But, Who Is the Victim Here? Exploring Judgments Toward Hypothetical Bidirectional Domestic Violence Scenarios.

Benjamin Hine,Ledja Noku,Elizabeth A Bates,Kealey Jayes

doi:10.1177/0886260520917508

Benjamin Hine, Ledja Noku + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520917508

Copy DOI

Abstract

Gendered models of abuse describe intimate partner violence (IPV) as unilaterally perpetrated by dominant, aggressive men toward vulnerable women. This unidirectional conceptualization has contributed to a “domestic violence stereotype” which, alongside broader attitudes regarding gender, influences attitudes toward “non-typical” victim and perpetrator groups (e.g., male victims, female perpetrators, those within same-sex relationships), and has significant outcomes for help-seeking decision-making, as well as responses from service providers and the criminal justice system. While prevalence data and research suggest bidirectional violence is in fact the most common pattern, there is still little known about how the stereotypes and attitudes described above manifest in scenarios where both parties occupy “victim” and “perpetrator” labels. The present pilot study therefore asked 178 undergraduate students to allocate “victim” and “perpetrator” labels, and make judgments of severity, resolution, and justice outcomes, toward hypothetical opposite-sex IPV scenarios varying on the proportion of abuse perpetrated by each party, and type of violence. Results showed that participants were infrequently labelled men as “victims,” and women as “perpetrators,” across scenarios. They were also less likely to recommend that the man should call the police. These exploratory results suggest that powerful stereotypes about IPV and gender may serve to influence perceptions of bidirectional violence and point to a need to study this issue in more detail to elucidate the most appropriate way to begin to address these issues.

Highlights

Much of the early research on intimate partner violence (IPV) was framed under a gendered, or feminist model (e.g., Dobash & Dobash, 1979). This is known as the “gender perspective” (Felson, 2002), and it posits that IPV is a problem of men’s violence toward women; that their physical aggression is part of a wider pattern of control and domination that has its roots in gender inequality and male privilege
It continues to be influential in policy and practice (e.g., Bates et al, 2017); popular programs of intervention based on this approach frame IPV as unilaterally perpetrated by men, with attempts to address female violence labeled as victim blaming (Dutton & Corvo, 2007), or dismissed as solely motivated by self-defense (Dutton & Corvo, 2006)
This study examined the influence of proportion of perpetration, as well as abuse type and abuse initiator, on the allocation of “victim” and “perpetrator” labels, and judgments of severity, resolution options, and justice outcomes in an IPV scenario

Summary

Introduction

Much of the early research on intimate partner violence (IPV) was framed under a gendered, or feminist model (e.g., Dobash & Dobash, 1979). This is known as the “gender perspective” (Felson, 2002), and it posits that IPV is a problem of men’s violence toward women; that their physical aggression is part of a wider pattern of control and domination that has its roots in gender inequality and male privilege It continues to be influential in policy and practice (e.g., Bates et al, 2017); popular programs of intervention based on this approach (e.g., the Duluth model; Pence & Paymar, 1993) frame IPV as unilaterally perpetrated by men, with attempts to address female violence labeled as victim blaming (Dutton & Corvo, 2007), or dismissed as solely motivated by self-defense (Dutton & Corvo, 2006). M. Seelau & Seelau, 2005)

Methods

Results

Conclusion