Data collection and Data collection and statistics on domestic violence - statistics on domestic violence - challenges and lessons learnedchallenges and lessons learned

Dr Henrica A. F. M. Jansen (henriette.jansen@gmail.com)

International ConferenceJoint Approach to Family Violence: Legislation, Indicators, Enforcement May 20-21, 2009, Bishkek

OutlineOutlineWhat are indicators?Why collect data and have

statistics and indicators on domestic violence/VAW?

Data collection: Sources of dataUnderstanding what the data tell

us: issues and biasesRecommendations and lessons

learned

What are indicators? What are indicators?

Need to provide a simple summaryof a complex picture (number, proportion, percentage, trend...)

Need to present features to support informed decision making, policy and programs

Need to be sensitive enough to measure change (periodicity)

Need to enable comparisons between groups

Why use indicators?Why use indicators?

To know the magnitude of the problem and to compare between different populations

To understand underlying causes and to understand effects

To monitor State response and changes over time: laws developed, cases reported, persons arrested, persons referred for services, etc.

To measure impact of services and interventions (are programs successful?)

Who are interested in Who are interested in indicators?indicators?

Programme/Service managersPeople who use servicesAdvocates for health service

users – communityPolicy-makersInternational community

Population based surveys: National crime victimization surveys Demographic and reproductive health

surveys Focussed specialized surveys Short module added to other surveys

Records from police, courts, hospital, etc

Sources for data on Sources for data on domestic violencedomestic violence

Data collected on DV/VAWData collected on DV/VAW in surveys in surveys

Almost all surveys giveindicators of prevalence.

Many also on frequencyAlmost all on perpetratorsSurveys carried out by many

national statistical offices and other institutions, often as ad hoc activity

Attitudes sometimes collected -- Issues around usefulness

Many women told me that they never talked about this with anyone, not even with the neighbors, friends or relatives, ‘because if I tell her, she might tell her husband or her mothers, and word will get around and might reach my husband, which would be terrible. If he found out he would kill me.’

(female interviewer, Nicaragua)

Population-based surveys Population-based surveys to to collect data on domestic collect data on domestic violence – Challenges:violence – Challenges:Prevalence rates on violence are

highly sensitive to methodological issues

Research on violence raises major issues of safety and ethics

Unrealistic to expect reduction in prevalence in short or medium term

Suggestions for measuringSuggestions for measuringdomestic violence in surveysdomestic violence in surveysDefine the study population broadlyUse behaviorally specific questions: specific

actsSpecify discrete time frames (last year, ever)Give multiple opportunities to

disclose Cue respondent to different

contexts and perpetratorsWHO ethical guidelines for

violence research

Population based studiesare very useful for advocacy, policy development and program design:◦Understanding the magnitude and

characteristics of violence◦Health burden of violence◦Risk and protective factors

But less useful for monitoring and evaluation programs and services

Using criminal justice statistics Using criminal justice statistics for program evaluationfor program evaluation

ECLAC indicator on violence:Number of women and girls

reporting sexual violence/ 100,000 Number of women and girls

reporting non-fatal injuries due to domestic violence / 100,000

Source: Bodies that produce police, judicial and forensic medical statistics

“A falling value for the indicator notes improvement”

Problems with this indicatorProblems with this indicator

It is not representative

It is not “interpretable”

It sets the bar too high

According to police records in Nicaragua, 3,000 women reported domestic violence in 1995

According to population based surveys 150,000 women suffered domestic violence in 1995

Service based/Criminal Service based/Criminal justice system indicatorsjustice system indicators

Service based records are not Service based records are not easy to interpret…easy to interpret…

In 1997 more than 8,000 cases were reported

Did rates of violence increase?

During this period special police stations for women were opened throughout the country, and media campaigns carried out

More services and better quality of care

More women reporting violenceKNOW WHAT YOUR

DATA TELL YOU

Issues in measurement and Issues in measurement and interpretation of the data interpretation of the data collectedcollected

RepresentativenessGender biasUnderreporting

Community based prevalence rates from surveys bias towards a symmetry in the rates women and men are perpetrators or victims of certain forms of domestic violence

Service based statistics tend to show that men commit almost all violence and overestimate women as victims of domestic violence

Gender biasGender bias

Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence: incidents and gender (British Crime incidents and gender (British Crime Survey)Survey)

Women Men % against women

Ratio: Women: men

Victims 657,000 356,000 35% 1.8

Average number incidents per victim

20 7 3.9

Total incidents 12.9 million

2.5 million

84% 5.2

Prevalence and incidentsPrevalence and incidentsPrevalence use of ‘course of

conduct’ might mean that a series of 20 incidents may count only as one crime, thereby underestimating the proportion of violent crime that is dv/gender-based violence

Prevalence: single events count, thereby skewing the gender composition towards image of symmetry

Injuries and severityInjuries and severityInjuries show better the gender

differences than actions

◦Minor force (e.g. slap): 49% women 36% men sustain physical injury

◦Severe force (e.g. choke, weapon): 77% women 56% men sustain physical injury

(UK data)

According to police records, 95% of child abuse victims in Nicaragua are girls

According to anonymous population based surveys, 70% of child abuse victims are girls and 30% are boys

Police recordsPolice recordsExample of gender bias: Example of gender bias:

Police recordsPolice recordsExample of gender bias: Example of gender bias:

In cases of couple violence, police often finds it easier to act against male perpetrator

His arrest does not involve children

Other offences also usually by males

Police themselves are often males

Police records: Police records: issues around issues around underreportingunderreporting

Reporting is very variable

Also other violent crime is underreported

Women feel embarrassed, ashamed, fear for more violence, economic dependence, children

Correlation between degree of under-reporting and

degree of intimacy

degree of seriousness

nature of offence (more stigma on sexual violence)

Lessons to take homeLessons to take home

No indicator is perfect It is important to be aware of

interpretation and potential weaknesses

The range of indicators to be used changes according to the purpose and context

If you use of a group of indicators that reflect different aspects of VAW than you get a better idea of the bigger picture

RecommendationsRecommendations

Base indicators on existing information where possible

Should be action-oriented (relevant and useful for programme or case management)

Disaggregation of indicators (sex, age, rural/urban, etc.)

Include severity and incidentsOwnership by stakeholders in

countries

henriette.jansen@gmail.com