MOnica, of course understanding why abusers behave as they do is important in their treatment. My point remains - what about their victims
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Women suffer at least 26 sexual crimes on average in their lifetime
(71 Posts)So says a headline on ITV.com today (also covered in various newspapers).
It goes on to say that: "The study, of more than 20,000 females, found that 99.7% had been repeatedly subjected to violence including assaults, harassment and rape in their lifetime."
This startled me, to say the least. 26 sexual crimes?! 97% of women?!
I did a bit of digging. The report was sponsored by an organisation called VictimFocus (I know nothing about them).
If anyone is interested, here is the link to the report: irp.cdn-website.com/f9ec73a4/files/uploaded/Key-Facts-Document-VAWG-VictimFocus-2021a.pdf
The survey was carried out on the internet and 22,419 women responded. It doesn't actually give the definition of a sexual crime, but it does say that "Broad terms such as ‘abuse’, ‘rape’, ‘sexual violence’, ‘sexual abuse’, ‘domestic violence’, ‘domestic abuse’, ‘honour-based violence’ were avoided
in all items to reduce the impact of social constructs of these terms".
It then goes on to give examples of the questions that were asked. Women were asked whether anyone had ever shoved, kicked, hit, spat at, choked, thrown down the stairs, threatened to kill them, either when they were a child or adult. (There were 13 examples given in the survey, but these are the only ones repeated in the report).
Now, please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying for one second that any of the above are pleasant or acceptable, but neither are they 'sexual crimes'. I just feel that things like this diminish the suffering of women who really have suffered horrendous abuse.
Is it just me?
Trying to understand the perpetrator seems quite reasonable to me. if you understand why someone acts a certain way you are halfway to knowing how to change their behaviou.
However understand the reason for someone's actions does not mean that you either deny or minimise the crime, just try and do something towards ensuring that no one else suffers at the hands of that criminal.
Iam64
MOnica, I don’t exist in a parallel gransnet universe. I have seen posts in response to discussions about abuse to women and children that seek to understand the perpetrator, to deny it happened or minimise.
I’m in that parallel universe with you if it exists. ??
MOnica, I don’t exist in a parallel gransnet universe. I have seen posts in response to discussions about abuse to women and children that seek to understand the perpetrator, to deny it happened or minimise.
Witzend
I feel sorry for whoever got all mine, then.
I can really only think of one, which was certainly very unpleasant.
But that’s not counting the odd grope, which although not nice, I wouldn’t count as ‘violence’.
Groping being dismissed. Nuff said.
My father was a violent, abusive alcoholic. I was, and still am, traumatised by my childhood. People sometimes say 'Oh it was different then. A lot of men were like that. You need to move on.' Whatever that means.
So many discussions on here about the abuse of children and women by husbands, fathers ant partners result in attempts to understand, deny or minimise the dreadful abuse perpetrated by men.
Iam64 You clearly belong to a GN in a parallel universe. I have yet to see anyone on GN do the above in a post or a thread.
JaneJudge, anyone with first hand experience of working with (or experiencing) domestic abuse will share your frustration. So many discussions on here about the abuse of children and women by husbands, fathers ant partners result in attempts to understand, deny or minimise the dreadful abuse perpetrated by men.
JaneJudge How generous of you
I understand and apologise. So many people make apologies for men's poor behaviour even before it manifests into violence that I think it makes me a bit defensive, sorry.
Surveys are happening all the time. Every school child and every university student seems to do one at some time or another. It seems to be a rite of passage.
For most of them the questionnaires are badly designed and worded. You can see this from the student surveys that get posted on GN. Although there was one recently that was excellent - and I completed the survey and posted how good it was.
The words used to describe a survey someone has undertaken are neither prescribed nor proscribed. You can call it anything you like, or nothing at all
In this case a survey with a very flawed sample has been undertaken and the results have been summarised and a few conclusions drawn. Call it what you like. It is a survey.
As Callistemon says, criticising the survey does not mean anyone is condoning or diminishing male violence on women. On the contrary, we are saying that this very grave and serious topic justifies a thorough study, not this slipshod survey.
M0nicaDo you think they imagine calling it a "study" makes it more academic? Are surveys common?
No-one has defended men.
They have questioned whether the conclusions reported by the study/survey are correct and, if not, if they do a disservice to the victims of violence.
I have done the freedom program as part of my job and I get a bit exasperated by thread like this and what about the men
gah!
Men hide women's shoes and clothes so they cant leave the house, it might be one of your neighbours. Stop defending men before you have listened to women or even understood why they behave or act like they do
It looks like survey, it reads like a survey so to mind it is a survey. I have conducted and written dozens of such surveys in my life. I know a survey when I see one.
It's a "study" apparently. If a questionnaire about violence is posted on a website for victims I don't think the results of that questionnaire can be regarded as providing accurate data of the experiences of all women. Women who are not victims will not access the site or answer the questionnaire. It isn't questioning the experiences of the women who have volunteered answers to debate about the value of the research. No woman should be subjected to violence at any age. And all the accounts should be regarded as important. They just shouldn't be used as examples of the experiences of all women.
Some of the examples of violent actions must surely be questioned as well. Can we really say "cat-calling" is a violent action? My dictionary defies violence as behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something There is no physical force involved in cat calling.
M0nica
If it is not a survey, then what on earth is it?
It's a study.
A study from which they extrapolated possibly erroneous information.
Semantics
If it is not a survey, then what on earth is it?
It's not a survey. But carry on criticising it for not doing something it never set out to do in the first place.
But at the end of the day the key to any survey is a properly based sample. if you do not have that this survey is reduced to the kind of surveys done by manufacturers to say that 9 out of 10 women prefer their product
Absolutely.
I am sorry if your own personal experiences have been so dreadful, Loislovesstewie and hope that life is better now.
Thank you Callistomen and CanadianGran
I cannot see the point of a study that says it is not generalised to the whole populaton. It means that the results of this survey could be much better - or much worse than the experience shown in this survey., but we have no way of ever knowing. So what use is it?
As for some of the crimes described, like 'groping' they can range from an arm brushed across your back or bum to someone sticking a hand in your groin and grabbing what they can. The second is undoubtedly a crime of violence, and frightening. But while I do not condone groping, the odd speculative arm and hand across one's back or bum that is not repeated when there is no response, is certainly not frightening, or I never found it so, nor by any stretch of the imagination would I call it violence.
But at the end of the day the key to any survey is a properly based sample. if you do not have that this survey is reduced to the kind of surveys done by manufacturers to say that 9 out of 10 women prefer their product
I am now giving up.
CanadianGran you can't just send requests out via census returns because details of the returns are not released for 100 years after the census in the UK. The details of people/names etc are not in the public domain until then. We know statistics shortly after each census but nothing else. The 1921 census will not become public property until January 2022.
but I read where the original request for the survey was posted, and it was on a victims website, and a Criminal Phycologist's website.
The statistics are skewed and the information extrapolated cannot therefore be correct.
Victims' concerns could be dismissed as a result of this as it could be dismissed as scaremongering.
Callistemon, I agree with you.
I have no doubt the survey was done with integrity, but I read where the original request for the survey was posted, and it was on a victims website, and a Criminal Phycologist's website.
Of course the only people seeing the request for data are on those sites because they have suffered violence.
I'm sure if they did a similar survey using random females from the census they would get a different result.
While not diminishing other's experiences, I find the amount of violence remarkably high and not my experience.
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