresurveyedaboutthemainreasontheyneedassistance;domesticviolenceislistedasoneof23options.Dataareprovidedinthepaperfortheperiod2009-10andconcernthoseclientsforwhomdomesticviolencewasthemainreasonforseekinghousingassistance(AustralianInstituteofHealthandWelfare2011).

Health data:TheAIHWNationalHospitalMorbidityDatabase(NHMD)collectsdatanationallyonpatientspresentingtopublicandprivatehospitalswithinjuriesandothermedicalproblems.Eachepisodeofcareforanadmittedpatientiscountedasa‘separation’whenthatcareisfinalised.Datacitedinthepaperisfortheperiod2009-10.Duringthistime,therewere421065injurycasesrequiringhospitalisation,nationally(Tovelletal.2012,p.v).Thisfigureincluded24550assaults,forwhichaperpetratorwasidentifiedin46%(n=10549)ofcases(p.106).Thedataindicatethegenderoftheperpetratorincasesofassaultbyaspouseordomesticpartner(amountingto27%ofassaultcaseswheretheperpetratorwasknown,n=2847)(p.106).AlsocitedinthepaperaredatacollectedinVictoriafrompatientspresentingtopublichospitalemergencydepartments(VEMD)(VictimsSupportAgency2012).Dataaregivenonthenumberofpatientswhoexperiencedinjuryrelatedtofamilyviolencebygender,fortheperiod2004-10.

Crime Victimisation, Australia 2010-11 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012):Thisisacomponentofthe Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS),conductedannuallythroughoutAustralia.Forthecrimevictimisationcomponent,telephoneinterviewswereheldwith26405peopleagedfifteenyearsandolder,askingabouttheirexperienceofpersonalandhouseholdcrimes,withregardtophysicalassault,threatenedassaultandsexualassault.Thesurveyglossarydefinesphysicalassaultasphysicalforceorviolenceagainstaperson(includingbeingpushed,grabbed,shoved,slapped,hit,kickedorbitten,hitwithsomethingthatcouldhurt,beaten,choked/strangled,stabbed,shot,burnt,draggedorhitdeliberatelybyavehicle).Threatenedassaultincludesanyverbaland/orphysicalintentorthreattoinflictphysicalharm.Sexualassaultcomprisesasexualactcarriedoutagainstaperson’swill,throughtheuseorattemptofphysicalforce,intimidationorcoercion(askedofpeopleover18yearsofage).

Personal Safety Survey (PSS) (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006):Inthisnationalsurvey,face-to-faceinterviewswereconductedwith16300adultmenandwomen,askingabouttheirexperiencesofphysicalorsexualviolence,stalking,whethertheyhadtakenoutaprotectionorder,whetherviolencewasrepeatedandwhethertheyexperiencedfearfortheirsafety(p.43).Thesurveyglossarydefinesphysicalviolenceastheuseofforceintendedtoharmorfrightenaperson(p.59)andincludesthesameexamplesasgivenintheCrime Victimisation, Australia 2010-11surveycitedabove.ThedefinitiongivenforsexualviolencealsoreflectsthedefinitionusedintheCrime Victimisationsurvey(p.61).ThePSS definesstalkingasactivitiesintendedtoharmorfrightenaperson,includingloiteringoutsidepremisesthatapersonfrequents,followingorwatchingaperson,interferingwiththeirproperty,givingorleavingoffensivematerial,andmakingphoneorelectroniccontact(pp.61-62).

Dal Grande et al. (2003): Computer-aidedtelephoneinterviewswereconductedwitharandomsampleof6004SouthAustralianadults,agedeighteenyearsandoverinthisdomesticviolencestudy.Respondentswereaskedabouttheirexperiencesofawiderangeofformsofdomesticviolencebycurrentandex-partners.Theywereaskediftheyhadexperiencedphysicalabuse,suchasbeingkicked,choked,pushedorhitwithafistoranythingelsethatcouldhurtthem,werethreatenedwithorhadagunorknifeusedagainstthem,orwereforcedintoanysexualactivitywhentheydidnotwantto.Theywereaskedaboutarangeofemotionalabusessuchas:beingpreventedfrompractisingtheirreligion;havingtheirsocialfreedomrestrictedorbeingisolatedfromfriendsandfamily;beingrestrictedintheiraccesstohouseholdfunds;orexperiencingthreatsorintimidation,namecallingorhumiliation(p.545).

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International Dating Violence Study (Straus 2004):Thismulti-siteinvestigationofmaleandfemalestudentsat31universitiesacross16countriesusedtheCTS2tomeasureratesofviolenceagainstdatingpartners.Respondentsnumberedbetween132and741casesateachsite,givingatotalof8666cases.TheCTS2definesminorphysicalassaultaspushorshove,grab,slap,throwsomethingatpartnerandtwistarmorhair(pp.795-6).Severephysicalassaultincludestopunchorhitapartner,kick,choke,slamagainstawall,beatup,burnorscald,anduseaknifeorgunonapartner (p.796).Minorinjuryincludedsprain,bruiseorsmallcut,orphysicalpainthatstillhurtthenextday(p.796).Severeinjuryincludedbrokenbone,passedoutfrombeinghitonthehead,wenttoorneededtoseeadoctorbecauseofafightwithone’spartner.Sexualcoercionwasnotincludedinthisstudy.

Young People and Domestic Violence survey (National Crime Prevention 2001):ThisAustraliannationalstudyof5000youngpeople,agedtwelvetotwenty,askedquantitativeandqualitativequestions(includingattitudescales,victimisationmeasuresandamodifiedversionoftheCTS)abouttheextentofviolenceinrelationshipsthatyoungpeoplehadexperiencedeitherasvictims,perpetratorsoraswitnessesofparentaldomesticviolence.Partnerviolenceinthesurveywasdefinedas:yellingloudlyatapartner;putdownsorhumiliation;notlettingapartnerseefamilyorfriends;notlettingapartnerhavemoneyfortheirownuse;throwsomethingatapartner;threatentohitthem;trytohitthem;actuallyhitthem;hitthembecausetheywerehittingyou(definedasself-defence);threatenwithaknifeorgun;anduseaknifeorfireagun(p.96).Respondentswerealsoaskedaboutsexualcoercion.

Dobash and Dobash (2004): ThiscomparativestudyfromtheUnitedKingdom(UK)appliedqualitativeandquantitativemethodsthroughin-depthinterviewswith95couples,inwhichmenandwomenreportedseparatelyontheirownviolenceandthatoftheirpartner(i.e.190interviews).Thesamplewasdrawnfromonlymenconvictedofviolenceagainsttheirpartner,giventoofewnumbersofwomenconvictedofviolenceagainsttheirpartnerforcomparison.Comparisonsweremadeofmen’sandwomen’sviolenceintermsoftheformsofviolence,frequency,severityandphysicalandemotionalconsequences,reasonsforviolenceandthecontextinwhichitoccurred.

Hester (2009): ThisUKstudyanalysed96casesofdomesticviolencefromtheNorthumbriaPolicedatabase:32casesinvolvingamalesoleperpetrator(randomselection);32casesinvolvingafemalesoleperpetrator(allcases);and32casesinvolvingdualperpetrators(i.e.64arrestees,randomselection).Eachcasewastrackedfrom2001to2007.Thestudyhadbothqualitativeandquantitativeelements.Itdrewon:narrativesofincidents(includingadescriptionofincidentsrelatedbytheparties,summariesbypolice,actionstakenbypoliceandsometimesacommentand/orhistoryofcases);interviewdatarelatingtofourwomenvictimsandonemalevictim;demographicdata;anddataregardingcriminaljusticeprogressionovertime.Thestudycomparedthecasesbygender.

