1.5.5 AWHN Conference 6 2010 Harbour 1: Family and domestic violence: a gendered crime?Report on Initial Research

1. Family and domestic violence: a gendered crime?
Report on initial research
Karen Carlson & Liz Mulder
Family Violence Counselling and Support Service, Hobart
liz.mulder@dhhs.tas.gov.au
Disability, Child, Youth and Family Services (South)

2. Family Violence Act 2004
Safe at Home
• Pro-arrest
• Pro-charge
• Pro-prosecution
• Integrated criminal justice response
• Review of Safe at Home 2009:
– 28% female offenders

3. International literature
• Policies promoting arrest and prosecution
• Rise of dual and single arrests of women
• Reluctance to contact police

4. “Women are as violent as men”
• Crime victimisation studies
– Gender asymmetries
• Family conflict studies
– Gender symmetries

5. Conflict Tactics Scale
• Shortcomings:
– Fails to contextualise the violence
– No consideration of events leading up
– No consideration of outcome
– Assumes partners are equal
– Poor differentiation

6. National crime surveys
• Important differences:
– Women experience greater amount, more
severe, more persistent abuse
– Physical, emotional, financial and social
impacts
– Men more likely to use coercion and control
– Fear and intimidation of women
– Post-separation violence and homicide

7. Explanations
• Police have become more “real”
• Gender symmetry debate
• Men over reporting
• Men ring Police first
• Women freely admit
• Resistant and defensive violence

8. Measuring family violence
• Ongoing pattern of fear and coercive
control
• Not solely rely on snapshot, single incident
stats or incidence recording tools
• Emotional and psychological abuse

9. Types of violence
• Aggression vs abuse
– Power
– Control
– Intimidation
– Fear
– Trauma

10. Johnson (2006)
• Situational couple violence
• Violent resistance
• Intimate terrorism
• Mutual violent control

11. Research questions
• History
• Context
• Motivations
• Meanings
• Consequences
• Use of control tactics

12. Current research
• Police records
• FVCSS records

13. Themes and concepts
• History of offender and victim
• Type of violence used (offender and
victim)
• Risk and safety
• Initiator of contact
• Context of violence

14. Initial Findings
• 68% of female offenders were victims
before and/or after
• 54% of female offenders had offended
before and/or after
• 69% of male victims were offenders before
and/or after
• Mainly with the same partner

15. Initial Findings - cont
Variation in use of violence by females, by male use of violence
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
No Violence Non-Physical Violence Physical Violence
Nature of violence used in incident
Proportionofsample
Female offenders (all)
Female offenders (when Male uses Physical Violence)
Female offenders (when Male uses No Violence)

16. Initial Findings - cont
Proportion of Male Victims that indicated Safety Issues
93%
7%
Male did not indicate Safety Issues
Male did indicate Safety Issues

17. Initial Findings - cont
• 97% did not require counselling
• 65% did not suffer injury
• 10% required First Aid
• 2% required hospital/doctor

18. Initial Findings - cont
• In 11% incidents female offender rang
police

19. Circumstances
• In half of incidents
– Current FVO
– Self defence
– Resistance

20. Initial conclusions
• Lack of fear on part of male victim
• Lack of controlling behaviour on part of
female offender
• Situational couple violence rather than
domestic violence

21. Future research
• Women’s voices