FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) report showing a decline in domestic violence drew the wrong conclusions, according to University of Arkansas economist Amy Farmer, who found that legal services were the only ones that reduced the incidence of domestic abuse.

"Women who live in counties with legal assistance programs to help battered women are significantly less likely to suffer abuse," Farmer said. "Because legal services help women with practical matters such as protective orders, custody and child support, they appear to actually present women with real, long-term alternatives to their relationships."

Although the USDOJ report concluded that services provided for battered women, such as hot lines, shelters, safe homes, emergency transportation, programs for batters, children’s programs or counseling, were the primary reason for the decrease in domestic violence. Farmer’s research shows that this was not the case.

Farmer, associate professor of economics in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, conducted her research with Jill Tiefenthaler, associate professor of economics at Colgate University. Their results were presented at the 2002 Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Denver and will appear in an upcoming issue of Contemporary Economic Policy.

"We found that women lining in counties with shelters, hotlines and other similar services were not significantly less likely to be victims of intimate partner abuse than women who live in counties without these programs," said Farmer. "Our results reject the USDOJ claim that an increase in services provided for battered women is the major explanation for the recent decline in the reported incidence of domestic violence."

The researchers took the data used by the USDOJ, the Area Identified National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCSV), and correlated it with data from the National Directory of Domestic Violence Programs. The supplemented Directory materials by calling programs to determine specifically what programs were offered in each county. The final sample included observations on 1,863 battered women.

When the researchers looked at the individual level, their demographic data were consistent with those reported by USDOJ. They found that women ages 20-24 were most likely to be victims of domestic violence and that black women were 35 percent more likely to be abused that white women. Women in the lowest income households experiences 7 times the abuse rate of the highest income households and the rate of abuse for women with children under 12 years old was twice that of women without young children.

Farmer believes that these data indicate another reason for the apparent decline in domestic violence - an aging population. The USDOJ report does not take this into account, and the NCVS data tend to obscure this effect. Although the NCVS has over 525,000 observations, it is a panel study, where the same women are interviewed on a regular basis over several years. By the end of the period under consideration, even the youngest participants at the beginning of the study are well past the age where the highest incidence of abuse occurs.

"Younger women experience significantly more violence, with women between the ages of 20 and 24 most likely to be victims," explained Farmer. "From 1993 to 1998 - the period of this study - there was a 10.6 percent decline in the percentage of the U.S. population belonging to that age group. As the population continues to age, the incidence of domestic violence will continue to decline."

Improved educational and economic status for women is another important factor in decreasing domestic violence. The researchers found that although a woman’s own education and employment status have the strongest impact, the overall economic status of women in the community in which she lives may also improve her options.

"Women who live in areas where women are well represented in the labor force and relatively educated are likely to have more credible threats of leaving abusive relationships," Farmer explained. "From 1993 to 1998 the percentage of women with college degrees increased almost 16 percent overall and more than 35 percent for black women. This is likely to play a substantial role in diminishing the incidence of domestic abuse."