Attitudes of service providers toward domestic violence

Attitudes of 500 social workers, health service providers, police officers, and family court judges toward victims of domestic violence and their abusers give evidence that most service providers blame the victim. Respondents, especially family service social workers and health care providers, tend to focus on those causes least amenable to change: the characters of both husband and wife. The authors discuss the research data in terms of the “message” domestic violence workers often give to victims that additional assistance would be futile.