attitudes and beliefs about domestic violence: the results of a survey

ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS ABOUT

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: THE

RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF ADULTS

IN PHILADELPHIA

A report prepared by Robin Nabi, Ph.D., Tracy Meehan-Starckand Antonia Sunderland for the Annenberg Public Policy Centerat the University of Pennsylvania

March 2000

NO. 6

S U R V E Y S E R I E S THE ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTERO F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F P E N N S Y L VA N I A

80132-APP #6 10/6/00 10:13 AM Page B

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Foreword

The Annenberg Public Policy Center was establ ished by publisher and philant hropist Walt erAnnenberg in 1994 to create a com munity of scholars withi n the Univer sity of Pennsylvaniawhi ch would address public policy issues at the local, st ate and federal levels. Consi stent withthe missi on of the Annenber g School for Communicati on, the Cent er has four ongoing foci :Inf ormati on and Society, Media and the Developing Mind, Media and the Dialogue of Dem ocracy, and Health Communicati on. T he Center supports research and sponsors lecturesand conferences in these ar eas. This series of publicati ons di sseminates the wor k of theCenter.

Kathleen Hall J amiesonDirector

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Attitudes and B eliefs about Domestic Vio lence:the Results of a Surv ey of Adu lts in Philadelp hia

A re port prepare d by R obin L. Nabi, Ph. D., Tracy Mee han-Starck, andAntonia Sunderland for The Annenberg Public Policy Center at theUniversity of Pennsylvania

Ack nowled gement s

Thi s repo rt is based on res earch develo ped an d carr ied ou t by t he aut hors a s well as Ro bert Hornik,

Sar ah Say eed, Ricardo Wra y, Bri an Sou thwell and J o Stry ker at the Annenbe rg Sch ool fo r

Communica tion. Maris a Ghe z of t he Family Vi olence Preve ntion Fund p rovide d insi ghtful advic e

thr oughou t the projec t. Th e rese arch was und ertake n as p art of the e valuat ion of the Phi ladelp hia: Let’s

Sto p Dome stic Violenc e! pro ject s upervi sed by the Family Violen ce Pre ventio n Fund with the an ti-

domestic violen ce org anizat ions i n Phil adelph ia. The eva luatio n of t hat pr oject was fu nded b y a pr ivate

fou ndatio n and the An nenber g Publ ic Pol icy Ce nter, and is descr ibed i n a se parate APPC repor t.

iii

iv

Tab le of Conten ts

Table of Figure s v

Summary of Sele cted Survey Results 14

Introduction 16

Methodology 18

Detailed Findings 21

1. Import ance & Seriousness of the Domestic Violence Issue 21

2. Per sonal Experi ence with Domestic Violence 23

3. Act ions Taken in Response to an Abusive S ituati on 27

4. General Act ions Taken Against Domesti c Violence 30

5. Intent ion to Act in Response to a Domest ic Violence Situat ion 31

6. Belief s Related to Act ions 31

A. Belief s about Tal king with a Wom an about Dom estic Violence 31

B. Belief s about Tal king with an Abusive Man about Dom estic Violence 32

C. Belief s about Counseling 33

7. Explanations for Domesti c Violence 33

8. The Wor kplace and the Religi ous Communit y 33

v

Table of Figures

Tab le 1: Per cent o f Samp le in Demograp hic Categories _________________________________________19

Fig ure 1.1: Imp ortance of the dom estic violen ce pro blem __________________________________________21

Fig ure 1.2: Imp ortance of the dom estic violen ce pro blem, by gen der, r ace, education and ever having kno wn som eone in an abusive relationship ____________________________________________22

Fig ure 1.3: Lik elihoo d of child h aving psy cholog ical p roblem s _____________________________________22

Fig ure 1.4: Lik elihoo d of abused woman being badly injured_______________________________________22

Fig ure 1.5: Lik elihoo d of children having psy cholog ical p roblem s by g ender, race, education andhav ing kn own so meone in abu sive r elatio nship_________________________________________24

Fig ure 1.6: Lik elihoo d of abused woman being badly injured in a domes tic violence situation, by gen der,race, edu cation and h aving known someon e in an abus ive relation ship_______________________24

Fig ure 2.1: Per sonal experience w ith do mestic violence ___________________________________________24

Fig ure 2.2: Ever knew someo ne inv olved in an abusiv e relationsh ip, by gender, race and education _________25

Fig ure 2.3: Mother was abus ed, by gender, race and education ______________________________________26

Fig ure 2.4: Wom en abu sed by a hus band o r boyf riend, and abused women who reported havin g soug hthelp from a dom estic violen ce pro gram _______________________________________________26

Fig ure 2.5: Wom en who repor ted having b een ab used, by race and education __________________________26

Fig ure 3.1: Too k action in respon se to a domestic v iolence incident in the past y ear ______________________27

Fig ure 3.2: Too k action in respon se to DV situatio n in the pas t year by gender__________________________28

Fig ure 3.3: Too k action in respon se to DV situatio n in the pas t year by race ____________________________28

Fig ure 3.4: Too k action in respon se to DV situatio n in the past year by education _______________________28

Fig ure 3.5: Too k action in respon se to a domestic v iolence situ ation in the past year, by hav ing kn ownsom eone in an abusive relationship __________________________________________________29

Fig ure 3.6: Too k action in response to a domestic vio lence situation in the p ast year, by havin g been abu sed by a hus band o r boyf riend ___________________________________________________29

Fig ure 4.1: Gen eral actions taken in th e past year agains t domestic v iolence____________________________30

Fig ure 4.2: Knew someone wh o had taken general actions in the p ast year against d omestic violence ________30

Fig ure 5.1: Intention to act in r espons e to a domes tic violence situation _______________________________31

Fig ure 6.1: Beliefs about talking with a woman abou t abus e ________________________________________32

Fig ure 6.2: Beliefs about talking with the man abou t his abusiv e behavior _____________________________32

Fig ure 6.3: Beliefs about counseling fo r battered w omen __________________________________________34

Fig ure 7.1: Per ceived impor tance of exp lanations fo r domestic v iolence_______________________________34

Fig ure 8.1: Role employers should take in add ressin g the problem of d omestic violence __________________34

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Summary of Selected S urvey Results

DEMOGRAPHICS

The sampl e’s de mograp hic ch aracte ristic s were compa rable to 199 0 Cens us dat a for the Ph iladel phia

pop ulatio n, tho ugh th e samp le sli ghtly over-rep resent s fema les, t hose with mo re edu cation , thos e with

mor e inco me, an d 35- to 49- year-o lds.

PREVALENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Mor e than half the sa mple ( 52.8%) had a t some point in th eir li ves kn own a man or woman invol ved in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip. One-thi rd kne w or s uspect ed tha t in t he pas t year , a wo man th ey kne w was

bei ng abu sed.

In terms of per sonal histor y of a buse, about 1 in e very 6 respo ndents (16.5 %) sai d that their mothe r had

bee n abus ed by her hu sband or boy friend at so me time. In additi on, ab out 1 in 4 o f the female

res ponden ts (24 .5%) r eporte d havi ng bee n abus ed by a husb and or boyfr iend a t some time in her life.

PUBLIC RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Of those who kn ew or suspec ted th at a woman was bei ng abu sed in the p ast ye ar, al most t hree-q uarter s

(72 .8%) s aid th ey spo ke wit h her about the ab use, while a bout o ne-qua rter ( 28.3%) said they s poke t o

the abusi ve man . Six in te n resp ondent s (60%) said they consul ted wi th oth ers. One in five (20.7%)

sou ght ad vice f rom a domest ic vio lence program.

INTENTION TO RESPOND TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Of those who di d not know o f a do mestic viole nce in cident in th e past year, three -quart ers (7 4.7%)

ind icated they would be lik ely to speak to th e woma n abou t her situat ion if they knew o f abus e. In

compariso n, les s than half said t hey wo uld be likel y to t alk wi th the man a bout h is abu sive b ehavio r.

Mor e than half indica ted th ey wou ld be likely to co nsult with o thers about the si tuatio n (58.8%), while

abo ut hal f indi cated they would s eek he lp fro m a do mestic viole nce pr ogram (50.4 %).

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Whi le man y peop le eng aged i n some what p assive behav iors with re gard t o dome stic v iolenc e, e.g .,

wat ching a TV sh ow abo ut domestic violen ce, fe w enga ged in more active forms of in volvement, s uch

as donati ng mon ey to or vol unteer ing fo r a do mestic viole nce or ganiza tion.

Awa reness of pe ople’s anti- domest ic vio lence activi ties c an cre ate a social envir onment that encour ages

oth ers to take simila r acti ons, b ut mos t resp ondent s knew few p eople or wer e not aware that t heir

fri ends a nd acq uainta nces h ad tak en act ions i n the past y ear to stop domest ic vio lence.

BELIEFS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The major ity of those surve yed agree d that domes tic vi olence is a very i mporta nt iss ue, an d that its

con sequen ces ca n be v ery se rious. This was e specia lly tr ue of women compar ed to men. About three-

qua rters of the sampl e agree d that couns eling helps batter ed women to improv e thei r live s.

