Social Work Students

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Social Work Students Attitudes, Perceptions
and Knowledge Base regarding Perpetrators of
Domestic Violence

• Letnie Rock, Ph.D.
• UWI Cave Hill Campus
• Conference on Social Work and Social Development
• Stockholm, Sweden, July 2012

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Domestic Violence Hurts Everyone
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Domestic Violence Hurts Everyone
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Background

• Barbados is a small Island in the Caribbean
• Population of approximately 280,000
• Male female ratio in population 1 3
• Increasing concern over the last two decades
  about domestic violence (DV) in Barbados
  (perpetrated mainly by males) and the apparent
  normalcy of the practice in society (Le Franc
  Rock, 2003)

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Background

• Initiatives aimed at preventing incidents of DV
  have
• been put in place. These include
• Public lectures and media campaigns
• Community marches against DV
• Legislation The DV Protection (Orders) Act 1992
• Family service agency
• Counselling centre and hotline
• Shelter for battered women
• Mens Support Groups

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Profile of Domestic Violence in Barbados

• National study 2008/2009 (CADRES) found that
• 21 of homicides results from DV
• Females are more likely to report incidences than
  males
• Females mainly victims based on reports
• Perpetrators mainly males based on reports
• Abusive incidents mostly physical, verbal and
  psychological. Low incidence of financial abuse
  based on reports.

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Statistics on Domestic Violence in Barbados

• Abuse occurs in all intimate relationships -
  marital, common-law and visiting relationships
• 66 of victims/survivors from the lower
  socio-econ. group
• 2000-2007 - 218 homicides in Barbados and 46 due
  to domestic violence these 46 were women

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Face of Domestic Violence in Barbados

• QUOTES
• Sometimes you have to make them feel pain for
  them to stop the foolishness. Women often agree
  with this approach too ..and my wife said that if
  I hadnt done that she might not have understood.

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Face of Domestic Violence in Barbados

• The women might want to play the leading role in
  a relationship. She does not ask for or respect
  the mans opinion.
• The image of men is still that they must rule
  and dominate. They will react to the slightest
  thing that challenges them.

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Status of Research on the Problem

• Research on DV in the Caribbean is emerging
• Paucity of research in Barbados to date mainly
  statistical data reported
• Few Caribbean studies conducted Danns Parsad
  (1989), Clarke (1998), Hezekiah (2000), Le Franc
  Rock (2001), Holder-Dolly Sogren (2004),
  CADRES (2008-2009) UNICEF (2007)

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Theoretical Rationale

• Socio-cultural perspective this theory
  considers the social conditions existing in the
  family and community in which people live as well
  as the cultural nuances and their overall impact
  on the individual.
• Studies on domestic violence and child abuse in
  the Caribbean have found cultural behaviors mores
  and norms to be factors that influence abusive
  behaviour

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Definition of Domestic Violence

• A pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors
  including, physical, sexual and psychological
  attacks, as well as economic coercion, that
  adults use against their intimate partner to
  gain and maintain power and control (Dunbar,
  1998).

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Research Objective

• The research objective - to investigate whether
  social work students have punitive attitudes
  (primarily a legal perspective) OR non-punitive
  attitudes (favour a treatment approach) to
  perpetrators of DV before they (students) acquire
  professional training and experience

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Research Hypotheses

1. Students who have experienced DV will more likely
   have a punitive attitude to perpetrators of DV
   than those without such experiences.
2. Younger students would have a punitive attitude
   to perpetrators of DV while older students would
   have a non-punitive attitude.

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Research Hypotheses

• 3. Entry level students are more likely to have a
  punitive attitude to perpetrators of DV than
  final year students.
• 4. Male students would more likely have a
  non-punitive attitude to perpetrators of DV
  while female students would more likely have
  punitive attitude.

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MethodologyCharacteristics of Sample

• Exploratory study
• Convenience sample
• 64 undergraduate social work students (Levels
  1-3)
• Sex Males (12), Females (49), Not stated (3)
• Age groups 21-39 years 40 and over
• Marital status Married 17, Single 39, Divorced 5
• Degree level Level 1 (14), Level 2 (29) Level 3
  (21).

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MethodologyResearch Instrument

• Questionnaire self-administered contained 6
  vignettes/ scenarios. Students were asked to
  complete each vignette by indicating their
  responses to the statements on a scale ranging
  from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Facts
  were assumed to be true and first/immediate
  responses given.

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Current Study - Methodology

• What did the 6 scenarios depict?
• Physical abuse in a common law relationship
  female victim
• Physical abuse, stalking and locking in the house
  in marital relationships female victims
• Physical and verbal abuse in a marital
  relationship male victim
• Physical and sexual abuse/rape in a non-marital
  relationship. Perpetrator and victim living in
  two separate households female victim

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Method of Data Analysis

• Data were analyzed using SPSS
• Descriptive Statistics
• Independent samples T-tests

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Findings

• Hypothesis 1 Students who have experienced DV
  will more likely have a punitive attitude to
  perpetrators of DV than students without such
• experience.
• It was found in responses to only one vignette
  (6) that those students who experienced DV
  expressed stronger and more punitive attitudes
  towards the perpetrator when compared to students
  who did not have DV experiences (p lt.05)
• Limited support for this hypothesis

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Findings

• Hypothesis 2 younger students would have a
  punitive attitude to perpetrators of DV while
  older students would have a non-punitive
  attitude.
• Younger students generally expressed stronger
  views that the victims should leave the
  perpetrator, obtain Protection Orders and deny
  the perpetrators access to their children. They
  also had stronger beliefs that perpetrators
  should be arrested, placed on probation by the
  court and have court ordered mental health
  counseling in three of the case vignettes ( 2,
  5 6) ps lt .05).
• Modest level of support for this hypothesis.

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Findings

• Hypothesis 3 Entry level students are more
  likely to
• have a punitive attitude to perpetrators of DV
  than
• final year students.
• There were no significant differences in
  attitudes toward perpetrators of DV between entry
  level students and final year students on five of
  the six scenarios depicting DV
• The results show very limited support for
  hypothesis 3

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Findings

• Hypothesis 4 Male students would more likely
  have a non-punitive attitude to perpetrators of
  DV while female students would more likely have a
  punitive attitude.
• In four of the six scenarios, female students
  generally held more punitive attitudes toward the
  perpetrators of DV than their male counterparts.
  In the respective scenarios, female students
  expressed stronger views that the victims should
  leave, obtain Protection Order and deny the
  perpetrators any access to their children (all ps
  lt .05 Vignettes 3, 4, 5 6).
• Modest support for hypothesis 4.

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Findings

• Students generally had punitive attitudes to
  perpetrators of DV but also agreed in their
  responses that more needs to be done to help both
  victims and perpetrators of DV.

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Conclusion

• Findings cannot be generalized beyond the
  population studied. However, in a society where
  DV is so widespread, social workers need to
  receive training otherwise their perceptions of
  and attitudes to perpetrators and
  victims/survivors will influence their potential
  work decisions.
• The results of the study support the need for a
  course in DV to be included in the social work
  undergraduate curriculum to equip students with
  the relevant knowledge base.

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Current Study - Conclusions

• More research needs to be undertaken to provide
  greater insights on the problem and also to
  inform practice and policy decisions on DV not
  only in Barbados but the wider Caribbean region.

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THANK YOU
Thank You