Majority of U.S. Adults Think Domestic Violence Is a Serious Problem in the United States Today
Majorities Feel That Services Should Be Provided to Victims
Part 1
A majority of U.S. adults think domestic violence is a serious problem facing this country, according to a new Harris Poll. Furthermore, majorities of U.S. adults broadly recognize some of the major identifying characteristics of domestic violence. Finally, many U.S. adults feel that certain services should be provided to domestic violence victims and their children.
These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,377 U.S. adults ages 18 and older surveyed online by Harris Interactive(R) between April 11 and 17, 2006. This survey was conceived and developed by Harris Interactive and was not commissioned by any organization; however, we sought and received valuable input from the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Familiarity and perceived seriousness of domestic violence
* Large percentages of adults say they have some familiarity with domestic
violence. Approximately eight in 10 (79%) recall "seeing or hearing
something" about domestic violence in the past year. Furthermore, 53
percent say that they have heard of the National Domestic Violence
Hotline. This percentage increases substantially among those people who
admit that they have been victims of domestic violence (71%).
* Among those who recall seeing or hearing about domestic violence in the
past year, by far the single most prominent source of information is
television. Over eight in 10 (84%) cite television followed by radio
(33%), Internet (26%), billboards or signs on buses or trains (23%) and
friends and family (22%).
* Concerning the perceived seriousness of domestic violence as a problem
in the U.S. today, over six in 10 (63%) say that it is either a very
serious (34%) or extremely serious (29%) problem. Another 21 percent say
it is a fairly serious problem, and 12 percent say it is either somewhat
(11%) or not serious at all (1%). There are substantial differences
between women's and men's responses. Women, by 72 percent, think this is
at least a very serious problem, while just over half (54%) of men
agree. Not surprisingly, among victims of domestic violence, the number
jumps to 84 percent.
Attitudes toward domestic violence
The Harris Poll measured a number of attitudes of all adults toward domestic violence. The survey found:
* A large majority (85%) agrees that "when a person forces his/her partner
to have sex, it is an act of domestic violence." Two-thirds (66%) of
adults strongly and 20 percent somewhat agree with this sentiment.
* An 85 percent majority also agrees that "a man or woman who abuses
his/her partner is more likely to also abuse children." About half (53%)
strongly agree and 32 percent somewhat agree.
* Approximately half (48%) of adults feel that "victims who don't leave an
abusive relationship share some of the blame for their abuse." A third
(34%) of adults disagree with this, and 16 percent neither agree nor
disagree.
About two-thirds (68%) of all adults disagree that "abusive behavior is generally caused by circumstances beyond the abusers control." Only 14 percent agree and 15 percent neither agree nor disagree.
* Furthermore, a slim majority (53%) disagrees that "leaving an abusive
relationship can be more dangerous than staying in the relationship."
Under three in 10 (28%) agree with this and 17 percent neither agree nor
disagree.
Adults are divided on whether "domestic violence happens more frequently in poor households." Thirty-eight percent disagree, while 32 percent agree and a quarter (26%) neither agree nor disagree.
Services available for domestic violence victims
The U.S. adult public feels that it is important that domestic violence victims and their children are provided with certain services. The most important of these services include:
* Emergency shelter (68% say extremely important)
* Counseling (63% say extremely important)
* Legal service (60% say extremely important)
* An anonymous hotline (58% say extremely important)
Other services that also are thought to be extremely important but in lower numbers are childcare (56%), affordable housing (51%), transportation (48%), faith organizations (42%) and community of neighborhood associations (37%).
Sheryl Cates, Executive Director of the National Domestic Violence Hotline states, "These statistics are an important snapshot of attitudes, prevalence and resources necessary to change and prevent domestic violence in this country. While this snapshot of American attitudes shows an increase in awareness about the issue and the availability of local resources, the reality is there is still a long way to go toward changing public perception."
"As the National Domestic Violence Hotline commemorates its tenth anniversary, it continues to provide a vital link to safety for victims and we are hopeful that the next decade will bring us, as a nation, closer to becoming a society free of domestic violence."
This is Part 1 of a two-part Harris Poll column about Domestic Violence.
TABLE 1
AWARENESS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN PAST YEAR "Do you recall seeing or hearing anything about domestic violence in the past
year?"
Base: All adults
Victim Victim
Victim was was
Total Female Male Total Female Male
% % % % % %
Yes (Net) 79 77 81 82 80 88
Yes, I recall seeing or
hearing something about
domestic violence in the
past year. 63 63 63 70 70 72
Yes, I recall seeing or
hearing something about
domestic violence but I am
not sure if it was in the
past year. 16 15 18 12 11 16
No, I do not recall seeing
or hearing anything about
domestic violence in the
past year. 12 13 11 13 15 9
Not sure 9 10 8 5 5 3
Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 2
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
"Where did you see or hear something about domestic violence? Please select
all that apply."
