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INTRODUCTION
Background
4. The Scottish Executive is committed to prioritising and tackling the problem of domestic abuse. During its first term in office, the Executive published The National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland, the ultimate aims of which are to prevent domestic abuse, identify the ways in which services should develop, and raise awareness of the nature of domestic abuse (Scottish Executive 2002). The specific objectives of the Strategy are to:
- actively prevent the domestic abuse of both women and children;
- provide appropriate legal protection for women and children who experience domestic abuse; and
- provide adequate support services for women and children affected by domestic abuse.
5. Over the past four years, a number of developments have taken place under the auspices of the National Strategy, most notably, the creation of the £10 million Refuge Development Programme and Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund and the implementation of awareness raising campaigns, including 'Dolls House' which focuses on the impact of domestic abuse on children. In 2003, the Executive published a National Prevention Plan aimed at "chang(ing) attitudes, behaviour and culture in such a way as to secure the progressive elimination of violence against women" (Scottish Executive 2003).
6. The Executive has specified that effective data collection will be key to monitoring and informing the work of The National Strategy (Scottish Executive 2002). Statistics on the number of incidents of domestic abuse reported to the police in Scotland are collected by the Executive on an annual basis. While this data provides some indication of the extent of domestic abuse and whether it is increasing or decreasing over time, it does have some important limitations. In particular, because not all incidents of domestic abuse are reported to the police, the data is likely to underestimate the problem. Additionally, police statistics incorporate only a limited amount of information about the nature of domestic abuse; for example, details of the context within which it takes place and the seriousness of injuries sustained by victims.
7. Given these gaps in the data, the Executive has put in place alternative methods of gathering information on the prevalence of domestic abuse. Since 1996, a module of questions on domestic abuse has been included in the Scottish Crime Survey ( SCS). Respondents to the survey are asked to complete a self-completion questionnaire after completing the main interviewer-administered questionnaire. The questions on domestic abuse cover a range of issues including:
- Experience of domestic abuse - both in the previous year and ever
- Relationship of victims to perpetrators
- Frequency of abuse
- Nature of any injuries sustained by victims
- Perceived seriousness of incidents
- Whether or not victims sought medical attention for their injuries
- Whether or not the incident was reported to the police
- Whether or not the incident was witnessed by children.
8. This report presents the findings on domestic abuse from both the 2003 SCS and 2004 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey ( SCVS) 1.
9. Questions on these topics are particularly sensitive and the self-completion mode is considered to be more effective than an interviewer administered survey in obtaining truthful answers.
10. Other parts of the survey, including the broader questions about victimisation and the self-completion questions relating to drug misuse, have been a feature of the survey since 1993 and have remained largely unchanged, thus enabling a comparison of trends over time. Results from all sweeps (1993, 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2004) have previously been published. 2
Summary of research methods
11. Both the 2003 and 2004 surveys were conducted jointly by the research companies TNS Social and MORI Scotland. The 1993, 1996 and 2000 surveys had been conducted by MVA.
Response rates
12. The 2003 SCS interviewed 5,041 adults aged 16+ in their own homes between March and June 2003. The response rate was 68%. Of the 5,041 adults who completed the 2003 main survey, 4665 undertook the self-completion questionnaire. The response rate for the self-completion element was therefore 63% (based on all of the eligible sample).
13. The 2004 SCVS was conducted on the same basis as the 2003 survey but with a smaller sample size: 3,034 adults aged 16+ were interviewed between July and November 2004. However, in order to maintain a sufficient sample size for the self-completion element, a further 1,973 adults completed an abbreviated version of the main survey. This consisted of a short face-to-face questionnaire with questions on fear of crime and demographics, and these respondents were also asked to undertake the self-completion questionnaire. The overall response rate for the 2004 survey was 67%. Of the 5,007 adults who completed either the 2004 main survey or the 2004 shortened version, 4,424 undertook the self-completion questionnaire. The response rate for self-completion element of the 2004 survey was therefore 59%.
