Shahid Alvi

The meanings and motives for women's use of violence in Canadian college dating relationships: Results from a national survey

Data from a Canadian nationwide representative sample of 1,835 female college students were used to test a variety of propositions about womens use of violence in dating relationships. It has become progressively common in both Canada and the United States to argue that women are as violent as men. Although in a crude counting of violent acts these data confirm the contention that women commit a large number of such acts, a further investigation of the womens motives shows that a substantial amount of their violence was in self‐defense, or “fighting back.” The more these women had been victimized, whether physically or sexually, the more likely they were to report that they had used self‐defensive violence. The finding that a substantial amount of womens

'We are all vulnerable' The in-terrorem effects of hate crimes

Ironically, while scholars and policy-makers have long referred to hate crime as a ‘message crime’, the assumption that those beyond the immediate victim are likewise intimidated by the violence has gone untested. Grounded in a recent study of the community impacts of hate crime, we offer some insights into these in terrorem effects of hate crime. We present here some of our qualitative findings. Interestingly, our findings suggest that, in many ways, awareness of violence directed toward another within an identifiable target group yields strikingly similar patterns of emotional and behavioural responses among vicarious victims. They, too, note a complex syndrome of reactions, including shock, anger, fear/vulnerability, inferiority, and a sense of the normativity of violence. And, like the proximal victim, the distal victims often engage in subsequent behavioural shifts, such as changing patterns of social interaction. On a positive note, there is also some evidence that these reactions can culminate not in withdrawal, but in the potential for community mobilization.

Women's Fear of Crime in Canadian Public Housing

That women have a greater fear of crime than men has often been termed irrational or paradoxical, but this article joins those who argue that the gendered nature of fear is well grounded. The authors investigate the extent to which various factors—including prior victimization, perceptions of neighborhood disorder, routine activities, and neighborhood satisfaction—predict womens perceptions of personal safety. Survey and semistructured interview data were collected from 219 women living in six urban public housing estates in eastern Ontario. Both disorder and neighborhood satisfaction have a moderately strong impact on perceptions of insecurity, whereas prior victimization is a negligible factor. One conclusion is that improving services (e.g., removing garbage, graffiti, vandalized items) may reduce fear as much as reducing crime.

The Role of Profeminist Men in Dealing With Woman Abuse on the Canadian College Campus

Stopping woman abuse on the North American college campus has not been very successful thus far. There is a major backlash, where students, faculty, and administrators too often either feel that the problem is not very significant or support the patriarchal rights of men. Programs begun by many campuses have not worked very well, partially because they depend on women to police the actions of men and partially because so few men come under formal social control that most offenders know that they can get away with their actions. Building on empirical research that suggests that male peer support is the most important factor on whether a male will be abusive, the authors suggest ways in which profeminist men can begin to tilt the balance against male aggression. This can include shaming or working with bullies or those who are abusive, protesting pornography, and involving oneself with education programs and/or support groups.

Perceived collective efficacy and women's victimization in public housing

Although it has not yet been applied to domestic violence and other types of crime in Canadian public housing, the social disorganization/collective efficacy model described in this article may help explain why people who live in such areas characterized by poverty and joblessness report higher rates of intimate partner violence and several other offenses than those living in more affluent communities. Using data generated by the Quality of Neighborhood Life Survey, a main objective of the Canadian study described here was to test this model. One of the most important findings is that community concerns about street crimes and informal means of social control designed to prevent such harms are not effective forms of alleviating intimate partner violence in public housing.

Deviance and Crime : Theory, Research and Policy

This book sensitizes the reader to the fact that there is substantial disagreement within the academic community, and among policymakers and the general public, over what behaviors, conditions (e.g., physical attributes), and people should be designated as deviant or criminal. Normative conceptions, the societal reaction/labeling approach, and the critical approach are offered as frameworks within which to study these definitions. A comprehensive explanation of theory and social policy on deviance is constructed.

A Comparative and Exploratory Analysis of Socio-cultural Factors and Immigrant Women’s Mental Health within a Canadian Context

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of macro-level factors on immigrant and non-immigrant women’s mental health status in a Canadian context. This study was part of a larger study examining women’s quality of life in south eastern Ontario. Using survey research methods, data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 91 women of whom 66 identified their country of origin as “other” than Canada. Descriptive, bivariate and regression analysis of this data revealed that immigrant and non-immigrant women’s macro-level predictors of mental health status vary. Overall, for immigrant women’s perceptions of neighbourhood social cohesion was a stronger predictor influencing mental health status, while for non-immigrant women social support was more influential. Research with larger, representative samples should explore the findings to ascertain generalizability.

Crime victimization, alcohol consumption, and drug use in Canadian public housing

This exploratory study attempted to deal with the surprisingly small amount of scientific study of crime victimization specifically on public housing estates, particularly in Canada. In this study, 325 public housing residents in six estates in an Eastern Ontario urban center filled out survey questionnaires, while fifty-one were interviewed. Compared to the United States, there were significantly fewer single mothers and significantly more Whites. Predatory crime victimization was reported by these residents at a much higher level than for the general population in other Canadian or U.S. surveys. Still, males and youth were the residents most at risk for predatory crime victimization and substance abuse.

Experiences of Muslim and Non-Muslim Battered Immigrant Women With the Police in the United States A Closer Understanding of Commonalities and Differences

Little research has been conducted to distinguish the unique experiences of specific groups of interpersonal violence victims. This is especially true in the case of battered Muslim immigrant women in the United States. This article examines battered Muslim immigrant women’s experiences with intimate partner violence and their experiences with the police. Furthermore, to provide a more refined view related to battered Muslim immigrant women’s situation, the article compares the latter group’s experiences to battered non-Muslim immigrant women’s experiences. Finally, we seek to clarify the similarities and differences between battered immigrant women aiming to inform responsive police service delivery.

Dating Status Variations and Woman Abuse A Test of the Dependency, Availability, and Deterrence (DAD) Model

Few have attempted tests of explanations of variations in woman abuse across dating status categories. We provide a test of Ellis and DeKeseredys dependence, availability, and deterrence (DAD) model. The model contends that highly dependent men in situations of high availability and with low deterrence are more abusive than those who are less dependent, encountering low availability and high deterrence. Using data from male respondents to the 1993 Canadian National Survey on woman abuse in university/college dating, this article provides provisional support for the model.