Domestic Violence and the Criminal Justice System An Overview. Edna Erez, LL. B., Ph. D. Abstract. It is only recently that domestic violence has been considered a violation of the law. Although men have battered, abused and mistreated their wives or intimate partners for a long time, historically, wife or partner abuse has been viewed as a normal part of marriage or intimate relationships. Only towards the end of the twentieth century, in the 1. This article surveys the history of domestic violence as a criminal offense, and the justice system response to woman battering incidents. Divorce-fight-about-thing.jpg' alt='Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' title='Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' />It first discusses the definition of the offense including debates around the offense definition, and the prevalence and reported frequency of the behavior termed woman battering. It then reviews the legal and social changes over time that have altered the criminal justice systems approach to domestic violence. Next it outlines the responses of the police, and the prosecution of domestic violence. The article also discusses research findings related to domestic violence and the criminal justice system, along with current controversies concerning the justice approach to domestic violence, its law enforcement, and related unfolding trends in the movement to address domestic violence through the criminal justice system. Citation Erez, Edna, January 3. Domestic Violence and the Criminal Justice System An Overview Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 7 No. 1, Manuscript 3. Available www. nursingworld. Main. Menu. CategoriesANAMarketplaceANAPeriodicalsOJINTableof. ContentsVolume. 72. No. 1Jan. 20. 02Domestic. Violenceand. Criminal. Justice. aspx. Key words domestic violence, woman battering, policing, prosecution, adjudication, mandatory or presumed arrest policies, dual arrest, protection order, battered woman syndrome, no drop policies. Introduction. Domestic violence is one of those gender related violations that has had a long past but a short history. Men have battered, abused and mistreated their wives or intimate partners for a long time. Historically, wife or partner abuse has been viewed as a normal part of marriage or intimate relationships an experience that women who have entered marriage or established relationships should expect, or tolerate. Only towards the end of the twentieth century, in the 1. This article, written from the perspective of domestic violence and the criminal justice system in the United States of America U. S. A., surveys the history of domestic violence as a criminal offense, and the justice system response to woman battering incidents. It first discusses the definition of the offense, the prevalence of the behavior and its reported frequency. The New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence NMCADV. All Rights Reserved. This article synthesizes recommendations of several researchers and studies conducted during the 1990s to develop a mediation protocol that addresses concerns about. Abuse Counseling and Eduction,Inc., Amends Program Domestic Violence Batterers Intervention Program Evansville, Indiana. Evansville, Indiana Domestic Violence. Domestic violence also named domestic abuse, battering, or family violence is a pattern of behavior which involves violence or other abuse by one person against. It then presents the legal and social changes over time that have altered the criminal justice systems approach to domestic violence. Roots Alex Haley. Next it outlines the responses of the police, and the prosecution of domestic violence. The article also discusses research findings related to domestic violence and the criminal justice system, along with current controversies related to domestic violence, its law enforcement and future trends in the movement to address domestic violence through the criminal justice system. Definitional and Prevalence Issues. Most jurisdictions in the U. S. A. define the behavior of wife abuse or intimate violence as domestic violence. Criminal codes specifically listing the behavior as a crime rather than merely addressing it within the general law of assault refer to it as family or domestic violence. Getting out of an abusive relationship isnt easy, but help is available. Learn how to protect yourself while you explore your options. Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' title='Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' />There has been much debate revolving around the use of the term domestic violence to describe intimate violence or partner abuse. Research has shown that in violence between intimate partners, men are commonly the aggressors and women typically are the victims. In the overwhelming majority of cases reported to the police, and subsumed under the category of domestic violence in police records, women are the victims. For instance, research suggests that about 8. Nokia 309 Rm-843 Flash File. The rest of the parties include parents, siblings, in laws, or roommates Erez, 1. Erez Kessler, 1. Research on the prevalence of family violence Straus Gelles, 1. Feminist researchers e. Kurz, 1. 99. 