| Author(s) | Weatherburn, Don |
| Title | Personal stress, financial stress and violence against women |
| Source | NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Crime and Justice Bulletin, No 151, August 2011 |
| Date | 2011 |
| Document type | Research report |
| Coverage | Australia |
| Summary | This study explores the association between financial stress, personal stress, social support and violence against women. The study used data from the General Social Survey, a representative sample survey of the Australian population. In this survey respondents are asked if they have been the victim of actual or threatened violence in the past 12 months. The results of the study indicate that higher levels of financial and personal stress are strongly associated with an increased risk of violence against women. The author proposes that there are two ways of interpreting these results, with different service delivery implications. It could be that financial and personal stress increases the risk of violence against women, while social support buffers that risk. On the other hand, the results could be interpreted to show that women who experience violence are more likely to experience financial and personal stress and/or more likely to lack social support.
It is recommended that longitudinal studies be designed specifically to test the hypotheses about the causes and effects of violence against women.
article discusses the use of compensation programs by victims of domestic violence. |
| Keywords | Domestic violence;
financial stress; personal stress; social support; violence against women |
| Topic | Domestic violence |