Melton and Belknap (2003):ThisstudycomparedviolenceexperiencedandperpetratedbymenandwomenarrestedfordomesticviolenceoffencesinaMidwesterncityoftheUnitedStates(US).Thestudyauthorsanalysed2670misdemeanordomesticviolencepolicecasesduring1997,ofwhichwomencomprised14%.Theresearchersemployedqualitativeandquantitativemethodologies,collectingdatathroughpre-trialservices,police-completedformsandprosecutorinformation.Theyexaminedformsofviolence,repetitionandfrequency,severity,motivationsforviolenceandoutcomesforvictims,includingfear.

Wangmann (2010): ThisAustralianstudyexamineddifferencesinmen’sandwomen’scomplaintsforcivilprotectionorders(knownasapprehendeddomesticviolenceordersorADVOs)inNewSouthWales(NSW),Australia.Thestudyfocusedoncrossapplications(i.e.wherebothpartiestakeoutanADVO)inheterosexualrelationships.Theresearcherusedamixed-methodapproach,drawingon:in-depth,semi-structuredinterviewswith10women(thestudywasunsuccessfulinrecruitingmenforinterview)and27professionalsinthelegalsystem;adocumentaryanalysisof12monthsofcourtfilesfromthreelargemetropolitancourts(78crossapplicationsor156singleapplications);andcourtobservations(73ADVOmentionsandtwocontestedhearings).

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PERPETRATOR MOTIVATION FOR VIOLENCE

Ofthefourprimarydatasources,clinicalstudiesarethemostvaluableininvestigatingperpetratormotivationforviolenceprevention.Useofqualitativemethodsinclinicalstudiescanprovideadetailedpictureofrelevantfactors,suchaswhoinitiatedtheviolence,whetherthiswaspartofapatternofongoingviolenceandwhetheritinvolvedelementsofcontrolorwasintendedtocreatefearinthevictim.Researcherscanaskwhetherviolencebyonepartnerwasinitiatedinself-defence,inretaliationtooranticipationofviolencebytheotherpartner,outoffrustrationandso

on.Qualitativedatamayalsoenableanunderstandingoftheperpetrator’sownhistoryofvictimisationandrelatedissues(suchasmentalillnessordrugoralcoholuse).Table2.1presentsdataonmotivationgatheredfromthefourselectedclinicalstudiesthatlookedatbothmaleandfemaleviolenceagainstpartners.

Theothersourcesofdataaremuchlesslikelythanclinicalstudiestodocumentaperson’smotivationforviolenceagainstapartner.Thisisbecausequantitativemethodstypicallyemployedfordatagatheringbythesetypesofstudiesordatasetsarenotwelldesignedforcapturingthecontextinwhichviolencetakesplace.Theyoftenfocusonsingleviolentacts

Table 2.1: Motivation in clinical studies

Dobash and Dobash (2004) Hester (2009) Melton and Belknap (2003) Wangmann (2010)

Thisstudyincludedexaminationofself-defenceasamotivationforviolence.Onlysixofthe95meninthesamplesaidtheyhittheirpartnerbecauseshehithimfirstbutdidnotdescribethisasself-defence(p.341).‘Self-defence’or‘selfprotection’weretermsoftenusedbywomentodescribetheirviolencetowardsmen.Ofthosewomenwhoadmittedtoviolence,75%saidthiswas‘always’inself-defenceand54%ofmenagreedwithwomen’sclaims(p.341).

Thisstudydidnotreportonmotivationofoffendersasidefromgenerallyacknowledgingtheinducementoffearinvictimsthroughcontrollingbehaviourbyperpetratorsinsomecases.Othercontextualissuesforviolenceraisedincludeperpetratormentalillnessandalcoholuse,andpostseparationviolenceandchildcontactissues.

Findingsofthisstudysuggestedthatwhenwomenareviolent,itmaybeinself-defenceortofightback.Femaledefendantsweresignificantlymorelikelythanmalestobeinvolvedincrossapplicationsforprotectionordersordualarrests(32.8%womenand5.6%men)–implyingthattheywerealsovictimsofviolence(p.339).Additionally,malevictims(i.e.appliedforprotectionorders)weremorelikelythanfemalevictimstobealsoclassedasdefendantsinprotectionordercases.

Someactsthatmencomplainedthatwomendidappearedtobedefensiveinnature(p.959).Twocasesaredetailedatlength.Inonecase,awomanwaschargedalthoughherviolenceappearedtobeinresponsetoextremeviolencebyherpartner.Inthesecondcase,awoman’sviolenceappearedtobearesponsetoherpartner’sattempttopreventherendingtherelationshipbyassaultingherandchasingherwithaknife(p.962).‘Control’wasonlymentionedtoa‘limiteddegree’inthecourtsample.However,fivewomenintervieweesspecificallyspokeabouttheirpartner’sattemptto‘control’them.Theremainingfivementionedexperiencingrestrictivebehaviours(p.964).

Table 2.2: Motivation in CTS studies

Straus (2004), International Dating Violence Study National Crime Prevention (2001), Young People and Domestic Violence Survey

Inamorerecentpaperonthisstudy,Straus(2008,pp.263-68)concludedthatdominanceintherelationshipbyeitherthemaleorfemalepartnerisassociatedwithanincreasedprobabilityofviolence.

Thesurveydidnotspecificallyaskaboutmotivationforviolencebuttwomeasuresprovideinsightintothisaspectofviolence.Thefirst,relatingtouseofunprovokedhitting,showedagenderbias,with14%ofyoungpeoplereportingunprovokedhittingagainsttheirmothers/stepmothers,comparedto9%whoreportedunprovokedhittingagainsttheirfathers/stepfathers(p.97).Thesecondmeasure,relatingtotheuseofhittinginresponsetobeinghitthemselves(i.e.inretaliationorself-defence),foundnogenderdifferences(pp.96,98).

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ratherthantryingtodiscernpatternsofcoercionandcontrol.Unsurprisingly,noneoftheofficiallyreporteddataorcommunitysamplesurveysconsideredforthispaperdiscussedmotivationissues.Indeed,theCTSisexplicitlynotdesignedtocapturemotivationsforviolenceoritscontextandhasbeencriticisedforfocusingonconflicttacticsratherthancoercionasamotivation(Dobash&Dobash2004;Flood2012;Kernsmith2005;Kimmel2002).However,Strausetal.(1996,p.285)havearguedthatthesurveycanbeusedinconjunctionwithmeasuresofthesevariablesrelevantfortheparticularstudyorclinicalsituationinquestion.Forexample,theYoung People and Domestic Violence Surveylookedatunprovokedhittingandretaliationorself-defence,findingwomenmorelikelytobevictimsofunprovokedhitting(seeTable2.2).IntheInternational Dating Violence Study,Strausidentifieddominanceinrelationshipsassignificantlyassociatedwithperpetrationofviolence,whichisnotnecessarilythesameascoercivecontrol.

Findingsofclinicalstudieshaveledfeministstoconcludethatwomen’sandmen’sviolencedifferinmotivation.Whiletheyacknowledgethatsomewomenuseviolencetocontroltheirpartner,thisisnotaprimarymotivationornotamotivationformostwomenwhouseviolence.Tworeviewsofstudiesexaminingwomen’suseofviolenceagainstpartnersidentifiedprimarilyexpressiveandprotectivemotivations:angerandnotbeingabletogainapartner’sattention;self-defence;retaliationfortheirpartner’sviolence(sometimespre-emptivetowardoffapartner’sviolence);fear;defenceofchildren;andretributionforrealorperceivedwrongdoing(Bair-Merrittetal.2010;Swanetal.2008).Somefamilyconflictresearchershaveadamantlyrejectedsuchclaims,arguingthatwomen’smotivationsforviolencereflectmen’sandincludesimilarpsycho-socialcharacteristics,suchasprioraggression,substance use,personalitydisturbanceandsoon(Carney, Buttell&Dutton2007;Dutton&Nicholls2005; Stets&Straus1990).