3, however, challenged the term family violence and the conception of intimate violence as mutual combat Straus, 1. They argue that the term family or domestic violence is misleading because it disguises the fact that women are typically the victims in domestic violence, and that underlying the abusive behavior is male control and domination. They recommend that the term family violence be replaced with woman battering, which more accurately describes the majority of cases of domestic violence Kurz, 1. Researchers have also pointed out that although there are cases in which women assault their intimate partners, the experience of women being battered by men is different from that of males being battered by females. Research also demonstrates that most violent incidents which find women cast as the perpetrators are cases of self defense Dobash, Dobash, Wilson 1. Many of these cases include situations where women who have suffered abuse either in the specific moment or, more commonly, over a prolonged period of time, have reacted by defending themselves. These cases include women who have thwarted the aggression of their partner or acted violently due to the extremely tenuous psychological state they were in following a lengthy and continuous abuse by their batterer Browne, 1. MaxWidth_620/image.jpg' alt='Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' title='Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' />Walker, 1. Researchers have also pointed out that although there are cases in which women assault their intimate partners, the experience of women being battered by men is different from that of males being battered by females. The differences are qualitative as well as quantitative, and include considerations such as the frequency and severity of the abuse, its motivation and meaning to the victim, and the victims ability to resist the abuse or to separate from the batterer Johnson, 1. Although conflict and aggressive behavior characterize many marital or intimate relationships, research demonstrates that serious harm from abuse incidents are commonly found in cases in which men abuse their female partners. As will be discussed later, the presumed reciprocity of violence in marital couples or intimate relationships has had ramifications for battered womens encounters with police, particularly for arrest outcomes. Increase in arrest rates following legal reforms of mandatory or presumed arrest has been partially related to the dual arrest policy, namely, police inclination to arrest both the male perpetrator and his female partner, because in most domestic violence encounters the parties involved tend to file charges and counter charges Martin, 1. An observed increased arrest rate of women in domestic violence cases has been attributed to this policy Ferraro, 1. Research suggests that the prevalence and frequency of the behavior termed domestic violence is high, regardless of the method employed to study its extent Worden, 2. There is evidence to suggest that estimates of intimate violence produced by various studies employing different methods are lower that their true incidence, as victims of intimate violence tend to underreport the behavior to researchers. Police records provide even a lower estimate of the incidence of domestic violence, as many victims avoid reporting the victimization to the police. Domestic violence facts, information, pictures. Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. COPYRIGHT 2. 00. 2 The Gale Group Inc. All states made wife beating illegal by 1. However, only since the 1. Domestic violence is any physical, sexual, or psychological abuse that people use against a former or current intimate partner. It refers to a number of criminal behaviors assault and battery sexual assault stalking harassment violation of a civil restraining order homicide and other offenses that occur in the course of a domestic violence incident, such as arson, robbery, malicious destruction of property, and endangering a minor. No person can validly consent to a breach of the peace or a battery that may result in serious injury or death. Furthermore, most states have abolished the marital rape exemption in toto this exemption precluded husbands from being prosecuted for raping their wives. Thus, in general, there is no legal distinction between crimes committed against intimate partners and those committed against strangers. Police, prosecutors, and judges are routinely trained in domestic violence, and aggressive interventions are continually implemented. Individuals across the political spectrum have generally supported these changes, although there is ongoing debate as to which interventions work best. Furthermore, some fear that the pendulum has swung too far, and that those who are accused of domestic violence, particularly men, are presumed guilty rather than innocent. Images/wheel4_l.jpg' alt='Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' title='Domestic Violence Batterers Treatment Program' />Advocates are concerned that the needs of victims are being sacrificed for higher conviction rates. Indeed, the ongoing challenge for the criminal justice system is to protect the rights of both defendants and victims while at the same time treating domestic violence as a serious social problem. Even though the criminal justice system has come a long way since 1. Who are the abusers Who are the victims The majority of those arrested for domestic violence are heterosexual men. However, between 5 and 1. Many of these