4 minute read
Justifying domestic violence against current/former partner
Justifications of violence against partners foster a culture of entitlement, assertion of authority, and a means of punishment when perceived gender role expectations are transgressed (Webster et al., 2018). Few residents in Wagga Wagga agreed with the various justifications a partner may use domestic violence in their relationship. Approximately 3 to 4 residents out of every 100 agreed there was a justification for domestic violence (see figure 8). These levels of agreement have not significantly dropped from 2016 to 2021 among the residents in the Wagga Wagga community. 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.
Gender
In 2021 there were discrepancies between males and females on the circumstances in which domestic violence can be justified. Males in Wagga Wagga (6.0%) were 5 times more likely to agree that had sex with someone else is a reasonable justification for engaging in domestic violence behaviours than females in Wagga Wagga (1.3%). Additionally, males (5.6%) were also 4.9 times more likely to agree that domestic violence if justified if the perpetrator is made to look stupid, than females (1.3%). For the remaining three justifications, males and females had similarly low levels of agreement.
Figure 8. Responses (as percentages of the entire survey population) that identify the circumstances residents believe domestic violence can be justified.
Age
A worrying trend with respect to age is the result that the youngest respondents were more likely to justify use of violence (see Table 12). For example, residents aged 18 to 24 were 12 times more likely to state domestic violence is justifiable if the partner had sex with someone else compared to residents aged over 55, while those aged 25 to 39 were 13.8 times more likely to justify, and 40- to 55-year-old residents were 5.6 times more likely to justify the
domestic violence than over 55 year old. When domestic violence is used to get access to children, residents aged 18 to 24 are 4.6 times more likely to state it is justified than over the age of 55, and residents aged 25 to 39 were 3.7 to state is justified than over 55s.
Table 12. Percentage of residents in Wagga Wagga in 2021 who state that the following circumstances justify domestic violence, separated by age group.
Partner admits to sex with another man*
Partner makes him look stupid or insults him in front of friends
Partner ends or tries to end relationship
Against ex-partner to get access to children* If ex-partner is unreasonable about property settlement and financial issues*
Note: *indicates a significant difference
18-24 % 25-39 % 40-55 % 56+ % Significant Difference 8.3 5.8 2.4 0.8 Yes
10.4 3.1 2.8 1.1 No
6.3 2.7 3.6 1.3 No
11.8 3.9 4.4 1.3 Yes
8.3 1.9 3.6 1.9 Yes
Ethnicity
Ethnicity was very important when it came to justifying domestic violence. The ATSI and Other ethnicities were more likely to agree that there were some circumstances in which domestic violence was justified more than AngloSaxons in the Wagga Wagga community (see Table 13). We found that residents of the Other ethnicities were 6.1 times more likely than Anglo-Saxons to state that domestic violence can be justified if the partner had sex with someone else. When it came to the circumstance of making the perpetrator look stupid, ATSI residents were 17.2 times more likely to agree it was justifiable, and Other were 6.2 times more likely to agree it was justified than Anglo-Saxon respondents. If a partner is ending a relationship, ATSI members of the community were 4.7 times more likely to state that this is a justifiable circumstance for domestic violence than Anglo-Saxon member, and Other ethnicities were 5.0 times more likely to state domestic violence was justifiable than Anglo-Saxons. Residents of the ATSI ethnicity were 3.7 times more likely to state domestic violence was justifiable to get access to children and 5.8 times more likely for unreasonableness over financial and property issues, than for the Anglo-Saxon ethnicities. Finally, the Other ethnicities were 4.9 times more likely to state domestic violence was justifiable when the partner was being unreasonable over financial and property issues than Anglo-Saxon ethnicities.
Table 13. Percentage of residents in Wagga Wagga in 2021 who state that the following circumstances justify domestic violence, separated by ethnicity.
AngloSaxon % ATSI %
Other % Significant Difference
Partner admits to sex with another man* 2.2 14.8 17.0 Yes
Partner makes him look stupid or insults him in front of friends* 1.3 31.1 9.4 Yes Partner ends or tries to end relationship* 1.7 14.8 9.4 Yes
Against ex-partner to get access to children* 2.6 21.3 9.4 Yes
If ex-partner is unreasonable about property settlement and financial issues* 1.6 18.0 9.4 Yes
Note: *indicates a significant difference
