CCJ 4663 Review Sheet Exam 2 Chapter 4 Intimate Partner Abuse Stalking Historical overview of IPA Battered Women s Movement 1970 s o Shelters and counseling programs were developed but the need was very great o Police began to receive training about domestic violence calls for service Women were considered to be the property of men Wife beating was legal and accepted form of discipline of women by their husbands 1990 s State and nonprofit task forces assembled to discuss the issues of IPA 1994 Violence Against Women Act became part of the federal Crime Victims Act 1995 Office on Violence Against Women OVW created within the Department of Justice Minnesota Domestic Violence Experiment Illustrated that when an arrest was made in a misdemeanor domestic violence incident recidivism rates were significantly lower compared to cases in which police simply counseled the aggressor o Arresting aggressor lower recidivism rates o Counseling higher recidivism rates Many departments usher in new policies based on the findings BUT Replication studies did not produce similar experiences and indicated that arresting the offender led to increases in violence Cycle of Violence Made up of 3 distinct time frames 1 Tension Building o Batterer increases control over a victim o As anger begins to build for the perpetrator the victim tries to keep her partner calm o She minimizes any problems in the relationship o Victim may feel as if she is walking on egg shells because the tension is high 2 Abusive Incident 3 Honeymoon period o Major incident of battering occurs o Batterer is highly abusive and engages in an act of violence toward the victim o Offender is apologetic for causing harm to the victim o Often loving and attentive promises to change o Perp is viewed as sincere and in many cases is forgiven by the victim o Over time this phase may end completely 1994 Violence Against Women Act Provided funding for battered women s shelters and outreach education as well as funding for domestic violence training for police and court personnel Provided the opportunity for victims to sue for civil damages as a result of violent acts Created new laws that target violators of civil restraining orders and that make interstate perpetrated against them domestic violence a federal crime Allow offenders to use civil justice in cases that prosecutors decline to prosecute Establish the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice Differences in the definition of IPA Wife battering fails to identify cases of violence outside of the marriage Domestic violence combines the crime of woman battering with other contexts of abuse found within a home environment such as the abuse of children or grandparents Intimate Partner abuse captures any form of abuse between individuals who currently have or previously had an intimate relationship The use of these terms can vary significantly between different research studies which can make it difficult to understand the extent of victimizations The Center for Disease Control o Defines intimate partner abuse as physical sexual or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse National Violence Against Women survey o Includes cases or rape sexual assault physical assault and stalking behaviors Bureau of Justice Statistics o Includes homicides and robberies involving intimate partners Four types of IPA Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse Psychological Abuse Destruction of Women s Property and pets Commonality among the 4 categories o To harm the victim o To control and dominate the victim o This type of abuse occurs in an intimate relationship What crime do prosecutors charge in most cases Most crimes of IPA are considered a misdemeanor offense even for repeat offenders In these cases prosecutors charge offenders with the crime of simple assault which carries with it a penalty of no more than one year in jail Battered Women Syndrome Explanation of the consequences of IPA for victims Has been introduced as evidence to explain why women kill their batterers Juries show little sympathy for women who kill their abuser Learned helplessness or psychological paralysis Victim becomes so depressed defeated and passive that they are incapable of leaving the situation How do African American women cope with IPA Black women are at an increased risk to be victimized in cases of intimate partner violence Economic and social marginalization can place women of color at an increased risk for Race ethnicity can affect whether a victim will seek out support and resources from social victimization service agencies Black women were significantly more likely to use emergency hospital services police assistance and housing assistance compared to White Hispanic Latina Traditional therapeutic communities may be ineffective for some victims of violence o I will not sit there and tell all these White women my business Victim experiences with Police First step asking for assistance o Victims can either request the presence of the police or police may be summoned on behalf of a victim to seek protection from intimate partner abuse o Some women did not feel that police took the issue of verbal violence seriously o Victims also often minimized the severity of verbal violence in order to avoid the police from making an arrest Policy of Mandatory Dual Arrests nation Mandatory arrests Mandatory arrests or pro arrest policies began to surface in police departments across the o Refer to the legal duty of a police officer to make an arrest if the officer has reason to believe that domestic violence has occurs o Removed the responsibility of arrest from the victim s decision to the officer s decision Dual arrests designation o More likely to occur when state laws or policies do not include a primary aggressor o Officers must make a determination about who the real offender is o Result in women being arrested for DV with their partner Consequences for Women and LGBT community Gender role steroptying Homophobia and discrimination are also risks Adds heterosexism external homophobia and internalized homophobia to the wheel Women who experienced abuse within their first lesbian relationship felt a lack of connection the lesbian community some wondered whether the abuse was a normal component of a lesbian relationship Women who had strong networks or attachments with the LGBT community were more likely to seek help when their relationship turned violent Unintended Consequences of Mandatory Arrests Susan