Latest Survey Results: All about Abuse Summary

SmartCenter | Surveys | Results | Archives

Report on All about Abuse

Smart girls decide for themselves™.

Survey Participants

As abuse continues to be prevalent in society, many people took the time to share their thoughts on the issue. 429 people responded with 406 of those being girls, 11 boys, and 12 people who did not disclose their gender. They were various ages from 6 and up with most being either the oldest in their family (173) or the youngest (112) while others fell in the middle (67) or are the only child (55). We received diverse perspectives as respondents came from many different backgrounds and live in different types of areas such as big cities (96), suburbs (84), town (135), village (33), and rural (36).

Is there one definition of abuse?

Abuse has many forms and can be defined in many different ways. Some forms of abuse are easier to detect than others such as physical or sometimes sexual because they leave visible scars. But other types of abuse that are emotional and mental also leave lasting hurts and should be given the same type of attention. How did SmartGirls define abuse?

What is abuse?

Most discussed form of abuse

Many of our SmartGirls revealed that they knew more about one form of abuse than the others. This could be for a variety of reasons, but it is important that you know of the variety of forms that exist. Here are the responses:

~Sexual: 164
~Child: 66
~Physical: 72
~Domestic: 28
~Emotional: 37
~Verbal: 39
~All of above: 17
~None: 2
~Other: 4

As you can see, the most discussed form is sexual abuse. So some SmartGirls defined what sexual abuse is to them.

~Rape: 158
~Touching: 144
~Language: 66
~All: 309
~None: 1

Physical abuse as the worst type of abuse

When people think of abuse, they immediately think of physical abuse as the only type of abuse. But here are results of people who thought of physical abuse as the worst type of abuse rather than the only type.

Is physical abuse the worst type?

Abuse issues in school

There are many schools that talk about abuse-related issues with students. Here are the responses from students that are actually aware of this:

~Yes (231)
~No (113)
~Don't know (71)

Some people never learn about abuse-related issues in their school. Another place that these discussions could take place is in your home. Some SmartGirls revealed that they discuss these issues in their homes:

~No (119)
~Once in a while (156)
~Sometimes (90)
~Often (34)
~Always (21)

To tell or not to tell

When people are abused, they are often afraid to tell someone about it because they are scared or embarrassed. Here are the results to the question about whether or not you would tell someone if you had been abused:

~Strongly agree (306)
~Agree (57)
~Neutral (43)
~Disagree (16)
~Strongly disagree (7)

If someone is abused, they sometimes blame themselves for their abuse. Here are the responses from those who think it is or is not their fault when they are abused:

~Never (274)
~Once in a while (81)
~Sometimes (56)
~Often (2)
~Always (6)

Am I able to talk about it?

Some people are embarrassed to tell someone if they were abused or not. Here are the responses if one would feel comfortable telling someone if they have been abused or not.

~Strongly agree (112)
~Agree (81)
~Neutral (102)
~Disagree (83)
~Strongly disagree (51)

As you can see, some may actually feel comfortable telling someone if they have been abused. Here are the results saying whether or not they know an adult they can talk to about being abused:

~Yes (289)
~No (35)
~Not sure (93)

Are girls abused more than boys?

Statistically, girls are abused more than boys. This is not to say that boys do not face the same forms of abuse. Rather, it may be that girls are more willing to report their abuse. All forms of abuse can happen to anyone, but what is most important is that you tell someone about it. Based on the results below, some SmartGirls agreed with the statistics.

Girls are abused more than boys

	count	percent
moregirl	count	percent
stragree	128	29.84
agree	118	27.51
neutral	108	25.17
disagree	51	11.89
strdisagree	24	5.59

Spanking as a form of child abuse

In the earlier days of childraising, parents would discipline their children in a variety of ways including spanking. More recently, spanking has been seen as a form of child abuse. Most SmartGirls felt neutral about this association:

~Strongly agree (84)
~Agree (76)
~Neutral (112)
~Disagree (111)
~Strongly disagree (46)

What should a woman do?

When a woman is abused by her partner, the first thing one may say to her is she should leave because she does not deserve such treatment. This may be the most reasonable answer, but sometimes it might not be that simple. A woman should explore her options and handle the situation in such a way that her life will not be in danger. Our SmartGirls said they thought the most reasonable answer is to complain. Let's see:

~Get over it (9)
~Complain (233)
~Leave (13)
~Tell (91)
~Other (61)

While the more common situation is for a woman to abused by a male, this is not always the case. Many participants responded about the possibility for a male to be abused by a female:

~Strongly agree: 50
~Agree: 32
~Neutral: 46
~Disagree: 127
~Strongly disagree: 162

I would tell if my friend was abused

Friends of abused people are sometimes willing to help those who are in trouble. Here are the responses of those who would tell if their friend was being abused:

~Strongly agree (185)
~Agree (121)
~Neutral (85)
~Disagree (23)
~Strongly disagree (15)

Do you know anyone who has been abused?

There are a lot of people who are being abused. Numbers are steadily rising in the cases of abuse. Some SmartGirls said they know people who have been abused. See the graph below for the results.

Out of those who know people who have been abused, sometimes that someone is them. 120 people admitted that they have been abused, 241 said they were never abused and 53 said they were unsure.

Do you know someone who has been abused?

Sexual abuse at work

Sexual abuse can happen anywhere in the world. There are laws to protect those people who have been abused. Laws about sexual abuse in the workplace are strictly enforced. This strict enforcement might decrease the incidents of this type of sexual abuse, but most people do not speak up about it. Sometimes they are afraid that they may lose their job if they tell someone. Did our SmartGirls agree?

They will lose their job:

Abusers are usually ________

Abusers come in all forms. Interestingly enough, SmartGirls said abusers are usually strangers, when the reality is that abusers are often somebody known to the victim. Whoever they are, you should never be afraid to speak up about them. Here are who our participants said abusers are:

~Stranger (243)
~Family (233)
~Friend (163)
~Teacher (121)
~Employer (130)
~Anybody (82)
~Partner (11)
~Other (11)

Recovery from abuse

While there are many scars and wounds of abuse, people tend to recover slowly but surely. Here are the results from those who think one can or can not recover from abuse:

~Strongly agree (114)
~Agree (96)
~Neutral (140)
~Disagree (56)
~Strongly disagree (23)

What do you think are the best resources to use when encountering situations and problems involving some type of abuse?

Many participants responded to this question and most people agreed with each other. Here were the typical answers to this question:

~Tell an adult or a person that you can trust that will help you.
~Call help lines where people are trained to handle the situation.
~Use the Internet to find organizations to help you.
~Talk to the police if it is a very serious situation.
~Use your instincts to handle the situation.
~Go to a shelter to escape the problem.
~Tell a psychologist or therapist if it helps you.
~Talk to your family and friends.
~Go to an abuse center.
~Talk to a Title IX officer at your school or workplace.
~Go to a church and tell someone there.
~Use mace or pepper spray.
~Use your muscles and fighting skills.
~Join a group of people talking about abuse so that you aren't alone.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!

Please remember that all web-based polls are not scientific because the pollsters cannot randomly select the respondents to participate in the surveys.