Predicting Police Endorsement of Myths Surrounding Intimate Partner Violence

Providing Support to Victims: Police Officers’ Service Referral Provision and Advocate Involvement in Domestic Violence Incidents

“…In these instances, perhaps DV victims were less likely to reach out for advocacy assistance because of their dependence on the perpetrator and their inability to leave the marital relationship, despite the dangers associated with staying. It could also be that police or specialized investigators, who are tasked with building a case against the DV perpetrator, adhered to schemata about married women in abusive relationships and their decreased cooperation with police efforts (e.g., El Sayed et al, 2020;Fleming & Franklin, 2020)-including embedded victim advocates. To that end, officers may be less likely to engage in efforts to involve victim advocates in cases involving married couples.…”

“…Feminist scholarship has suggested that adverse criminal justice responses to DV may be, in part, the result of entrenched cultural myths regarding sex roles within both the public and private spheres, including the ways that men and women should behave and interact in interpersonal relationships (Freedman, 2002;Fleming & Franklin, 2020;Koss et al, 1994). Negative sex scripts and stereotypes have promoted misconceptions surrounding unequal power dynamics and unrealistic expectations in relationships, particularly as it relates to women and femininity (see Franklin, 2013;Johnson, 1997).…”

“…Negative sex scripts and stereotypes have promoted misconceptions surrounding unequal power dynamics and unrealistic expectations in relationships, particularly as it relates to women and femininity (see Franklin, 2013;Johnson, 1997). Police officers are not immune from these messages (DeJong et al, 2008;Fleming & Franklin, 2020). For example, durable sex stereotypes have suggested that femininity is manifested as passivity, emotionality, and dependence (Johnson, 1997) and masculinity is displayed as aggression, authority, independence, and decisiveness (Kilmartin, 2000).…”

“…Indeed, empirical studies have documented police officers' dearth of understanding regarding the complex psychological dynamics of relationship abuse. This lack of insight has increased adherence to DV myths and frustration in responding to partner abuse (DeJong et al, 2008;Fleming & Franklin, 2020;McPhedran et al, 2017). Myth adherence and frustration can translate to insensitive police responses because their schema surrounding DV may suggest this offense is not worthy of criminal justice intervention.…”

Situating Institutional Responses to Latina Intimate Partner Violence Victims: An Argument for a LatCrit Lens

“…Further, within the broader context of institutional responses to IPV, research has demonstrated that legal actors, including police, make decisions about cases based on individual schema and cognitions (Perez Trujillo & Ross, 2008; Sleath & Bull, 2017). Indeed, feminist criminology scholarship has emphasized how the endorsement of IPV myths or misconceptions surrounding relationship violence has invalidated victims, increased victim culpability, plagued decision-making, and contributed to case attrition (Eigenberg et al, 2012; Fleming & Franklin, 2020; Koss et al, 1994). Most importantly, the present body of literature on IPV perceptions and subsequent consequences on case outcomes has neglected to consider racial- and ethnic-specific schema, particularly as relating to Latina IPV victims.…”