Tho ugh mo re tha n half the r espond ents b elieve d they would be ab le to talk with an abusi ve mal e frie nd,

man y had reserv ations in te rms of the n egativ e outc omes s uch ac tion might h ave, a s well as ab out

act ing in an uns upport ive so cial e nviron ment. Howev er, re sponde nts ge nerall y felt that talkin g with a

woman abo ut her situa tion was a u seful action that they would b e will ing to take, and o ne tha t othe rs

wou ld sup port.

Res ponden ts see med to belie ve tha t a nu mber o f expl anatio ns pla y a ma jor ro le in unders tandin g why

domestic violen ce occ urs. In par ticula r, a man’s i nabili ty to contro l his anger and a man’s desire to

con trol women were pe rceive d as t he mos t sign ifican t fact ors co ntribu ting t o abus ive be havior .

INSTITUTIONAL ROLES IN REDUCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Eig hty pe rcent of the respo ndents belie ved th e empl oyer s hould take s ome ro le in addres sing d omesti c

vio lence. Slig htly more th an one -third of th e samp le (35 .9%) b elieve d that emplo yers s hould take a

maj or rol e in a ddress ing do mestic viole nce, a nd a l ittle less t han ha lf (44 .5%) s aid th ey tho ught t he

emp loyer should take some r ole. Fewer tha n one- third of the sampl e (29.6%) sa id the ir wor kplace had

dis tribut ed inf ormati on abo ut domestic violen ce in the pa st yea r.

Sli ghtly fewer than h alf th e resp ondent s (44.6%) me ntione d that their relig ious l eaders had t alked

pub licly about domest ic vio lence in the past year.

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Introduction

Wit h the lives and we ll bei ng of millio ns of Americ an women at risk e very y ear, d omesti c viol ence i s

inc reasin gly re cogniz ed as a pres sing p ublic heath concer n. As with other health issue s, lik e drun k

dri ving a nd hea rt dis ease, domest ic vio lence may be addre ssed t hrough media campa igns t hat pr omote

mor e ‘hea lthful ’ acti vities by tr ying t o alte r the belief s and attitu des un derlyi ng spe cific, probl em-rel ated

beh aviors . To addres s spou sal ab use, a campa ign co uld ta rget t hose who eng age in the a busive

beh avior to get them to sto p, or those who ar e vict imized to en courag e them to le ave th e abus ive

sit uation . A ca mpaign might also target the g eneral publi c to r aise a warene ss of the is sue, e ncoura ge

ass istanc e to v ictims , and change attit udes a bout d omesti c viol ence t o crea te an enviro nment less

tol erant of abu sive b ehavio r. Wh ile a number of effor ts hav e focu sed on helpi ng abu sed wo men an d

eve n abus ive me n, campaigns have paid l ittle attent ion to the r elativ es and frien ds of those involv ed in

abu sive r elatio nships , and the wa ys in which their belief s, att itudes and b ehavio rs may be ch anged to

red uce th e inci dence of domestic violen ce.

In an effor t to make su ch a c hange, the Family Violen ce Pre ventio n Fund , a na tional anti- domest ic

vio lence organi zation , in c ollabo ration with four l ocal d omesti c viol ence p rograms – Con gres so de

Lat ino Uni dos, Luthera n Sett lement House , Wome n Agai nst Ab use, a nd Women In Transi tion –

ini tiated the Phi ladelp hia: Let’s S top Do mestic Viole nce! campaign. The two- to thr ee-yea r, ant i-

domestic violen ce campaign is bas ed on the as sumpti on tha t epis odes o f dome stic v iolenc e are a

fun ction not on ly of stress es on and wi thin f amilie s, but also of cul tural norms which may ta citly

app rove o r acce pt suc h phys ical v iolenc e, dis courag e othe rs fro m help ing vi ctims, and d iscour age

bat tered women from s eeking avail able a id.

Whi le rec ognizi ng the immed iate n eed fo r dire ct int ervent ion wi th the victi m, and perha ps wit h the

bat terer as wel l, the proje ct ins tead c omplements d irect interv ention strat egies by tar geting socia l norms

tha t perp etuate the a ccepta nce of domes tic vi olence . By mobili zing i ndivid uals a nd grou ps to take

act ion in respo nse to viole nce ag ainst intima te par tners, and b y enco uragin g medi a cove rage o f such

eve nts, t he pro ject h opes t o chan ge bel iefs a nd att itudes towar d the proble m thro ughout the c ommuni ty.

Suc h chan ge may resul t in s hiftin g beha vioral respo nse to domes tic vi olence situa tions, there by

red ucing the in cidenc e of d omesti c viol ence i n Phil adelph ia.

To help d irect campai gn effor ts, a surve y of Philade lphia adults was c onduct ed to identi fy the attit udes

and belie fs und erlyin g acti ons in respo nse to domes tic vi olence . The ultimate go al was to id entify

who se beh avior the ca mpaign shoul d targ et. This re port p resent s the result s of t hat in itial survey .

4

5

Methodology

The proje ct’s r esearc h comp onent was de signed to ev aluate the e xtent to whi ch 1) the ca mpaign

suc cessfu lly mo bilize d community action s and 2) the popul ation at lar ge cha nged i ts bel iefs, attitu des,

and behav iors r egardi ng domestic violen ce. An on-g oing t elepho ne sur vey wa s the primar y mean s used

to assess the p rogram’s suc cess. Data collec tion b egan i n Sept ember 1996, before the p rogram was

ini tiated , with a bas eline teleph one su rvey o f 400 Philad elphia resid ents. Colle ction of mon thly d ata

beg an in Januar y 1997 and e nded i n Dece mber 1 999, with 10 0 to 1 50 adu lts re presen ting t he tar get

pop ulatio n inte rviewe d each month . The sampl e was select ed fro m all adults in th e Phil adelph ia

met ropoli tan ar ea bas ed on random digit diali ng pro cedure s and sampli ng fra mes pr ovided by a

sampling contra ctor. A su rvey c ontrac tor co nducte d all interv iews u sing c onsist ent in tervie w prot ocols.

Thi s repo rt out lines result s from the b aselin e surv ey and all monthly data collec ted th rough Novemb er

199 7, for a tot al of 1,850 respon dents.

Dur ing in tervie ws, re sponde nts we re ask ed que stions about their attit udes r egardi ng domestic violen ce

gen erally ; pers onal k nowled ge of any ab use of a rel ative, frien d, or co-wor ker th at had occur red in the

pre vious year; and ac tions respon dents had ta ken in respo nse to that abuse. The survey measu red

res ponden ts’ kn owledg e of p ossibl e acti ons to preve nt or respon d to a busive situa tions, and o f othe r,

mor e gene ral ac tions they o r peop le the y knew had t aken t o rais e awar eness about and to help stop

domestic violen ce. Respond ents were as ked ab out th eir ex posure to th e camp aign’s outre ach ac tiviti es;

med ia hab its; a nd demograp hic in format ion su ch as age, g ender, race, educa tion, and in come l evel.

Thi s repo rt summarize s demo grap hic ch aracte ristic s of t he res ponden ts, th eir pe rcepti ons of the

imp ortanc e of d omesti c viol ence a s a pr oblem; their perso nal ex perien ce wit h dome stic v iolenc e;

act ions t hey ma y have taken or mi ght ta ke in respon se to an abu sive s ituati on; be liefs people hold about

tho se act ions; and ot her do mestic viole nce-rel ated b eliefs and o pinion s. For some of the se que stions ,

the respo nses a re bro ken ou t by s ub-grou p, i.e ., compariso ns are made betwee n fema les an d male s,

whi te and Afric an-Ame rican respon dents,1 th ose wi th a h igh sc hool e ducati on or less a nd tho se wit h

mor e than a hig h scho ol edu cation , and finall y, tho se who had e ver kn own so meone in an abusiv e

rel ations hip an d thos e who had no t.

1 Th ere were too few r espond ents o f other ethn ic backgrou nds to make meanin gful comparisons.

6

Tab le 1: Percent of Sample in Demograp hic Categories

Dem ograph ic Variable Response Categories Percent

Male 34.2 Gender ( n=1,85 0)

Fem ale 65.8

White 54.4

Afr ican-A merican 37.1

His panic 3.5

Asian 1.5

Native Am erican 1.0

Ra ce (n=1,826)

Oth er 2.4

18- 24 11.5

25- 35 22.8

35- 49 30.2

50- 64 18.0

Age (n=1,834)

65+ 17.5

Mar ried o r Living with Partner 44.5

Sin gle 28.9

Div orced 14.4

Ma rital Status (n=1,833)

Wid owed 12.2

Les s than High School 11.5

Hig h Scho ol 38.3

Som e College 25.1

Ed ucatio n (n=1 ,836)

College D egree or Higher 25.1

Und er $30 ,000 53.5

$30 ,000 - $50,0 00 27.2 Ho usehold Inco me (n=1,583)

Over $50,000 19.3

Employment (n=1,836) Emp loyed Outsid e the Home 59.9

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Thi s repo rt is intend ed to provid e freq uency data o nly. The Summary o f Sele cted S urvey Result s

hig hlight s the main f inding s. Wh ere ap propri ate, a n aste risk ( *) is used t o indi cate c hi-squ are st atisti cs

sig nifica nt at p < .0 5. It is importan t to k eep in mind that a stati stical ly sig nifica nt differ ence d oes no t

nec essari ly tra nslate into a big differ ence b etween grou ps, bu t rath er a d iffer ence t hat is likel y to r eally

exi st in the po pulati on, re gardle ss of its si ze.

