Attitudes of Jordanian society toward wife abuse

The authors conducted an exploratory study among a convenience sample of 260 Jordanian men and women, using self-administered open and closed questions to examine the participants' approach toward wife abuse. In general, there was high awareness of wife abuse and the different types of abuse (mainly physical and psychological), a general tendency to oppose wife abuse, a tendency to blame the victim for abuse, and a lesser tendency to blame the abuse on the husband, marital problems, as well as familial and societal conditions. There was also a strong tendency to consider wife abuse a personal and familial issue rather than a social and legal problem. Therefore, the preferred method for coping with wife abuse and violence was the expectation that the abused wife should change her behavior and assume responsibility to change her husband followed by resorting to informal agents (family or community or religious figures). Less preferred coping methods included confronting the husband and expressing desire to break up or separate and resorting to formal agents (social welfare programs, counseling, legal system), as a last resort in cases of repeated abuse and severe physical violence. The implications of these findings for future research, interventions, and policy formulation are discussed.     

How shelter counselors' views about responsibility for wife abuse relate to services they provide to battered women

A survey of shelter counselors found their views of responsibility for wife abuse were significantly related to their: (a) support of a battered woman's decision to remain married, and (b) belief that battering husbands can stop being abusive. Counselors who viewed the husband and wife as equally responsible for wife abuse were the most supportive of a woman's decision to remain married and were most likely to believe that batterers are able to stop being abusive. Counselors who viewed the batterer as completely responsible for wife abuse were more likely to encourage battered women who want to remain married to end their marriage, and believe batterers are unable to stop being abusive.     

Public's and police officers' interpretation and handling of domestic violence cases: divergent realities

The public's and police officers'interpretation and handling of realistic hypothetical domestic violence cases and their stereotypic views about domestic violence are discussed. A sample of 131 experienced officers, 127 novice officers, and 157 adult laypersons were randomly assigned to read a domestic violence case. Experienced officers were more likely to arrest only the husband than were laypersons or rookie officers even when respondents inferred that the husband was primarily responsible or had used violence before. Experienced officers considered their stereotypic beliefs about battered women's propensity to use self-defense in arriving at their arrest decision whereas laypersons and rookie officers did not. These findings indicate that the public and police officers have not adopted the feminists' message that arrest is the best response to handle all domestic violence cases. Policy implications are discussed.     

Attitudes toward Wife Abuse of Police Officers and Judiciary Members in Turkey: Profession,Gender, Ambivalent Sexism and Sex Roles

This study examined the attitudes of police officers and judiciary members toward wife abuse in Turkey and the relation between these attitudes and profession, ambivalent sexism (hostile/benevolent sexism), gender, and gender roles. The following instruments were used for the analyses: The Attitudes Toward Wife Abuse Scale (AWAS), the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), and the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The participants were 300 police officers and 150 judiciary members selected from different regions of Turkey. Results showed that compared to judiciary members, police officers are more tolerant of physical and verbal abuse of women in marriage, but less tolerant of the idea of the victim leaving an abusive marriage partner. Similarly, men were more tolerant than women of those husbands who physically and verbally abuse their wives, but less supportive of the wife leaving the abusive partner. Profession and ambivalent sexism (hostile/benevolent sexism) were found to be the strongest predictors of attitudes toward wife abuse.     

Comparing Wife Abuse Perceptions Between Chinese Police Officers and Social Workers

Seventy-one Chinese social workers and 74 Chinese police officers residing in Hong Kong were surveyed on their gender-role attitudes, endorsement of wife abuse myths, and definitions of wife abuse. Results showed that compared to social workers, police officers held more conservative gender-role attitudes, endorsed more myths about wife abuse, and adopted more restrictive definitions of physical and psychological wife abuse. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that definitions of wife abuse were related to different predictors for these two groups of professionals. Among social workers, egalitarian gender-role attitudes were a significant predictor of broad definitions of physical wife abuse, but no significant predictor was found for psychological wife abuse. Among police officers, significant predictors of definitions of physical wife abuse included marital status, educational attainment, and endorsement of wife abuse myths; gender-role attitudes were the only significant predictor of definitions of psychological wife abuse.     

Reputation and behavior of battered women who kill their partners: Do these variables negate self-defense?

