Politics of Counting

Politics of Counting and Violence

Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment of the Ghana people as the custodians of the land.
Recognition of misrepresentation and underrepresentation of Ghana people.

Wheel of Power and Privilege

Acknowledging where individuals lie on the wheel of power and privilege.
The closer to the center, the more power one has.
Reminder to acknowledge privilege and consider its impact on counting and representation.
Focus on utilizing resources to benefit others.

Statistics and Violence

Consideration of what statistics can and cannot tell us about violence.
Which violence is accounted for and why.
How statistics help and hinder understanding and addressing violence.

Quote

"Not everything that counts can be counted."

Quantifying Reality

Politics of counting violence involves quantifying reality.
Subjective dynamics are involved.
Counts and presentations are influenced by stakeholders.
Measurement and recording of violence involves quantifying violent acts and data collection.
This process is not neutral and involves subjective decisions and power dynamics.
These influence what types of violence are prioritized, how they are defined, and what methodologies are employed.
Example given of differing death toll numbers reported during conflict, highlighting stakeholder influence and subjective dynamics.

Stakeholder Influence

Stakeholders with varying interests influence the counting of violence.
This can lead to underreporting or overreporting of certain forms of violence.
Example of overrepresentation of Aboriginal kids in the child protection system, questioning who benefits from this overrepresentation.

Numbers Meet Narratives

Numbers meeting narratives helps understand and critically examine reflecting values.
The act of counting violence reflects societal values, institutional priorities, and political agendas.
This act shapes policy responses, resource allocation, and societal perceptions of violence.
Critical examination of data protection and interpretation is essential to understand the implication of addressing violence effectively.
Statistics around Aboriginal people can feed dehumanized stereotypes and desensitize everyone to the issue by supplementing and justifying ongoing stereotypes.
Intentions of researchers influence how data is presented, potentially favoring certain groups.
Important to critically examine reported numbers and consider unreported numbers.
Narratives around people of color often focus on needing to be saved from men of color.

Sources and Forms of Violence

Administrative Records

Official reports where data is collected by organizations and governments.
Examples: police reports, court convictions, hospital representations.
Interagency records in youth protection or child protection are utilized.
Strengths: provides structured data, often mandated by law.
Limitations: subject to underreporting and influenced by biases in reporting and recording practices.
Discussion of a case involving false reporting of child sexual abuse and the implications of such cases.

Experiential Accounts/Voices of Victims

Self-reported surveys where individuals disclose their experiences through structured questionnaires.
Interviews and focus groups use qualitative methods to delve deeper into narratives and context.
Strengths: captures the nuances and hidden incidents providing insights into victims’ experiences.
Limitations: heavily relies on participants’ willingness to disclose, subject to recall bias and social desirability.
Questions such as, “What does this really mean for them?” are extremely important questions that can be answered through interviews or focus groups.

Quantitative Data

Statistical analyses that utilize numerical data for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing.
Example: hypothesis that there's a rise in intimate partner violence the day after the election.
Strengths: enables comparison, identifies different trends, and supports evidence-based policies.
Limitations: may oversimplify complex phenomena and lack context and depth.

Narrative Analysis

Examines the stories and meanings behind the data through qualitative methods.
Strengths: provides rich contextual information, uncovering underlying motivations and dynamics.
Limitations: time-consuming, requires skilled interpretation, and results are often not generalizable.
Narratives in place can help to understand what's really happening, giving meaning to the numbers that are already in hand.

Harnessing Statistics for Social Change

Stats serve as persuasive tools.
They are crucial for advocating government policy and funding allocation towards addressing social issues, e.g., family and gender-based violence.
Quantitative data illustrating the prevalence of violence is essential for raising awareness and advocating for change.
Stats on attitudes towards violence are vital for monitoring progress and shifting societal perceptions and preventing future violence.
Example of a survey done on young boys in high school regarding their engagement with Andrew Tate and how many of them listened to and followed Andrew Tate.
This helped to understand that a certain percentage of boys do listen to Andrew Tate and are influenced by him.