SampleThe 1,850 -perso n samp le was two-t hirds female and o ne-thi rd mal e (see Table 1). About one-te nth of

the sampl e were 18- 24 yea rs old , one- fifth were 2 5-34, one-th ird we re 35- 49, an d one third were 5 0 or

old er. More th an hal f the respon dents were white, more t han on e-thir d were Afric an-Ame rican, and t he

bal ance were Hi spanic -, Asi an-, o r Nati ve Ame rican, or fr om ano ther e thnic backgrou nd. In terms of

edu cation , one- tenth of the sampl e had less t han a high s chool educat ion, more th an one -third had

grad uated fr om hig h scho ol, on e-quar ter ha d some colle ge edu cation , and one-qu arter had a colleg e

degree or hi gher. Rega rding income , more than half o f the sample had a n annu al inc ome un der

$30 ,000, one-qu arter had an annua l inco me of $30,00 0 to $ 50,000 , and one-fi fth ha d an a nnual income

grea ter th an $50 ,000. Sligh tly le ss tha n half of th e samp le was marri ed or living wit h a pa rtner, about

one -quart er wer e sing le, ab out 1 in 7 were di vorced , and 1 in 8 were widowe d.

The sampl e’s de mograp hic ch aracte ristic s, acc ording to th e 1990 Censu s, wer e gene rally compar able t o

tho se of the Ph iladel phia p opulat ion; h owever , our sample was s lightl y more femal e (65.8% vs. 55%),

mor e educ ated ( 25.1% vs. 18 % had a coll ege de gree ), and had a highe r inco me (34 .3% vs . 42% had an

inc ome un der $2 0,000) . Our sampl e slig htly o ver-rep resent s thos e 35 t o 49 y ears o ld (3 0.2% v s. 24%).

8

Detailed Findings

1. Importance & Seriousness of th e Domestic Violence Issu eThe major ity of the s ample agree d that domes tic vi olence is a very i mporta nt iss ue. On a sc ale of 1to 1 0

whe re 10 indica ted th e most impor tant p roblem facin g Amer ican f amilie s, hal f the sample rated

domestic violen ce at 10 whi le nea rly an addit ional third rated it at 7, 8 o r 9 (s ee Fig ure 1.1). Less th an

5% of the sampl e felt domes tic vi olence was a probl em of little impor tance to Ame rican famili es.

Amo ng sub -grou ps, wo men we re signi ficant ly mor e like ly tha n men to agree that domest ic vio lence is a

ver y impo rtant issue (53% v s. 42%)*. Whites and Af rican Americ ans we re almost eq ually likely to

agree that domest ic vio lence is a v ery importan t issu e (abo ut 50%). Th ose wi th les s educ ati on wer e

mor e like ly tha n thos e with more educat ion to agree that domest ic vio lence is a v ery importan t issu e

(54 % vs. 44%)*. Thos e who had ev er kno wn someone i n an a busive relat ionshi p were nearl y as l ikely

as those who di d not to agree that domest ic viol ence i s a ve ry imp ortant issue (abou t 50%) (see Figure

1.2 ).

Whe n cons iderin g how seriou s the conseq uences of do mestic viole nce ar e, an overwh elming major ity

of the re sponde nts be lieved child ren we re lik ely to have psycho logica l prob lems i f thei r moth er wer e

abu sed (8 6.2%), and t hat wo men we re always or often badly injur ed dur ing a domest ic vio lence

inc ident (76%) (see Figures 1.3 a nd 1.4 ). On ly 1% of the sampl e beli eved t hat ch ildren almos t neve r

suffer psych ologic ally o r that women are a lmost never badl y inju red as a res ult of domes tic vi olence .

Figure 1. 1: Importance of t he dom estic violence problem (rated on a scale of one to ten; n=1,81 4)

Little Mod erate Ver y Mos timp ortanc e imp ortanc e imp ortant imp ortant

4%17%

30%

49%

0

20

40

60

80

100

9

Figure 1. 2: Importance of the dom estic violence problem, by gender, race, educati on and ever havingknown som eone i n an abusive relat ionshi p

Wom en Men White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than Kne w Nev er kne w(n= 1,193) (n=6 21) (n=9 75) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol som eone any one in

(n=6 65) (n=8 96) (n=9 06) in an abu sive an abusiv erelations hip relations hip

(n=9 54) (n=8 43)

Figure 1. 3: Likelihood of child having psychological problems (n=1,829)

Nev er or Sometimes Often Alw ays

Figure 1. 4: Likelihood of abused woman being badly injured (n=1,808)


14%24%

62%

0

20

40

60

80

100

53%42% 48% 51% 54%

44% 51% 48%

0

20

40

60

80

100

24%34%

42%

0

20

40

60

80

100

10

Amo ng sub -grou ps, a grea ter pr oporti on of women than men bel ieved that c hildre n were likel y to h ave

psy cholog ical p roblems if t heir mother were a bused (88% v s. 83%)* and that a woma n is l ikely to be

bad ly inj ured d uring a dome stic v iolenc e inci dent ( 80% vs . 68%) * (see Figur es 1.5 and 1 .6). Compar ed

to Africa n Amer icans, white s marg inally more often believ ed tha t chil dren were li kely t o have

psy cholog ical p roblems if t heir mother were a bused (88% v s. 84%)*. However , a sl ightly large r

pro portio n of African Ameri cans t han wh ites b elieve d that a woman is likely to be badly injur ed dur ing

a d omesti c viol ence i nciden t (79% vs. 7 4%)*.

Compared to mor e educ ated r espond ents, those with l ess ed ucatio n were more likely to be lieve that

chi ldren would suffer psych ologic al pro blems if the ir mot her we re abu sed (9 0% vs. 83%)* . Bot h

grou ps bel ieved almost equal ly tha t a wo man wo uld be badly injur ed dur ing a domest ic vio lence

inc ident (about 76%).

Res ponden ts who had e ver kn own so meone in an abusiv e rela tionsh ip wer e slig htly more li kely t han

tho se who had n ot to believ e that child ren wo uld su ffer psych ologic al pro blems if the ir mot her we re

abu sed (8 9% vs. 83%)* . Bot h grou ps wer e equa lly l ikely to bel ieve t hat a woman would be bad ly

inj ured d uring a dome stic v iolenc e inci dent ( about 76%).

2. Personal Experience wi th Dom estic Violen ceMor e than half the sa mple ( 52.8%) had a t some point in th eir li ves kn own a man or woman invol ved in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip, an d one- third had kn own or suspe cted t hat a woman they k new ha d been

abu sed in the p ast ye ar (se e Figu re 2.1 ). Of those who k new of or su specte d abus e, one -third (33.7 %)

act ually saw or heard an ab usive incide nt whi le sli ghtly less t han two-thir ds (60 .6%) s uspect ed the

abu se occ urring .

11

Figure 1. 5: Likelihood of children havi ng psychological problem s by gender, race, education and havingknown som eone i n abusive relationship (% who an swered ‘often’ or ‘almos t always’)

Wom en Men White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than Kne w Nev er(n= 1,193) (n=6 21) (n=9 75) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol som eone kne w

(n= 665) (n= 896) (n= 906) in an abu sive any one in relations hip an abusiv e

(n=9 54) relations hip(n= 843)

Figure 1. 6: Likelihood of abused woman being badly injured in a domestic vi olence situation, by gender,race, education and having known someone in an abusive relationship(% who answered ‘o ften’ or ‘almost always’ )

Wom en Men White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than Kne w Nev er kn ew(n= 1,217) (n=6 33) (n=9 67) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol som eone any one in


(n=9 65) (n=8 61)

Figure 2. 1: Per sonal experi ence with domestic violence (% who an swered ‘yes’ )

Eve r knew someo ne Kne w a wo man ab used in Mother wa s abus edin an abu sive r elatio nship the past year ( n=1,83 7) (n= 1,816) (n=1 ,826)

88% 83% 88% 84%90%

83% 89% 83%

0

20

40

60

80

100

80%68% 74% 79% 78% 76% 78% 76%

0

20

40

60

80

100

17%30%

53%

0

20

40

60

80

100

12

Amo ng sub -popul ations , wome n were more likely than men ev er to have k nown s omeone invol ved in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip (56 % vs. 47%)*. A smaller propor tion o f whit e than Afric an-Ame rican

res ponden ts had known someo ne inv olved in an abusiv e rela tionsh ip (47 % vs. 61%)*. Less educa ted

res ponden ts wer e less likel y than more educat ed res ponden ts eve r to h ave kn own so meone involv ed in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip (47 % vs. 59%)* (see Figure 2.2).

In terms of per sonal histor y of a buse, about 1 in 6 respo ndents (16.5 %) sai d the ir mot hers h ad eve r been

abu sed by husba nds or boyfr iends (see Figure 2.3). Among sub-grou ps, a simila r prop ortion of wo men

and men r eporte d that their mothe rs had been abused (abou t 16%) . Whi tes we re les s like ly tha n Afri can

Ame ricans to re port t hat th eir mo thers had be en abu sed (1 2% vs. 22%)* . Les s educ ated r espond ents

wer e near ly as likely as mo re edu cated respon dents to rep ort th at the ir mot hers h ad bee n abus ed (ab out

17%).

