"I am witness to": a profile of Sakshi Violence Intervention Centre in New Delhi,India

Sakshi, a group formed in New Delhi, India, in 1992, seeks to create awareness of violence against women and promote justice for its victims. Its creation was spurred by the gang rape by police officers of a girl in custody and the subsequent minimization on the part of the Supreme Court of India of the seriousness of the crime. Program activities have included informational workshops for governmental and nongovernmental organizations, feminist legal research into violations of women's human rights, counseling for victims of violence, and sensitization programs for police and the judiciary. As a result of Sakshi's lobbying, the Supreme Court passed a set of Guidelines on Sexual Harassment at the Workplace in 1997. An ongoing problem has been Sakshi's dependence on donor funding and the related requirement of adopting development agencies' agendas rather than allowing development to be a demand-driven, needs-based process. Sakshi's experience has led to the awareness that violence cannot be countered by intervention measures alone; rather, program activities must be linked with other forms of gender development. The group has adopted use of the term "substantive equality" to form links between different systems in society and to empower women.     

Fear and expectations: differences among female victims of domestic violence who come to the attention of the police

This study investigated a broad range of female victims of domestic partner abuse who came to the attention of the police. Ninety-five consecutive victims were interviewed by officers in a police department's domestic violence unit. Twenty-two percent of the victims matched expectations of women who were both afraid of their abusers and expected future abuse. Surprisingly, 46% of the victims were unafraid of their offenders and believed that future abuse was unlikely. A consistent pattern of findings supports the conclusion that a much broader range of victims than expected comes to the attention of the police. These results suggest exploring alternative police responses for different types of victims.     

Racial accountabilities: the legal legibility of racial state violence in the Special State’s Attorney Report on Police Torture in Chicago

Public inquiries command significant political capital for liberal democratic states that premise their authority on being accountable to a generalized public sphere. By attending to the particular relations of visibility that are generated by these investigative state institutions, this article reveals the differentiated forms of legal and political accountability that structure the proceedings and case history of the 2006 Special State’s Attorney Report, which investigated the torture of African American suspects by Chicago police officers under the supervision of former Commander Jon Burge. More specifically, this article documents the racial relations of power that shape how state actors and institutions are made to answer for their conduct, explicating the ‘racial accountabilities’ that mediated this public inquiry as well as the practices of state violence it was tasked with investigating. On the one hand, these forms of accountability focused blame on the individualized actions of particular state actors, abstracting their conduct from the broader systemic conditions that have rendered African American populations vulnerable to racial state violence. On the other hand, this article explains how the forensic gaze deployed throughout the legal investigations into torture reconstituted its victims as objects of law with differential access to its forms of protection and technologies of redress. By detailing the force and dimensions of these racial accountabilities, this article illustrates how public inquiries and other institutions of law can reproduce and extend racial fields of violence while also regenerating public confidence in the efficacy and equality of the state.     

Interview: Tatyana Lipovskaya,Sisters Sexual Assault Recovery Centre,Moscow, Russia

The Sisters' Sexual Assault Recovery Center was established in Moscow, Russia, in 1993, to address the needs of victims of sexual violence. The Center's help-line received 4029 crisis calls in 1994-97. Most clients are seeking information about medical services or legal aid. Others call about employment, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, and drug abuse. Services are available without regard to age, sex, occupation, or sexual orientation. Program funding has come entirely from Western foundations and organizations. Although Russia has not passed a law on domestic violence, the post-Communism government is reluctantly starting to acknowledge that rape and domestic violence are serious social problems. The Center runs an educational program for law enforcement officers to increase their sensitivity and create an environment of safety for women who report sexual violence.     

Safety for battered women in a textually mediated legal system 1

This paper proposes a shift in legal advocacy approaches employed by activists in the US battered women's movement that would take into account how the work of criminal justice professionals (police officers, probation officers, judges, and prosecutors) is organized. While judicial procedures may be more successful in bringing domestic abusers to justice than in the past, they are less successful in producing safety for the victims of abusers. Using institution ethnography as a research strategy, I explore aspects of how the work of practitioners in the police and court system is organized in ways that are not observable to activists working with the victims of abuse. An important aspect of the institutional process are its texts. Texts, as they are produced and processed in people's work settings, coordinate and regulate the different phases of practitioners’ work. In these work processes, organized and limited by formalized texts, women's experience of violence and intimidation is erased and issues of their safety disappear. In conclusion, I propose a method of engaging criminal justice professionals and community advocates in an investigation of local criminal justice settings with the intent of making changes in practices which fail to attend to the safety needs of women who are battered.     

