Women's experiences of male violence : findings from the Australian component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS)

Jenny Mouzos and Toni Makkai
ISBN 0 642 53842 5 ; ISSN 1326-6004
Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2004
(Research and public policy series, no. 56)

Glossary of terms

Age

Age of the woman at the time of the survey.

Any childhood abuse

Refers to women who reported experiencing an incident of physical/sexual violence by a parent or sexual violence by a non-parent before the age of 16 years.

Any intimate partner

Refers to women who reported that they had a current or former intimate partner, including boyfriends, legally married spouses and de facto partners.

Any violence

Refers to women's experiences of one or more forms of physical and/or sexual violence.

Children witnessing violence

Refers to children witnessing an incident of partner violence against their mothers.

Current intimate partner violence

Refers to women who were in a current relationship at the time of the survey and reported experiencing violence from a current partner.

Current relationship

Refers to women who are either married, in a de facto relationship or have a boyfriend at the time of the survey.

Drug facilitated sexual assault

Refers to women who had a sexual act committed against them while they were under the influence of drugs that they were given without their knowledge, so that they were unable to give their consent.

Educational attainment

The highest level of qualification attained.

Emotionally abusive and controlling behaviours

Refers to the following behaviours from a current intimate partner: insisting on knowing her whereabouts, calling her names or putting her down, jealousy guarding her interactions with other males, limiting her access to family and friends, and damaging or destroying her property or possessions.

Friend or acquaintance

Includes a work colleague, neighbour, schoolmate, or someone else known quite well.

Lifetime prevalence

Since the age of 16 years.

Indigenous women

Women who responded 'yes' to the question whether they are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Marital status

As reported by the women at the time of the survey.

Most recent incident

Refers to the most recent incident of violence experienced.

Non-partner violence

Refers to violence perpetrated by a male other than an intimate partner, such as a relative, a friend/acquaintance or a stranger.

Parent

Refers to own biological father/mother, any foster father/mother, or stepfather/mother or other male the mother lived with.

Physical violence

Includes both physical assaults, which refer to the use of physical force with the intent to harm or frighten a woman, and physical attempts or threats, which refers to the verbal, and/or physical intent to inflict harm which the woman believed was able and likely to be carried out.

Prevalence

Refers to the percentage of women who reported being victimised at least once during a specific period, such as during the previous 12 months or 5 years prior to the survey or over their lifetime.

Previous intimate partner violence

Refers to women who were previously married, or in a de facto relationship or had a boyfriend and who reported experiencing violence from a previous partner (within the relationship and/or after separation).

Previous relationship

Women who had been married, in a de facto relationship or had a boyfriend.

Relative

Includes a father, step-father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, or some other male relative.

Relative standard error

The relative standard error of the estimate indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied because a sample and not the entire population was surveyed.

Sexual violence

Includes any form of non-consensual or forced sexual activity or touching including rape. It is carried out against the woman's will using physical or threatened force, intimidation or coercion. Includes sexual touching.

Stranger

A stranger is a man that the woman did not see or recognise at the time of the incident.

Women from English speaking backgrounds

Refers to all women who did not identify as being from a non-English speaking background.

Women from non-English speaking backgrounds

Women who identified as being from a non-English speaking background.