Elevated Risk for Non-Lethal Post-Separation Violence in Canada: A Comparison of Separated, Divorced, and Married Women

• NCJ Number: 236723
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 117-135
• Author(s): Douglas A. Brownridge; Ko Ling Chan; Diane Hiebert-Murphy; Janice Ristock; Agnes Tiwari; Wing-Cheong Leung; Susy C. Santos
• Date Published: January 2008
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the differing dynamics of risk for violence against separated, divorced, and married women in Canada.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to shed light on the potentially differing dynamics of violence against separated and divorced women by their ex-husbands and violence against married women by their current husbands. Using a nationally representative sample of 7,369 heterosexual women from Cycle 13 of Statistics Canada's General Social Survey, available risk markers were examined in the context of a nested ecological framework. Separated women reported nine times the prevalence of violence and divorced women reported about four times the prevalence of violence compared with married women. The strongest predictors of violence against married women, namely, patriarchal domination, sexual jealousy, and possessiveness, were not significant predictors of violence against separated and divorced women. This suggested that post-separation violence is a complex phenomenon the dynamics of which can be affected by much more than domination and ownership. (Published Abstract)