Sampling and weighting
14. Both the 2003 and 2004 surveys, like previous sweeps, used a probability sample which selected households at random from the Postcode Address File and according to a multi-stage stratified design. The sample points were clustered, but were spread across the whole of Scotland including the Highlands and larger islands. Once selected households were contacted, one respondent was selected at random (using the Kish grid method) from all adults aged 16+ who were resident at the address. No substitution of households or individual respondents was permitted.
15. Weighting was conducted for the main survey to compensate for the design elements of the survey (elements that altered the probability of sampling units being from a simple random sample, such as weights to compensate for differential probability of selection according to the number of adults in the household) and to compensate for non-response bias where this was observable by comparing the survey data with population estimates. The self-completion element was subject to the same selection probabilities and biases as the main survey, with additional scope for bias arising from non-response to the self-completion element. The main weight used for the self-completion element was therefore the individual weight used for the main survey data. However, small additional weighting was undertaken to adjust for non-response to the self-completion element (calculated by comparing the weighted profile of adults who completed a questionnaire with that of the adult population).
Self-completion questionnaire
16. The 2004 self-completion questionnaire is included in Appendix 1. The wording of the questions is the same as in 2003 and previous waves, but some minor amendments were made in 2004 in order to improve the layout and make the form more user-friendly.
17. Respondents were asked to fill in the self-completion questionnaire at the end of the main face-to-face interview (or abbreviated face-to-face interview). Interviewers were instructed to hand the respondent the questionnaire along with a self-sealing envelope. They were also instructed to emphasise confidentiality and ask the respondent to read the front page carefully. Respondents then completed the questionnaire and returned it to the interviewer in the sealed envelope. Interviewers could assist the respondent if required, but not with the question wording or answers. The questionnaire was designed to take 5-10 minutes to complete.
Further details on methodology
18. More details on the methodology for the 2003 SCS are contained in the main report 3 and full details can be found in the Technical Report which accompanies the dataset. An electronic version of this report can be obtained from the Scottish Executive on request. Full details on the methodology for the 2004 SCVS Calibration Exercise are contained in the 2004 face-to-face SCVS Technical Report.
The report
Structure of the report
19. To provide context for the research findings, the report begins by summarising the data on domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police during 2003. Subsequent sections examine findings from the 2003 SCS and 2004 SCVS self completion questionnaires, comparing these where appropriate with results from previous years.
Interpreting the data
20. Given that the sample sizes for the self completion questions were relatively small in both 2003 and 2004, and prevalence of domestic abuse runs at 4%, we have taken the opportunity to merge the results for the two years to provide a larger sample on which to undertake more robust sub-group analysis of the key findings.
21. Where sample sizes do not sum to 100%, this may be due to rounding, the exclusion of 'don't know' categories or multiple answers. Throughout the volume, an asterisk (*) denotes any value of less than half a percent.
Definitions of domestic abuse
22. Domestic abuse is defined differently by different agencies. The police define domestic abuse as being 'any form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse which takes place within the context of a close relationship. In most cases this will be between partners (married, cohabiting or otherwise or ex-partners).'
23. The National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland draws on a more detailed definition and one which assumes that the large majority of domestic abuse victims are female: 'Domestic abuse (as gender-based abuse) can be perpetrated by partners or ex-partners and can include physical abuse (assault and physical attacks involving a range of behaviour), sexual abuse (acts which degrade and humiliate women and are perpetrated against their will, including rape) and mental and emotional abuse (such as threats, verbal abuse, racial abuse, withholding money and other types of controlling behaviour such as isolation from family or friends)' This definition is adapted from that used by the United Nations General Assembly.
24. The definition of domestic abuse adopted in the SCS and SCVS, is somewhat narrower than that used by either the police or the National Strategy, and covers specifically incidents of verbal threats and physical and sexual violence perpetrated by a partner or ex-partner of the respondent.
25. These variations in official definitions of domestic abuse should be borne in mind throughout this report, particularly when comparing police figures on domestic abuse and the results of the self-completion questionnaires.
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