Representation and Shaping Reality

Statistics provide only a partial view of the issue.
Aimed to enhance comprehension of statistics, provide guidance on their effective utilization, and acknowledge their inherent limitations.
Provides an example of the 2023 survey that was taken by the Personal Safety Survey of the ABS. This survey showed:
- One in four women has experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member since the age of 15.
- One in four women had experienced emotional abuse by a cohabitating partner since the age of 15.
- One in five women has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.

Sources of Statistics

Stats are derived from large-scale surveys known as quantitative studies providing insight into prevalence patterns, attitudes, and trends related to family and gender-based violence.
These surveys also inquire about the impact of violence on individual lives and their experiences with accessing support services.
When using citing statistics, it is crucial to rely on the most representative data available, particularly concerning the prevalence of violence.
A key consideration is distinguishing between population-level data and data obtained from surveys using non-random or convenience app samples.

Population Level Data

Population-level data is produced using research methods that aim for samples to be representative of a population as a whole.
The strongest population-level data is produced when everyone in a population is included in the sample.
National census includes every household in Australia.

Non-Random Data

Nonrandom or convenience sampling can be used in national surveys focused on particular groups or particular experiences.
These produce results that are important in understanding the experiences and needs but are not considered representative.
Example is given on childhood sexual abuse and shame and retraumatization in South Asian women.

Key Sources of Data Collection

Population-level data is robust but resource-intensive and costly to collect.
The PSS conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics involves a random sample of households and covers various aspects of violence against women.
The National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women survey conducted by ANROWS examines participants' understanding of violence against women, their attitudes, and their readiness to intervene.
Both surveys are conducted every four years using cross-sectional studies, enabling tracking of societal changes over time and informing the national plan to end violence against women and children.

Challenges of Population Level Research

While population level is crucial for defining and measuring prevalence of attitudes, it does have limitations in addressing all questions comprehensively.
Sampling methodologies and population-level surveys can impact inclusivity and representativeness.
Sampling methods like telephone or Internet surveys may exclude certain groups, such as people with disabilities as well as non-English-speaking populations.
Concerns about privacy and, sensitivity may affect participants' openness, particularly for marginalized communities like the LGBTQ community, which may prefer anonymous surveys.
Concerns about privacy and sensitivity may affect participants’ openness, particularly for marginalized communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated data collection, resulting in reduced sample sizes and adjustments for participant safety while still aiming for representativeness.
Survey questions must be prioritized for practicality and participant engagement with these decisions reflecting both practical as well as political considerations.

Inclusion Criteria

Survey questions must be prioritized for practicality and participant engagement with these decisions reflecting both practical as well as political considerations.
The personal safety survey lacks questions about sexual orientation until 2020.
The personal safety survey currently lacks data on gender diversity.
National data on prevalence, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, is lacking even though community-specific research indicates high rates of violence.
Some communities, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and LGBTQI communities, tend to underreport violence.
There are stigmas of social norms and social expectations, and there is a lack of access to support.

Building a Comprehensive National Research Agenda

A comprehensive national research agenda is essential to supplement quantitative studies by focusing on qualitative research methods to understand experiences and motivations behind family and intimate partner violence.
Longitudinal studies that track the same group of individuals over time provide valuable insights into changes at an individual level.
Conceptual and theoretical research aims to identify social drivers of violence against women, while evaluations of interventions contribute to understanding effectiveness and mechanisms of action.
Collectively now, these research efforts and analyses from as form the evidence-based informing family violence prevention and response strategies.

Pro Tips

When citing stats, it is crucial to specify their source and ensure accuracy in interpretation, establishing their credibility and recognizing both the strengths as well as the limitation of data.

Interpreting Statistical Associations

Distinguishing between causality and correlations.
Stats are often utilized to emphasize significance of social issues, but it is crucial to embed them within a narrative that elucidates the drivers of violence against women and family violence, along with actionable steps for change.
It is important to critically analyze the intersection also.

Crafting A Narrative With Statistics

Stats are often utilized to emphasize the significance of social issues, but it is crucial to embed them within a narrative that elucidates the drivers of violence against women and family violence, along with actionable steps for change.
Overreliance on statistics can sometimes paint a bleak picture, inadvertently reinforcing the status quo.
Crafting a narrative involves informing what's really going on and what can we do about it as a collective change mechanism also.
Positive outlook is more about what do we do about the person behind the numbers.