Web resource:	http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/IssuesPaper_25.pdf
Type:	Journal Article
Title:	The gender debate in domestic violence: the role of data
Other Titles:	Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse issues paper
Authors:	Barrett Meyering, Isobelle Braaf, Rochelle
Keywords:	Men as victims;Measurement
Year:	2013
Publisher:	Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse, UNSW
Citation:	No. 25
Notes:	The gender debate is one of the enduring controversies in domestic violence research. On the one hand, feminist researchers have long identified 'gender asymmetry' in domestic violence, arguing that women are the primary targets of abuse and that men comprise the large majority of perpetrators. On the other hand, family conflict researchers typically find 'gender symmetry', arguing that women and men experience and perpetrate violence at similar rates. Feminist and family conflict researchers differ in how they conceptualise violence in relationships. Feminist researchers emphasise the wider dynamics of domestic violence: why it occurs, how it manifests and victim outcomes. Family conflict researchers define violence more narrowly, being primarily concerned with measuring incidents of violence between partners. Feminist and family conflict researchers also differ in their data collection methods. Feminist researchers tend to favour qualitative approaches commonly used in clinical studies, as well as quantitative information collected via officially reported data and community sample surveys. Family conflict researchers tend to favour quantitative approaches, relying predominantly on acts-based surveys (such as the Conflict Tactics Scale). These differences in turn influence feminist and family conflict researchers' findings about men's and women's experiences and perpetration of violence. In particular, their findings conflict in relation to perpetrator motivation for violence, forms and levels of abuse, severity of abuse, repetition of violence and impacts on victims. Certainly, all violence in intimate relationships is unacceptable. However, an accurate analysis of the relationship between gender and domestic violence is essential to develop effective prevention and responses.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12870
ISSN:	14438496
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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