TRENDS IN FAMILY VIOLENCE

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TRENDS IN FAMILY VIOLENCE
ARE CHILD ABUSE AND PARTNER ABUSE
INCREASING? WHAT EXPLAINS THE TRENDS? WHAT ARE
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FOR SOCIETY?
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REPORTED AND CONFIRMED CASES OF CHILD ABUSE,
IRELAND 1984-1997
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VIOLENCE AGAINST PARTNERS
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PARTNER VIOLENCE BY MEN HAS DECLINED, BUT WITH AN
IMPORTANT EXCEPTION, NOT BY WOMEN
National Family Violence Surveys (Straus and
Gelles 1990b) show a decrease in public
acceptance of men slapping their wives (Figure 1)
and a decrease in the rate of severe assaults on
women by male partners (Figure 2). The National
Crime Victimization Surveys a similar pattern of
decline in rates of IPV (Figure 3). Uniform Crime
Reports (FBI) Homicide of intimate partners has
also decreased (Figure 4). Prevention steps
probably had a substantial cumulative effect.
However, no direct evidence  
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SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN
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Finkelhor Jones, 1992
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Finkelhor Jones, 1992
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TRENDS IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

• 39 DECREASE IN THE USA IN THE 1990s
• 150,000 in 1992 to 92,000 in 1999 (Jones,
  Finkelhor, Kopiec, 2001)
• SIMILAR DECREASES IN OTHER COUNTRIES
• Canada
• Great Britain
• Sweden
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Spain
• Israel
• ALL ABOVE ARE ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
• Example reports to USA state Child Protective
  Services
• COULD REFLECT CHANGE IN PUBLIC WILLINGNESS TO
  REPORT OR AGENCY WILLINGNESS TO CONFIRM
• NEED FOR INDEPENDENT DATA FROM EPIDEMIOLOGICAL
  SURVEYS

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RATES STILL EXTREMELY HIGH(Annual Prevalence)

• PHYSICALLY ABUSED CHILDREN
• Cases known to State Agencies 500,000
  per yr
• Cases uncovered in NFVS surveys
  1,500,000 per yr
• PHYSICALLY ABUSED WOMEN
• Cases reported in NVAW surveys 1,300,000
• Cases reported in NFVA surveys 6.000,000

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WHAT EXPLAINS THE DECREASE?
NINE OF THE MANY PROCESSES
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REASON 1 THE CIVILIZATION EFFECT (N. Elias)
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REASON 2 PROGRAMS TO END CHILD ABUSE AND WIFE
BEATING. THE TYPES OF FAMILY VIOLENCE THAT HAVE
BEEN THE FOCUS OF PREVENTION EFFORTS DECREASED
THE MOST
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REASON 3 CULTURAL NORMS TOLERATING PARTNER
ASSAULT HAVE CHANGED
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REASON 4 GREATER EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN
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REASON 5OTHER CHANGES IN FAMILYCOMPOSITION AND
ORGANIZATION

• LATER AGE AT MARRIAGE
• LATER AGE AT FIRST CHILD (FOR PEOPLE MARRING AT
  THE SAME AGE)
• FEWER CHILDREN
• GREATER ACCEPTABILITY OF DIVORCE

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REASON 6 THE RULE OF LAW COMES TO THE FAMILY
PROBABILITY OF ASSAULTING A PARTNER BY PERCEIVED
PROBABILITY OF BEING ARRESTED (Ramirez, 2003)
NEW LAWS AND POLICE POLICY
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Summary

• Perceived consequences of certainty of informal
  and formal sanctions make a difference
• Severity of punishment makes little difference
• Informal sanctions make more diffeence than legal
  sanctions
• No significant differences were found between men
  and women in perceived certainty and severity of
  consequences.

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REASON 7 THE DECREASE IN USE OF CORPORAL
PUNISHMENT
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SWEDISH YOUTH CRIME AND PROBLEMS SINCE 1979
BAN
. CRIME RATES DECREASED Seeming
exception of assaults reflects redefinition of
bullying as assault and enforcement of zero
tolerance ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE DECREASED
SUICIDE DECREASED
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VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN SINCE 1979 BAN
PUBLIC APPROVAL OF CP DECLINED TO NEAR
ZERO .USE OF CP DECLINED SHARPLY BUT
CONTINUES REPORTS OF MINOR ASSAULTS BY PARENTS
(CP) INCREASED, AS INTENDED SEVERE
ASSAULTS ON CHILDREN (CHILD ABUSE) HAVE
NOT INCREASED CHILD ABUSE DEATHS LOWEST IN THE
WORLD
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NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD AREMAKING SPANKING
ILLEGALBUT VERY SLOWLY AND WITH WIDELY VARYING
IMPMLIMENTATION
Sweden 1979 Norway 19 Denmark Finland Italy Ind
ia 2 states 2003 s
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WHY ENDING CORPORAL PUNISHMENT COULD BE A MAJOR
PART OF THE EXPLANATION
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REASON 8 LESS ECONOMIC STRESS
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BETTER EDUCATED PARENTS ARE LESS LIKELY TO
BELIEVE THAT"WHEN A BOY IS GROWING UP, IT IS
IMPORTANT FOR HIMTO HAVE A FEW FISTFIGHTS
REASON 9 BETTER EDUCATEDPOPULAT-ION
EDUCATED PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO REALIZE THAT
FEW THINGS HAVE SIMPLE CAUSES AND SIMPLE
SOLUTIONS LIKE VIOLENCE
IN 1968, 75 OF THE ADULT POPULATION AGREED1995
GALLUP DISCIPLINE SURVEY (N1000)CP\CHARTS\RATES\
AGE95G2
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THESE ARE JUST NINE OF THE MANY CHANGES MAKING
FOR A LESS VIOLENT WORLD, INCLUDING LESS FAMILY
VIOLENCE

• HISTORICAL TREND AWAY FROM PERSONAL VIOLENCE
• PROGRAMS TO END CHILD ABUSE, WIFE BEATING,
  BULLYIIN
• CHANGE IN CULTURAL NORMS TOLERATING FAMILY
  VIOLENCE
• GROWTH IN EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN
• OTHER CHANGES IN FAMILY COMPOSITION AND
  ORGANIZATION
• APPLICATION OF THE RULE OF LAW TO THE FAMILY
• DECREASE IN USE OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
• LESS ECONOMIC STRESS
• BETTER EDUCATED POPOPULATION
• THE CIVILIZATION EFFECT

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THE FUTURE OF FAMILY VIOLENCE

• PREDICTING THE FUTURE IS ALWAYS RISKY
• Parking lots in New York
• ALL FORMS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE WILL CONTINUE TO
  DECREASE
• THERE WILL BE UPS AND DOWNS AROUND THE TREND
  LINE
• Some groups may experience increases, such as
  those suffered by inner city families during
  the crack cocaine epidemic
• THE BENEFITS WILL BE ENORMOUS
• For individuals, less mental illness, unhappy
  marriages, divorce, higher IQ, more education,
  better job performance, etc, etc.
• For society, Lower rates of all types of crime,
  lower costs for criminal justice and welfare,
  higher economic productivity, etc.
• A HEALTHIER, WEALTHIER, AND WISER SOCIEITY