Attitudes to gender equality and VAW in Australia - report

An Australian study has highlighted a range of concerning attitudes in relation to gender equality and violence against women.

VicHealth has released the findings from their 2013 National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS). 17,500 Australians were asked about their views on violence against women and gender equality in a 20 minute phone survey.

The authors state:

"Attitudes that condone or tolerate violence are recognised as playing a central role in shaping the way individuals, organisations and communities respond to violence (VicHealth 2010). Measuring community attitudes tells us how well we are progressing towards a violence-free society for all women. It also reveals the extent of the work that lies ahead, where to focus our efforts, and the messages and approaches likely to be effective." (p.1, summary of key findings)

Overall findings include:

• "On the whole, Australians’ understanding and attitudes remained stable between 2009 and 2013. However, when you look at the findings from individual questions, some areas improved, whereas others became worse.
• Young people’s attitudes remain an area of concern. Young people have somewhat more violence-supportive attitudes than others but their attitudes are gradually improving over time, particularly among young men, with fewer young people in 2013 holding attitudes at the extreme end of the spectrum.
• People’s understanding of violence against women and their attitudes to gender equality have significant impacts on their attitudes to violence against women."

Areas of concern include:

• 64% of respondents think the main cause of violence against women is some men being unable to manage their anger
• 43% believe rape results from men not able to control their need for sex
• 38% think that a lot of times, women who say they were raped led the man on and later had regrets
• 19% think that men should take control in relationships and be the head of the household
• 28% believe women prefer a man to be in charge of the relationship
• 78% said it’s hard to understand why women stay in violent relationships and 51% thought most women could leave a violent relationship if they really wanted to
• 53% believe women going through custody battles often make up or exaggerate claims of domestic violence in order to improve their case
• 27% think men make better political leaders

Encouraging results include:

• 95% of respondents agree violence against women is a serious issue
• Most Australians recognise that violence against women includes a wide range of behaviours designed to intimidate and control women – not just physical assault
• 89% said where one partner is violent it’s reasonable for them to be made to leave the family home

Attitudes towards women were fairly consistent across the population, regardless of education, where people lived or their jobs. However, there were some differences in particular groups and places. Groups who are most likely to endorse violence-supportive attitudes and who have the poorest understanding of what constitutes violence against women were:

• Men, especially young men and those experiencing multiple forms of disadvantage
• Younger people (16-25)
• People from countries in which the main language spoken is not English, especially those who have recently arrived in Australia.

This was the third survey of its kind (previous surveys were carried out in 1995 and 2009). The surveys aim to:

• Gauge community knowledge of, and attitudes towards, violence against women to identify areas that need attention in the future
• Track changes in attitudes over time
• Improve understanding of the factors that influence knowledge, attitudes and responses
• Identify particular parts of the population to target prevention efforts.

The authors emphasise that is important to take advantage of the recent investment in the infrastructure for the prevention of violence against women on a national scale under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022, to turn the tide on the most concerning trends and ensure that progress does not stall.

A summary of key findings and full report have been made available.

A video has also been produced, Attitudes to gender equality and violence against women.

Media:

Verity Johnson: Attitudes to sexual assault belong in the 19th century, NZ Herald, 20.09.2014