LEVELS AND FORMS OF VIOLENCE PERPETRATION/VICTIMISATION

Centraltodiscussionsofgenderanddomesticviolencearemeasuresofthelevelofperpetrationandvictimisationofviolenceacrosspopulationsorcommunities.Inthesedebates,bothofficiallyreportedviolencedataandcommunitysamplesurveyshaveimportantcontributionstomake.

Officiallyreportedviolencedataallowustomeasuretrendsacrossapopulationinlevelsofdomesticviolenceperpetrationandvictimisationthathavebeendisclosedtoservicesandagencies.Itshouldbenotedthatwhenfluctuationsinnumbersofreportstoagenciesandservicesareobserved,cautionisneededintheirinterpretation.Ratherthanrecordingactualviolencetrends,fluctuationsmayinsteadreflectreportingtrends,whichcanbeinfluencedbychangesinlegislation,increasedcommunityawarenessofpartnerviolenceandservicesavailable,andtherecordingpracticesofservicesorindividuals(Gulliver&Fanslow2012;Weatherburn2011).Forexample,thelikelihoodofdisclosureathealthserviceswillbeinfluencedbyscreeningpracticesforpartnerviolenceconductedatpointofintakeandthequestionsasked.

Officiallyreporteddatawilloftenbepresentedintermsofdifferentformsofviolence(suchasphysical,sexualorotherabuses).Whatinformationisrecordedwillreflectthedefinitionofviolenceheldbythatserviceoragencyandwhatisfeasibleforworkerstorecord.Toillustrate,policeacrossAustralianjurisdictionsmaydifferinthedetailstheyrecordaboutviolentincidentsbecause,althoughalljurisdictionsincludephysicalassaultintheirlegaldefinitionofdomestic/familyviolence,theyvaryastowhethertheyincludeotherviolentandthreateningbehaviours (forexample,sexualassault,economicabuse,emotionalorpsychologicalabuse,stalking,intimidation,harassment,propertydamage,kidnapping,harmtoanimals,orexposingachildtoviolence(AustralianLawReformCommission&NSWLawReformCommission2010,pp.191-192).Table3.1presentsinformationonlevelsandformsofviolencebygender,asdocumentedintheselectedofficiallyreporteddatasets.

Communitysamplesurveysareespeciallyimportantininformingaboutlevelsofpartnerviolencebecausetheymeasurereported,aswellasunreported,violence.Surveys’typicallylargesamplesizesallowfindingstobegeneralisedtoawiderpopulation.Moreover,nationallyconductedsurveysallowforcomparisonsacrossdifferentjurisdictionswithdifferentcrimelaws.Table3.2reportsonlevelsandformsofviolenceintheselectedcommunitysamplesurveys.

TheprincipalpurposeoftheCTSistocaptureinformationaboutlevelsofpartnerviolenceperpetratedandexperiencedbymenandwomen.Oneofitskeystrengthsisthat,aswithcommunitysamplesurveys,itgathersreportedandunreportedincidentsofviolencebybothgenders.Again,therestrictedfocusoftheCTStooneyear,currentpartnersand

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Table 3.1: Levels and forms in officially reported data

Grech & Burgess (2011)

Holmes (2010) Queensland Police Service (2011)

Victims Support Agency (2012)

Chan & Payne (2013)

Physical violence: OfassaultsbetweenallheterosexualpartnersinNSWin2010,thelargemajority(84.8%; n=12010)involveda maleperpetratorandfemalevictim(Table7,p.7).

Physical violence: InNSW,domesticviolenceassaultsbymen(13523for2008-09)greatlyoutnumberthosebywomen(2552for2008-09).Onaverage,therehasbeenanannualincreaseindomesticviolenceassaultsbywomenof11.7%betweenJuly1999andJune2009(Table2,p.4).Duringthesameperiod,domesticviolenceassaultsbymalesalsoincreasedbuttoalesserdegree,showinganaverageannualincreaseof3.8%.

Physical violence: InQueensland,womencomprised89.5%(n=1015)ofvictimsofassaultbyapartnerorex-partnerintheyear2010-11(p.81).Sexual violence:Womenrepresented92.3%(n=120)ofvictimsofasexualoffencebyapartnerorex-partnerintheyear2010-11(p.81).

InVictoria,between1999and2000,womenmadeupnearly80%andmen20%ofadultvictimsoffamilyviolenceincidentsandaffectedfamilymembers,includedinfinalisedapplicationsforaninterventionorder(p.76).Thisgenderratiointhecourtdataisalsoreflectedinpolicedataoverthesameperiod.

Homicide: From2008-10,womenmadeupthemajorityofintimatepartnerhomicidevictimsinAustralia(73%;n=89)(p.19).Menalsoaccountedforall16domestichomicidemurdersuicides;ofthese12maleoffenderscommittedsuicideafteranintimatepartnerhomicide(p.29).

Table 3.2: Levels and forms in community sample surveys

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012), Crime Victimisation, Australia 2010-11

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006), Personal Safety Survey

Dal Grande et al. (2003)

Physical violence:Womenweremuchmorelikelythanmentobevictimsofpartnerphysicalassault.Womencomprised87.0%(n=55300)ofpartneri assaultvictims(Table6)and86.9% (n=31800)ofallface-to-facethreatenedpartnerassaultvictims(Table9).

Physical violence: Womenweremorelikelythanmentoreportexperiencingphysicalviolence,with10.1%ofallwomen(n=780500)and4.4%ofallmen(n=325700)reportingphysicalassaultbyacurrentorex-partnersincetheageoffifteen(pp.5-6,Table16,p.30).

Physical violence: Women(14.2%,n=411)wereovertwiceaslikelyasmen(7.1%,n=184)tohaveexperiencedphysicalabusebyacurrentorex-partner(Table1,p.545).

Sexual violence:Thissurveydidnotreportonsexualviolence.

Sexual violence:Womenwerealsomorelikelytoreportexperiencingsexualviolence.Thesurveyestimatedthat 1293100womenhadexperiencedsexualassaultsincetheageoffifteen,ofwhom23.2%(n=299700)reportedbeingassaultedbyacurrentorex-partnerinthemostrecentincident(Table19, p.33).Bycomparison,362400menhadexperiencedsexualassault,ofwhomtoofewreportedbeingassaultedbyacurrentpartnertobeincludedinthesurveyresultsand5.7%(n=20700)reportedbeingassaultedbyapreviouspartnerinthemostrecentincident(Table19,p.33).

Sexual violence:Women(6.2%,n=179)weresixtimesmorelikelythanmen(1.0%,n=26%)tohavebeenforcedintoanysexualactivitywhentheydidnotwanttobyacurrentorex-partner(Table1,p.545).

Other forms of abuse: Thissurveydidnotreportonotherformsofabuse

Other forms of abuse:Morewomenthanmenhadbeenstalkedsincetheageoffifteen.Ofthe1472300womenwhohadbeenstalked,11.8%hadbeenstalkedbyaboyfriend/girlfriend/dateand20.1%byapreviouspartnerinthemostrecentincident(p.26).Ofmenwhohadbeenstalked(n=681700),12.4%hadbeenstalkedbyaboyfriend/girlfriend/dateand11.1%byapreviouspartnerinthemostrecentincident(Table12,p.26).