Domestic violence: a worldwide exploration

The concept of domestic violence is important to nursing because further knowledge of this phenomenon can help drive more effective intervention and prevention approaches. Domestic violence, also known as gender violence, interpersonal violence, and domestic abuse, is a daily and often a deadly fact of life for millions of women and girls around the world. Attacks are perpetrated in settings that include public streets, at places of employment, in the home, while serving in the military, and in prisons and jails. The costs of this violence, both monetary and in human lives, are tremendous. Although nurses are in a unique position to screen for domestic violence and provide assistance and advocacy for victims, barriers exist related to victim disclosure and staff training and comfort levels. Advanced practice nurses can address the issue directly through appropriate treatment facilitation, including both physical and psychosocial intervention.     

“Whoa! They Could’ve Arrested <Emphasis Type="Italic">Me</Emphasis>!”: Unsuccessful Identity Claims of Women During Police Response to Intimate Partner Violence

Many jurisdictions in the U.S. have implemented mandatory arrest policies in an attempt to limit police officers’ discretion in their arrest decisions when responding to intimate partner violence calls. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with female victims of intimate partner violence, I explore the ways in which mandatory arrest policies have influenced the identity work of women during their interactions with police officers. I focus specifically on women’s “unsuccessful” identity claims: situations where women are unable to convince police officers that they are victims and situations where women are unable to convince officers that they are not victims. I examine the strategies that women use during their identity work and explore the consequences of women’s failed self presentations under mandatory arrest policies, the most significant of which is a woman’s arrest. I argue that under mandatory arrest policies, for many women, the risk of failed identity work is even more consequential than before these policies were established.     

The Norwegian police and victims of elder abuse in close and familial relationships

Over recent decades, domestic violence or family violence, violence against women and child abuse has received much attention in the media, in political discourse and in social research. However, abuse of older adults arouses limited interest. In government action against domestic violence and in police guidance manuals, the elderly receive little attention. The aim of this article is primarily to demonstrate how the police attempt to prevent elder abuse in close relationships, especially in parent-child relationships. This article highlights some contradictions between the need of the police to produce criminal cases (often contrary to the interests of the victims) on the one hand, and the police's duty to prevent further abuse on the other. Research has documented that help and prevention measures in question make the situation even worse for the victims they are meant to help.     

Women's legal knowledge: a case study of Mexican urban dwellers

In Mexico, the nongovernmental organization Sevisio, Desarrollo y Paz, A.C. (SEDEPAC) is helping poor women acquire legal knowledge in an economic climate characterized by the increased feminization of poverty brought about by the Structural Adjustment Program. The Mexican legal system is grounded in a patriarchal tradition, and the codified laws continue to favor men. Women were not granted full citizenship until 1953, and discrimination against women was not addressed in Mexican law until 1974 as the country prepared to host the First UN International Women's Conference. However, legal advances are not being applied in the family or in larger society where men remain in power. Mexico also distinguishes between private law and public law. Because domestic violence falls in the realm of private law, authorities are loathe to follow-up on women's complaints in this area. Since its founding in 1983, SEDEPAC has applied a gender perspective to its activities and programs. SEDEPAC held its first women's legal workshop in 1987 and realized that most poor women have no knowledge of existing laws or their rights, that alternative legal services for women are scarce, that existing laws must be changed, and that the authoritarian and conservative legal system helps maintain cultural stereotypes. Since then, SEDEPAC has held annual workshops, follow-up meetings, and training sessions and has provided counseling. The main topics addressed are women's social conditions; violence and the penal code; civil rights, power, and dependency; women's bodies and reproductive rights; and women's organization and leadership. The workshops use techniques of popular education such as group participation and use of gossip as a communication tool. The workshops have changed participants' lives and led to the formation of an independent Popular Defenders' Coordination.     

Police interviews of sexual assault reporters: do attitudes matter?

Sexual assault is underreported in the United States. Survivors are often reluctant to make police reports for various reasons; one is fear of revictimization by criminal justice professionals. Conversely, police officers often lack skills for interviewing crime victims. Posttraumatic stress reactions among victims can exacerbate the problem. Although some victims prefer female interviewers, it is not known whether they are more skilled. A sample of 429 police officers completed a written survey testing their rape myth acceptance and knowledge of how to interview rape reporters. A significant relationship between rape myth acceptance and interviewing skill was discovered. Although officer gender was related to interviewing skill, the effect was mediated by rape myth acceptance. Specific officer behaviors related to high rape myth acceptance were identified. Implications for selection of police to conduct victim interviews were discussed.     

