Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Treating spousal violence 'differently'
Other Titles:	International review of victimology
Authors:	Laster, Kathy Douglas, Roger
Keywords:	Criminal justice responses
Year:	2000
Publisher:	A B Academic Publishers
Citation:	7 (1-3), 2000
Notes:	Provides a brief background to the development of criminal justice responses to domestic violence before presenting the methodology and results of a Melboune, Victoria study aimed at ascertaining whether there is a parity of treatment, within the criminal justice system, of victims of spousal assault and victims of acquaintance or stranger assault. The findings and analysis reveal there is little difference in how intimate and non-intimate assaults are processed by the courts, but that police do tend to prosecute the latter more vigorously. Other differences which were identified, such as higher rates of case withdrawal and/or loss of information in domestic cases, were of either borderline or non-significance statistically. It is highlighted, however, that statistical non-relationships should not be confused with substantive non-relationships and that the various limitations of the study may have impacted on its results. Concludes that the study provides a warning against feminist empiricism and that a realization of the laws transformative potential can only be achieved by challenging the dominance of hegemonic interests in law and policy at a grass roots level.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12802
ISSN:	2697580
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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