Harassment and Sexual Assault are both offenses and crimes that can be classified as domestic violence as well. The responses within a university to allegations of domestic violence are different from investigations by sworn law enforcement. There is an obligation to investigate and charge by law enforcement when certain incidents of domestic…

Doing sensitive research presents particular problems over and above other social science research because of the nature of the issues being asked about and their potential impact on both the participant and the researcher. In some instances, the factors that engage the researcher in the project may also be of interest to advocates who are working…

Gender-based violence is pervasive and poses unique challenges in conflict-affected settings, with women and girls particularly vulnerable to its sequelae. Furthermore, widespread stigmatization of gender-based violence promotes silence among survivors and families, inhibiting access to services. Little evidence exists regarding effective…

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…

In the present study, a structured risk assessment instrument for intimate partner violence, the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER), was coded for 146 files of spousal assault cases from the Dutch probation service, dating from 2004 and 2005. The aim of the study was twofold: (a) to validate Holtzworth-Munroe and…

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…

The nexus between substance abuse and intimate partner violence has been studied in depth. The interrelationship between drinking, intimate partner violence, and an officer's decision to make an arrest has not received as much attention. The issue is complicated by the fact that either or both of the involved parties may have been drinking and the…

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 tests two hypotheses regarding factors affecting arrest of the perpetrator in domestic violence incidents. Black's relational-distance thesis is that the probability of arrest increases with increasing relational distance between perpetrator and victim. Klinger's leniency principle suggests that the probability of arrest is lower for…

This study examined protective order (PO) outcomes for a period of 12 months for 698 women from multiple jurisdictions. Overall, results indicate that 2 out of 5 women did not experience violence after the PO was issued; however, 3 out of 5 women did experience ongoing violence. Two key risk factors were associated with PO violations and are…

This study manipulated the race of the defendant and the victim (White/White, White/Asian, Asian/Asian, and Asian/White) in a domestic violence case to examine the potential prejudicial impact of race on juror decision making. A total of 181undergraduate students read a trial transcript involving an allegation of spousal abuse in which defendant…

A survey of police officers (n = 211) and prosecutors (n = 190) in Sweden was conducted to assess law personnel's beliefs about the behaviors and reactions of victims of violent crimes.There were considerable differences in the expected behavioral display of different types of crime victims, with rape and domestic assault victims seen as…

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…

Using data from the Baltimore Police Stress and Domestic Violence study, the authors examined how exposure to stressful events on the job affects law enforcement employees' physical aggression toward domestic partners, evaluating the role of negative emotions and authoritarian spillover in mediating the impact of such task-related stress. The…

In the United States, there is an ongoing debate about requiring health care professionals to report intimate partner violence (IPV) to law enforcement agencies. A comprehensive examination of the perspectives of those required to report abuse is critical, as their roles as mandated reporters often pose legal, practical, moral, and ethical…