Vignettes describing a case in which a battered woman killed her husband were presented to college students. Independent variables were the presence or absence of verbal aggression by the woman toward her husband before the final beating, the woman's reputation and social desirability as a wife and mother, and whether or not a weapon was present when the battering husband threatened the woman before she killed him. After reading a vignette, subjects (N=413) selected a verdict, reported what influenced their verdicts, and completed attitudinal measures on sex-role attitudes, attitudes toward wife-beating, and “just world” attitudes. The presence of verbal aggression by the woman increased the odds of subjects choosing a guilty verdict by 1.71 times compared to the absence of verbal aggression. A defendant characterized as a “bad” wife/mother or a dysfunctional wife/mother was, respectively, 6.24 and 2.49 times more likely to be found guilty rather than not guilty by reason of self-defense (NGRSD) than the “good” wife/mother. Use of a weapon by the husband did not significantly increase the number of NGRSD verdicts over conditions in which no weapon was present. Neither subjects' attitudes nor demographics appeared to be related to their choice of verdicts.     

Police attitudes toward domestic violence offenders

Police attitudes are important in facilitating a sense of safety and comfort in women seeking justice-system support for protection from partner violence. This study examined police attitudes toward sanctions and treatment for domestic violence offenders compared with other violent and nonviolent offenders. In addition, police attitudes toward domestic violence offenders who do and do not use substances were examined. Officers from one city police department (n = 315) participated in a survey. Results indicate there is a trend toward attitudes that treatment, rather than sanctions, was more appropriate for domestic violence offenders. In addition, officers rated the use of sanctions higher for domestic violence offenders who abuse alcohol or drugs compared with domestic violence offenders who did not abuse alcohol or drugs. Understanding police attitudes toward domestic violence offenders may have implications for police training and victim services in facilitating the use of the justice system in protecting women from partner violence.     

Definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among undergraduate students of social work

The article focuses on definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among undergraduate social work students in Israel. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. The vast majority of students in Study 1 acknowledged acts thought to constitute wife assault and disapproved of a husband's use of force against his wife. The majority of students in Study 2 did not justify wife abuse nor tend to believe that battered women benefit from beating, although they tended to blame the violent husband for his behavior. Significant amounts of the variance in dependent variables were explained by the students' marital role expectations (Study 1) and their attitudes toward women and sex role stereotypes (Study 2). The students' year of study and participation in family violence or wife abuse courses did not contribute toward explaining the variance in their beliefs. Results are discussed in light of the students' patriarchal ideology, and implications for future research are presented.     

Child Abuse as a Catalyst for Wife Abuse?

This paper draws on Matza’s (1964/1990) theory of deviance to propose that the father’s current abuse of the child moderates the relationship between father’s patriarchal beliefs and current perpetration of husband violence in South Korea. Drawing on Matza’s concept of neutralizing beliefs, the paper argues that child abuse potentiates patriarchal beliefs, allowing husbands to extend rationalizations for child abuse to rationalizations for wife abuse, resulting in an interaction effect. The paper tests this hypothesized interaction effect using data from a nationally representative sample of 585 South Korean men. The paper then tests a competing alternative hypothesis that any type of violence (including violence outside the family) by the father acts as a moderator. Support is found for the child abuse as moderator hypothesis but not for the competing hypothesis.     

Beliefs of Sri Lankan medical students about wife beating

The article presents the results of a study on beliefs about wife beating conducted among 476 Sri Lankan medical students. Participants fill out a self-administered questionnaire, which examines six beliefs about wife beating. Most students tend to justify wife beating, to believe women benefit from wife beating, and to believe the wife bears more responsibility than the husband for violence against her. At the same time, most participants express willingness to help battered women. However, the vast majority oppose divorce as a solution to wife beating and are against punishing violent husbands. The results also reveal that a significant amount of the variance in each of the six beliefs are best explained by the students' patriarchal approach toward women and marriage and by their exposure to violence in their families of origin. The implications of the results for future research and theory development on beliefs about wife beating are discussed.     

Policing domestic violence: Does officer gender matter?

