The Relative Effects of Offense, Offender, and Victim Variables on the Decision to Prosecute Domestic Violence Cases

Hirschel, J. David; Hutchison, Ira W.

doi:10.1177/10778010122182299

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For example, officers' victim-blaming attitudes, the victim's use of alcohol, provocation by the victim (Stalans & Finn, 1995), and traditional views of women's roles (Feder, 1997) were found to influence arrest decisions. Furthermore, it has been suggested that differential prosecutorial treatment of domestic violence cases stems from prosecutors' own stereotypes of battered women (Lerman, 1986), offender characteristics (Hirschel & Hutchison, 2001), or victim characteristics (Hirschel & Hutchison, 2001), and that prosecutors rationalize their decisions not to prosecute by blaming the victim and assuming that women provoke the abuse (Simon, 1995). Thus, in this context, the determination that policies affect social norms implies an iterative process that underlies a more complex model of associations among social norms, the community, and the criminal justice system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving Beyond the Individual: Examining the Effects of Domestic Violence Policies on Social Norms

Salazar

Baker

Price

et al. 2003

American J of Comm Psychol

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To be effective, criminal justice policies should affect the underlying social norms for which the policies were enacted. This study sought to determine whether public perceptionsof criminal justice policies on domestic violence affected social norms. Two waves of data were collected via a telephone survey where a random probability sample of 973 residents was drawn from 4 communities. A structural equation model was tested and confirmed. Results provided strong support for the hypothesis that perceptions of criminal justice policies have direct effects on attitudes toward criminal justice response, and indirect effects on victim‐blaming attitudes, both underlying social norms related to domestic violence. The enactment of criminal justice policies, therefore, may have an impact beyond victims and perpetrators and lead to a transformation of the community through the emergence of new social norms. Public awareness campaigns designed to disseminate criminal justice policies may be instrumental in provoking social change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving Beyond the Individual: Examining the Effects of Domestic Violence Policies on Social Norms

Salazar

Baker

Price

et al. 2003

American J of Comm Psychol

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“…Pro-arrest policies may fail to address issues of discrimination (Bourg and Stock, 1994), and mandatory arrest policies have been criticised for their paternalistic approach (see Coker, 2004). Furthermore, prosecution rates may continue to be low in states where arrest is the preferred response to intimate partner violence (Hirschel and Hutchison, 2001).…”

Section: Intimate Partner Violence and Child Abuse: Continuities And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intimate partner violence and child abuse: a child‐centred perspective

Goddard

Bedi

2009

Child Abuse Review

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A substantial body of literature assessing the impact of intimate partner violence on children and associations between intimate partner violence and child abuse now exists. Central to knowledge about these areas of practice and research is a robust, child-centred consideration of some of the more challenging conceptual issues they give rise to. In this paper, we aim to stimulate debate by presenting a critical, child-centred perspective on the intersection between intimate partner violence and child abuse. Initially, we provide the context for the review by presenting a brief overview of the literature. We then consider three central issues from a child-centred perspective. We discuss the language used to describe children forced to live with intimate partner violence, and the importance of hearing children's perspectives on their experiences of such confl ict. Finally, we consider similarities and differences between the intimate partner violence and child abuse fi elds from a child-centred viewpoint. We conclude that increasing conceptual clarity around these issues will enhance research in the fi eld, and ultimately improve interventions designed to protect children forced to live with intimate partner violence. Copyright

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“…A substantial body of research identifies victim support for official action as a major concern for prosecutors, and the presence or absence of such support has been found to be a strong predictor of prosecutorial decision making (Dawson & Dinovitzer, 2001;Hirschel & Hutchison, 2001;Kingsnorth et al, 2001;Kingsnorth, Macintosh, & Sutherland, 2002;Quarm & Schwartz, 1983;Schmidt & Steury, 1989). It is, however, important to analyze victim preference equally as both a dependent and an independent variable.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%