Base: Adults who recall seeing/hearing about domestic violence in past year
Victim Victim Victim
Total Female Male Total was was
Female Male
% % % % % %
Television 84 82 87 80 81 78
Radio 33 24 41 27 23 43
On the 26 25 26 30 30 29
Internet
Billboards or
signs on
buses or
trains 23 23 24 31 29 38
Friends or
family 22 26 18 35 38 26
Pamphlets or
booklets 18 21 14 29 32 18
In the
workplace 13 12 15 13 13 15
Somewhere
else 18 20 15 25 26 20
Not sure 2 2 2 3 2 3
Note: Multi-response question.
TABLE 3
PERCEIVED SERIOUSNESS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROBLEM IN UNITED STATES "How much of a problem do you think domestic violence is in the United States
today?"
Base: All adults
Victim Victim Victim
Total Female Male Total was was
Female Male
% % % % % %
Top 2 Box (Net) 63 72 54 84 86 76
An extremely
serious
problem 29 37 20 50 51 46
A very
serious
problem 34 35 34 34 35 30
A fairly
serious
problem 21 18 24 11 10 14
Bottom 2 Box 12 7 16 5 3 10
(Net)
A somewhat
serious
problem 11 7 15 5 3 10
Not a serious
problem 1 * 1 - - -
Not sure 3 2 4 1 1 -
Decline to
answer 1 1 2 - - -
Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 4
ATTITUDES TOWARD DOMESTIC VIOLENCE "For the following questions, when we use the term "domestic violence" we are
referring to physical harm (pushed, shoved, choked, hit, etc.), sexual harm
and/or emotional harm (made fun of, yelled at, ignored, isolated, etc.)
regularly occurring between spouse or dating partners. Please rate your
feelings about each of the following statements."
Base: All adults
Agree Disagree
Neither
Agree Disagree Some
Agree Strongly Some Nor (NET) what Strongly Not
(NET) what Disagree Sure
When a person
forces his/her
partner to have
sex, it is an
act of domestic
violence. % 85 66 20 8 5 2 3 2
A man or woman
abuses his/her
partner is more
likely to also
abuse children. % 85 53 32 9 5 3 2 2
Victims who don't
leave an abusive
relationship
share some of
the blame for
their abuse. % 48 15 33 16 34 17 17 2
Domestic violence
happens more
frequently in
poor households. % 32 8 24 26 38 21 16 4
Leaving an
abusive
relationship can
be more
dangerous than
staying in the
relationship. % 28 9 19 17 53 22 31 3
Abusive behavior
is generally
caused by
circumstances
beyond the
abusers control. % 14 5 10 15 68 27 42 2
Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 5
SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE "How important would you say it is that each of the following is available for
domestic victims and their children?"
Base: All adults
Top 2 Extremely Very Fairly
Box (Net) Important Important Important
Emergency shelter % 89 68 21 6
Counseling % 87 63 24 7
Legal services % 86 60 26 8
An anonymous
hotline % 83 58 24 10
Childcare % 82 56 26 10
Affordable housing % 80 51 28 13
Transportation % 77 48 29 14
Faith
organizations % 66 42 24 16
Community or
neighborhood
associations % 66 37 29 20
Bottom 2 Somewhat Not At All Decline to
Box (Net) Important Important Answer
Emergency shelter % 2 2 * 3
Counseling % 3 2 1 3
Legal services % 3 2 * 3
An anonymous
hotline % 4 3 1 3
Childcare % 4 3 1 4
Affordable housing % 4 3 1 3
Transportation % 6 5 1 3
Faith
organizations % 15 10 4 3
Community or
neighborhood
associations % 11 8 3 3
Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 6
AWARENESS OF NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
"Have you ever heard of the National Domestic Violence Hotline?"
Base: All adults
Victim Victim Victim
Total Female Male Total was was
Female Male
% % % % % %
Yes 53 58 47 71 75 57
No 32 27 37 21 18 31
Not sure 15 15 15 8 7 11
Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between April 11 and 17, 2006 among 2,377 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.
With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 2,377 adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2 percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
J27129A
Q1851-Q1897
The Harris Poll(R) #49, June 15, 2006
By David Krane, Vice President, Public Affairs and Government Research, Harris Interactive(R)
About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world's largest panel of survey respondents: The Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/. To become a member of the Harris Poll Online, visit http://www.harrispollonline.com/.
