This study analyzed whether police attitudes toward policing partner violence against women corresponded with different psychosocial profiles. Two attitudes toward policing partner violence were considered--one reflecting a general preference for a conditional law enforcement (depending on the willingness of the victim to press charges against the…

In the United States, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted statutes that allow police officers to make warrantless arrests for domestic violence given probable cause; however, state laws differ from one another in multiple, important ways. Research on domestic violence warrantless arrest laws rarely describe them as anything…

This article examines the difference in victims' reporting behavior regarding crimes committed by males and by females. The authors expect that victims of female offenders are less likely to report to the police than victims of male offenders because of differences in the victim-offender relationship as well as in the victim's sex. With recent…

The objective of this study was to measure the efficacy of protection orders (POs) in reducing assault and injury-related outcomes using a matched comparison group and tracking outcomes over time. This study was a retrospective review of police, emergency department, family court, and prosecutor administrative records for a cohort of…

This study investigated the social construction of domestic abuse by police officers, specifically in the context of arguments presented to the prosecutor for a decision on whether to proceed with or discontinue the case. Nineteen police files were examined with a particular focus on the MG3, the "Report to Crown Prosecutors for Charging…

Prior research examining sexual assault case decision making has failed to account for the demographic characteristics of the criminal justice practitioners charged with making case decisions. Inclusion of such information is important because it provides researchers with a greater understanding of how criminal justice practitioners' own gender,…

The role of gender in intimate partner abuse (IPA) perpetration and victimization has been debated for the last several decades. Two perspectives have emerged regarding this debate. Researchers from the family violence perspective argue that men and women are violent at near equal rates and call for a reframing of the issue from one of woman…

While Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs have improved the treatment of rape victims by offering more compassionate and thorough treatment, SANEs believe victims continue to face revictimization by the medical, criminal justice and legal systems. The purpose of this research is to explore SANEs' perceptions of the revictimization of rape…

In response to the negative and inefficient treatment of rape victims by emergency room personnel, the first Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs began in the late 1970s. While SANEs, doctors, rape victim advocates, police officers and prosecutors work together to ensure the most comprehensive and sensitive care of rape victims, they all…

Prior research has suggested that almost half of rape victims are treated by law enforcement in ways that they experience as upsetting (termed "secondary victimization"). However, it remains unknown why some victims have negative experiences with law enforcement and others do not. The purpose of this study is to explore victims' experiences with…

Partner violence affects a significant number of women and their children each year. Estimates of the economic costs of partner violence are substantial. However, most estimates of the costs of partner violence are made at the aggregate level rather than the individual level. Estimating costs at the individual level allows for a wider range of…

Police notifications of incidents of domestic violence to child protection services constitute an acknowledgement of the harm that domestic violence inflicts on children. However, these notifications represent a substantial demand on child welfare services and the outcomes for children and victims of domestic violence have been questioned. This…

Domestic violence arrests have been historically focused on protecting women and children from abusive men. Arrest patterns continue to reflect this bias with more men arrested for domestic violence compared to women. Such potential gender variations in arrest patterns pave the way to the investigation of disparities by sex of the offender in…

Domestic violence has emerged as a worldwide concern since the 1970s. Although a substantial amount of efforts have been devoted to assessing various aspects of domestic violence, a relatively small number of studies have empirically examined factors that shape public attitudes toward police response to such incidents. Even rarer is investigating…

Crime scholars have long conceptualized culture as a set of values that violence is used to defend or reinforce (i.e., honor). This analysis moves beyond this framework by conceptualizing culture as a toolkit providing strategies of action that individuals use to negotiate social situations. Qualitative data obtained from participant responses to…