Bridging and Bonding Social Capital by Analyzing the Demographics, User Activities, and Social Network Dynamics of Sexual Assault Centers on Twitter: Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Social media platforms have gained popularity as communication tools for organizations to engage with clients and the public, disseminate information, and raise awareness about social issues. From a social capital perspective, relationship building is seen as an investment, involving a complex interplay of tangible and intangible resources. Social media-based social capital signifies the diverse social networks that organizations can foster through their engagement on social media platforms. Literature underscores the great significance of further investigation into the scope and nature of social media use, particularly within sectors dedicated to service delivery, such as sexual assault organizations. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to fill a research gap by investigating the use of Twitter by sexual assault support agencies in Canada. It seeks to understand the demographics, user activities, and social network structure within these organizations on Twitter, focusing on building social capital. The research questions explore the demographic profile, geographic distribution, and Twitter activity of these organizations as well as the social network dynamics of bridging and bonding social capital. METHODS: This study used purposive sampling to investigate sexual assault centers in Canada with active Twitter accounts, resulting in the identification of 124 centers. The Twitter handles were collected, yielding 113 unique handles, and their corresponding Twitter IDs were obtained and validated. A total of 294,350 tweets were collected from these centers, covering >93.54% of their Twitter activity. Preprocessing was conducted to prepare the data, and descriptive analysis was used to determine the center demographics and age. Furthermore, geolocation mapping was performed to visualize the center locations. Social network analysis was used to explore the intricate relationships within the network of sexual assault center Twitter accounts, using various metrics to assess the network structure and connectivity dynamics. RESULTS: The results highlight the substantial presence of sexual assault organizations on Twitter, particularly in provinces such as Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, underscoring the importance of tailored engagement strategies considering regional disparities. The analysis of Twitter account creation years shows a peak in 2012, followed by a decline in new account creations in subsequent years. The monthly tweet activity shows November as the most active month, whereas July had the lowest activity. The study also reveals variations in Twitter activity, account creation patterns, and social network dynamics, identifying influential social queens and marginalized entities within the network. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a comprehensive landscape of the demographics and activities of sexual assault centers in Canada on Twitter. This study suggests that future research should explore the long-term consequences of social media use and examine stakeholder perceptions, providing valuable insights to improve communication practices within the nonprofit human services sector and further the missions of these organizations.

Supportive Interventions of Chinese Police in Domestic Violence: Do Officer Knowledge and Training Matter?

Policing domestic violence (DV) poses significant challenges in China due to cultural, legal, and organizational complexities. Policing DV in China favors mediation over assertive interventions, complicating law enforcement's role. While previous research has focused on coercive interventions by Chinese police, there is limited information on non-coercive, supportive approaches. This study investigates the relationship between police officers' knowledge and training regarding the Anti-DV law and their willingness to provide supportive services to DV victims in China. It also considers various individual and organizational factors. The data used in this study are derived from the Policing DV in China project, with a sample of 1,353 respondents who had experience dealing with DV cases within the past 3 years. The study focuses on three dependent variables representing supportive approaches to DV cases: Referral, Counseling, and Protection orders. Independent variables include officers' knowledge of the Anti-DV law and agency training. Control variables include the use of body-worn cameras (BWC) and attitudes toward Violence Tolerance, Male Dominance, and Gender Equality. Additionally, demographic variables, working environment, length of service, and police rank are considered. The analytical approach involves a three-step strategy, incorporating descriptive, bivariate analyses, and regression analyses. The results are interpreted using odds ratios and average marginal effects, and statistical software such as SPSS by IBM and R by Open-Source Model is utilized for data analysis. Key findings indicate that more than half of the officers referred intimate partner violence survivors to shelters and assisted victims in filing protection orders. Counseling practices varied across provinces and between male and female officers. Agency training and the use of BWC were positively associated with non-coercive and supportive approaches, while knowledge of the DV Act, male dominance score, and gender equality score did not predict the use of such approaches. Demographic characteristics, including police rank, length of service, and province of employment, influenced the utilization of non-coercive and supportive approaches. This study examines the challenges faced by Chinese police officers when responding to DV cases and their willingness to provide supportive interventions. The study highlights the complexities surrounding the initiation of protection orders due to officers' legal knowledge and discretion. The study emphasizes the importance of police support in addressing DV in China and the role of agency training in promoting non-coercive responses. It highlights regional variations in police support and underscores the need for addressing disparities in service provision across different provinces.

Perceptions of Why Women Stay in Physically Abusive Relationships: A Comparative Study of Chinese and U.S. College Students.

In both China and the United States, public attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV) have shifted from viewing IPV as a tolerable, private matter to viewing it as a matter of public concern that should be dealt with as a crime. Empirical and comparative examinations of the perceptions of why women stay in physically abusive relationships are lacking. Answering this question calls for comprehensive, methodologically rigorous research. Using survey data collected from approximately 1,000 college students from two Chinese and two U.S. universities, this study empirically compared and contrasted factors that impact U.S. and Chinese students' perceptions as to why women remain in physically abusive relationships. Utilizing a theoretical framework of social constructionism, two common reasons were assessed: Women stay in physically abusive relationships because of learned helplessness and positive beliefs in the relationship/hope for the future. The results show that viewing IPV as a crime, gender, and beliefs of the causes of IPV were robust predictors of college students' perceptions toward why women stay in physically abusive relationships. U.S. college students were more likely to express sympathy and understanding toward why women remain in abusive relationships than Chinese students. Directions for future research and policy implications were discussed.

Tolerance for Intimate Partner Violence: A Comparative Study of Chinese and American College Students.

Tolerance for intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important correlate of interpersonal violent behavior. Although a large amount of research on IPV has been conducted in the West and a growing amount of studies on IPV in Chinese societies has been observed in recent years, only a small number of studies have analyzed IPV-related attitudes from an international and comparative perspective. Drawing on survey data collected from 1,178 college students from two Chinese and two U.S. universities, this study empirically compared and contrasted factors influencing students' levels of tolerance for IPV. The results showed that Chinese college students had a higher level of tolerance for IPV than their U.S. counterparts. Regional variation was only detected in China with students in Beijing having a greater tolerance for IPV than students in Hong Kong. Both Chinese and U.S. students' tolerance for IPV was affected primarily by their attitudes toward gender roles and gender-based violence and perceptions of IPV causes.