"Attitudes And Beliefs About Domestic Violence" Survey Highlights
(conducted in Spring 1997)

• Nearly 90% of men and women (86% of men and 88% of women) say it is the responsibility of men to try to prevent or stop others from abusing women.
• 77% of the American public describe domestic violence against women as one of the major problems facing our country.
• Men and women don't see exactly eye-to-eye on the scope of domestic violence: 85% of women consider it a major problem vs. 69% of men.
• 56% of Americans say they have at least one friend, relative or coworker who they know has been involved in domestic violence-either a woman who has been a victim or a man who they feel has been guilty of it.
• Men are less certain than women about whether psychological control is considered abusive. Women are more likely than men (51% vs. 33%) to say that they would definitely include "telling her what clothes she can or cannot wear" and "refusing to give her money when she asks for it or needs it" (37% vs. 24%) in their definitions of domestic abuse.
• 73% of those surveyed (78% of women and 67% of men) "definitely" define a man's preventing his wife or girlfriend from seeing her friends and family as abusive.
• 80% of those surveyed (85% of women and 75% of men) say that a man cursing at or verbally insulting his wife or girlfriend in front of others is definitely abuse.
• Nearly one-third of the public (31%) correctly estimate the number of women affected by domestic violence as about one out of four, but more than one-third admit (37%) that they don't know enough about the issue to estimate.
• The majority of Americans surveyed say they would try to talk to someone involved in domestic violence. 70% of women vs. only 51% of men would try to help by talking to a woman they believe is being abused. Men, on the other hand, are much more likely to talk to a man they believe is guilty of abuse. One-third (33%) of those surveyed have already tried to talk to a man they believed was guilty of abusing his wife or girlfriend.