In additi on, ab out 1 in 4 f emale respon dents (24.5%) repo rted h aving been a bused by a h usband or

boy friend at so me time in t heir l ives ( see Fi gure 2 .4). Of these women, about 1 in 7 (15.4%) re ported

hav ing so ught h elp fr om a d omesti c viol ence p rogram. Whites were s lightl y less likel y than Afric an-

Ame rican women to rep ort ev er hav ing be en abu sed (2 0% vs. 28%)* ( see Fi gure 2 .5). Less e ducate d

res ponden ts wer e as l ikely as tho se wit h more educa tion t o repo rt hav ing be en abu sed (a bout 2 4%).

Figure 2. 2: Ever knew someone involved in an abusive relationship, by gender, race and educat ion

Wom en Men White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than (n= 1,200) (n=6 26) (n=9 85) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol

(n=6 73) (n=9 06) (n=9 13)

56%47% 47%

61%47%

59%

0

20

40

60

80

100

13

Figure 2. 3: Mot her was abused, by gender, race and educat ion


(n=6 69) (n=9 01) (n=9 12)

Figure 2. 4:Wom en abused by a husband or boyf riend, and abused women who reported having soughthel p from a dom estic violence program

Was abuse d by a Sou ght he lp fro mhus band o r boyf riend a d omestic violence p rogram (n=1 ,197) (n=2 93)

Figure 2. 5:Wom en who repor ted having been abused, by race and educat ion

White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than (n=6 23) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol

(n=4 76) (n=6 15) (n=5 76)

16% 17% 12%22% 17% 15%

0

20

40

60

80

100

25%15%

0

20

40

60

80

100

20%28% 25% 24%

0

20

40

60

80

100

14

Summary of Selected S urvey Results

DEMOGRAPHICS

The sampl e’s de mograp hic ch aracte ristic s were compa rable to 199 0 Cens us dat a for the Ph iladel phia

pop ulatio n, tho ugh th e samp le sli ghtly over-rep resent s fema les, t hose with mo re edu cation , thos e with

mor e inco me, an d 35- to 49- year-o lds.

PREVALENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Mor e than half the sa mple ( 52.8%) had a t some point in th eir li ves kn own a man or woman invol ved in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip. One-thi rd kne w or s uspect ed tha t in t he pas t year , a wo man th ey kne w was

bei ng abu sed.

In terms of per sonal histor y of a buse, about 1 in e very 6 respo ndents (16.5 %) sai d that their mothe r had

bee n abus ed by her hu sband or boy friend at so me time. In additi on, ab out 1 in 4 o f the female

res ponden ts (24 .5%) r eporte d havi ng bee n abus ed by a husb and or boyfr iend a t some time in her life.

PUBLIC RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Of those who kn ew or suspec ted th at a woman was bei ng abu sed in the p ast ye ar, al most t hree-q uarter s

(72 .8%) s aid th ey spo ke wit h her about the ab use, while a bout o ne-qua rter ( 28.3%) said they s poke t o

the abusi ve man . Six in te n resp ondent s (60%) said they consul ted wi th oth ers. One in five (20.7%)

sou ght ad vice f rom a domest ic vio lence program.

INTENTION TO RESPOND TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Of those who di d not know o f a do mestic viole nce in cident in th e past year, three -quart ers (7 4.7%)

ind icated they would be lik ely to speak to th e woma n abou t her situat ion if they knew o f abus e. In

compariso n, les s than half said t hey wo uld be likel y to t alk wi th the man a bout h is abu sive b ehavio r.

Mor e than half indica ted th ey wou ld be likely to co nsult with o thers about the si tuatio n (58.8%), while

abo ut hal f indi cated they would s eek he lp fro m a do mestic viole nce pr ogram (50.4 %).

15

Whi le man y peop le eng aged i n some what p assive behav iors with re gard t o dome stic v iolenc e, e.g .,

wat ching a TV sh ow abo ut domestic violen ce, fe w enga ged in more active forms of in volvement, s uch

as donati ng mon ey to or vol unteer ing fo r a do mestic viole nce or ganiza tion.

Awa reness of pe ople’s anti- domest ic vio lence activi ties c an cre ate a social envir onment that encour ages

oth ers to take simila r acti ons, b ut mos t resp ondent s knew few p eople or wer e not aware that t heir

fri ends a nd acq uainta nces h ad tak en act ions i n the past y ear to stop domest ic vio lence.

BELIEFS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The major ity of those surve yed agree d that domes tic vi olence is a very i mporta nt iss ue, an d that its

con sequen ces ca n be v ery se rious. This was e specia lly tr ue of women compar ed to men. About three-

qua rters of the sampl e agree d that couns eling helps batter ed women to improv e thei r live s.

Tho ugh mo re tha n half the r espond ents b elieve d they would be ab le to talk with an abusi ve mal e frie nd,

man y had reserv ations in te rms of the n egativ e outc omes s uch ac tion might h ave, a s well as ab out

act ing in an uns upport ive so cial e nviron ment. Howev er, re sponde nts ge nerall y felt that talkin g with a

woman abo ut her situa tion was a u seful action that they would b e will ing to take, and o ne tha t othe rs

wou ld sup port.

Res ponden ts see med to belie ve tha t a nu mber o f expl anatio ns pla y a ma jor ro le in unders tandin g why

domestic violen ce occ urs. In par ticula r, a man’s i nabili ty to contro l his anger and a man’s desire to

con trol women were pe rceive d as t he mos t sign ifican t fact ors co ntribu ting t o abus ive be havior .

INSTITUTIONAL ROLES IN REDUCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Eig hty pe rcent of the respo ndents belie ved th e empl oyer s hould take s ome ro le in addres sing d omesti c

vio lence. Slig htly more th an one -third of th e samp le (35 .9%) b elieve d that emplo yers s hould take a

maj or rol e in a ddress ing do mestic viole nce, a nd a l ittle less t han ha lf (44 .5%) s aid th ey tho ught t he

emp loyer should take some r ole. Fewer tha n one- third of the sampl e (29.6%) sa id the ir wor kplace had

dis tribut ed inf ormati on abo ut domestic violen ce in the pa st yea r.

Sli ghtly fewer than h alf th e resp ondent s (44.6%) me ntione d that their relig ious l eaders had t alked

pub licly about domest ic vio lence in the past year.

16

Introduction

Wit h the lives and we ll bei ng of millio ns of Americ an women at risk e very y ear, d omesti c viol ence i s

inc reasin gly re cogniz ed as a pres sing p ublic heath concer n. As with other health issue s, lik e drun k

dri ving a nd hea rt dis ease, domest ic vio lence may be addre ssed t hrough media campa igns t hat pr omote

mor e ‘hea lthful ’ acti vities by tr ying t o alte r the belief s and attitu des un derlyi ng spe cific, probl em-rel ated

beh aviors . To addres s spou sal ab use, a campa ign co uld ta rget t hose who eng age in the a busive

beh avior to get them to sto p, or those who ar e vict imized to en courag e them to le ave th e abus ive

sit uation . A ca mpaign might also target the g eneral publi c to r aise a warene ss of the is sue, e ncoura ge

ass istanc e to v ictims , and change attit udes a bout d omesti c viol ence t o crea te an enviro nment less

tol erant of abu sive b ehavio r. Wh ile a number of effor ts hav e focu sed on helpi ng abu sed wo men an d

eve n abus ive me n, campaigns have paid l ittle attent ion to the r elativ es and frien ds of those involv ed in

abu sive r elatio nships , and the wa ys in which their belief s, att itudes and b ehavio rs may be ch anged to

red uce th e inci dence of domestic violen ce.

In an effor t to make su ch a c hange, the Family Violen ce Pre ventio n Fund , a na tional anti- domest ic

vio lence organi zation , in c ollabo ration with four l ocal d omesti c viol ence p rograms – Con gres so de

Lat ino Uni dos, Luthera n Sett lement House , Wome n Agai nst Ab use, a nd Women In Transi tion –

ini tiated the Phi ladelp hia: Let’s S top Do mestic Viole nce! campaign. The two- to thr ee-yea r, ant i-

domestic violen ce campaign is bas ed on the as sumpti on tha t epis odes o f dome stic v iolenc e are a

fun ction not on ly of stress es on and wi thin f amilie s, but also of cul tural norms which may ta citly

app rove o r acce pt suc h phys ical v iolenc e, dis courag e othe rs fro m help ing vi ctims, and d iscour age

bat tered women from s eeking avail able a id.

Whi le rec ognizi ng the immed iate n eed fo r dire ct int ervent ion wi th the victi m, and perha ps wit h the

bat terer as wel l, the proje ct ins tead c omplements d irect interv ention strat egies by tar geting socia l norms

tha t perp etuate the a ccepta nce of domes tic vi olence . By mobili zing i ndivid uals a nd grou ps to take

act ion in respo nse to viole nce ag ainst intima te par tners, and b y enco uragin g medi a cove rage o f such

eve nts, t he pro ject h opes t o chan ge bel iefs a nd att itudes towar d the proble m thro ughout the c ommuni ty.

