Italian experience on violence against women survey

1

• Italian experience on violence against women
  survey

Giovanna Tagliacozzo
2
the problem

• Violence is ...
• any form of violence act that cause physical,
  sexual, or psychological sufference.privation
  of liberty
• in public and private spaces
• (United Nations World Conference,Vienna 1993)

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Different Violence Forms

• Verbal (critics, humiliations,)
• Psychological (downgrating, blackmail,
  intimidation)
• Economic (control of expenditure, no acces to
  money, no information on income)
• Stalking
• physical
• Sexual

4
Violence authors
It can be perpetrated by an unknown person, by a
friend, a colleague, a relative or by a parents
It is domestic violence when the author is a
partner, an husband, a cohabitant, a fiancé or a
former partner

• Generally its repeated along years
• Its characterized by escalation and has an own
  cycle

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Violence and, above all, violence in the family
is still an underreported and an understudied
social problem

• Women rarely disclose what has happened to them
• and even more rarely
• they report to the police
• they seek for help in the crisis centres or in
  other social services
• Official data gathered with criminal statistics
  do not provide enough evidence on violence
  against women. Especially in cases of domestic
  violence

6
Violence in criminal statistics

• Few data in register statistics
• - Police statistics
• Increasing of reported sexual violence since the
  1996, age of the new law on sexual violence
  (crime against the person no more against the
  morality)
• 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
• 1151 1582 1846 1904 2336 2447
  2543 2744 3734 4020 4513 4897 4893

historical series interruption since 2004
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• And
• The rate of sexual violence reported to the
  police is absolutely low
• Only the 7 delle donne report the violence
  suffered in the life course
• only 9 in the last 3 years
• it increases to 15,5 when the offender is a
  stranger
• it decreases to 4 if the offender is a known
  person

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We have data from victimization survey
(Citizenss safety survey1997-1998, 2002, 2008)

• But they potentially understimate the partner
  violence
• Because
• The contest is that of crime collections
• Victim have to be aware
• The perception of the partner is negative, as a
  criminal

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To learn about violence against women (with
regard to its prevalence, incidence rate and
nature)
Information should be gathered from those
directly involved (i.e. women), who are asked
about their lives Only surveys on domestic
violence can achieve this aim
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The contribution of violence against women surveys

• To highlight the hidden phenomenon of violence
• To break mytes and sterotypes on violence
• To stimulate the culture debate
• To sensityze public opinion

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Critical issues

• Differerent perception
• Linked to different culture, social and
  geographical background
• Sensitivity of the topic
• Fear to disclosure, guilty feeling, fear to be
  perceveid as coresponsible, fear of being
  punished
• Memory effect
• forgetting, removal, difficulty to place the
  event in the right timing (telescoping effect)

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The beginning of the survey

• From a sensitization process
• of research comunity
• of society
• From an agreement
• Istat and Departement of Equal Opportunities
• Responding to international debate

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and

• Women desire to disclosure their violence
  experience
• More open attitude to reveal
• The need to measure the hidden phenomenon
• Tabù e Stereotypes
• How to help women

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Starting points

• To look at exisisting surveys in other countries
  (statics Canada, NVAWS Usa, finnish, IVAWS, WHO)
• But .
• Attention to the real possibility to use the same
  methodologies over different countries
• At the presence of different cultural contexts
• Different meanings given to violence and their
  different forms
• Study of research feasibility, in the own context

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The research aims to address several aspect of
violence against women

• Prevalence and incidence rate of different types
  of violence a specific attention has domestic
  violence by current or former partner
• psychological
• economical
• physical
• sexual
• Characteristics of those involved and
  characteristics, consequences and costs of
  violence, the history of violence
• Risk and protective factors related to
  individuals as well to socio-demographical domain
• The every day life context in which violence can
  arise

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Surveys on violence against women are complex
need to address sensitive issues

• Need methodological and procedural dedicated
  tools that help women to disclosure and
  beforehand to recognize what is violence in her
  life.
• Focus on
• variables measured
• way of posing questions
• funnelling effects
• use of specific terms
• specific training of interviewers
• social perception of the problem of violence
  against women

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• Characteristics of Surveys
• Use of large and representative samples of the
  population
• Use of validated instruments and appropriate
  methodology
• Use of standardized procedures
• Periodically repeated, approx. every five year
• Focus on quality beside quantity

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The survey
- strategies
Pre-test
On the pretrial version of the questionnaire, on
78 women, 11 of whom from crisis centres
Focus groups

• carried out with
• abused women (2)
• shelters workers (6)
• interviewers with experience on victimization
  surveys (1)
• women from 18 to 70 years old different from
  those of the above groups (1)

Interviews to key professionals
legal and social experts working in the field of
violence against women, lawyer, judge, policeman

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Regarding Content of the questionnaire