Other forms of abuse: Women(19.0%,n=548)wereovertwiceaslikelyasmen(8.7%,n=227)tohaveexperiencedsomeformofeconomic/emotional/spiritual/socialabuse(Table1,p.545).Thedisparitybetweenwomenandmen’sexperiencesofeconomicabusewasparticularlyhigh,reportedby8.8%ofwomencomparedto2.6%ofmen(Table1,p.545).

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Astrengthofclinicalstudiesisthattheycanaskaboutviolenceperpetratedbybothpartnersandex-partners,providingamorecomprehensivepicturethanstudiesfocusingonviolencebyandagainstcurrentpartnersonly.Theycanalsoinvestigateawiderangeofabuses,includingeconomicorsocialabuse,propertydamage,threatsandotherforms.Theycanevenallowforadeeperexaminationofperpetratortacticsthatfalloutsideofstandarddefinitionsofdomesticviolence.Forexample,aperpetratormightbuyflowersfortheirpartnerwhich,intheirrelationship,isafrequentprecursortosexualviolence.Howdetailedinformationiswilldependoneachindividualstudy.Table3.4indicatesthelevelsandformsofviolencebygenderrecordedintheselectedclinicalstudies

Officiallyrecordeddata,communitysamplesurveysandclinicalstudiesdatacitedindicatethatmaleperpetrationofdomesticviolenceoccursseveralordersofmagnitudemoreoftenthanfemaleperpetration.ThesefindingsarestronglycontrastedbytheselectedCTSstudieswhichfoundgreatergendersymmetryand,inthecaseofthe International Dating Violence Survey,moreviolencebyfemalepartners.

exclusionsofotherformsofabuselikeeconomicandsocialabuse(andformanystudies,sexualcoercion)affectsinformationgatheredaboutlevelsandformsofviolence.However,modifiedCTS-basedstudies,liketheYoung People and Domestic Violence Survey,mayincludethesevariablesintheirdesign.Table3.3presentsdataonthetwoselectedCTSstudiesregardinglevelsandformsofviolence.

Clinicalstudiesarenotdesignedtoindicateoveralllevelsofviolenceacrossapopulation,althoughcanbeusedasanindicatorofprevalenceinaspecifiedpopulation(e.g.ofarrestees).Thisisbecauseclinicalstudiesusesmallersamplesthanquantitativestudiesand,so,arenotabletobegeneralisedtoanentirepopulation.Thepicturepresentedfromclinicalstudiesaboutlevelsofviolenceisfurthercomplicatedinthat,bydefinition,thesesamplesdifferfromthegeneralpopulationbyover-representingthosewhohavedisclosedorreportedaviolentrelationship.Additionally,somestudiescompriseasampleofequalnumbersofmenandwomenoffenders,precludingassessmentofgenderdisparityinlevelsofviolence.

Table 3.3: Levels and forms in CTS studies

Straus (2004), International Dating Violence Survey National Crime Prevention (2001), Young People and Domestic Violence Survey

Physical violence:At21ofthe31universitiessurveyed,alargerpercentageoverallofwomenthanmenassaultedadatingpartner(p.799).Mostoftheassaultsbybothgenderswererelativelyminorattacks,suchasslappingorthrowingthingsatapartner(p.801).

Physical violence:Youngpeoplehadwitnessedsimilarlevelsofphysicalviolenceagainstboththeirparents,with23.4%ofrespondentsreportingatleastoneactofphysicalviolenceagainsttheirmother/stepmotherand22.1%againsttheirfather/stepfather(pp.96-97).Thispatternwasreflectedinyoungpeople’sownrelationships,with36%ofyoungwomenand37%ofyoungmenhavingexperiencedphysicalviolencefromadatingpartner(pp.118-19).

Sexual violence:Thisstudydidnotreportonsexualformsofviolence.

Sexual violence:Ofrespondentswhohadbeenina‘dating’relationship,14%ofyoungwomenand7%ofyoungmensaidapartnerhadtriedtoforcethemtohavesex;6%ofyoungwomenand5%ofyoungmensaidthattheyhadbeenphysicallyforcedtohavesex(Tables4.34&4.35,pp.115-16).Ofparticipantswhohadbeeninadatingrelationship,1%ofyoungwomenand3%ofyoungmensaidtheyhadtriedtoforceapartnertohavesex;1%ofyoungwomenand2%ofyoungmensaidthattheyhadphysicallyforcedapartnertohavesex(Tables4.34&4.35, pp.115-16).

Other forms of violence:Thisstudydidnotreportonotherformsofviolence.

Other forms of abuse:Surveyrespondentsreportedhigherratesofotherformsofabuseagainstfemaleparentsthanagainstmaleparents.Ratesofviolenceagainstmothers/stepmotherswere:verbalabuse(58%),emotionalabuse(30%),socialisolation(11%)andeconomicabuse(11%)(pp.96-97).Ratesofviolenceagainstfathers/stepfatherswere:verbalabuse(55%),emotionalabuse(22%),socialisolation(6%)andeconomicabuse(4%)(pp.96-97).

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Table 3.4: Levels and forms in clinical studies


Thisstudydidnotcomparenumbersofmenandwomenconvictedofviolentoffencesagainsttheirpartnerasthesamplewasdrawnfromonlyconvictedmenandtheirpartners.

Asthisstudyexaminedequalnumbersofmaleandfemalearrestees,itdidnotcomparenumbersofmen’sandwomen’sarrests.However,aminorincreasewasnotedintheproportionofwomenarrestedasdomesticviolenceperpetratorsfrom9%in 2001-02to11%in2004(p.10).

Inthissampleof2670defendantsfordomesticviolenceoffences,thereweremanymoremale(86%)thanfemaledefendants(14%) (p.344).

Inthissample,womenwereoverwhelminglythefirsttoapplyforprotectionorders(76.5%ofcourtfiledata,9of10womeninterviewed)(p.957).Moremen(17)thanwomen(5)werechargedwithcriminaloffences(courtfiledata,p.961).

Physical violence:Bothmenandwomenreportedthatmencommittedamuchwiderrangeofphysicallyviolentactsagainstwomenthanviceversa(p.336).Someactswereperpetratedbyalargepercentageofmenbutrarelybywomen(e.g.strangulation)and,insomecases,neverbywomen(e.g.kickface).

Physical violence:Amongarrestees,moremen(61%)thanwomen(37%)usedphysicalviolenceagainsttheirpartner(p.8).

Physical violence:Amongarrestees,menweresignificantlymorelikelythanwomentoshoveorpushtheirpartner,grabordragtheirpartner,pullthevictim’shair,physicallyrestrainorstrangletheirpartner(p.339).Womenweremorelikelytohittheirpartnerwithanobject,throwanobjectattheirpartner,striketheirpartnerwithavehicleorbitethem(p.339).

Physical violence:Whiletherewerenosignificantdifferencesbetweenmaleandfemalefirstapplicantsforaprotectionorderintermsofviolencealleged,femalesecondapplicants(75%)weresignificantlymorelikelytoallegephysicalviolencethanmalesecondapplicants(42.3%)(Table1,p.958).

Onlymensaidtheyhadbeenkneedinthegroinorscratched.Onlywomenallegedbeingspatat,burnt,draggedonthegroundorheldagainstawallordoor(p.959).Womenwerealsomorelikelytoallegestrangulationbytheirpartner.

Sexual violence:Bothmenandwomenreportedawiderrangeofsexuallyabusiveactscommittedbymenthanwomen.Amongwomen,40%reportedtheirpartnerhaddemandedsexand20%reportedtheirpartnerhadforcedthemtohavesexonatleastoneoccasion(p.336).Coercedorforcedsexwasonlyperpetratedbymen.

Sexual violence:Thestudydidnotreportonsexualviolence.

Sexual violence:Thestudydidnotreportonsexualviolence.

Sexual violence:Sexualviolencewasrarelymentioned,withonlytwowomenandonemanmakingsuchallegations (p.958).

