New Poll
Reveals Two In Three Americans Despite Its
Prevalence, The Patterns Of Domestic Violence Americans want to help but don't know what to do
A survey, commissioned by Liz Claiborne Inc. and Redbook magazine on domestic
violence, reveals an information gap that may very well prevent Americans from
taking action when they witness domestic violence. This survey was conducted to
better understand how to motivate bystanders to help stop domestic violence.
Approximately two-thirds of Americans say it is hard to determine whether
someone has been a victim of domestic abuse (64%) and want more information
about what to do when confronted with domestic violence (65%). Poll results
clearly indicate that education about this topic is not only needed but can help
save lives since 7 in 10 Americans (69%) will take some action when they are
able to recognize domestic violence.
Many Americans do not know the patterns of domestic
abuse. Americans want more information. When they can identify domestic abuse, Americans will
act. The survey was conducted in two phases: July 13-17 (2000) and August 3-7,
2006 (500) by Opinion Research Corporation and RF Insights using a computer
interviewing system. More than 2000 adults, males and females, 18 years of age
or older, in the continental United States were interviewed. The sample error is
+/- 2.3%. _____________________________________________________________________________
Say It Is Hard To Recognize Domestic
Violence
Are Not Understood By Many
Bystanders
When asked to define what actions comprise domestic violence
and abuse, 2 in 5 Americans (40%) did not even mention hitting, slapping and
punching. Over 90% of Americans failed to define repeated emotional, verbal,
sexual abuse and controlling behaviors as patterns of domestic violence and
abuse.
A clear majority (65%)
say they want more information about what to do when confronted by domestic
violence. In fact, more than half of Americans (54%) say they may have been in
situations where they believed domestic violence had occurred, but they didn't
act because they were not sure what to do.
Poll results demonstrate how important it is to inform
Americans about what constitutes domestic violence and the need to provide them
with tools to take action. Of the approximately half of Americans (52%) who did
say they suspected that domestic violence was occurring among friends, family
and co-workers, 69% say they took some kind of action.