Icelanders’ attitudes towards victims and perpetrators of intimate partner violence : the role of gender, sexual orientation, national origin, and type of abuse

Abstract

Research has not adequately addressed how attitudes towards intimate partner violence (IPV) vary based on characteristics of perpetrators, victims, and the public. The current experiment employed 16 forms of IPV scenarios differing in the victim’s and perpetrator’s gender, sexual orientation, national origin, and type of abuse. Participants were 353 in total, aged 19-82, and spoke fluent Icelandic. Participants read one scenario and completed questionnaires about the abuse’s severity, background questions, questions about attitudes towards immigrants, perpetrators of IPV, and homosexuality, social desirability, and personal experience with IPV and other IPV victims and perpetrators. Physical abuse was considered more severe than psychological abuse, abuse was considered more severe if perpetrators and victims were male, there was no difference in severity based on national origin nor sexual orientation of perpetrators and victims. Most participants thought the perpetrator should receive psychological treatment. Additionally, women rated scenarios more seriously and, alongside participants with personal experience of IPV, as more likely to recur. Correlations were found between social desirability and severity rating, and certain questions about attitudes towards perpetrators. These results demonstrate the effect of IPV characteristics on individuals’ attitudes, however, equal treatment of victims and perpetrators must be ensured regardless of the aforementioned characteristics. Keywords: intimate partner violence, attitude, victims, perpetrators, gender, sexuality, national origin, type of abuse

Rannsóknir hafa ekki sýnt skýrt hvernig viðhorf gagnvart ofbeldi í nánum samböndum (IPV) mótast út frá eiginleikum gerenda, þolenda og almenings. Þessi rannsókn nýtti 16 mismunandi IPV sögur þar sem kyn, kynhneigð og uppruni geranda og þolanda voru mismunandi, sem og tegund ofbeldis beitt. Þátttakendur voru 353 í heild sinni, 19-82 ára sem töluðu reiprennandi íslensku. Þátttakendur lásu eina sögu og svöruðu svo spurningalistum um alvarleika ofbeldisins, bakgrunnsspurningum, spurningum um viðhorf gagnvart innflytjendum, gerendum IPV, samkynhneigðum, félagslega æskilega svörun, persónulega reynslu af IPV og reynslu þeirra af öðrum gerendum og þolendum IPV. Líkamlegt ofbeldi var talið alvarlegra heldur en andlegt, ofbeldi var talið alvarlegra þegar gerandi og þolandi voru karlkyns, en enginn munur var á alvarleika út frá uppruna né kynhneigð gerenda og þolenda. Flestum þátttakendum fannst gerandi ætti að fara í sálfræðimeðferð. Þá mátu konur ofbeldið alvarlegra og auk þátttakenda með persónulega reynslu af IPV, mátu þær líklegra að ofbeldið myndi endurtaka sig. Fylgni fannst milli félagslega æskilegrar svörunar og alvarleika og einstaka spurninga um viðhorf gangvart gerendum. Þessar niðurstöður varpa ljós áhrif eiginleika IPV á viðhorf fólks, en mikilvægt er að tryggja jafnræði þolenda og gerenda óháð þessara fyrrnefndra eiginleika. Lykilorð: ofbeldi í nánum samböndum, viðhorf, þolendur, gerendur, kyn, kynhneigð, uppruni, tegund ofbeldis