Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Attitudes and beliefs about domestic violence: results of a public opinion survey – beliefs about causes
Other Titles:	Journal of interpersonal violence
Authors:	Carlson, Bonnie E Worden, Alissa Pollitz
Keywords:	Community attitudes;Community education;Prevention
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Citation:	20 (10), October 2005
Notes:	This article presents findings from a US public opinion survey looking at beliefs about the causes of domestic violence, based on telephone interviews with 1,200 residents across six New York State communities. There is a diversity of beliefs, and similarities and differences across the open- and close-ended questions. Most respondents think about the causes of violence in the context of individual problems, relationships and families, rather than as a problem in society or culture. Few believe that women are the cause of their own abuse but one fourth still believe that some women want to be abused. Most believe that women can end abusive relationships. Implications for research include: question format shapes responses and interpretations of responses; the difficulty to compare findings from the current study with those of previous research in order to conclude that beliefs have changed over time; and future research such as assessments of the impacts of changing public opinion be preceded by the use of standardised and validated questions which could cover the range of beliefs generated by this survey. Implications for policy include: the most disturbing findings are that two thirds of respondents believe that women could find ways to leave abusive relationships if they wanted to, which suggests a lack of understanding of the complexities in ending abusive relationships arising from internal barriers (depression, fear of retaliation, fear of losing child custody) and external barriers (lack of services, lack of affordable housing, lack of support in the criminal justice system); more than one third of respondents saw domestic violence as a normal response to stress which suggests its acceptability and a lack of understanding of the impact of violence on victims. It concludes that education and outreach efforts should be directed at informing the public about the practical barriers for victims and more resources for removing external barriers that keep women in abusive relationships.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13514
ISSN:	0886-2605
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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