Suc h chan ge may resul t in s hiftin g beha vioral respo nse to domes tic vi olence situa tions, there by

red ucing the in cidenc e of d omesti c viol ence i n Phil adelph ia.

To help d irect campai gn effor ts, a surve y of Philade lphia adults was c onduct ed to identi fy the attit udes

and belie fs und erlyin g acti ons in respo nse to domes tic vi olence . The ultimate go al was to id entify

who se beh avior the ca mpaign shoul d targ et. This re port p resent s the result s of t hat in itial survey .

17

18

Methodology

The proje ct’s r esearc h comp onent was de signed to ev aluate the e xtent to whi ch 1) the ca mpaign

suc cessfu lly mo bilize d community action s and 2) the popul ation at lar ge cha nged i ts bel iefs, attitu des,

and behav iors r egardi ng domestic violen ce. An on-g oing t elepho ne sur vey wa s the primar y mean s used

to assess the p rogram’s suc cess. Data collec tion b egan i n Sept ember 1996, before the p rogram was

ini tiated , with a bas eline teleph one su rvey o f 400 Philad elphia resid ents. Colle ction of mon thly d ata

beg an in Januar y 1997 and e nded i n Dece mber 1 999, with 10 0 to 1 50 adu lts re presen ting t he tar get

pop ulatio n inte rviewe d each month . The sampl e was select ed fro m all adults in th e Phil adelph ia

met ropoli tan ar ea bas ed on random digit diali ng pro cedure s and sampli ng fra mes pr ovided by a

sampling contra ctor. A su rvey c ontrac tor co nducte d all interv iews u sing c onsist ent in tervie w prot ocols.

Thi s repo rt out lines result s from the b aselin e surv ey and all monthly data collec ted th rough Novemb er

199 7, for a tot al of 1,850 respon dents.

Dur ing in tervie ws, re sponde nts we re ask ed que stions about their attit udes r egardi ng domestic violen ce

gen erally ; pers onal k nowled ge of any ab use of a rel ative, frien d, or co-wor ker th at had occur red in the

pre vious year; and ac tions respon dents had ta ken in respo nse to that abuse. The survey measu red

res ponden ts’ kn owledg e of p ossibl e acti ons to preve nt or respon d to a busive situa tions, and o f othe r,

mor e gene ral ac tions they o r peop le the y knew had t aken t o rais e awar eness about and to help stop

domestic violen ce. Respond ents were as ked ab out th eir ex posure to th e camp aign’s outre ach ac tiviti es;

med ia hab its; a nd demograp hic in format ion su ch as age, g ender, race, educa tion, and in come l evel.

Thi s repo rt summarize s demo grap hic ch aracte ristic s of t he res ponden ts, th eir pe rcepti ons of the

imp ortanc e of d omesti c viol ence a s a pr oblem; their perso nal ex perien ce wit h dome stic v iolenc e;

act ions t hey ma y have taken or mi ght ta ke in respon se to an abu sive s ituati on; be liefs people hold about

tho se act ions; and ot her do mestic viole nce-rel ated b eliefs and o pinion s. For some of the se que stions ,

the respo nses a re bro ken ou t by s ub-grou p, i.e ., compariso ns are made betwee n fema les an d male s,

whi te and Afric an-Ame rican respon dents,1 th ose wi th a h igh sc hool e ducati on or less a nd tho se wit h

mor e than a hig h scho ol edu cation , and finall y, tho se who had e ver kn own so meone in an abusiv e

rel ations hip an d thos e who had no t.

1 Th ere were too few r espond ents o f other ethn ic backgrou nds to make meanin gful comparisons.

19

Tab le 1: Percent of Sample in Demograp hic Categories

Dem ograph ic Variable Response Categories Percent

Male 34.2 Gender ( n=1,85 0)

Fem ale 65.8

White 54.4

Afr ican-A merican 37.1

His panic 3.5

Asian 1.5

Native Am erican 1.0

Ra ce (n=1,826)

Oth er 2.4

18- 24 11.5

25- 35 22.8

35- 49 30.2

50- 64 18.0

Age (n=1,834)

65+ 17.5

Mar ried o r Living with Partner 44.5

Sin gle 28.9

Div orced 14.4

Ma rital Status (n=1,833)

Wid owed 12.2

Les s than High School 11.5

Hig h Scho ol 38.3

Som e College 25.1

Ed ucatio n (n=1 ,836)

College D egree or Higher 25.1

Und er $30 ,000 53.5

$30 ,000 - $50,0 00 27.2 Ho usehold Inco me (n=1,583)

Over $50,000 19.3

Employment (n=1,836) Emp loyed Outsid e the Home 59.9

20

Thi s repo rt is intend ed to provid e freq uency data o nly. The Summary o f Sele cted S urvey Result s

hig hlight s the main f inding s. Wh ere ap propri ate, a n aste risk ( *) is used t o indi cate c hi-squ are st atisti cs

sig nifica nt at p < .0 5. It is importan t to k eep in mind that a stati stical ly sig nifica nt differ ence d oes no t

nec essari ly tra nslate into a big differ ence b etween grou ps, bu t rath er a d iffer ence t hat is likel y to r eally

exi st in the po pulati on, re gardle ss of its si ze.

SampleThe 1,850 -perso n samp le was two-t hirds female and o ne-thi rd mal e (see Table 1). About one-te nth of

the sampl e were 18- 24 yea rs old , one- fifth were 2 5-34, one-th ird we re 35- 49, an d one third were 5 0 or

old er. More th an hal f the respon dents were white, more t han on e-thir d were Afric an-Ame rican, and t he

bal ance were Hi spanic -, Asi an-, o r Nati ve Ame rican, or fr om ano ther e thnic backgrou nd. In terms of

edu cation , one- tenth of the sampl e had less t han a high s chool educat ion, more th an one -third had

grad uated fr om hig h scho ol, on e-quar ter ha d some colle ge edu cation , and one-qu arter had a colleg e

degree or hi gher. Rega rding income , more than half o f the sample had a n annu al inc ome un der

$30 ,000, one-qu arter had an annua l inco me of $30,00 0 to $ 50,000 , and one-fi fth ha d an a nnual income

grea ter th an $50 ,000. Sligh tly le ss tha n half of th e samp le was marri ed or living wit h a pa rtner, about

one -quart er wer e sing le, ab out 1 in 7 were di vorced , and 1 in 8 were widowe d.

The sampl e’s de mograp hic ch aracte ristic s, acc ording to th e 1990 Censu s, wer e gene rally compar able t o

tho se of the Ph iladel phia p opulat ion; h owever , our sample was s lightl y more femal e (65.8% vs. 55%),

mor e educ ated ( 25.1% vs. 18 % had a coll ege de gree ), and had a highe r inco me (34 .3% vs . 42% had an

inc ome un der $2 0,000) . Our sampl e slig htly o ver-rep resent s thos e 35 t o 49 y ears o ld (3 0.2% v s. 24%).

21

Detailed Findings

1. Importance & Seriousness of th e Domestic Violence Issu eThe major ity of the s ample agree d that domes tic vi olence is a very i mporta nt iss ue. On a sc ale of 1to 1 0

whe re 10 indica ted th e most impor tant p roblem facin g Amer ican f amilie s, hal f the sample rated

domestic violen ce at 10 whi le nea rly an addit ional third rated it at 7, 8 o r 9 (s ee Fig ure 1.1). Less th an

5% of the sampl e felt domes tic vi olence was a probl em of little impor tance to Ame rican famili es.

Amo ng sub -grou ps, wo men we re signi ficant ly mor e like ly tha n men to agree that domest ic vio lence is a

ver y impo rtant issue (53% v s. 42%)*. Whites and Af rican Americ ans we re almost eq ually likely to

agree that domest ic vio lence is a v ery importan t issu e (abo ut 50%). Th ose wi th les s educ ati on wer e

mor e like ly tha n thos e with more educat ion to agree that domest ic vio lence is a v ery importan t issu e

(54 % vs. 44%)*. Thos e who had ev er kno wn someone i n an a busive relat ionshi p were nearl y as l ikely

as those who di d not to agree that domest ic viol ence i s a ve ry imp ortant issue (abou t 50%) (see Figure

1.2 ).

Whe n cons iderin g how seriou s the conseq uences of do mestic viole nce ar e, an overwh elming major ity

of the re sponde nts be lieved child ren we re lik ely to have psycho logica l prob lems i f thei r moth er wer e

abu sed (8 6.2%), and t hat wo men we re always or often badly injur ed dur ing a domest ic vio lence

inc ident (76%) (see Figures 1.3 a nd 1.4 ). On ly 1% of the sampl e beli eved t hat ch ildren almos t neve r

suffer psych ologic ally o r that women are a lmost never badl y inju red as a res ult of domes tic vi olence .

