Katharine Kelly

The incidence and prevalence of woman abuse in Canadian university and college dating relationships

This paper presents incidence and prevalence data gathered from the first Canadian national representative sample survey on the sexual, physical, and psychological victimization of women in university/college dating relationships. The results, derived from the Conflict Tactics Scale and the Sexual Experiences Survey, reveal that men are more likely to report having engaged in less lethal forms of abuse, and women are more likely to report having been victimized by such behaviour.

Sexual abuse in Canadian university and college dating relationships: The contribution of male peer support

Using data from a Canadian national representative sample survey of male university and college students, this study tested three hypotheses from a theoretical model which attempts to explain the relationship between male peer group dynamics and sexual assault in dating relationships. Consistent with previous research conducted in the United States, the findings reported here show that male peer support is a significant predictor of sexual abuse in post-secondary school courtship. This article concludes with several suggestions for further research.

Woman abuse in university and college dating relationships: The contribution of the ideology of familial patriarchy

Several theorists contend that male university/college students who physically, sexually, and psychologically abuse their female dating partners are more likely than men who are not abusive to adhere to the ideology of familial patriarchy. These scholars also argue that men who hold familial patriarchal attitudes and beliefs, and who are supported by their male peers, are most likely to victimize their dating partners. This research provides quantitative data from a national representative sample of Canadian male undergraduate students that support these hypotheses.

Women's fear of crime and abuse in college and university dating relationships

Several government-sponsored victimization surveys have found women’s fear of crime to be much higher than that of men even though their probability of being victimized is much lower than men’s. On the basis of these results, several criminologists contend that women’s fear is subjectively based. However, government surveys have not adequately examined the consequences of the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of women by male intimates. Feminist researchers contend that these assaults greatly contribute to a generalized fear of crime that is objectively based. Using data from a national survey on female abuse in Canadian college/university dating relationships, this study tested and failed to support the feminist hypothesis that violence by male intimates results in higher levels of fear. However, an examination of an ex post facto hypothesis assessing the relationship between fear in private places (the home) and abuse by male dating partners found positive correlations. Women who had been psychologically or sexually victimized by male dating partners felt more insecure in their own homes than other women. These increased feelings of fear were linked to experiences of sexual coercion, unwanted sexual touching, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse. The results suggest that women reassess their feelings of fear when victimized by male intimates. In particular, places generally viewed as safe by women, their own homes, are seen as more threatening than they had been in the past.

Reconsidering sustainability: some implications for community-based crime prevention:

This paper examines the experiences of a community that has successfully sustained its crime prevention through social development activities for over a decade. It explores how a broad philosophical approach to sustainability can be applied to community-based initiatives such as crime prevention. In this regard, traditional situational crime prevention strategies are compared with crime prevention through social development. The evidence from the case study community illustrates the importance for sustainability of such factors as bottom-up decision-making, flexibility, inclusion and integration. The findings suggest that crime prevention through social development provides a framework for developing sustainable community-based crime prevention activities. The implications of these findings are considered with respect to the sustainability of other community-based initiatives.