• What is domestic violence (especially
  psychological violence)
• Different expressions of violence (Economical
  violence, Psychological violence, Physical
  violence, Sexual violence)
• How women deal with violence, which is their
  perception
• Early precursors of dv, cycle violence
• The attribution of responsibility
• Risk factors
• Consequences of violence
• The role of children or of other push in
  reporting or going out of violence
• Prejudices and stereotypes

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Regarding Procedural methods

• How to gain womens faith (for the training of
  interviewers)
• Feelings experienced from women as regards the
  survey
• Characteristics of interviewers
• The emotional impact on interviewers
• What to ask and how
• Wording and sequence
• How to introduce the study
• Length of the interview

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Results
- Methodology
How to approach the woman
To motivate on Importance of the study Find the
best time for her (with no partner in the house)
Timetable of interviews from 9am to 9pm, Monday
to Friday from 9am to 7pm on Saturday
Possibility to make an appointment and to call
to a mobile phone to augment privacy Reassure
about privacy issues/anonymity Create a good
climate of confidence and faith Toll free
number (to reassure, to have information, to give
more information to be found, as alarm bell)
Letter signed by Istat president presidente (to
reduce the refusal rate) Restitution
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Wording and the questionnaire design

• Funnelling effect
• Different types of crime analysed are presented
  with a screening procedure which helps to focus
  the attention on both the type of violence as
  well as on all possible authors
• The language adopted should be clear and not
  redundant
• Questions should also adopt sentences not using
  jargons or other unclear questions.
• No name it VIOLENCE
• The type of violence is defined in a way that
  women can remember and reflect their lives as if
  in a mirror
• Ask gradually about violence
• The questions measuring violence should be
  included gradually

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• Go in gradually into the relationship with the
  female interviewer
• Ask questions on the every day life, leisure
  time, social networks, health, before those on
  violence
• Repeat the screening of physical and sexual
  violence for the actual and the former partner
• Insert the questions on violence from the partner
  in the section on the partners characteristics,
  after having asked about the relationship and the
  psychological violence battery

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Revision of the questionnaire
2004 pilot survey on 1.000 women 16-70 years
old ? Survey feasibility ? Some critical
aspects Focus group small test on 200
interviews 2006 full fledged survey on 25.000
women

• The Pilot Survey
• Survey organization
• Interviewers selection
• Interviewers training
• Sample
• Monitoring phase
• Results of the survey quality

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Interviewers Selection

• Interviewers were chosen based on the following
• Female
• Minimum 24 years old
• Comfortable discussing issues related to violence
  against women
• Sensitivity and maturity
• Professional experience in CATI surveys as well
  as in dealing with cases of violence (according
  to the type of the group)
• Prior experience in handling similar sensitive
  research studies
• Listening skills, empathy, no counselling
• Probing, no judgment
• Warm tone of voice that helps creating a positive
  climate
• Capacity to keep adequate detachment
• Skills to elaborate own emotions and to handle
  unexpected situations
• Motivation

• The Pilot Survey
• Survey organization
• Interviewers selection
• Interviewers training
• Monitoring phase
• Sample
• Results of the survey quality

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Interviewers Training

• 6 days of theoretical training
• From 9am to 2pm
• - sexual violence
• - domestic violence
• About the subject - emotional abuse and
  psychological violence
• - risk factors - consequences
• - how to recognize it .......
• - how to read the question
• About the - how to codify the answer
• Methodology - the sample
• - the contact procedure ......
• - how to handle them
• - no counsellor
• About the emotion - warm tone of voice
• - learning the detachment and
  empaty ........

• The Pilot Survey
• Survey organization
• Interviewers selection
• Interviewers training
• Sample
• Monitoring phase
• Results of the survey quality

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Monitoring phase

• Help assistance during the entire collection
  phase
• Every day quality indicators (refusal rate,
  contact/non contact rate, appointment rate,
  average lenght ...)
• For interviewers
• For interviewer group
• For time of calls
• At local level
• Debriefing with interviewers every week
• Psychological support

• The Pilot Survey
• Survey organization
• Interviewers selection
• Interviewers training
• Monitoring phase
• Sample
• Results of the survey quality

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Sample

• Design
• - two stages random sample stratified at the
  first stage
• First stage
• - households present on the official list of
  telephone subscribers
• Stratification criterion
• - Stratus variable region and type of
  municipality
• Size
• - 25.000 household selected all over the country
  and a sample for possible substitution
  (territorial criterion of proximity)
• Second stage
• - Women aged 16-70 years old
• Selection criterion
• - Random selection between eligible women

• The Pilot Survey
• Survey organization
• Interviewers selection
• Interviewers training
• Monitoring phase
• Sample
• Results of the survey quality

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Resources

• Multidisciplinary approach of research team
• Psychologist (1 or 2)
• Sociologist (2)
• Statisticians (2)
• Since 2 years before the survey
• Female interviewers well recruited and well
  trained at the aim to be supportive but not a
  counsellor (65 for a period of 8 months)
• Costs of telephone interview 20 euro each
  interview

