Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Victim or offender? Heterogeneity among women arrested for intimate partner violence
Other Titles:	Journal of family violence
Authors:	Renauer, Brian Henning, Kris Holdford, Robert
Keywords:	Legal issues;Criminal justice responses;Policing
Year:	2007
Publisher:	Kluwer Academic Plenum Publishers
Citation:	21 (6), August 2006
Notes:	Mandatory arrest laws for intimate partner violence (IPV) have increased both the number and proportion of arrests that involve female defendants. Whether these numbers should be as high as they are remains a source of controversy. Most practitioners argue that women are usually arrested for defensive actions used in the face of assaults perpetrated by their spouse/partner. Others believe that these higher arrest rates more accurately reflect the true prevalence of physical aggression perpetrated by women. One way to help clarify this debate is to take a closer look at the women charged with IPV. The present study used self-reported information and criminal justice records on prior aggression to classify 485 women convicted of IPV into four distinct subtypes (i.e., no prior violence, primary victim, primary aggressor, and primary aggressor not identified). Despite the fact that all of these women were arrested for and convicted of IPV, analyses consistently found that few of the women could be considered as the primary aggressor in their relationship. Nor, however, were all of the women classified as primary victims. Methodological issues are discussed as well as the policy, practice, and research implications of this study. [?2006 Springer. All rights reserved. For further information, visit SpringerLink.]
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12346
ISSN:	0885-7482
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

Items in ANROWS library are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.