cases involve self defending women who have been mistakenly arrested. While women can be the initial aggressor, female abusers are rarely identified or studied. Thus, most theoretical and practical work on domestic violence, as well as the policies and controversies that are discussed in this entry, assume the male battererfemale victim paradigm. Gay men and lesbians constitute only a small percentage of those arrested for domestic violence. As with female abusers, we know surprisingly little about domestic violence in same sex. Same sex victims receive fewer protections and face many more social consequences when reporting domestic violence to the authorities than heterosexual victims. For example, many states define domestic violence in a way that excludes same sex victims, and some states with sodomy laws also require victims to acknowledge that they are in a domestic relationship, forcing victims to admit to a crime before receiving legal protection. How many people are victims of domestic violenceThe honest answer is that we just do not know. The federal government and a majority of the states collect statistics on domestic violence, but there are wide variations in how each jurisdiction defines offenses, determines what is counted, and measures or reports incidents. Statistics on the incidence and prevalence of domestic violence vary greatly. Thus, it is imperative that when evaluating data one considers the source and the methodology. It is vital to have an accurate picture of domestic violence in order to formulate appropriate policies and maintain intellectual integrity. There are two official federal measures of crime, the National Crime Victimization Survey NCVS and the Uniform Crime Reporting Program UCR of the F. B. I. The NCVS gathers information about crime and its consequences from a nationally representative sample of U. S. residents. It surveys respondents about any crimes experienced, including their relationship to the perpetrator. However, there is no way to independently verify this information or to determine how many incidents go unreported to authorities. In fact, it is estimated that about one half of the incidents of intimate violence experienced by women are never reported to the police. This percentage is likely higher for both straight and gay men and lesbians given that the traditional definition of domestic violence is wife beating. The UCR tracks crimes reported to law enforcement. However, it does not require local law enforcement to maintain data on the relationship between victim and offender except in the case of murder. The National Incident Based Reporting System NIBRS, authorized by Congress in 1. However, NIBRS has not yet been implemented nationally. Data compiled in 1. Bureau of Justice Statistics yielded the estimate that women experienced 8. Men experienced about 1. In 1. 99. 6, just over 1,8. By comparison, in 1. Greenfeld. Other studies have suggested that as many as four million women are battered each year, and that 1. Healy, Smith, and OSullivan. Most intimate relationships are established between people of the same racial and economic background. Domestic violence occurs across all demographic groups. However, official rates of nonlethal, intimate violence are highest among women aged sixteen to twenty four, women in households in the lowest income categories, and women residing in urban areas Greenfeld. Couples who cohabitate experience more violence than those who are married Holzworth Munroe. Other studies have found that abused women are more likely to live in communities with the highest rates of stranger violence Fagan. African American women comprise the largest group of victims, although they are also more likely to report intimate victimizations to the police than any other group. However, ethnicity and race are not significant correlates with domestic violence when controlling for other socio demographic variables, such as income, employment status, and age. Official statistics may be overinclusive of the poor and minorities. Women with higher incomes often have the resources to deal with domestic violence privately without involving the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the police may be more likely to arrest people in poor and middle class neighborhoods than in upper class neighborhoods. However, those with fewer resources also face more stressors, and while stress itself does not lead directly to violence, it can exacerbate the risk of violence Holzworth Munroe. The causes of domestic violence. There are many theories as to the causes of domestic violence. Feminist inspired theories look to the institution of patriarchy and argue that battering mirrors male power and control over females. Family based theories examine the. Individual based theories attribute domestic violence to personality disorders or biomedical factors, such as head injuries or mental illness. Evolutionary theorists have suggested that male violence against females, both in primates and cross culturally, is a strategy used to control the females reproduction and, in humans, is often precipitated by male sexual jealousy Daly and Wilson. Furthermore, domestic violence researchers are exploring how race, class, religion, and culture, as well as psychological variables such as low self esteem and abusive childhoods, affect ones experiences with violence.