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• Main results

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The figures of violence

• 6.743.000 women aged 16-70 have suffered physical
  or sexual abuse
• 31,9 of women 16-70
• 18,8 physical abuse
• 24,7 sexual abuse
• 4,7 rape or attempted rape
• 14,3 by partner
• 24,7 by non partner

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Prevalence of domestic and non domestic violence
  Partner   Non Partner (From the age of 16)   Partner and/ or non partner
           
Physical or sexual abuse 14,3   24,7   31,9
Physical abuse 12,0   9,8   18,8
Sexual abuse 6,1   20,4   23,7
Rape and attempted rape 2,4   2,9   4,8
           
         
The 69,7 of rape are made by partner About the
63 of physical violence is made by a partner
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Forms of physical violence
PUSHED OR GRABBED YOU WISTED YOUR ARM OR PULLED
YOUR HAIR
THREATENED to hurt you physically
SLAPPED, KICKED, BIT OR HIT YOU WITH A FIST
THROWN SOMETHING AT YOU OR HIT
used or threatened to use a KNIFE OR GUN on you
PHYSICALLY VIOLENT towards you in a different way
STRANGLE OR SUFFOCATE YOU, BURN OR SCALD
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Forms of sexual violence
Unwanted touching
Unwanted sexual intercourse suffered as violence
Attempted rape
Rape
Partner coercion to do something sexual that you
find degrading or humiliating
Sexual violence in a different way
To be forced to have sex with others
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Violence outside the partnership
  Physical or sexual abuse   Physical abuse   Sexual abuse   Rape or attempted rape
               
A known person 12,8   6,7   8,5   2,3
Relatives 2,1   1,7   0,5   0,2
Acquaintance 6,3   2,6   4,3   1,2
Friends 3,0   1,6   1,7   0,5
A family friend 0,4   0,1   0,3   0,1
Work colleagues 2,6   0,8   2,1   0,3
Strangers 15,3   3,6   13,4   0,7
               
Total 24,7   9,8   20,4   2,9
               
Total (absolute value in thousands) 5.221   2.062   4.305   610

• The same framework is present for sexual violence
  before 16 years.
• The 6,6 of women had been victimized, the author
  of violence was
• a relative in the 23,8 of cases
• an other known persons in the 24,7
• an unknown persons for the 24,8 of victims

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Psychological violence (BY THE CURRENT PARTNER)
43,2 of women have suffered psychological
violence, the 21,1 often or sometimes
Restraining behaviours
46,7 Controlling behaviours
40,7 Economic violence
30,7 Downgrading 23,8 Intimidation
7,8
Very often psychological violence come together
with physical violence
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STALKING (BY AN EX PARTNER)

• Women who suffered stalking by a partner when
  they were separating or after the separation are
  2.077.000, the 18.8

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The seriousness of partner violence

• Very or enough serious 64,2
• Injuries 27,2
• Fear of life dangerous 21,3
• How do you consider the violence suffered?
• A crime 18,2
  
• Something wrong but not a crime 44,0
• Only something that is happened 36,0
• Even for rape and attempted rape, only 26,5 of
  the victims regards the incident as a crime

The same trend is for non partner violence, even
if less accentuated
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Victims silence

• Not reported abuses 93,8
• in a partnership 92,5
• outside a partnership 95,6
• Even for rape and attempted rape, the dark figure
  is broad 93,3
• Furthermore, a lot of women dont talk to anyone
  about violence 30,5
• in a partnership 33,9
• outside a partnership 24,0

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Victims silence
Partner violence
Physical violence Sexual violence Actual partner Formerpartner Total
             
Reporting behaviour            
yes 7.5 4.8    3.5 9.4  7.2
No 92.5 95.2    96.5 90.6  92.8
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Talking about violence

• Partner Non
  partner
• No one 33,9 24,0
• Friends 36,9 41,0
• Family members 32,7 32,2
• Partner - 23,9
• Other relatives 9,5 7,2
• Judges, lawyers, police 4,9 2,2
• Work colleagues, boss etc. 4,2 8,6
  
• Social services agents 3,9 0,8
• Physicians, nurses, first aid workers
  3,7 1,3
• Womens centre, Crisis centre 2,8
  2,4
• Data does not include victims who suffered only
  one incident in which they have been threatened
  or bitten or grabbed

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The consequences of domestic violence

• 1.572.000 women during their life suffered
  repeated violence by their partner. For this
  reason among them suffered of
• loss of confidence and self esteem 48,8
• helplessness 44,9
• troubles in sleeping 41,5
• anxiety 37,4
• depression 34,8
• troubles in concentration 24,3
• recurrent pains in different parts of the
  body 18,5
• troubles in taking care of children 14,3
• self injuries, suicide intentions 12,3

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..In conclusion

• Many things can be done to achieve good data,
  taking into account the social and cultural
  context of each specific country
• Its important to guarantee a periodicity of the
  surveys in order to assure the regular monitoring
  of the level and characteristics of the violence
• Also at international level, even if data are not
  completely comparable, data are very useful to
  monitor the trend
• Policies can be developed based on the knowledge
  built trough the surveys