Over the past five decades two parallel bodies of literature have emerged; one examines intimate partner violence (IPV), the other examines the overlap between victimization and offending. Until recently, these two bodies of literature had yet to intersect. The current study provides an exploratory investigation into the overlap between victimization and offending within IPV with a Bosnian adult sample. Utilizing self-report data, 200 Bosnian adults were classified into one of four distinct groups: nonviolent (no history of IPV victimization and/or IPV perpetration), victims (history of IPV victimization only), offenders (history of IPV perpetration only), and victim-offenders (history of IPV victimization and IPV perpetration). Over half of the sample (54%) indicated no prior experiences with IPV within their intimate relationships (current or past). For individuals who characterized their intimate relationships as volatile, analyses indicated that more individuals were involved in mutually violent (having experienced both victimization and perpetration) relationships than solely exclusive behaviors (having experienced only victimization or engaged in perpetration but not both). Moreover, a series of bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed important demographic and behavioral differences between the groupings. Policy implications, as well as suggestions for future research, are presented.

The shelter movement in Bosnia-Herzegovina was born out of a tradition of assisting survivors of gender-based violence in the early 1990s during the Bosnian conflict. To date, nine shelters are in existence providing emergency shelter and services to survivors. Little is known about these shelters, or the clients these shelters serve. The purpose of this study is to examine what services are provided to domestic violence survivors by shelters in Bosnia-Herzegovina and who these survivors are. A total of 43 service providers from all existing shelters within the country were surveyed about shelter characteristics, client demographics, and services provided. Findings revealed that the typical Bosnian shelter had been in operation for 11 years and had assisted 64 survivors in the previous year; the majority of whom were married females with minor children who had sought shelter services before. Core services were provided by the majority of shelters, including crisis services, legal and medical advocacy, counseling, and community education. While services were provided to a diverse group of survivors (e.g., children, elderly women, victims of human trafficking), shelters were less likely to be available for male and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender survivors. Implications from these findings, as well as limitations and suggestions for further research, are discussed.

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Razumijevanje policijskog aspekta prevencije kriminaliteta kroz prizmu teorije društvene dezorganizacije Apstrakt: Intencija ovog rada je da se kroz razmatranje temeljnih postavki i perspektiva teorije društvene dezorganizacije ukaže na mogućnosti njene praktične primjene u usmjeravanju policijskog preventivnog djelovanja. U radu su analizirani određeni aspekti preventivnog policijskog postupanja, elaborirane postavke teorije društvene dezorganizacije, te dat pregled izvjesnog broja studija koje su za cilj imale njeno empirijsko testiranje. Nadalje, u radu se polazi od pretpostavke da teorija društvene dezorganizacije ima svoju pragmatičnu društvenu vrijednost u kontekstu preventivnog policijskog postupanja. Apliciran je metodološki instrumentarij prigodan potrebama teorijskog istraživanja naslovne teme, koji je obuhvatio komparativnu metodu, induktivno-deduktivnu i metodu analize sadržaja. Značajan je istraživački nalaz prema kojem je poznavanje i apliciranje spoznaja teorije društvene dezorganizacije relevantno za policijsko preveniranje kriminaliteta, a posebno za rad policije u zajednici.

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