A major methodological problem in victimization surveys on physical and sexual violence against women is the underreporting of violence. The first part of this article makes a case for 6 feminist strategies for improving the accuracy of self-report data on victimization within a mainstream survey research framework. The second part of the article is a presentation of data from a survey of Toronto women that is designed to show the efficacy of these feminist strategies.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bart, P.
, P. Miller, E. Moran, and E. Stanko.1989. Guest editors' introduction.Gender & Society3:431-36.
2.
Bland, R.
, and H. Orn.1986. Family violence and psychiatric disorder.Canadian Journal of Psychiatry31:129-35.
3.
Bograd, M.
1988. Feminist perspectives on wife abuse: An introduction. In Feminist perspectives on wife abuse, edited by K. Yllo and M. Bograd. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
4.
Bohrnstedt, G. W.
1983. Measurement. In Handbook of survey research, edited by P. H. Rossi, J. D. Wright, and A. B. Anderson. New York: Academic Press.
5.
Breines, W.
, and L. Gordon.1983. The new scholarship on family violence.Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society8:491-531.
6.
Brush, L. D.1990. Violent acts and injurious outcomes in married couples: Methodological issues in the national survey of families and households.Gender & Society4:56-67.
7.
Dekeseredy, W. S.
, and MacLean, B. D.1992. Researching woman abuse in Canada: A realist critique of the Conflict Tactics scale.Canadian Review of Social Policy25:19-27.
8.
Dobash, R. E.
, and Dobash, R. P. 1992. Women, violence and social change.London and New York: Routledge.
9.
Dobash, R. P.
, R. E. Dobash, M. Wilson, and M. Daly.1992. The myth of sexual symmetry in marital violence.Social Problems39:71-91.
10.
Fergusson, D. M.
, L. J. Horwood, K. L. Kershaw, and F. T. Shannon.1986. Factors associated with reports of wife assault in New Zealand.Journal of Marriage and the Family48:407-12.
11.
Fowler, F. J.
, and T. W. Mangione. 1990. Standardized survey interviewing: Minimizing interviewer related error.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
12.
Gordon, M. T.
, and S. Riger. 1989. The female fear.New York: Free Press.
13.
Hanmer, J.
, and S. Saunders. 1984. Well-founded fear: A community study of violence to women.London: Hutchinson.
14.
Hoff, L.
1990. Battered women as survivors.London: Routledge.
15.
Hough, M.
, and P. Mayhew. 1983. The British Crime Survey. Home Office Research Study No. 76. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
16.
Junger, M.1987. Women's experiences of sexual harassment: Some implications for their fear of crime.British Journal of Criminology27:358-83.
17.
Junger, M.1990. The measurement of sexual harassment: Comparison of the results of three different instruments.International Review of Victimology1:231-39.
18.
Kelly, L.
1988. Surviving sexual violence.Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
19.
Killias, M.1990. New methodological perspectives for victimization surveys: The potentials for computer-assisted telephone surveys and some related innovations.International Review of Victimology1:153-57.
20.
Koppel, M.
1987. Lifetime likelihood of victimization. Bureau of Justice statistics technical report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
21.
Koss, M.1992. The underdetection of rape: Methodological choices influence incidence estimates.Journal of Social Issues48:61-75.
22.
Koss, M., C. Gidycz
, and N. Widniewski.1987. The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of students in higher education.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology55:162-70.
23.
McCormack, T.
1990. Feminism and the new crisis in methodology. In The effects of feminist approaches on research methodologies, edited by W. Tomm. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfred Laurier University Press.
24.
McNeill, S.
1987. Flashing: Its effect on women. In Women, violence and social control, edited by J. Hanmer and M. Maynard. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International.
25.
Oakley, A.
1981. Interviewing women: A contradiction in terms. In Doing feminist research, edited by H. Roberts. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
26.
Radford, J.
1987. Policing male violence-policing women. In Women, violence and social control, edited by J. Hanmer and M. Maynard. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International.
27.
Roberts, C.
1989. Women and rape.New York: New York University Press.
28.
Russell, D.E.H.
1982. Rape in marriage.New York: Macmillan.
29.
Saunders, D. G.
1988. Wife abuse, husband abuse, or mutual combat. In Feminist perspectives on wife abuse, edited by K. Yllo and M. Bograd. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
30.
Sessar, K.1990. The forgotten nonvictim.International Review of Victimology1:113-32.
31.
Sheatsley, P.
1983. Questionnaire construction and item writing. In Handbook of survey research, edited by P. Rossi, J. Wright, and A. Anderson. New York: Academic Press.
32.
Skogan, W. G.
1986. Methodological issues in the study of victimization. In From crime policy to victim policy: Reorienting the justice system, edited by E. A. Fattah. London: Macmillan.
33.
Smith, M. D.1987. The incidence and prevalence of woman abuse in Toronto.Violence and Victims2:33-47.
34.
Smith, M. D.1989. Woman abuse: The case for surveys by telephone.Journal of Interpersonal Violence4:80-98.
35.
Smith, M. D.1990. Sociodemographic risk factors in wife abuse: Results from a Toronto survey.Canadian Journal of Sociology15:39-58.
36.
Sorenson, S. B.
, J. A. Stein, J. M. Seigal, J. M. Golding, and M. A. Burnam.1987. The prevalence of adult sexual assault: The Los Angeles epidemiologic catchment area project.American Journal of Epidemiology126:1154-64.
37.
Stanko, E.
1990. Everyday violence: How women and men experience sexual and physical danger.London: Pandora.
38.
Stark, E.
, and A. Flitcraft. 1988. Violence among intimates: An epidemiological review. In Handbook of family violence, edited by V. B. Van Hasselt, R. D. Morrison, A. S. Bellack, and M. Herson. New York: Plenum.
39.
Statistics Canada.
1986. Household Facilities and Equipment Survey, Household Surveys Divisions. Unpublished data, Table C3. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services.
40.
Straus, M. A.
1990a. Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactic (CT) scales. In Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families, edited by M. A. Straus and R. J. Gelles. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
41.
Straus, M. A.
1990b. The Conflict Tactics scales and its critics: An evaluation and new data on validity and reliability. In Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families, edited by M. A. Straus and R. J. Gelles. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
42.
Straus, M. A.
, and R. Gelles. 1990. How violent are American families? Evidence from the national family violence resurvey and other studies. In Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families, edited by M. A. Straus and R. J. Gelles. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
43.
Straus, M. A.
, Gelles, R. J., and Steinmetz, S. K. 1980. Behind closed doors: Violence in the American family.Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday.
44.
Tremblay, V.1981. Study of telephone sampling techniques.New Surveys6:8-13.
45.
U.S. Department of Justice.
1990. National crime surveys: National sample, 1986-1989.Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
46.
Van Dijk, J.
, P. Mayhew, and M. Killias. 1990. Experiences of crime across the world: Key findings from the 1989 international crime survey.Deventer, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
47.
Verdum-Jones, S.
1989. Criminal law in Canada: Cases, questions and the code.Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
48.
Weis, J. G.
1989. Family violence research methodology and design. In Family violence, edited by L. Ohlin and M. Tonry. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
49.
Yllo, K.
1988. Political and methodological debates in wife abuse research. In Feminist perspectives on wife abuse, edited by K. Yllo and M. Bograd. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
