Conclusion and recommendations Above all, this report summarises the findings from the 2021 Domestic Violence Community Attitudes Survey carried out in 2021 as part of theDVproject:2650. It was concerned with identifying any shifts in attitudes and beliefs, and recognition of gender drivers of DV from 2016, following implementation of Primary Prevention program (theDVproject:2650) for the Wagga Wagga community. theDVproject:2650 aimed to educate the community on the causes of violence against women and their children, promote gender equality and respect, and challenge rigid gender roles and stereotypes. The findings point to the need to continue implementing a community-wide prevention plan to transform attitudes towards women and women victims of domestic violence. The concerning attitudes towards victim and perpetrator behaviour held by many members of the Wagga Wagga community are evidenced in this study and influences the long-term eradication of domestic violence. Nevertheless, there were some positive shifts in attitudes towards DV on the whole. Overall, the sample from 2021 shows multiple similarities to the 2016 sample. The sample was still mostly comprised of females, Anglo-Saxons, employed residents, and with high levels of education. However, it should be noted that those who have an interest in domestic violence may have self-selected into the study.
Knowledge and understanding of domestic violence Knowledge and understanding of what behaviours are considered domestic violence directly shapes the responses to women affected by violence, and the responses of their families and friends (Carlson & Worden, 2005; Gracia & Herrero, 2006). From 2016 to 2021, knowledge of what behaviours constitute domestic violence has improved. Specifically, knowledge of domestic violence increased for three of the nine domestic violence behaviours: controlling social life, denying access to money, and tracking a partner. Residents in 2021 were able to identify more complex DV behaviours (controlling social life - 1.6 times more; denying access to money - 1.6 times more; and tracking a partner – 1.7 times more) compared to 2016. The increased knowledge of domestic violence from 2016 to 2021 resulted in 8 of the 9 behaviours receiving acknowledgement above 90%, compared to only 5 of the 9 behaviours in 2016. Continued efforts are however required with males, younger people, ATSI/other ethnicities, and those from lower socio-economic/education in helping them identify abusive DV behaviours.
Attitudes towards domestic violence Minimising the impact of domestic violence can be harmful for those experiencing DV and in reducing DV in the community (Pennay & Powell, 2012). The rates of agreement on the seriousness of each of the behaviours of DV for the Wagga Wagga community have stayed consistently high from 2016 to 2021. The only significant increase (1.6 times) in awareness from 2016 to 2021 was for controlling access to money. Few residents in Wagga Wagga agreed with the various justifications when a partner may use DV in their relationship. The levels (approximately 3 to 4 residents out of every 100) of agreement for justifications have not significantly dropped from 2016 to 2021 among the residents. The justification that got the highest level of agreement in 2021 was for a partner to get access to get to their children, while in 2016 it was that their partner had sex with someone else. The justification with the least amount of support in 2021 and 2016 was if a partner is ending or trying to end a relationship. Beliefs on the gender of the main perpetrator of violence has remained consistent between 2016 and 2021. In both 2016 and 2021 residents overwhelming (8 out of 10) state that men/mostly men are the perpetrators of DV. In contrast very few residents believe that the main perpetrators of domestic violence are women/mostly women with less than 5% of the population agreeing with this option. The understanding of why women stay in domestic violent relationships has not changed in the past 5 years in Wagga Wagga. Approximately 1 in 10 residents still report they do not know why women stay. Encouragingly though most residents understand that there are numerous reasons why women feel they need to stay or have to stay out of safety from further violence.