Other forms of violence:Thisstudydidnotreportonotherformsofviolence.

Other forms of violence:Menweresignificantlymorelikelythanwomentoengageinotherformsofviolence:29%ofmenand13%ofwomenusedthreats;29%ofmenand11%ofwomenharassedtheirpartner;and94%ofmenand83%ofwomenwereverballyabusive(Table2,p.8).Moremen(30%)thanwomen(16%)damagedapartner’sproperty(Table2,p.8).

Other forms of violence: Moremale(30.8%)thanfemaleoffenders(22.2%)madethreats(Table3,p.340).Men’sthreatswerealsomoredetailedandhostile;andmorelikelytorelatetothevictim’scooperationwithpoliceorcourts(p.341).Therewasonlyasmallnumberofoffenderswhostalkedtheirpartner,comprisingmoremale(2.5%)thanfemale(1.1%)stalkers(Table3,p.340).

Other forms of violence: Femalesecondapplicantsweresignificantlymorelikelythanmalesecondapplicantstoallegeotherformsofabuse(81.3%ofwomen,25%ofmen)(pp.958-59).

Amongthesmallnumberofpeoplewhoallegedthreatsandprovideddetailaboutthese,womenexperiencedmorethreatsthatcouldbedescribedascoercive(e.g.threatsofviolenceiftheysoughtassistancefromthepolice),whilemenreportedwomen‘threatening’tousetheirlegalrights(e.g.byobtaininganADVO)(p.960).

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constrainsthelevelofdetailderivedfromvictimandperpetratoraccountsofviolentincidents.Table4.2setsoutfindingsoftheselectedcommunitysamplesurveyswithregardstoseverity.

TheCTS2distinguishesbetween‘minor’and‘severe’assaults,providingsomeinformationaboutseverityofviolence.Again,however,theexclusionofex-partnersprecludesconsiderationofstalking,sexualassaultorhomicide,allseriousbehaviours.LimitationsofquantitativeapproachesconcerningthelevelofdetailprovidedbycheckboxesalsoapplytotheCTS. Table4.3indicatesthefindingsoftheselectedCTSstudieswithregardstoseverity.

Officiallyreporteddataandpolicecrimedata,inparticular,canbeusefulincapturingevidenceofpartnerviolenceinitsmostsevereforms,althoughitwouldberareforsuchdatatobepresentedintermsof‘severity’perse.Rather,informationwouldmostlikelybepresentedintermsofphysicalorsexualabuse,violenceinvolvinguseofweapons,severeinjuriesforvictims,orhomicideorhomicide/suicide.Suchinformationisprovidedintheprevioussectiononlevelsandformsofviolence(seeTable3.1).

Itisclearfromtheseselecteddatasourcesthatthereisconsiderabledisparitybetweenfindingsofclinicalstudies,officiallyreporteddataandcommunitysamplesurveysandthoseofthestandardCTSstudy.Allthedatapresentedhere,exceptingthatfromtheInternational Dating Violence Study,indicatesagreaterseverityassociatedwithmen’sviolence.

SEVERITY

Severityremainsacontestedissuebetweenfeministandfamilyconflictresearchers.Allfourdatasourcesspeaktotheissueofseverityofviolencebygender,providingdifferentlevelsofdetailaboutthisfactor.

Clinicalstudiesthatadoptaqualitativeapproachmayaskparticipantsabouttheirperceptionsoftheseriousnessoftheviolenceorexamineotherindicatorsofseverity,suchastheuseofforceorweaponsused.Interestingly,intheirstudyMeltonandBelknap(2003,p.343)observethatqualitativeandquantitativedatacanprovidequitedifferentinformationaboutseverityofanincident.Theyidentifiedaqualitativedifferencebetweenhittingsomeoneonthecheekandhittingsomeonehardwithaclosedfisttothesideofthehead–adistinctionthatmightnotbemadeinquantitativestudiesusingcheckboxesforhit,slaporpunch.Whilewomenareoftenfoundtobemorelikelythanmentouseweapons,someresearchershavesuggestedthatthisistocompensatefortheircomparativelysmallerstaturesoasto‘eventheodds’(Hester2009;Swanetal.2008;Wangmann2010).Table4.1providesdatafromtheselectedclinicalstudiesregardingseverityofmenandwomen’sviolence.

Communitysamplesurveyscanalsoallowresearcherstoidentifygenderdifferencesinseverityofviolenceexperienced,dependingonthequestionsasked(forexample,askingabouttheformsofviolenceexperienced,whetherweaponswereusedandinjuries).However,arelianceonuseofcheckboxes

Table 4.1: Severity in clinical studies


Mostwomen(82%)andmen(66%)describedmen’sviolenceas‘serious’or‘veryserious’ (p.338).Smallerpercentagesofwomen(36%)andofmen(28%)describedwomen’sviolenceassuch.

Basedonthetypesofviolenceanditsfrequency,theresearcherconcludedthattheseverityofmen’sviolencewasmoreextremethanwomen’sviolence(p.8).

Althoughthequantitativedatadidnotindicatemajordifferencesinseveritybetweenmenandwomen’sviolence,thequalitativedatashowedmen’sviolenceas‘moreseriousandsevere’(p.343),includingactsofstrangulation

Firstapplicationsforprotectionorders(mostofwhichwerebywomen)weremorelikelytobemadebypolicethansecondapplications(p.957),suggestingthesefirstincidentsmayhaveinvolvedmoreseriousviolence(p.958).

Weapons:Thisstudydidnotaskaboutweapons.

Weapons:Overall,women(24%)weremorelikelythanmen(11%)touseweapons,althoughinsomecasesthiswastopreventfurtherviolencefromtheirpartner(Table2,p.8).Womenweremorelikelytouseaweaponwherethemanwasalsorecordedasaperpetrator(p.18).Menweremorelikelytouseaweaponwheretheywererecordedasasoleperpetrator(60%ofsoleperpetrators).

Weapons:Womenweresignificantlymorelikelythanmentouseweaponsagainsttheirpartnerbuttherewerenosignificantdifferencesintheuseofmoredangerousweaponslikeknivesorguns (p.344).

Weapons:Womenweremorelikelythanmentouseweaponsagainsttheirpartner(p.960).Intwocases,theweaponsusedwere‘conventional’,inotherstheywereobjects‘athand’.

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Table 4.2: Severity in community sample surveys

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012),Crime Victimisation, Australia 2010-11



Thissurveydidnotcollectinformationaboutseverityofviolencebyintimatepartners.

Protectionorderscanserveasaproxyforseverityofviolence;i.e.severeenoughtoseekprotectionviathecourts.Inthissurvey,morewomenthanmenhadaviolenceorderissuedfortheirprotection.Amongthosewhoexperiencedviolencebyapreviouspartnersincetheageof15,25.3%(n=286800)ofwomencomparedto5.9%(n=21800)ofmenhadaviolenceorderissued(Table23,p.37).While10%(n=16100)ofwomenwhoexperiencedviolencebyacurrentpartnersincetheageof15hadanorderissued,comparativefiguresarenotavailableformen(Table23,p.37).

Weapons:Women(3.8%,n=111)weremorelikelythanmen(1.6%,n=41)toreportexperiencingviolenceorthethreatofviolenceinvolvingagunorknifebyacurrentorex-partner(Table1,p.545).

Table 4.3: Severity in CTS studies


Womenweremorelikelythanmentobeperpetratorsofsevereassaultsat18ofthe31sites(p.801).

