Moving Beyond the Individual: Examining the Effects of Domestic Violence Policies on Social Norms

Salazar, Laura F.; Baker, Charlene K.; Price, Ann Webb; Carlin, Kathleen

doi:10.1023/b:ajcp.0000004746.31861.e7

Cited by 51 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In summary, a public education effort aiming to reach zero tolerance towards DVAW needs to transmit the clear message that DVAW is wrong, no matter what the reason is, and must not be accepted under any circumstances. 49 Reduction of DVAW rates are thought to be related to changing the cultural norms that approve violence. 18 19 25 However, as our analysis showed, there are still widespread attitudes in the EU such as victim blaming that condone DVAW, contributing to a climate of social tolerance.…”

Section: What This Paper Addsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of domestic violence against women in the European Union: a multilevel analysis

Gracia

Herrero²

2006

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

126

134

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Study objective: The acceptability of domestic violence against women (DVAW) plays an important part in shaping the social environment in which the victims are embedded, which in turn may contribute either to perpetuate or to reduce the levels of DVAW in our societies. This study analyses correlates of the acceptability of DVAW in the European Union (EU). Design: Three level ordinal logistic regression of 13 457 people nested within 212 localities (cities), nested within 15 countries of the EU. Sampling is multistage with random probability. All interviews were face to face in people's homes. The outcome variable was acceptability of DVAW. Multiple correlates at the individual, locality, and country level were analysed. Setting: European Union, 1999. Participants: National data were used of residents 15 years old and above of all member states in 1999 (n = 13 457). Average response rate was 47%, although it varied across countries (23%-73%).Main results: Higher levels of acceptability were reported by those who perceived DVAW as less severe and less frequent. Acceptability is higher among men who know a perpetrator and lower among men who know a victim. Victim blaming attitude is associated with higher levels of acceptability. In countries with higher gender empowerment measure the difference in acceptability among those who blame and those who do not blame the victim is greater. Conclusions: There are still widespread attitudes in the EU such as victim blaming that condone DVAW, contributing to a climate of social acceptability of DVAW. Further efforts to reduce the acceptability of DVAW are still needed.T he extent of domestic violence against women (DVAW) worldwide, which in western countries affects about 25% of women at some point in their lives, 1-5 its impact on their physical and mental health, both in the short and long term, and the wider outcomes of DVAW for families, communities, and society, makes it a public health priority. [6][7][8][9][10] A public health approach to DVAW, as the one proposed by the World Health Organisation, 10 considered that among the larger societal factors that influence rates of violence are those that create an acceptable climate for violence, and those that reduce inhibitions against violence. Although the influence of contextual factors in DVAW has been theoretically acknowledged, research examining these effects has been scarce. A small number of multilevel studies showed that social and community level factors such as neighbourhood poverty and disadvantage, are related to higher rates of DVAW.11-16 However, to our knowledge, no multilevel study has analysed the individual and social factors associated with public attitudes toward DVAW. Clearly, a better understanding of the factors influencing public attitudes toward DVAW would add relevant knowledge to the literature on the social conditions that foster or discourage DVAW, and would be useful to orientate public education and prevention efforts.Domestic violence is always rooted in a social and cultural context, and p...

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Section: What This Paper Addsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of domestic violence against women in the European Union: a multilevel analysis

Gracia

Herrero²

2006

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

126

134

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“…Views of spousal hitting, however, then underwent a re-evaluation in the light of both the testimony of victims, a new ideology emanating from the women's movement and considerable empirical research (Salazar, Baker, Price, & Carlin, 2003;Straus, 1995;Straus, Kaufman Kantor, & Moore, 1997). One of the main differences in the case of children in comparison to spouses is that testimony from victims is not nearly as publicly available or credible, which makes the role of research even more important.…”

Section: Implications For Practitionersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kid's stuff: The nature and impact of peer and sibling violence on younger and older children