This research assessed whether female officers respond to domestic violence differently from male officers. Though many studies had analyzed police responses to domestic violence since the 1980s, very few had empirically examined different types of actions, especially noncoercive actions, employed by women and men in handling domestic violence. Using data collected by a large-scale observational project, this research analyzed police supportive and control actions toward citizens involved in domestic violence. Findings showed that female officers were more likely than male officers to provide support to citizens involved in domestic violence. Female and male officers, however, did not differ significantly in exercising control actions toward citizens. Regression results from separate models for female and male officers revealed that some of the variables are predictive of police actions for one gender but not the other. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

The impact of police charges in incidents of wife abuse

The present study addressed the impact of an urban police force laying criminal charges in cases of wife abuse. Follow-up data from battered women and from police officers were collected to identify the long-term consequences of this police policy that began in 1981, including any negative or unintended side effects. Results indicated that the policy resulted in a dramatic increase in police-laid charges (2500%), and a shift from the Family to the Criminal Division of Provincial Court. Based on interview data, victims did not decrease their requests for police service (a feared side effect) and reported a significantly higher level of satisfaction with police service in this area. A significant reduction in police calls and victim-reported violence was associated with police intervention, especially when charges were laid. Paradoxically, police officers' attitudes about the policy were more negative than the actual positive changes that they helped to produce. Considerations for future research and professional training are outlined.     

Evaluating the Efficacy of Protection Orders for Victims of Domestic Violence

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to gauge the efficacy of protection orders for victims of domestic violence. The theoretical basis for this analysis is Johnson's (1995) theory that there exist two distinct forms of domestic violence: “common couple violence,” which consists of low-grade, mild abuse that is equally perpetrated by both men and women, and “patriarchal terrorism,” which involves severe mental and physical abuse that is used primarily by men to control their female partners. Based on Johnson's theory, it is hypothesized that protection orders will be less effective for women who experience patriarchal terrorism than for women who experience common couple violence. The results of this analysis indicate that the primary independent variable, that is, whether a woman experiences common couple violence or patriarchal terrorism, is not a good predictor of protection order violation. However, several secondary independent variables were found to be significant, including victim's race and employment status, as well as the couple's living arrangements at the time of the protection order.     

Policing wife-abuse: The contribution made by ‘domestic disturbances’ to deaths and injuries among police officers

This study examines the claim that domestic disturbances account for a disproportionate number of deaths and injury to police officers. The uses to which this claim was put and the shift to arresting wife abusers during the 1980s are described. The crises of hegemony faced by the state during the 1960s is used to explain the widespread implementation of a family crisis intervention program that did nothing to reduce deaths and injuries to police officers or family members. The emergence of the women's movement helps explain the state's shift in emphasis from crisis intervention to arresting wife abusers.     

Ambivalent sexism,empathy and law enforcement attitudes towards partner violence against women among male police officers

Police attitudes towards partner violence against women (PVAW) can play an important role in their evaluation and responses to this type of violence. The present study aims to examine ambivalent sexism and empathy as determinants of male police officers' law enforcement attitudes towards PVAW. The study sample was composed by 404 male police officers. Results suggested that male police officers scoring low in benevolent sexism expressed a general preference for unconditional law enforcement (i.e. regardless of the victim's willingness to press charges against the offender), whereas those scoring high in benevolent sexism expressed a preference for conditional law enforcement (i.e. depending on the willingness of the victim to press charges against the offender). Results also showed that police officers scoring high in empathy and low in hostile sexism were those who expressed a general preference for unconditional law enforcement. The presence of sexist attitudes and low levels of empathy among some police officers, and their influence on law enforcement attitudes, highlights not only the importance of specific training, but also the need to pay attention to the selection process of police officers dealing with PVAW.     

Violence Against Women in Jordan

This study aimed to describe the social and cultural etiology of violence against women in Jordan. A sample of houses was randomly selected from all 12 Governorates in Jordan, resulting in a final sample of 1,854 randomly selected women. ANOVA analysis showed significant differences in violence against women as a result of women’s education, F?=?4.045, α?=?0.003, women who work, F?=?3.821, α?=?0.001, espouser to violence F?=?17.896, α?=?0.000, experiencing violence during childhood F?=?12.124, α?=?0.000, and wife’s propensity to leave the marital relationship F?=?12.124, α?=?0.000. However, no differences were found in violence against women because of the husband’s education, husband’s work, or having friends who belief in physical punishment of kids. Findings showed women experienced 45?% or witnessed 55?% violence during their childhood. Almost all 98?% of the sample was subjected to at least one type of violence. Twenty-eight percent of the sample believed a husband has the right to control a woman’s behavior and 93?% believed a wife is obliged to obey a husband. After each abusive incidence, women felt insecure, ashamed, frightened, captive and stigmatized.     