Respondentsweremorelikelytoreportwitnessingmoreseriousformsofmaleviolencetowardswomenthanviceversa.Forexample,inthecaseofparentalviolence,19%ofyoungpeoplewitnessedtheirfather/stepfatherusethreatstohitcomparedto11%whowitnessedtheirmother/stepmotherusethreatstohit(p.97).Therewasalsoagendergapintheuseofhitting:22%bymales(Table4.22,p.96)and17%byfemales(Table4.23,p.98).

REPETITION OF VIOLENCE

Repetitionofviolentbehaviourconstitutesakeyaspectofafeministdefinitionofdomesticviolence.Thisisbecauseitisthepatternofaperpetrator’sbehaviourthatcontinuestohaveacoerciveandcontrollingeffectonavictim.Whileallfourdatasourcescancollectinformationonrepetitionofviolence,itismostlikelytobecollectedbyclinicalstudies.

Ofthefourdatasources,clinicalstudiesarebestplacedtoaskdetailedquestionsofeitherorbothpartnersabouttrendsinrepetitionandfrequencyofviolentbehaviour.Researchersmayaskwhetherabusehasoccurredbeforeandhowoften,goingbackoverlongperiods.Somestudiesusecalendarsordiariestoassistrespondentstorecallhowoftenviolencehasoccurredoveraspecifiedperiodoftime.Table5.1indicatesfindingsofthefourselectedclinicalstudieswithregardstorepetitionofviolence.

Communitysamplesurveyscanaskaboutrepetitionofviolence,suchasquestionsaboutwhetherviolencehasbeenexperiencedorperpetratedinthepast

month,yearorlifetime,andwhethertherehasbeenmorethanoneviolentincidentbythesamepartner.Notallsurveysasksuchquestions.Somesurveysarelimitedtoshorttimeperiods(e.g.ofthelastmonthoryear)andsoarelesslikelytodetectahistoryofviolence.Ofthethreesurveysselected,thePSSandDalGrandeetal.surveysaskedaboutrepetitionofviolence,thefindingsofwhicharepresentedin Table5.2.

LiketheCrime Victimisation Survey,theCTSisconstrainedinitsexaminationofrepetitionofviolentincidents.Itsfocusonthetwelvemonthspriortothesurveymeansthatitcanonlycanvassrecidivismwithinthattimeperiod.Again,theCTShasbeencriticisedfordeemingviolentanypersonwhocommitsatleastoneviolentactwithinthepastyear,withoutconsideringwhetherthisispartofapatternoriftherehasbeenalonghistoryofviolence,andwhetherthebehaviourhasescalated(Allen2011;Kimmel2002).Additionally,continuedviolencebyex-partnersisexcluded.However,modifiedCTS-basedstudiescanincludeadditionalquestionsaboutrepetition.TheYoung People and Domestic Violence Survey,forexample,askedrespondentsaboutwhethermeasuresofabuse

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Table 5.1: Repetition in clinical studies


Bothmenandwomenreportedmorefrequentviolencebymen.However,theydifferedinestimationofhowoftenmenwereviolent.Forexample,47%ofwomencomparedwith56%ofmenreportedmaleviolenceintherelationshipnumbering1-4events;and32%ofwomencomparedwith14%ofmenreported5+violentevents.Withrespecttofemaleviolencetherewasgreatersimilarityinaccounts.Forexample,44%ofwomenand51%ofmenreported1-4eventsand10%ofwomenand10%ofmenreported5+events(p.335).Lessthanhalfofmen(46%)andwomen(40%)reportednoviolencebywomenintherelationship(p.335)

Morementhanwomenengagedinrepeatedviolence.Thevastmajorityofmen(83%)hadtwoormoreincidentsofviolencerecordedagainstthem,asdidalargeproportionofwomen(62%)(p.8).Onemanhad52incidentsrecorded,whereasthemostnumberofincidentsrecordedagainstawomanwaseight(p.8). Amongsoleperpetrators,mostwomen(78%)hadonlyoneincidentrecorded,whilemostmen(78%)hadbetweentwoand24incidentsrecorded (p.12).Incaseswherebothpartieshadbeenarrested(dualarrest),45%ofwomenhadonlyoneincident,comparedto13%ofmen(p.12).

Menweresignificantlymorelikelythanwomentohavecommittedmorethanoneactofdomesticviolenceinthestudyyear(10%ofmen,7%ofwomen)(Table2,p.338).

Ahistoryofviolencewasmentionedby61.5%offemalefirstapplicantsand62.5%ofmalefirstapplicants;aswellas50%ofsecondfemaleapplicantsand26.9%ofmalesecondapplicants(Table1,p.958).Sevenmenandfourwomenwerechargedwithmultipleoffences(pp.961-962).EightmalesecondapplicantswerechargedforabreachofanADVO,includingthreewhohadcommittedmultiplebreaches.Nowomenwerechargedforbreaches(p.962).

Table 5.2: Repetition in community sample surveys




Thissurveydidnotcollectinformationaboutrepetitionofviolencebyintimatepartners.

Womenweremorelikelythanmentoreportrepeatedviolence,especiallywheretheviolencewasperpetratedbyacurrentpartner(Table23,p.37).Ofthosewhohadexperiencedcurrentpartnerviolence,womenwerealmosttwiceaslikelyasmentoreportmorethanoneincidentofabuse:45.8%(n=73400)offemales,25.7% (n=17500ofmales)ii.Thepatternofpreviouspartnerviolencealsorevealedasmallgendergap,with67.6% (n=767200)ofwomenand60.1% (n=220800)ofmenreportingmorethanoneincidentofviolence(Table23,p.37).

Womenweremorelikelythanmentoexperiencemultipleformsofabuse.Ofthe660womenwhoreportedexperiencingsomeformofdomesticviolenceorabuse,morethanhalf(55%;n=363)hadexperiencedbothphysicalandemotionalabuse(Table1,p.545).Bycomparison,ofthe316menwhoreportedexperiencingsomeformofdomesticviolenceorabuse,justundertwofifths(39.6%;n=125)hadexperiencedbothphysicalandemotionalabuse(Table1,p.545).

Table 5.3: Repetition in CTS studies


Repetitionwasnotdiscussedinthisstudy. Thedatagatheredformeasuresofverbal,emotional,social,financialphysicalandsexualabuse,andthreatsallsuggestthatmenusedviolenceagainsttheirpartnermoreoften(i.e.morethanonceortwice)thanwomendid(pp.96,98,115-116).

wereusedmoreoftenthanonceortwice,asdetailedin Table5.3.

Officiallyreportedviolencedataareunlikelytomonitorindividualrelationshipsovertimeandcapturerepeatedviolenceinasinglerelationship,astheir

purposeisgenerallytodocumentthecollectivenumberofincidentsandformsofviolence,impactsandsomedemographicdata.Someofficiallyrecordeddatasetsareabletodetectrepetitionofviolenceiftheytrackoffendersorvictims(forexample,policemaytrackarrestsofindividualperpetratorsforrecidivismortrack

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breachesofprotectionordersorparoleviolations).Overall,however,suchdatabygenderarenoteasilyobtained.Researchersmayrequestofficiallyreporteddataforanalysisinclinicalstudies,aswasthecaseintheHester(2009)andMeltonandBelknap(2003)studiescitedhere.NoneofpublicallyavailableofficiallyreporteddataconsideredforthisIssuesPaperprovidethislevelofdetail.

Inexaminingthedatafromtheselectedstudiesanddatasetswhichcommentonrecidivism,itwouldappearthatmenaremorelikelythanwomentoperpetratemultipleactsofviolenceagainstpartners.TheDobashandDobash(2004)studyhighlightsdifferencesinaccountsofrepetitionofviolencebymaleandfemalepartnersofarelationship.Thisfactormaywellaffectfindingsofstudieswhereresponsesaresoughtfromonlyonepartnerinacouple.