Figure 1. 1: Importance of t he dom estic violence problem (rated on a scale of one to ten; n=1,81 4)

Little Mod erate Ver y Mos timp ortanc e imp ortanc e imp ortant imp ortant

4%17%

30%

49%

0

20

40

60

80

100

22

Figure 1. 2: Importance of the dom estic violence problem, by gender, race, educati on and ever havingknown som eone i n an abusive relat ionshi p

Wom en Men White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than Kne w Nev er kne w(n= 1,193) (n=6 21) (n=9 75) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol som eone any one in


(n=9 54) (n=8 43)

Figure 1. 3: Likelihood of child having psychological problems (n=1,829)


Figure 1. 4: Likelihood of abused woman being badly injured (n=1,808)


14%24%

62%

0

20

40

60

80

100

53%42% 48% 51% 54%

44% 51% 48%

0

20

40

60

80

100

24%34%

42%

0

20

40

60

80

100

23

Amo ng sub -grou ps, a grea ter pr oporti on of women than men bel ieved that c hildre n were likel y to h ave

psy cholog ical p roblems if t heir mother were a bused (88% v s. 83%)* and that a woma n is l ikely to be

bad ly inj ured d uring a dome stic v iolenc e inci dent ( 80% vs . 68%) * (see Figur es 1.5 and 1 .6). Compar ed

to Africa n Amer icans, white s marg inally more often believ ed tha t chil dren were li kely t o have

psy cholog ical p roblems if t heir mother were a bused (88% v s. 84%)*. However , a sl ightly large r

pro portio n of African Ameri cans t han wh ites b elieve d that a woman is likely to be badly injur ed dur ing

a d omesti c viol ence i nciden t (79% vs. 7 4%)*.

Compared to mor e educ ated r espond ents, those with l ess ed ucatio n were more likely to be lieve that

chi ldren would suffer psych ologic al pro blems if the ir mot her we re abu sed (9 0% vs. 83%)* . Bot h

grou ps bel ieved almost equal ly tha t a wo man wo uld be badly injur ed dur ing a domest ic vio lence

inc ident (about 76%).

Res ponden ts who had e ver kn own so meone in an abusiv e rela tionsh ip wer e slig htly more li kely t han

tho se who had n ot to believ e that child ren wo uld su ffer psych ologic al pro blems if the ir mot her we re

abu sed (8 9% vs. 83%)* . Bot h grou ps wer e equa lly l ikely to bel ieve t hat a woman would be bad ly

inj ured d uring a dome stic v iolenc e inci dent ( about 76%).

2. Personal Experience wi th Dom estic Violen ceMor e than half the sa mple ( 52.8%) had a t some point in th eir li ves kn own a man or woman invol ved in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip, an d one- third had kn own or suspe cted t hat a woman they k new ha d been

abu sed in the p ast ye ar (se e Figu re 2.1 ). Of those who k new of or su specte d abus e, one -third (33.7 %)

act ually saw or heard an ab usive incide nt whi le sli ghtly less t han two-thir ds (60 .6%) s uspect ed the

abu se occ urring .

24

Figure 1. 5: Likelihood of children havi ng psychological problem s by gender, race, education and havingknown som eone i n abusive relationship (% who an swered ‘often’ or ‘almos t always’)

Wom en Men White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than Kne w Nev er(n= 1,193) (n=6 21) (n=9 75) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol som eone kne w

(n= 665) (n= 896) (n= 906) in an abu sive any one in relations hip an abusiv e

(n=9 54) relations hip(n= 843)

Figure 1. 6: Likelihood of abused woman being badly injured in a domestic vi olence situation, by gender,race, education and having known someone in an abusive relationship(% who answered ‘o ften’ or ‘almost always’ )

Wom en Men White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than Kne w Nev er kn ew(n= 1,217) (n=6 33) (n=9 67) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol som eone any one in


(n=9 65) (n=8 61)

Figure 2. 1: Per sonal experi ence with domestic violence (% who an swered ‘yes’ )

Eve r knew someo ne Kne w a wo man ab used in Mother wa s abus edin an abu sive r elatio nship the past year ( n=1,83 7) (n= 1,816) (n=1 ,826)

88% 83% 88% 84%90%

83% 89% 83%

0

20

40

60

80

100

80%68% 74% 79% 78% 76% 78% 76%

0

20

40

60

80

100

17%30%

53%

0

20

40

60

80

100

25

Amo ng sub -popul ations , wome n were more likely than men ev er to have k nown s omeone invol ved in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip (56 % vs. 47%)*. A smaller propor tion o f whit e than Afric an-Ame rican

res ponden ts had known someo ne inv olved in an abusiv e rela tionsh ip (47 % vs. 61%)*. Less educa ted

res ponden ts wer e less likel y than more educat ed res ponden ts eve r to h ave kn own so meone involv ed in

an abusiv e rela tionsh ip (47 % vs. 59%)* (see Figure 2.2).

In terms of per sonal histor y of a buse, about 1 in 6 respo ndents (16.5 %) sai d the ir mot hers h ad eve r been

abu sed by husba nds or boyfr iends (see Figure 2.3). Among sub-grou ps, a simila r prop ortion of wo men

and men r eporte d that their mothe rs had been abused (abou t 16%) . Whi tes we re les s like ly tha n Afri can

Ame ricans to re port t hat th eir mo thers had be en abu sed (1 2% vs. 22%)* . Les s educ ated r espond ents

wer e near ly as likely as mo re edu cated respon dents to rep ort th at the ir mot hers h ad bee n abus ed (ab out

17%).

In additi on, ab out 1 in 4 f emale respon dents (24.5%) repo rted h aving been a bused by a h usband or

boy friend at so me time in t heir l ives ( see Fi gure 2 .4). Of these women, about 1 in 7 (15.4%) re ported

hav ing so ught h elp fr om a d omesti c viol ence p rogram. Whites were s lightl y less likel y than Afric an-

Ame rican women to rep ort ev er hav ing be en abu sed (2 0% vs. 28%)* ( see Fi gure 2 .5). Less e ducate d

res ponden ts wer e as l ikely as tho se wit h more educa tion t o repo rt hav ing be en abu sed (a bout 2 4%).

Figure 2. 2: Ever knew someone involved in an abusive relationship, by gender, race and educat ion


(n=6 73) (n=9 06) (n=9 13)

56%47% 47%

61%47%

59%

0

20

40

60

80

100

26

Figure 2. 3: Mot her was abused, by gender, race and educat ion


(n=6 69) (n=9 01) (n=9 12)

Figure 2. 4:Wom en abused by a husband or boyf riend, and abused women who reported having soughthel p from a dom estic violence program

Was abuse d by a Sou ght he lp fro mhus band o r boyf riend a d omestic violence p rogram (n=1 ,197) (n=2 93)

Figure 2. 5:Wom en who repor ted having been abused, by race and educat ion

White Afr ican Hig h scho ol Mor e than (n=6 23) Ame rican or less hig h scho ol

(n=4 76) (n=6 15) (n=5 76)

16% 17% 12%22% 17% 15%

0

20

40

60

80

100

25%15%

0

20

40

60

80

100

20%28% 25% 24%

0

20

40

60

80

100

27

3. Action s Taken in Response to an Abusive Si tuationOf the 55 2 peop le in the sa mple who kne w of o r susp ected an abu sive s ituati on in the pa st yea r, nea rly

thr ee-qua rters (72.8%) repo rted t hat th ey did speak with the wo man ab out th e abus e whil e abou t one-

qua rter ( 28.3%) said they s poke t o the man wh o was being abusiv e (see Figur e 3.1) . Six in 10

res ponden ts had consu lted with ot hers, and 1 in 5 s ought advice from a dome stic v iolenc e program. Of

the 214 p eople who ha d seen or he ard an abusi ve inc ident in the past year, about 41% re ported havin g

cal led 911 a nd a l ittle more t han on e-thir d (37%) dire ctly i nterve ned in the i nciden t.

Amo ng sub -grou ps (se e Figu re 3.2 ), women wer e sign ifican tly mo re lik ely th an men to ta lk wit h the

woman bei ng abu sed, c onsult with others , seek advic e from a domestic violen ce pro gram, call 911, and

dir ectly interv ene du ring t he inc ident. Wome n were nearl y as l ikely as men to ta lk wit h the abusiv e

man .

Whi tes an d Afri can American s were about equal ly lik ely to talk with t he woman, ta lk wit h the abusiv e

man , cons ult wi th oth ers, s eek ad vice f rom a domest ic vio lence program, call 911, and di rectly

int ervene in th e situ ation (see Figure 3.3).

Tho se wit h less educa tion were mo re lik ely to talk with t he woman tha n thos e with more educat ion.

Bot h grou ps wer e equa lly li kely t o talk with th e man, consu lt wit h othe rs, se ek adv ice fr om a d omesti c

vio lence program, call 911, and di rectly inter vene ( see Fi gure 3 .4).

