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Women and Violence: A Rochester,
NY Area
Community Survey
Prepared by:
Barbara Kasper, M.A., M.S.W.
Carmen Aponte, Ph.D.
Assistant Professors of Social Work
SUNY College at Brockport, NY
September 19, 1994
Findings
Because of a violent situation, 52.4% of the respondents reported
that they have feared for their lives.
• 28% were affected by sexual violence perpetrated by men - 33.2%
reported being affected by physical violence on the part of men
• 50.7% reported being affected by emotional violence
• 44.1% reported experiencing verbal abuse
Only 28.2% of the survey participants said that violence had not
affected their lives.
In total, one-third of all of the respondents were abused as
children. When asked about childhood abuse, 12.2% of the survey
participants reported being sexually abused as children, and 10.3%
said they were physically abused. 8.8% of the women were both
sexually and physically abused when young.
When asked whom they had been afraid of at various times, many
women checked more than one answer. Those people named most
frequently were: lover or partner (35.9%); father (22.2%); date
(22.1%); and stranger (58.7%). 85% of the respondents were fearful
of at least one person on the list of choices.
Almost half (46.2%) of the total sample had been victimized in
some way as adults:
• 6.3% were raped by a stranger
• 15% had been raped by an acquaintance
• 7.6% were raped by their husband or partner
• 1.8% were gang raped
• 18.2% were battered by their husband or partner
• 7.8% reported being mugged
• 9.7% were attacked by a stranger or acquaintance
• 17.3% were victims of an attempted attack
Only 11% of the respondents who were victims of violence said
that they reported what happened to the police. Those who gave
reasons why they did not report most often cited "fear" as the
reason, followed by "believing such behavior was normal" or "because
the perpetrator was a member of the family."
"I wasn't familiar with the concept of date rape. I felt I
probably just hadn't made myself clear enough." - victim of
acquaintance rape
"Yes, I reported it, and I eventually received a permanent
order of protection... the paper was worth more than what was
printed on it." - battered woman
"I was told I would be killed. I was five years old." -
childhood sexual abuse survivor
Respondents were asked what they had ever avoided because they
were afraid of violent consequences:
• 30.9% avoided disagreeing with a spouse or lover
• 24.7% reported not talking back to their fathers
Women taking the survey were asked what they felt most threatened
by:
• 56.5% said harassing phone calls
• 51.8% said an unwanted arm around their body
• 36% said street comments
• 20.7% were threatened by wolf whistles
"I reported the purse snatching, the peeping tom, the time
someone punched a hole in my door but didn't succeed in getting in,
the robbery at gunpoint and the time a girlfriend and I were walking
and were grabbed by the buttocks. This last time was the only time
someone was apprehended."
Feeling safe in our own homes is important to all of us. 85.6% of
the women said that they felt safe in their own homes at least most
of the time, with only 1.4% saying that they never felt safe. When
asked if they had ever stayed in their house because they feared
going outside, 36.3% of the respondents said "yes."
It appears that the survey respondents usually felt protected in
their own homes from violence in the "outside world;" however, the
high level of violence the respondents reported from relatives,
spouses and acquaintances indicates that women and girls are
frequently at risk even inside their homes. This violence is often
committed by those people the victims love, trust and depend upon.
(This is compatible with the findings of a 1994 U.S. Department of
Justice report which found that 67% of attacks against women were by
people they knew, 28% by current or former husbands or boyfriends,
39% by acquaintances or relatives).
The questionnaire presented a list of activities, and asked the
respondents to circle those that they would do, alone at night.
• 31.1% said they would go out for a walk
• 33.5% said they would walk to a friend's house
• 72.8% said they would shop for groceries
• 45.2% said they would see a movie
• 10.4% said they would jog
• 11.2% would go to a bar
• 12.5% would speak to a stranger.
To get a sense of how the threat of violence has prompted women
to change their behaviors, the questionnaire asked what respondents
once did alone after dark which they do not do now.
• 43.5% said they would not go for a walk
• 37% said they would not walk to a friend's house
• 14.6% said they would not go jogging
• 14.2% said they would not go grocery shopping
"My husband is very concerned when I walk down a country road
that runs off a state highway. He became so annoyed that I finally
gave in and now stick to my immediate neighborhood. It probably is
safer, but it is also very confining."
"I have been chased many times at night and I have been
caught. But I have a right to go out, so I am careful, keep aware
and renew self defense training."
When asked what situations made them feel at risk:
(Most women circled more than one choice).
• 74.7% said parking in a deserted lot
• 58.1% said being in an elevator with a strange man
• 53.1% circled "walking downtown alone"
• 44.8% circled "climbing a stairwell"
• 33.4% circled "taking public transportation alone"
• 37.2% of the respondents said staying alone in a motel/hotel.
One thing many women do to feel safer is alter the way they dress
(or their general appearance), i.e., wear running shoes, baggy
clothing, etc. 64.7% of the respondents alter their appearance at
least some of the time.
"I change my appearance and have since I was 11 years old.
When I was 10, my girlfriend (also 10) was abducted and repeatedly
raped."
Other ways of feeling safer involve spending money on such things
as door locks, security lighting, weapons, etc.
• 41.7% of the respondents spent money on locks
• 23.6% spent money on taxi rides for safety
• 29.1% said they spent money on a home in a safer neighborhood
-32.6% spent money on security lighting
• 17.1% bought weapons
If a weapon was purchased, the most frequently listed items were
guns and noxious sprays. It is important to note that women
struggling to survive economically cannot afford most of these
items.
"I keep a steel pipe by my seat in my car when driving
alone."
"I get something heavy and carry it through my house looking
for abnormalities when I get home and I am alone."
The questionnaire listed 8 possible precautions women might take
to stay safe. Respondents were asked to circle all that applied to
them.
• 80.2% said they always watched to see who was around
• 79.9% said they had their house keys ready in hand
• 73.1% checked their car before getting in
• 60.2% tried to walk in pairs whenever possible
• 14% had taken a self defense course
• 21.9% said they never put their phone numbers on their checks.
From the answers above, it is clear that most women integrate
many different precautionary behaviors into their daily lives as a
way to protect against violence.
Continue to other research.
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