Measuring Violence Against Women in Australia

1. 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

2. 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 instrument- questions etc are kept the same

3. Overview • Describe available data sources • Compare results • Discuss reasons for differences • Concerns and future work

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. General Social Survey • 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.

8. International Crime Victims Survey • 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.

9. 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 Compulsory Response Rate 76% 57% 76% 91%

10. 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 *Difference not significant at 95% level of confidence

11. 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.

12. 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

15. Factors affecting comparability • Concepts - definitions - question wording? • Mode effects? • Privacy? • Context effects? • Non-response biases? • Sample size? • Others? Timing of surveys

16. 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