Toward a Transnational and Cross-Cultural Analysis of Family Violence

Abstract

This article summarizes issues and priorities for prevalence surveys and intervention studies raised by researchers and practitioners at an international symposium on transnational and cross-cultural research on family violence, convened near Montréal, Canada, in June 2003. The major conceptual questions were What is meant by transnational or cross-cultural research? and What should be included in the definition of family violence? The major methodological questions were What level of standardization of measurement is needed to reliably make comparisons across nations and cultures? and Should the measures be of “acts” of abuse and violence or the “effects” of those acts?