The attribution of responsibility for intimate partner violence

Nasilje u partnerskim vezama široko je rasprostranjeno, a kapacitet za nasilje nije spolno uvjetovan. Pojedine društvene vrijednosti, ukorijenjeni stavovi o rodnim ulogama, kao i osobna obilježja članova društva, zasigurno su povezana s percipiranjem svih oblika nasilja. Cilj ovog kvantitativnog istraživanja bio je ispitati studente o njihovoj percepciji nasilnih ponašanja u partnerskim vezama obzirom na pojedina obilježja počinitelja i žrtava nasilja. Istraživanje se provodilo sa studentima (N =793)pojedinih struka koje su uključene u rad sa žrtvama i počiniteljima partnerskog nasilja:socijalni rad, medicina, psihologija, pravo, policija i socijalna pedagogija. Metodom vinjeta nastojale su se ispitati razlike u pripisivanju odgovornosti za nasilje obzirom na spol počinitelja i spol sudionika. Rezultati su potvrdili pretpostavljene hipoteze kojima se očekivalo da će se pripisivati značajno veća odgovornosti za nasilje i procjenjivati situacije ozbiljnijima kad je počinitelj nasilja muškog spola u odnosu na situacije kada je žena počiniteljica. Isto tako, potvrđeno je kako su sudionice općenito pripisivale veću odgovornost za sve oblike nasilja, kao i procjenjivale situacije ozbiljnijima u odnosu na sudionike, bez obzira na spol žrtava.Intimate partner violence is a widespread phenomenon and the capacity for violence is not gender-specific. Personal social values, rooted attitudes about gender roles, and the personal characteristics of members of society are related to the perception of all forms of violence. The aim of this quantitative study was to assess students’perception of violent behaviour in partner relationships depending on the individual characteristics of perpetrators and victims of violence. The study was conducted with students (N = 793) of specific professions that are involved in working with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence:social work, medicine, psychology, law, police and social pedagogues. The method of vignettes sought to investigate the differences in attributing responsibility for violence depending on the gender of the perpetrator and of the participant. The results confirmed the hypotheses that participants will attribute significantly more responsibility for the violence and perceive the situation as more serious when the perpetrator was male then in situations where the perpetrator was a woman. It was also confirmed that female respondents generally attributed more responsibility forall forms of violence, as well as perceived situations as being more serious, then did male respondents, regardless of the victim’s gender