IMPACTS FOR VICTIMS

Documentingdomesticviolenceimpactsforvictimsisfundamentaltounderstandingitsmulti-facetedandlongtermeffect.Allfourdatasourcesareabletoinformabouttheconsequencesofpartnerviolenceforvictims.Thedepthofinformation,however,iswhollydependentontheinclusionofrelevantquestionsinindividualstudiesorspecificdatasets.

Clinicalstudiesareabletoprovidethemostdetailedandthoroughdocumentationofviolenceimpactsforvictims,giventheircapacitytoaskaboutabroadrangeofconsequencesandabouthowvictimsperceivetheseimpacts.Thebreadthanddepthofinformationgatheredwilldependonthefocusofthestudyandquestionsincluded.Table6.1providesinformationfromthefourclinicalstudiesaboutimpactsforvictimsintheirsamplesrelatingtoinjuryorfear.

Whileclinicalstudiescanproviderichinformationabouttheexperienceofrelativelysmallsamplesofvictims,officiallyreporteddatafromsupportservicesareusefulinhighlightingspecificimpactsofviolenceacrossapopulation,suchasconsequencesforvictims’healthorhousing.Theyarerarelyabletocapturesubjective

Table 6.1: Impacts in clinical studies


Injuries:Manymorementhanwomeninflictedeverytypeofinjuryagainsttheirpartner.Someinjurieswereinflictedbya‘fair’percentageofmen(e.g.splitlip,fracturedteethandbones,black-outorunconsciousness)orbya‘considerable’percentageofmen,(e.g.bruisesorblackeye),butrarelybywomen(p.337).Miscarriageandvomitingcausedbyphysicalassaultwereonlyinflictedbymen(p.338).

Injuries:Thisstudydidnotreportonvictiminjuries.

Injuries:Therewerenosignificantdifferencesbetweenmen’sandwomen’sexperiencesformostinjuries(includingcutsbleedingorbrokenbonesorteeth).However,womenweresignificantlymorelikelytocausescratchesandmalesmorelikelytocausebruises (p.344).

Injuries:Thisstudydidnotreportonvictiminjuries.

Fear:Mostwomen(79%)indicatedtheywereusuallyfrightenedbytheirpartners’violence,expressingotherfeelingsofhelplessness,isolationandbeingtrapped(p.340).Theyalsofeltabused,bitterandangry.Thelargestproportionofmen(26%)saidtheywere‘notbothered’bytheirpartner’sviolence;otherreactionswerefeelingthewomanwasjustified,ridicule,angerorsurprise.Relativelyfewmen(6%)feltvictimised(p.340).

Fear:Men’sviolencetendedtocreateacontextoffearand,relatedly,controloffemalevictims(p.8).Malevictimsofviolencedidnotappeartofeartheirpartnerortobecontrolledbyher(p.11).

Fear:Thisstudydidnotreportonvictimfear.

Fear:Femalesecondapplicantsforprotectionordersweresignificantlymorelikely(68%)tomention‘fear’thanmalesecondapplicants(34%) (p.963).Thedifferenceforfemaleandmalefirstapplicantswasnotstatisticallysignificant(55%womenand37%men).

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impacts,suchasvictims’degreeoffear.Table6.2presentsfindingsofselectedofficiallyreporteddataforhomelessnessandinjuriesrequiringhospitalisation.

Communitysamplesurveyscanassessimpactsofviolenceforvictimsintermsofthepresenceofinjury,fearorotherfactors,againdependingonquestionsasked.Broaderimpactsmaybecanvassedinsomesurveysregardingsocio-economicandotheroutcomes.Asinformationwillbegatheredprincipallythroughtickboxorscalequestions,itwillnotbedetailed.Ofthethreecommunitysamplesurveys,onlythePSSandDalGrandeetal.studiescollectedinformationonimpactsforvictims,outlinedinTable6.3.

TheCTS2includesaseparatescaleforinjury,canvassing:cutsandbleeding;sprainsorbruising;pain;andneedingtoseeadoctor.Tellingly,CTS-basedstudiescollectinginformationoninjuriestendtoindicatethatwomenexperiencemoresevereinjuriesresultingfrommen’sviolencethanviceversa.Otheroutcomesforvictims,suchassocio-economicorpsychologicalconsequencesarenotconsideredbytheCTS.TheexclusionoffearfromtheCTS,inparticular,continuestobeenasalimitationbyfeministresearchers.TheInternational Dating Violence StudyandYoung People and Domestic Violence Survey

bothaskedaboutinjuriesandthelatteralsoaskedaboutfear,asdetailedinTable6.4.

Thereisconsensusacrossallfourdatasourcesthatwomenaremorelikelytoexperienceworseoutcomesofmen’sviolence,thanmendoofwomen’sviolence.Thisincludeswomen’sgreaterlikelihoodtoexperiencephysicalinjuryandseriousinjury,otherimpactssuchashomelessness,poorsocio-economicoutcomes,andfearoftheirpartnerandfortheirownsafety.Interestingly,whileStraus(2011)andothers(Frieze2005;Robertson&Murachver2007)haveacknowledgedgenderdisparitiesininjuriessustained,theyplaydownthesignificanceofthisfinding.Theysuggestthatmen’sgreatersizeandstrengthrelativetowomen’smeanthatmenaremorelikelytoinjuretheirpartnersthroughlowlevelviolence(Robertson&Murachver2007;Straus1995).Theirargumentisthatwomen’sexperienceofseriousinjuriesisduetomen’sgreaterrelativestrengthratherthanthelatter’spropensitytobeviolent.Wewouldarguethatthedegreeofharminflictedis,infact,animportantmeasurewhichshouldbefactoredintoassessmentsofgenderanddomesticviolence.Diminishingtheimpactsofviolencetrivialisestheexperiencesoffemalevictimsandthefearthatmanywomenhaveaboutthepotentialforfutureexposure.

Table 6.2: Impacts in officially reported data

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011)

Tovell et al. (2012) Victims Support Agency (2012)

Homelessness:In2009-10,womenconstitutedtheoverwhelmingmajority(96%,n=31800)ofclientsnationally,forwhomdomesticviolencewasidentifiedasthemainpathwayintohomelessness (p.256)

Injuries:Fortheperiod2009-10,therewere2847hospitalseparationsrecordednationallyasassaultsbyaspouseordomesticpartner(p.106).Ofthese,83%(n=2364)werewomenand17%(n=483)weremenassaultedbyaspouseordomesticpartner.

Injuries: From2004to2010,agreaterproportionoffemalepatients(68.5%)presentedtoVictorianhospitalswithfamilyviolenceinjuriesthanmalepatients(31.5%)(Table15,p.77).Femalefamilyviolencepatientsweremorethantwiceaslikelyasmalefamilyviolencepatientstobeinjuredbybeingstruckbyanotherperson,andmorethantwiceaslikelyasmalestosustainmultipleinjuries(p.19).

Table 6.3: Impacts in community sample surveys




Thissurveydidnotcollectinformationaboutimpactsofviolencebyintimatepartners.

Fear:Therewasagenderdifferenceinreportsofanxietyorfearresultingfromexposuretoviolence.Ofrespondentswhohadexperiencedviolencebyacurrentpartner,19.7%(n=31500)ofwomenand8.4%(n=5700)ofmenfeltanxiousorfearfulinthetwelvemonthspriortothesurvey;ofthosewhohadeverexperiencedviolencebyapreviouspartner,18.3%(n=207500)ofwomenand5.5% (n=20200)ofmenfeltanxiousor fearful(Table23,p.37).

Injuries: Ofrespondentswhoreportedformsofdomesticviolence,44.9%ofwomenexperiencedphysicalhurtasaresultoftheviolence,comparedwith23.8%ofmen(p.547).Whilewomenandmenmainlyreportedsimilarkindsofinjuries,manymorewomen(19.9%)thanmen(0.8%)sufferedfractures/brokenbones(p.547).