Finkelhor

Turner

Ormrod

2006

Child Abuse & Neglect

131

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Objective: It is widely presumed that when children are hit by peers or siblings, it is not as serious as similar acts between adults or older youth, which would be termed, "assaults" and "violent crimes". The goal of this study was to compare the violent peer and sibling episodes of younger children to those of older youth in terms of their seriousness and association with symptoms that might indicate traumatic effects. Method: The study collected reports of past year's violent victimizations and childhood symptoms in a national probability telephone sample of 2030 children and youth ages 2-17. The experiences of 10-17-year olds were obtained via self-reports and those of the 2-9-year olds from caregivers. Results: The younger children's peer and sibling victimizations were not less serious than the older youth on the dimensions of injury, being hit with an object that could cause injury or being victimized on multiple occasions. Younger children and older youth also had similar trauma symptom levels associated with both peer and sibling victimization. Conclusion: There was no basis in this study for presuming peer and sibling victimizations to be more benign when they involve younger children. The findings provide justification for being concerned about such peer and sibling violence in schools and families and for counting such victimizations in victimization inventories and clinical assessments.

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“…Our work and that of others has shown that women who are abused are most likely to turn to those who are nearest to them, in geographic and psychological proximity. [8][9][10][11] Therefore, while social norms toward IPV in general have been shown to dramatically affect the rates and tolerance of IPV in communities, [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] investigations into the perceived availability of resources and response to IPV are in need of assessment. Low-income women living in an urban area represent a noteworthy sample to assess because many may lack financial resources to leave and relocate to a different environmental context, but have the availability of neighbors in relative close proximity to potentially depend upon for assistance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8,11,15 These norms can have significant influence on how support for one who has experienced IPV is perceived by the victim, the perpetrator, and the community. [16][17][18]24 A woman's decision to remain in a violent relationship or to flee is complex, controversial, and centers on the woman's perception of the availability of resources. 25 The dynamics of abusive relationships are often misunderstood, and can lead to victim blaming when women choose to stay with their abusers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s Perceptions of Their Community’s Social Norms Towards Assisting Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence

et al. 2011

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The role of social norms has played an often unrecognized role in the perception of and action to assist low-income urban women who are in violent relationships. Two forms of social norms will be assessed, including descriptive norms--what people typically do to assist women in a violent relationship--and injunctive norms--defined as what people should do to assist women. This study will present our initial findings into the development of measures to assess women's perception of their community's social norms toward assisting women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) and how these norms are related to women's perception of the community, reasons for community assistance toward women experiencing IPV, and women's own experience of IPV. Systematic measurement development processes were applied to reliably and validly develop the social norms measures. A three-phase approach was used to develop eight paired items measuring descriptive and injunctive norms. A total of 176 low-income urban women were interviewed and the scale responses were compared to length of time at the residence, perceptions of their neighborhood, perceived reasons for community involvement and non-involvement in assisting women experiencing IPV, and IPV experienced as an adult. The two developed social norms scales were found to have high internal consistency alpha coefficients of 0.84 for descriptive norms and 0.93 for injunctive norms. Paired t tests were statistically significant, denoting higher injunctive than descriptive social norms. Lowered descriptive norms were found among younger women, women who reported that they did not think their neighborhood was a good place to live, women who had ever experienced intimate partner violence as an adult, and perceived lower reasons for neighbor involvement and higher reasons for neighbor non-involvement toward assisting women experiencing IPV. Higher levels of injunctive social norms were statistically associated with living in a good place and increased perceived reasons for neighbor involvement toward assisting women experiencing IPV. Significant differences between descriptive and injunctive norms suggest that women, especially those who are currently experiencing IPV, would prefer greater support from community neighbors than they are currently providing. The descriptive and injunctive social norms scales demonstrated a high level of internal reliability and significantly associated with other influencing factors thought to be associated with social norms. Overall, the performance of the injunctive and descriptive norms scales support their use as a tool to investigate social norms toward neighbors taking action to assist women experiencing IPV.

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Moving Beyond the Individual: Examining the Effects of Domestic Violence Policies on Social Norms

Cited by 51 publications

References 44 publications

Acceptability of domestic violence against women in the European Union: a multilevel analysis

Acceptability of domestic violence against women in the European Union: a multilevel analysis

Kid's stuff: The nature and impact of peer and sibling violence on younger and older children

Women’s Perceptions of Their Community’s Social Norms Towards Assisting Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence

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