Domestic Violence Survey
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| Published date | 01 March 1999 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059904600109 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
43
Domestic
Violence
Survey
A
great
deal
of
media
attention
has
recently
focused
on
one
particular
finding
of
this
1996
British
Crime
Survey
self-completion
questionnaire,
namely
that
an
equal
proportion
of
men
and
women
(4.2%)
said
they
had
been
physically
assaulted
by
a
current
or
former
partner
in
the
last
year.
What
was
not
so
well
reported
was
that
this
research
did
not
suggest
that
men
and
women
are
equally
victimised.
The
incidents
reported
to
the
survey
by
men
were
&dquo;less
serious...[men]
were
less
upset
by
their
experiences,
considerably
less
frightened,
less
often
injured
and
less
likely
to
seek
medical
help.&dquo;
Other
findings:
11
Twenty-three
percent
of
women
and
15%
of
men
aged
between
16
and
59
said
they
had been
physically
assaulted
by
a
partner
at
sometime
in
their
lives.
o
The
highest
levels
of
domestic
violence
were
reported
by
women
aged
20-24,
34%
of
whom
said
they
had been
threatened
or
assaulted
by
a
partner
at
some
time.
o
In
1995,
the
risk
of
physical
assault
against
women
was
highest
if
they
were:
aged
16-24;
separated
from
their
partners;
council
tenants;
in
poor
health;
and/or
in
financial
difficulties.
0
At
least
12%
of
women
and
5%
of
men
had
been
assaulted
on
three
or
more
occasions
and
considered
’chronic
victims’ .
0
About
a
third
of
victims
said
that
children
in
the
household
had
been
aware
of
the
last
assault.
0
Virtually
all
incidents
against
women
were
committed
by
men
(99%)
and
95%
of
those
against
men
were
committed
by
women.
.
A
large
proportion
of
victims
do
not
seek
help -
the
Police
are
most
likely
to
be
asked
for
support,
followed
by
the
medical
profession;
however,
they
are
only
told
about
one
in
eight
and
one
in
ten
incidents
respectively.
One
of
the
most
worrying
findings
of
this
survey,
the
biggest
and
most
reliable
of
its
kind,
is
that
only
four
in
ten
chronic
female
victims
defined
their
experience
as
a
crime,
while
virtually
no
male
victims
did
so.
As
the
author
suggests,
there
is
clearly
a
big
task
for
public
awareness
campaigns
such
as
Zero
Tolerance
in
reinforcing
the
message
that
no
level
of
violence
between
partners
is
acceptat~le,
Domestic
Violence:
Findings
from
a
New
British
Crime
Survey
Self-
completion
Questionnaire
,
by
Catriona
Mirrlees-Black,
Home
Office
Research
Study
191,
1999.
Fear
of
Crime
The
1998
British
Crime
Survey
(BCS)
indicates
that
public
concern
about
crime
is
continuing
to
fall.
This
follows
the
general
trend
apparent
in
the
results
of
the
last
two
sweeps
of
the
BCS
in
1996
and
1994.
The
study
also
strongly
suggests
that
’fear
of
crime’
is
related
to
the
actual
risk
of
victimisation,
and
not,
as
is
often
thought,
based
on
an
exaggerated
or
irrational
sense
of
threat.
Respondents
who
had
already
been
victims
of
crime
and
those
in
high
crime
areas
expressed
the
greatest
concerns,
but
the
overall
reduction
in
public
anxiety
accurately
reflects
the
fall
in
crime
rates.
Other
findings:
.
Fewer
people
think
that
crime
is
on
the
increase.
To continue reading
Request your trial