Definition and measurement of violence in the Crime Survey for England and Wales : Implications for the amount and gendering of violence

The definitions and the methodology used in surveys to measure violence have implications for its estimated volume and gendered distribution. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) uses quite a narrow definition of ‘violence against the person’ which excludes crimes which are arguably violent in nature. This paper expands the CSEW’s measurement of violence by regarding threats,robbery, sexual violence, and mixed violence/property crimes as violence. This results in the shift of the gender distribution of violence, with a higher proportion of violence against women (from 39% to 58%) and by domestic perpetrators (from 29% to 32%). Impacts of violence (injuries and emotional harm) are also affected by the change in definition and disproportionally so for women

Is Domestic Violence Violent Crime?

This thesis analyses domestic violence as a form of violent crime to examine if (and how) violence by domestic perpetrators differs to violence by strangers and acquaintances. Violence by domestic perpetrators has been argued to differ from violence by other perpetrators in several ways, including sex (of the victim and of the perpetrator), repetition, and severity (Bachman 1994; Walby, Towers and Francis 2014). This thesis compares these key factors associated with different forms of violence (sex, repetition, and severity) using a large quantitative dataset of violent crimes compiled from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) to determine whether domestic violence is significantly different to other forms of violent crime and thus should remain distinct and separate in its analysis, policymaking, and practices, or whether domestic violent crime should be integrated into “violent crime”. The overall conclusion is that DVC should be mainstreamed in analysis of violent crime, but victim-perpetrator relationship should be disaggregated to highlight patterns and differences. While domestic violence is different to violence perpetrated by strangers or acquaintances on the abovedimensions, it does not make sense to exclude it from discussions of violent crime

Exploring High Frequency Victims of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is repeated in its nature, which means there are a group of victims who who experience a disproportionate amount of violence. These victims are sometimes called 'high frequency victims'. Using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, an analysis of high frequency victims was produced to compare to other victims of domestic violence. High frequency victims are more likely to be female and experience more harm than other victims of domestic violence

Bilinear models for scaling and score building: when should they be used?

This talk looks at the utility of bilinear models for score building in contingency tables and contrasts it with the correspondence analysis approach. The groundwork for using bilinear models for score building was laid down by Clogg(1982), who specified a set of rules for the instrumental variable against which the target variable is classified. Typical bilinear models used for this purpose include the logmultiplicative model and the correspondence analysis model. While this approach seems at first sight to be promising, there are issues relating to empty cells and sample size which often mean that the model fails to form exactly as intended. We discuss whether Clogg’s rules need extending and determine whether similar rules are needed for correspondence analysis. An example is used from the problem of scaling crime harm and impact from survey data. Clogg, C. (1982) Using Association Models in Sociological Research: Some Examples. American Journal of Sociology Vol. 88(1) 114-13

Bilinear models for score building:

The focus is on the utility of bilinear models for score building in contingency tables and contrasts it with the correspondence analysis approach. The groundwork for using bilinear models for score building was laid time ago, and a set of rules for the instrumental variable against which the target variable is classified has been previously specified. Typical bilinear models used for this purpose include the log-multiplicative model and the correspondence analysis model. While this approach seems at first sight to be promising, there are issues relating to empty cells and sample size which often mean that the model fails to form exactly as intended. We discuss whether the mentioned rules need extending and determine whether similar rules are needed for correspondence analysis. An example is used from the problem of scaling crime harm and impact from survey data