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Antecedents to the Perpetration of Domestic Violence in Curaçao

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Abstract

Previous international studies have found collectivism and low gender empowerment to contribute to higher domestic violence perpetration by males, compared to females. Little is known about gender differences in domestic violence perpetration prevalence in collectivist countries with high gender empowerment, for example Curaçao. Curaçao demonstrates gender similarity in committing domestic violence, resembling Western countries: 25–33 % have committed psychological domestic violence, 11–17 % physical violence, and 1–6 % sexual violence. Antecedents to the perpetration of domestic violence are similar for both sexes as well. Domestic violence victimization, especially in cases of severe physical violence, increases the probability of becoming a perpetrator. Other perpetrator risk factors are a high education (psychological violence) and having children in the household (physical violence).

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Fig. 3

Notes

  1. The relationship between perpetrating physical violence and the number of children in the household is significant for the answer Yes for women and for Yes+Maybe for men, but gender differences are very small.

  2. The relationship between level of education and working status is moderated by age; student-aged respondents (18–29) are frequently not working when they have either no education or are high educated (e.g., pre-university). For respondents aged 30–64, level of education and working status are positively correlated, and for the elderly, there is no relationship between level of education and working status.

  3. No vs. Yes and No vs. Yes+Maybe were tested, like in Tables 2 and 3, but the B-weights for Yes and Yes+Maybe were similar when rounded to one decimal. We will discuss only the B-weights for Yes.

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van Wijk, N.P.L., de Bruijn, J.G.M. Antecedents to the Perpetration of Domestic Violence in Curaçao. J Fam Viol 31, 337–348 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9777-8

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