Judging Police Misconduct: "Street-Level" versus Professional Policing

In their interactions with citizens, police officers are prohibited from (1) using unnecessary Force, (2) Abusing their authority, (3) speaking Discourteously, or (4) using Offensive language, all captured by the acronym FADO. However, acts of police misconduct are complex social phenomena that involve both following legal guidelines and responding to extralegal or mitigating circumstances. Using a factorial survey of police‐civilian interactions that introduce various dimensions of FADO and surrounding circumstances, respondents are asked to rate from zero to ten the seriousness of police misconduct in an encounter. Findings show that respondents' judgments of the seriousness of misconduct consider both legal and extralegal dimensions. On the legal side of the ledger, officers' unnecessary use of force and use of offensive language significantly increase judgments of serious misconduct; on the extralegal side of the ledger, civilians' confrontational demeanor significantly reduces judgments of serious misconduct. The findings suggest that citizens expect officers to behave professionally, or by the book, but with a recognition that “street‐level” discretion has a place in an officer's toolkit. Citizens' expectations that street‐level discretion has its place is also demonstrated by findings for the dimension abuse of authority: Abuse or threatening behavior by officers is not a significant predictor of serious police misconduct. In addition, characteristics of the respondents explain propensities to observe different degrees of police misconduct. Controlling for the social status, political orientation, and prior experience of respondents with the police, we find that (1) blacks rate police misconduct significantly higher than their white counterparts, and (2) liberals rate police misconduct significantly higher than their conservative counterparts. Differences in judgments by blacks and whites and by liberals and conservatives concerning judgments of police misconduct have important implications for the legitimacy of police authority.     

Police officers' perceptual distortions during lethal force situations: Informing the reasonableness standard*

Research Summary In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court held that determinations about the constitutional appropriateness of police force usage—deadly or not—must be “judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.” Although the Court's ruling established a clear standard for judging officers' actions (i.e., the perspective of a reasonable police officer on the scene), we know little about the sorts of factors that might frame the perspective of reasonable police officers during situations in which they apply force. This article presents the results of a study that examined 80 police officers' detailed accounts of how they perceived what transpired during 113 incidents in which they shot citizens. Respondents reported experiencing a wide range of sensory distortions, with the vast majority of officers reporting two or more distinct sorts. This study takes these findings as a point of departure to expand our understanding of what constitutes a reasonable officer's perspective during the tense, uncertain moments during which he or she makes the decision to employ deadly force. Policy Implications Given that officers are likely to experience multiple distortions during shootings, the findings have implications for civilian and police oversight policies. In particular, those responsible for reviewing police shooting incidents should take into consideration that officers' behavior will not always be based on the objective reality of what is occurring at the time they decide to pull the trigger, but rather an altered conception of it. Such an understanding is crucial to improving the image of police in certain communities and positively impacting citizen trust of, and satisfaction with, the police.     

Factors predicting verdicts in cases where battered women kill their husbands

This study tested factors influencing verdicts in legal cases involving battered women who kill their husbands. A total of 388 college students (213 females and 175 males) read a fictitious but prototypical legal case. Subjects received one of three stories varying the level of force used by the husband against the wife before she killed him. Half of the subjects received courtroom testimony regarding the Battered Woman Syndrome. One-half received judge's instructions ofnot guilty by reason of selfdefense (NGRSD), and the other half receivednot guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) instructions. Subjects decided on a verdict and completed a questionnaire including demographics, reasons for their verdicts, and relevant attitudinal measures. Judge's instructions were most predictive of verdicts, with NGRSD being more likely to produce not guilty verdicts. Verdicts were also influenced by the subject's view of the severity of the past beatings, the testimony of the expert witness, the subject's feelings about the woman using a weapon, race of the subject, the subject's own history of abuse, attitudes toward abuse in relationships, and the subject's belief that people are responsible even if provoked. The preference the subjects showed for NGRSD belies the commonly held belief that impaired mental defenses in these cases would be more likely to yield not guilty verdicts. Situational aspects of the case rather than long-standing attitudes of subjects appeared to be better predictors of verdicts.