A vignette study analysing factors influencing attributions of responsibility to victims and perpetrators of intimate partner violence against women

Abstract

Evidence shows that blaming attitudes towards victims of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) are widespread, creating a social climate that condones this form of violence. The aim of the current study is to analyse the potential impact of multiple factors surrounding the scenario and some personal and attitudinal characteristics of the respondents on the responsibility attributed to victims and perpetrators of IPVAW. To achieve this, a factorial survey design in which each respondent (N = 1,007; 51.1% women) received a unique vignette describing a hypothetical case of IPVAW was implemented in an online survey conducted in Spain. We found that most respondents (78.9%) indicated that the victim was not at all responsible for her own victimisation, whereas 73.7 per cent indicated that the perpetrator was very responsible for his own behaviour. Our results also show the prominent role that attitudes, as opposed to many characteristics of the abuse, play in evaluations of victim blame (that is, sexist beliefs and acceptability of IPVAW). Our findings reveal some persistence of victim-blaming attitudes despite years of public awareness and education efforts in Spain.