Figure 3. 1:Took acti on in response to a domestic violence inci dent i n the past year

Talked to the Talked to the Con sulted Sou ght ad vice Called 911 Dir ectlyWom an (n= 552) Man (n=55 1) with Othe rs fro m a DV (n= 212) intervene d

(n=5 52) Pro gram (n=55 0) (n= 214)

73%

28%

60%

21%

41% 37%

0

20

40

60

80

100

28

Figure 3. 2:Took acti on in response to DV si tuation in t he past year by gender( ! male, ❏ female)

Talked to the Talked to the Con sulted with Sou ght ad vice Called 911 Dir ectlyWom an (n= 552) Man (n=55 1) Oth ers (n =552) fro m a DV (n= 212) intervene d

Pro gram (n= 214)(n=5 50)

Figure 3. 3:Took acti on in response to DV si tuation in t he past year by race(! white, ❏ Af rican- American)


Pro gram (n= 177)(n=4 77)

Figure 3. 4:Took acti on in response to DV si tuation in t he past year by education(! hig h scho ol degree or less, ❏ mo re than a high sch ool degree)

Talked to the Talked to the Con sulted with Sou ght ad vice Called 911 Dir ectlyWom an (n= 550) Man (n=54 9) Othe rs (n= 550) fro m a DV (n= 211) intervene d

Pro gram (n= 210)(n=5 48)

63%

32%

54%

15%29% 24%

77%

27%

63%

23%

46% 42%

0

20

40

60

80

100

71%

23%

62%

20%

36% 37%

73%

28%

58%

21%

44%36%

0

20

40

60

80

100

77%

31%

59%

19%

36%

69%

26%

61%

22%35% 38%

46%

0

20

40

60

80

100

29

Tho se who had e ver kn own so meone in an abusiv e rela tionsh ip wer e more likel y than those who h ad

not to ha ve tal ked wi th the woman (76% vs. 43 %)*, c onsult ed wit h othe rs (62 % vs. 40%)*, sough t

adv ice fr om a d omesti c viol ence p rogram (22% vs. 16 %), ca lled 9 11 ( 43% vs . 17%) , and direct ly

int ervene d (39% vs. 2 2%). Both grou ps wer e abou t equa lly li kely t o talk with the ma n abou t his

beh avior (see Figure 3.5).

Women who had b een ab used b y a hu sband or boy friend were signif icantl y more likel y than other

res ponden ts to have t alked to the woman (86% vs. 73 %)* or man ( 36% vs . 20%) *, con sulted with

oth ers (7 3% vs. 57%)* , or s ought help f rom a DV pr ogram (32% vs. 19 %)*. They were al so more

lik ely to have called 911 ( 55% vs . 37%) or di rectly inter vened (51% v s. 33%) (see Figur e 3.6) .

Figure 3. 5:Took acti on in response to a domestic violence situation in the past year, by having knownsom eone i n an abusive relat ionshi p(! knew someone in an ab usive relationship , ❏ never kn ow any one in an ab usive relationship )


Pro gram (n= 542) (n= 210)

Figure 3. 6:Took acti on in response to a domestic violence situation in the past year, by having beenabused by a husband or boyf riend(! had been abused , ❏ never ab used)


Pro gram (n=37 2) (n= 152)

76%

28%

62%

22%

43% 39%40%

16% 17% 22%

44%

24%

0

20

40

60

80

100

86%

36%

73%

32%

55% 51%57%

19%

37% 33%

73%

20%

0

20

40

60

80

100

30

4. General Actions Tak en Against Domesti c Viol enceWhi le man y peop le see med to engag e in s omewha t pass ive be havior s with regar d to d omesti c viol ence,

few engag ed in more a ctive forms of inv olveme nt (se e Figu re 4.1 ). Mo re tha n thre e-quar ters o f the

sample re member ed see ing TV ad s or watchin g a TV pr ogram about domes tic vi olence (79.1 % and

74.9% res pectiv ely), and mo re tha n half had d iscuss ed the issue of do mestic viole nce wi th fri ends

(59 .1%) o r had seen a broch ure ab out do mestic viole nce (5 3.2%). In a dditio n, 71.2% had heard of a

tel ephone numbe r to g et inf ormati on abo ut domestic violen ce. However , only 12.9% of th e samp le had

don ated money t o a do mestic viole nce or ganiza tion i n the past y ear. Less t han 10 % had displa yed an

ant i-dome stic v iolenc e mess age or had p artici pated in a workpla ce pro gram, and less t han 5% had

att ended a dome stic v iolenc e rall y or v olunte ered f or a d omesti c viol ence o rganiz ation. Almo st hal f the

sample (4 7.2%) believ ed tha t they did n ot kno w what they could do to help s top do mestic viole nce.

The vast majori ty kne w of f ew gen eral a ctions their frien ds and acqua intanc es had taken again st

domestic violen ce in the pa st yea r (see Figur e 4.2) . App roxima tely 1 in 7 respon dents knew s omeone

who had d isplay ed an anti-d omesti c viol ence message , dist ribute d broc hures, or do nated money. Abou t

1 i n 8 kn ew someone who had volun teered with a dome stic v iolenc e orga nizati on, an d 1 in 9

res ponden ts kne w some one wh o had attend ed a d omesti c viol ence r ally i n the past y ear.

Figure 4. 1:General actions taken in the past year against domestic violence (n=1,850)

Saw ads Watched Dis cussed Saw Don ated Dis played Anti-DV Attended Volunteer edabo ut DV TV pr ogram DV with bro chure mon ey anti-DV wor kplace anti-DV with DV

abo ut DV friends mes sage pro gram rally pro gram

Figure 4. 2:Knew someone who had taken general acti ons in the past year against domesti c viol ence(n=1,850)

Dis played anti- Dis tributed Don ated Volunteer ed AttendedDV mes sage bro chures mon ey with DV DV rally

pro gram

79% 75%

59% 53%

13% 8% 7% 5% 4%0

20

40

60

80

100

h

17% 16% 16% 14% 11%

0

20

40

60

80

100

31

5. Intent ion to Act i n Resp onse t o a Domestic Violence Si tuationInd ividua ls who did n ot kno w of o r susp ect a domest ic vio lence situat ion in the p ast ye ar wer e aske d

how they would respon d if t hey ha d known of a situa tion i nvolvi ng peo ple to whom they were fa irly

clo se. Of the nearly 1,300 peopl e surv eyed, three- quarte rs (74 .7%) i ndicat ed the y woul d be v ery li kely

to speak to the woman about her s ituati on, th ough s lightl y less than half s aid th ey wou ld be likely to ta lk

wit h the man ab out hi s abus ive be havior (47.5 %) (se e Figu re 5.1 ). Mo re tha n half said they would b e

lik ely to consu lt wit h othe rs abo ut the situa tion ( 58.8%) , and half s aid th ey wou ld see k help from a

domestic violen ce pro gram (50.4 %).

Figure 5. 1:Int ention to act in r esponse to a domestic vi olence situation(! lik ely, ❏ un likely )

Talk with the w oman Talk with the m an Con sult o thers See k help from(n=1 ,297) (n=1 ,297) (n=1 ,291) DV pr ogram

(n=1 ,292)

6. Belief s Related to Actions

A. Belief s about Talking wi th a W oman about Domesti c Viol enceRes ponden ts wer e aske d a se ries o f ques tions design ed to assess certa in bel iefs r elatin g to t he beh avior

of talkin g with an ab used woman a bout h er sit uation . Thr ee-qua rters of the sampl e agree d that they

wou ld be able t o talk with a fema le fri end wh o was in an abusiv e rela tionsh ip (se e Figu re 6.1 ). Two-

thi rds of the s ample agree d that most people would think they were d oing t he rig ht thi ng if they t alked

wit h the woman, and more th an hal f agree d that talki ng wit h an a bused woman would help h er to

imp rove h er sit uation . In additi on, on ly one -quart er of the re sponde nts be lieved that talkin g with a

fri end ab out th e abus ive si tuatio n woul d hurt their frien dship. In s ummary , then , resp ondent s gene rally

bel ieved that t alking with a woma n abou t her situat ion wa s a us eful a ction that t hey wo uld be willi ng to

tak e and that o thers would suppor t.

59%50%

14%

37%27% 32%

48%

75%

0

20

40

60

80

100

32

Figure 6. 1:Bel iefs about t alking with a woman about abuse(! agreed, ❏ disagreed)

I think I would be ab le If I talk ed to an abu sed Talking w ith an abuse d Talking with a female to talk w ith a woman wom an, mo st peo ple wo uld wom an will help friend ab out ab use wo uldfriend wh o was being think I d id the right thing imp rove h er situation hur t the relationship abu sed (n =1,839 ) (n= 1,426) (n= 1,825) (n= 1,426)

B. Belief s about Talking wi th an Abusive Man about Domest ic ViolenceRes ponden ts wer e aske d a se ries o f ques tions design ed to assess certa in bel iefs r elatin g to t he beh avior

of talkin g with an ab usive man ab out hi s beha vior. More than h alf th e resp ondent s agree d that they

wou ld be able t o talk with a male frien d abou t his abusiv e beha vior ( see Figur e 6.2) . However, more

tha n 40% believ ed peo ple wo uld th ink th ey wer e craz y for doing so, an d that talki ng wit h the male

fri end ab out hi s beha vior would h urt th eir fr iendsh ip. Though one-th ird of the s ample believ ed tha t

spe aking with t he man would prote ct his wife from more ab use, s lightl y more than one th ird di sagree d

wit h this belie f. I n summary, t hough more t han ha lf the respo ndents belie ved th ey wou ld be able t o

tal k with an ab usive male f riend, many had re servat ions a bout t he neg ative outcomes suc h acti on mig ht

hav e as well as about actin g in a n uns upport ive so cial e nviron ment.

