Transcript Measuring Violence Against Women in Australia Horst Posselt Director Family & Community Statistics Australian Bureau of Statistics UNECE Work Session on Gender Statistics 18-20 October, 2004

Measuring Violence Against Women
in Australia
Horst Posselt
Director
Family & Community Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
UNECE Work Session on Gender Statistics 18-20 October, 2004
Key question
Can a small survey module be used to produce
‘reasonable’ data of the prevalence of violence
against women compared with a specialised survey?
Possible answers
• From Australian experience there is no certain answer
• Reason tells us that special procedures should be used to collect
good data (ie highly trained interviewers, private interviews,
detailed questioning about incidents, not introduced by concept
of being a crime)
• However, less expensive methods have been used too.
• Exercise of data collection and dissemmination is important in its
own right, vital to raising awareness of the issue of concern.
• Depending on sample size, surveys provide an opportunity for
identifying high an low risk of victimization.
• May be possible to monitor progress if collection instrumentquestions etc are kept the same
Overview

Describe available data sources
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Compare results
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Discuss reasons for differences

Concerns and future work
VAW data sources - Australia
Administrative data
• Recorded Crime, (annual since 1993)
National Surveys
ABS
• National Crime Safety Survey, 1978 ..... 2002
• Women's Safety Survey,1996
• General Social Survey, 2002
Non ABS
• International Crime Victims Survey, 1989 .... 2000
• International Violence Against Women Survey, 2003
National Crime and Safety Survey
 1975, 1983, 1993, 1998, 2002
 Recurrent, now at 3 yearly intervals
 Nationwide 45,000 households
 Mail back questionairre
 All persons aged 15 years and over in selected hholds
 Sexual assault in seperate module for females aged 18 years
and over
Content
• Household and personal crimes
• Break and enter, motor vehicle theft
• Robbery, physical and sexual assault
• Feelings of saftey
• Demographic characteristics
• Levels of reporting police
Women's Safety Survey
 1996, ABS
 Measure women’s safety in the home and the community
 Supported by the Office of the Status Of Women
 Based on Canadian model
 Nationwide survey, females aged 18 years and over
 6,333 in sample
 Highly trained interviewers, only female interviewers
 Personal/private interviews
 Voluntary, give respondents opportunities to opt out if too sensitive
Content
• main focus on experiences of physical and sexual assault by
relationship to perpetrator
• most recent experience of violence, lifetime experience of violence,
experience of partner violence (including emotional abuse from current
partner), experience of stalking and sexual harrasment.
• actions taken and consequences related to last incident.
General Social Survey
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Multi-topic survey
2002 to be repeated 4 yearly
National sample
Persons aged 18 years and over
Personal interview, but not private
Content
 Variety of issues, education, health, employment, financial
stress, family and community engagements, personal safety
 Physical assault only, not sexual assault
 The question on assault was worded as in the NCSS to ensure
alignment of concepts across collections and so to support
comparison of data across sources.
International Crime Victims Survey
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Co-ordinated by Australian Institute of Criminolgy
Conducted in 1989, 1992, 2000, .... 2004 is currently in field
Nationwide, persons aged 16 years and over in selected h'holds
3,031 persons in 2000
Computer assisted telephone interview
Content
• Like NCSS: various household and personal crimes
• Break and enter (attempted and completed), motor vehicle theft,
• Robbery, physical and sexual assault
• Demographic characteristics
Issue
• Small sample size, so estimates for crimes with low prevalence have
high RSEs.
Recent surveys with published measures of VAW
1996 WSS
2000 ICVS
2002 NCSS
2002 GSS
Scope
18 years +
All h'holds
16 years +
All h'holds
15 years +
All h'holds
18 years +
All h'holds
Mode
Personal
interview
ensuring
privacy
Telephone
interview
Mail back
self completion
forms
Personal
interview
Size
6,333
females
3,031
persons
41,000
persons
15,510
persons
Type
Voluntary
Voluntary
Compulsory
76%
57%
76%
Response Rate
Compulsory
91%
Violence prevalence rates
Women aged 18 years and over - Australia
1996
WSS
2000
ICVS
2002
NCSS
2002
GSS
Physical
assault
5.9%
*9.2%
4.0%
*7.2%
Sexual
assault
1.5%
3.3%
0.4%
* Difference not significant at 95% level of confidence
na
Use of NCSS module questions in the GSS to measure the prevalence of
physical assault (actual, attempted and threatened)
2002 National Crime and Safety Survey (NCSS)
In the last 12 months did anyone, including, people you know, use physical
force or violence against you?
1. Yes 2. No
In the last 12 months did anyone, including, people you know, try to use or
threaten to use physical force or violence against you?
1. Yes 2. No
2002 General Social Survey (GSS)
As above
With lead in statement
The next few questions are about crimes that may have happened to you.
Violence prevalence rates
Women aged 18 years and over - Australia
1996
WSS
2000
ICVS
2002
NCSS
2002
GSS
Physical
assault
5.9%
9.2%
4.0%
7.2%
Sexual
assault
1.5%
3.3%
0.4%
na
Factors affecting comparability
 Concepts - definitions - question wording?
 Mode effects?
 Privacy?
 Context effects?
 Non-response biases?
 Sample size?
 Others? Timing of surveys
Conclusions/observations
Key Findings
• Different surveys provide quite different measures of prevalence
of VAW.
• There is no certainty as to true levels of violence experienced by
women.
• Even when using same questions in different vehicles the results
differ
(prevalence of physical assault among women aged 18 years
and over in 2002, 4.0% in NCSS vs 7.2% in GSS )
Future action
• Undecided .. more research
• Standardise/harmonise questions/collection activity
• Nominate preferred series
• Give explanations in explanatory notes about data comparability
and possible reasons for differences