NCJ Number
160107
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1996) Pages: 81-104
Date Published
1996
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the procedure and findings of the Canadian national survey on woman abuse in university/college dating relationships and answers John Fekete's criticism of the methodology and interpretation of the findings.
Abstract
For the purpose of the survey, woman abuse was defined as any intentional physical, sexual, or psychological assault on a female by a male dating partner. Physical and psychological abuse were operationalized by using a modified version of Straus and Gelles' Conflict Tactics Scale. Data were generated from 1,307 male and 1,835 female undergraduate students. Approximately 35 percent of the women reported having been physically assaulted, and 86.2 percent of the women reported having been psychologically abused. Fekete criticized the survey as an example of a "pseudo-scientific" study guided by the stereotypes of "biofeminism." His examples of such stereotypes are that "Women alone are oppressed"; "Sex demeans women"; "Violence is a symptom of a war against women"; and "Women are nurturers and men are abusers." This article challenges Fekete's four most significant criticisms of the survey: bias from category errors, ends-justify-means politics, the myth of objectivity in standard questionnaires, and bias from the myth of patriarchy. 6 notes and 84 references