Figure 6. 2:Bel iefs about t alking with the man about his abusive behavior(! agreed, ❏ disagreed)

I think I would be Peo ple wo uld th ink I Talking with a male If I spok e to the man able to talk with an was crazy if I talked friend ab out ab use wo uld it would protec t hisabu sing m ale fr iend to an abu sive m ale hur t our relationship wif e from more abuse(n=1 ,839) (n=1 ,816) (n=1 ,419) (n=1 ,412)

75% 68%56%

27%

10% 11% 17%

38%

0

20

40

60

80

100

52%41% 42%

35%27%

34% 32% 38%

0

20

40

60

80

100

33

C. Belief s about CounselingRes ponden ts wer e aske d whet her th ey bel ieved counse ling would h elp a batter ed woman to improv e

her life. Near ly thr ee-qua rters of the sampl e (73%) agree d coun seling would help batter ed women,

abo ut 1 i n 5 (1 9.1%) neithe r agree d nor disagree d, and fewer than 1 in 1 0 (7.8%) disa gree d that

cou nselin g is h elpful to ba ttered women .

7. Explan ations for Domesti c Viol enceIn genera l, res ponden ts see med to belie ve tha t a nu mber o f expl anatio ns pla y a ma jor ro le in

und erstan ding why domestic violen ce occ urs, i ncludi ng iss ues of perso nal co ntrol, famil y hist ory of

abu se, an d the social envir onment in wh ich th e beha vior t akes p lace ( see Fi gure 7 .1). When p resent ed

wit h a se ries o f poss ible e xplana tions, appro ximate ly fou r out of fiv e peop le agree d that a man ’s

ina bility to co ntrol his an ger (8 1.2%) and a man’s desire to co ntrol women (79.6%) cont ribute to

domestic violen ce. Two-thi rds of the s ample agree d that the man’s s eeing his mo ther a bused while

growing up (66.6 %) or his be ing ab used a s a ch ild (6 8.8%) play a major role in ex plaini ng the man’s

abu sive b ehavio r. Fi nally, more than h alf th e samp le bel ieved that t he soc ial en vironment – a man’ s

fri ends a ccepti ng his aggres sive b ehavio r (58.8%), p eople not offer ing to help abused women (58.3 %),

and peopl e acce pting violen ce toward wo men as norma l (53.6%) – contri bute t o a ma n’s vi olent

beh avior.

8. The Workp lace and the Religious Communi tyWhe n aske d abou t the role o f the workpl ace in preve nting domest ic vio lence, about 80% o f the

res ponden ts bel ieved the employer shoul d play some role i n addr essing the p roblem. Sli ghtly more t han

one -third (35.9 %) bel ieved the employer shoul d take a maj or rol e in a ddress ing do mestic viole nce,

fewer tha n half (44.5 %) tho ught t he emp loyer should take some r ole, a nd abo ut 1 i n 5 (1 9.5%) said t he

emp loyer should take no rol e at a ll in addres sing d omesti c viol ence ( n=1,76 1). Less th an one -third of

the respo ndents (29.6 %) sai d thei r work place had di stribu ted in format ion ab out do mestic viole nce in the

pas t year .

In terms of act ions t aken b y reli gious commun ities, a lit tle le ss tha n half of th e samp le (44 .6%) s aid

the ir rel igious leade r had talked publi cly ab out do mestic viole nce in the p ast ye ar.

34

Figure 6. 3:Bel iefs about counsel ing for batt ered women (n= 1,817 )

Agree d that couns eling Did not a gree or disagree Dis agree d that couns elingwou ld help battered tha t coun seling would wou ld help batteredwom en help battered w omen battered women

Figure 7. 1:Per ceived impor tance of explanati ons for domestic violence(! major role, ❏ minor ro le)

Man ’s ina bility Man ’s des ire Man saw h is Man was Man ’s friends Peo ple do n’t Peo ple ac ceptto contro l his to contro l mother ab used abu sed as a acc ept his offer to he lp vio lenceang er (n= 1,834) wom en as a child child aggres sive abu sed wo men tow ard wome n

(n= 1,834) (n= 1,813) (n= 1,810) beh avior (n= 1,816) as normal(n= 1,821) (n= 1,819)

Figure 8. 1:Rol e empl oyers should take in addressing the problem of domesti c viol ence (n=1,761)

Emp loyer should play Emp loyer should play Emp loyer should ta kesom e role a m ajor r ole no role

73%

19%8%

0

20

40

60

80

100

81% 80%69% 67%

59% 58% 54%

28%18%19%

8%15%

7%15%

0

20

40

60

80

100

45%36%

20%

0

20

40

60

80

100

1

The Annenberg Public Policy Center Report Series

No. 1 Pub lic Sp ace: T he Ann enberg Scholars’ Conferen ceMarch 199 5

No. 2 The State of Ch ildren ’s Televisio n: An Examin ation of Qua ntity, Quality, an d Indu stry B eliefsJun e 1996

No. 3 Positive Effects of T elevision on Socia l Beha vior: A Meta-AnalysisJun e 1996

No. 4 Assessing the Q uality of Ca mpaign Disco urse - 1960, 1980, 1988, and 1 992July 1996

No. 5 Call-In P olitical Talk Radio: Backgroun d, Con tent, Aud iences,Portrayal in Mainstream MediaAug ust 19 96

No. 6 The First Annua l Ann enberg Pu blic P olicy Center C onferen ce on Children and Telev ision: A Su mmaryJun e 1996

No. 7 New spaper C overag e of C hildren’s TelevisionOctober 1 996

No. 8 Informa tion T echnology and Its Im pact o n Cata stroph ic RisksJun e 1996

No. 9 Pub lic Po licy for a Networked NationDecember 1996

No. 10 Civ ility in the House of Represen tativesMarch 199 7

No. 11 Free Television for P residential Candid ates: The 19 96 Exp erim entMarch 199 7

No. 12 New spaper C overag e of C hildren’s Television: A 19 97 Upd ateJun e 1997

No. 13 Children’s Educationa l Television Regulations and the Local Bro adcaster: Impact and Implementatio nJun e 1997

No. 14 The 1997 State of Children’s Television Report: Programming for C hildren Over B roadca st and CableTelevisio n Jun e 1997

No. 15 Free Air Time a nd Cam paign ReformMarch 199 7

No. 16 Issue Adv ocacy Advertising D uring the 19 96 Cam paign: A Ca talogSep tember 1997

No. 17 The Future of F act: A n Ann enberg Scholars Conferen ceFeb ruary 1997

No. 18 Free Time and A dvertising: The 19 97 New Jersey Governor’s RaceFeb ruary 1998

No. 19 “Stand By Your Ad”: A Co nferen ce on Issue Advoca cy Adv ertisingSep tember 1997

No. 20 Civ ility in the House of Represen tatives: An UpdateMarch 199 8

No. 21 The Secon d Annu al Ann enberg Pu blic P olicy Center C onferen ce on Children and Telev isionJun e 1997

2

No. 22 The Minnesota C ompact and the Election of 199 6April 199 8

No. 23 The 1998 State of Children’s Television Report: Programming for C hildren Over B roadca st and CableTelevisio n Jun e 1998

No. 24 Latino Am erican Preschoolers and th e MediaJun e 1998

No. 25 The Third Annua l Ann enberg Pu blic P olicy Center C onferen ce on Children and Telev ision: A Su mmaryJun e 1998

No. 26 Civ ility in the House of Represen tatives: The 105th Co ngressMarch 199 9

No. 27 The Internet and the Fa mily: The View fro m Parents, T he View from the P ressMay 1999

No. 28 The 1999 State of Children’s Television Report: Programming for C hildren Over B roadca st a nd Cab leTelevisio n Jun e 1999

No. 29 The Three-Hou r Rule: Insiders’ ReactionsJun e 1999

No. 30 The Three-Hou r Rule: Is it Living up to Exp ectations?Jun e 1999

No. 31 The Fourth Annu al Ann enberg Pu blic P olicy Conferen ce on Children and Television: A Su mmary

No. 32 Fin al Rep ort: Evalu ation of the Phila delphia "Let's Sto p Domestic V iolence!" Project

No. 33 The Internet and the fa mily 2 000. A View fro m Parents, A View fro m Kids

No. 34 Is the Th ree Ho ur Rule Living up to its Poten tial?: An Ana lysis of Edu cation al Televisio n for C hildren inthe 1999/2000 B roadca st Sea son

No. 35 Pub lic Po licy, Family Rules and C hildren's Media Use in the Hom e

The Annenberg Public Policy Center Survey Series

No. 1 Children/Parents: Televisio n in the Hom eJun e 1996

No. 2 Televisio n in the Hom e: The 1997 Survey of Pa rents and Ch ildren Jun e 1997

No. 3 Mea suring the C hild A udience: Issues an d Implicatio ns for E ducational P rogram mingApril 199 8

No. 4 Televisio n in the Hom e 1998 : The Third Annual Natio nal Su rvey o f Parents an d ChildrenJun e 1998

No. 5 Med ia in the Ho me 199 9: The Fourth Annu al Survey of Paren ts and Child renJun e 1999

No. 6 Attitudes and B eliefs about Domestic Violence: The Results of a Survey of A dults in Philadelp hiaMarch 2000

No. 7 Med ia in the Ho me 200 0: The Fifth Annua l Surv ey of Parents and Children

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Documents

attitudes and beliefs about domestic violence: the results of a survey