Preferred Counselor Gender of Callers to a Domestic Violence Crisis Line
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Authors
LaBelle, Richard D.
Issue Date
2003
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Little, if any, research is available concerning the preferred counselor gender of callers to a domestic violence crisis line. The issue of men working with battered women is a politically and emotionally charged topic because the primary approach to working with this population has held that women should assist women in this area. Many agencies follow this model. Other agencies make an active effort to recruit men to work with battered women in the belief that domestic violence is an issue that affects both men and women. Over 90% of the victims are women, and over 90% of the callers to domestic violence crisis lines are women. The general literature on the counselor gender preference of clients in therapy is contradictory and inconclusive. The American Psychological Association's statement on male violence against women urged research on interventions with battered women. The purpose of this project was to examine this subject by asking, "What is the preferred counselor gender of callers to a domestic violence crisis line?'' Archival data from a client survey conducted at STAND!, a northern California domestic violence agency, was used to examine this topic. Two additional questions were added to the survey regarding the caller's counselor's gender preference. The responses of 52 heterosexual European-American battered women who had spoken with both male and female phone counselors were used for this study. Forty-six of the respondents (88%) expressed no preference for counselor gender, while six (12%) stated a preference for a female counselor. Chi-square analysis was significant (p<.001). An analysis of the interviewer's and preferred counselor's gender revealed no significant findings. Respondents who expressed no preference for counselor gender stated that counselor training in domestic violence, perceived ability to be helpful, and sense of personal connection (empathy) were more important factors than counselor gender. Although the sample size of this study was small, this finding warrants further research with a larger, more diverse sample of battered women.