Although many studies generally agree that unemployment may impact domestic violence, little is known about these effects in small nations. The relationship between unemployment and domestic violence in large and small nations may be different. This is because small nations have more expensive public sectors and limited employment opportunities in comparison with larger nations. We examined how longitudinal rates of national help-seeking domestic violence contacts (DVCs) from the only non-governmental domestic violence support agency in Cyprus (a small nation) fluctuated in relation to national unemployment data between 1996 and 2016. This period included an economic crisis which commenced in 2011 and showed signs of recovery in 2015. We analyzed whether the fluctuations in unemployment registrations could predict changes in DVCs. Our analysis included 5,103,120 unemployment registrations and 21,774 DVCs. Findings supported our hypothesis and revealed unemployment predicted and correlated with DVCs. There were significant changes to DVCs when Cyprus plunged into economic crisis, meaning that when unemployment increased, DVCs also increased. Cyprus does not deviate from larger societies in help-seeking behavior in the form of people contacting a national helpline when exposed to economic crises. This study provides evidence of the link between economic hardship and increased help-seeking behaviours in small nations. Societies at risk of an economic crisis need to consider the potential impact on domestic violence rates and on demand for support services.
The attitudes of 66 ethnic minorities and 152 Cypriots toward the police were examined according to age, experience of criminal victimization, and race. Questions were based on the British Crime Survey (BCS) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and were translated into Greek. Results showed low levels of experience of possession crime and crime against the person in Cypriots and ethnic minorities, with no difference in these experiences between the two groups. Attitudes to the police were predicted by age and ethnicity with younger participants and Cypriots holding more negative attitudes than older participants and ethnic minorities. Victimization experience did not predict attitudes. Some victims of crime, who had not reported the crime to the police, stated that their reasons for not doing so were because of their lack of trust in the police’s ability to do something about the incident. Discussion centers on reasons why differences in attitudes toward the police might exist and the implications of the findings for the Cypriot police force in terms of public relations.
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