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CONCLuSION

Havinganaccuratepictureoftherolegenderplaysinviolentintimaterelationshipsisnotsolelyanacademicorideologicalpursuit.Theorygroundedinthelivedexperienceofpartnersinviolentrelationshipsmustunderpinpracticeresponsesorriskputtingmorelivesinjeopardy.Practitionersneedtobeattunedtoavailableevidence,itsscopeandlimitations.

InexaminingevidenceforthisIssuesPaper,wehaveattemptedtoshowthatfeministandfamilyconflictresearchersdiffersubstantiallyintheircharacterisationofthelinksbetweengenderandviolenceinrelationships.Feministresearchersareconcernedwithviolenceasareflectionofpowerandcontrolinrelationships,whilefamilyconflictresearchersaremoreconcernedwithmeasuringallviolencethatoccurswithincertainparameters,regardlessoftheperpetrator’sintent.

Asidefromhowtheyconceptualisedomesticviolence,feministandfamilyconflictresearchersgenerallydrawondifferentmethodstoextractdatatosupporttheirarguments.Weandothershavearguedthatthiswillfundamentallydeterminewhatdataaregenerated.Eachofthefourtypesofdatasourcesdiscussed–officiallyreporteddata,clinicalstudies,communitysamplesurveysandtheCTS–offerpartofthepictureofviolenceinintimaterelationships.Clinicalandotherstudiesdrawingonqualitativedataprovidedeepinsightsintothereasonsforviolence,howitmanifestsandwhattheexperienceislikeforvictims.Atthesametime,quantitativedatausedincommunitysamplesurveys,theCTSandofficialreportsfromagencies

andserviceshaveproducedvaluableinformationaboutprevalenceofdomesticviolencewithinpopulations,aswellasmeasuresoftheforms,severityandrepetitionofviolenceacrosscommunities.Bothfeministandfamilyconflictresearchershaveusedthiskindofinformationtosensitisegovernmentsandthecommunitytodomesticviolenceasaserioussocialpolicyissue.

Wehavetriedtoexpressthroughrealexamplesthateachindividualstudyordatasetitselfvariesconsiderablyindepthandqualityofinformation.Forexample,datafromhospitalemergencydepartmentsthatactivelyscreenallpatientsfordomesticviolencearelikelytoproducemoreaccurateinformationaboutprevalenceanddetailaboutcasesthandepartmentsthatdonotscreen.Similarly,studiesemployingthesexualcoercionscaleoftheCTS2andincludingqualitativequestionswillprovidemoreinformationthanstudieswhichexcludethem.Researchersandpractitioners,therefore,needtobemindfulofthestrengthsandweaknessesofachosenapproachorindividualstudywhendrawingconclusionsandmakingrecommendations.Allquestionscannotbeansweredthroughasingledatapoint.Consequently,wewelcometheAustralianBureauofStatistics’(2013)recentreport,Defining the data challenge for family, domestic and sexual violence, Australia.Thisdocumentsetsoutthenationaldataagendaforunderstandingandrespondingtodomesticviolence,includingsourcinginformationaboutnotjustviolentincidentsbutalsoaboutthecontextforviolence,contributingriskfactors,impactsforvictimsandresponsesofservicesandagencies.

Table 6.4: Impacts in CTS studies


Injuries:Ratesofinjurycausedbymaleswerehigherthanforfemalesin18ofthe31sites(p.802).Forsevereinjuries,ratesofmaleperpetrationexceededfemaleratesin21ofthe31sites(ataratethatwas2.6timesgreaterthanbywomen)(p.806).

Injuries:Participantswhohadwitnessedoneorbothoftheirparentshittingtheotherparentwereaskedwhateffectithad,includingwhethereitherparenthadtogotohospital.Thiswasthecasefor7%ofyoungpeoplewhohadwitnessedmaletofemaleviolenceonly,incomparisonto3%ofyoungpeoplewhohadwitnessedfemaletomaleviolenceonly(p.126).Youngpeoplewhohadwitnessedviolencebetweenbothparentswerethemostlikelytoreportthathittinghadledtoaparentattendinghospital(15%)(p.126).

Fear:Therewasasignificantgenderdifferenceinexperienceoffear.Ofallparticipantswhohadexperiencedthreatsorviolenceinadatingrelationship,13%ofyoungwomencomparedto3%ofyoungmenhadbeen‘reallyfrightened’(p.122).

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Returningtothetopicofthispaper,thegenderasymmetry/symmetrydebatedoesraisesomelegitimatequestionsthatareworthconsiderationforfutureinvestigation.Whilemakingclaimsthatmen’sexperienceofviolencediffersfromwomen’sexperiences,therearefewstudiesthatexaminemen’sexperienceasvictimsofdomesticviolencefromafeministperspective.Weneedqualityresearchinthisareatoinformtheoryandresponses,whileremainingalerttothepropensityofperpetratorstorecasttheirownactionsandexperiencefromaperspectiveofvictimhood.

Asafinalpoint,westressthatwhilethenumberofstudiesfindinggendersymmetryisevergrowing,weconsidertheirrelianceontheCTSinherentlylimitstherobustnessofinformationproduced.Wearguethatpractitionersshouldhaveconfidencethatdataavailablefrommultiplesourcessupportclaimsofgenderasymmetryindomesticviolence.Whatthedatapresentedheredemonstrateisthatbothmenandwomenperpetratearangeofdifferentformsofaggressioninrelationshipsbutmayhavedifferentmotivations,includingself-defence.Bothmenandwomencanexperienceviolencebyanintimatepartnerbuttheirexperienceofthisislikelytobedifferentintermsoftheformsofviolenceexperienced,itsseverityandimpact.Theseverityofphysicalinjuryandlevelsofcoercionfromallformsofviolenceinrelationshipsappeartobegreaterforwomenthanformen.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Theauthorsareindebtedtopaper’sreviewers,DrJaneWangmann,LectureratUniversityofTechnology,SydneyFacultyofLaw,andMsKimWebster,ManageroftheProgramtoreduceracebaseddiscriminationandsupportdiversity,attheVictorianHealthandPromotionFoundation,fortheirinsightfulandhelpfulcommentsandsuggestions.TheauthorsalsowishtothankDrMichaelFloodattheUniversityofWollongongforhispresentationalongsideDrWangmannattheClearinghousesymposium,‘Damnedliesandstatistics:understandinggenderandpartnerviolence’,heldinSydneyinDecember2012,whichhelpedinformthispaper.

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Thisisarefereedpublication.TheviewsexpressedinthisIssuesPaperdonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheAustralianGovernmentortheAustralianDomestic&FamilyViolenceClearinghouse.Whileallreasonablecarehasbeentakeninthepreparationofthispublication,noliabilityisassumedforanyerrorsoromissions.

TheAustralianDomestic&FamilyViolenceClearinghouseislinkedtotheCentreforGender-RelatedViolenceStudies,basedintheUniversityofNewSouthWales,SchoolofSocialSciences.TheClearinghouseisfundedbytheAustralianGovernmentDepartmentofFamilies,Housing,CommunityServicesandIndigenousAffairs.

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ISSN: 1443 – 8496 © 2013 Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse TheUniversityofNewSouthWales SydneyNSW2052

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ENDNOTES

i ‘Partner’inthiscaseincludescurrentandpreviouspartner,boyfriend/girlfriend/ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriendordate.

iiTheABSsuggestsusingthisfigurewithcautionduetoitsrelativestandarderrorrate.

the gender debate in domestic violence: the role of … · the gender debate in domestic violence:...

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