The role of stalking in domestic violence crime reports generated by the Colorado Springs Police Department

A review of 1,785 domestic violence crime reports generated by the Colorado Springs Police Department found that 1 in 6 (16.5 percent) contained evidence the suspect stalked the victim. Female victims were significantly more likely than male victims to allege stalking by their partners (18.3 vs. 10.5 percent). Most stalkers were former rather than current intimates. Regardless of victims' gender, reports with stalking allegations were significantly less likely to mention physical abuse or victim injury in the presenting condition, to involve households with children, or to involve victims and suspects who were using alcohol at the time of the report. Female victims who alleged stalking by their partner were significantly less likely than female victims who did not allege stalking to be emotionally distraught at the time of the report, but significantly more likely to have an active restraining order against the suspect, and to sign releases to facilitate the police investigation. Police almost never charged domestic violence stalking suspects with stalking, preferring instead to charge them with harassment or violation of a restraining order.     

Who Cares If Police Become Violent? Explaining Approval of Police Use of Force Using a National Sample

Understanding police violence is important in part because police violence, if generally tolerated, could transform a society based on law into one governed by political and personal whim. This research asks whether the conflict perspective can explain which groups are more likely to approve of police use of force, and whether several dimensions of power are at issue or just a few. Previous studies have found that race is the most important factor in determining approval of police use of force. Gender, age, class, and other variables have shown mixed results. Using a national sample (1998 General Social Survey), this paper contributes a more comprehensive examination of this issue to the small body of literature in this area. We look at approval of police use of force in five scenarios. Our findings show that minorities and women are more likely to disapprove of police use of force. Supporting a narrow application of conflict theory, other dimensions of power appear not to affect attitudes toward police hitting citizens. Context of violence matters too. When situations are not actively threatening for officers, by near consensus, violence is unacceptable. Disagreement comes from less clear-cut circumstances.     

Examining Identity Consolidation Processes Among Ethnic Minority Gay Men and Lesbians

Legal recourse is a vital avenue for many domestic violence victims. For lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people, these laws have historically been heterosexist. Considering the many states that are now inclusive of same-gender relationships, an existing data set was utilized to examine the influence of sociodemographic predictors on the perceptions of domestic violence law among LGB. Our findings illustrate that nonwhite LGB and those who have negative perceptions of law enforcement have the most negative perceptions of domestic violence legal protections as they apply to same-gender relationships. These findings have implications for service providers, advocacy and outreach organizations, and future research exploring the impact perceptions of legal avenues have on LGB victims.     

Intellectual disabilities,domestic violence and legal engagement

There is increasing recognition that legal responses to domestic violence can only be effective if those who implement the law – for example, child protection workers, police and magistrates – are also effective. This article draws on the narratives of women with intellectual disabilities to analyse their experiences of engaging with the legal system as a response to domestic violence. In particular, the article considers whether they have access to appropriate support to utilise the remedies afforded by the law on an equal basis to survivors without disabilities. In considering this we draw on the concept of supported decision-making, an approach recommended by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.     

Policing “Domestic Disturbances” in Small Towns and Rural Communities: Implications for Officer and Victim Safety

Drawing on Canadian police data on homicide involving domestic dispute calls from 1960 to the present (n = 20), as well as on in‐depth interviews with police officers (n = 33) working in rural and remote communities, the authors reexamine the argument that police attendance at domestic disturbance calls can pose a special threat to officer safety. Although some scholarship suggests that purported risks have been overstated, the authors argue that location may be a critical factor in reducing or heightening not only risks to officers, but also to victims. Although intended as an exploratory work, situated within the context of cultural support for domestic violence in rural communities, the authors raise both interesting policy implications, as well as potential avenues for future research. En partant de données de la police canadienne sur les homicides impliquant des disputes familiales de 1960 à nos jours (n = 20), ainsi que sur des entrevues en profondeur avec des agents policiers (n = 33) travaillant dans des régions rurales et des communautés éloignées, les auteurs ré‐examinent l'argument voulant que les interventions policières lors d'appels liés à des problèmes domestiques posent un risque spécial pour les agents policiers. Même si certains spécialistes suggèrent que ces risques sont exagérés, les auteurs affirment que le lieu pourrait être un facteur important par rapport au niveau de risque pour les agents policiers, ainsi que les victimes. Même s'il s'agit d'une recherche exploratoire, se situant dans le contexte du soutient culturel de la violence domestique dans les communautés rurales, les auteurs s'intéressent à la fois aux implications en termes de gestion et aux directions possibles en termes de recherches futures.     

Physical violence against children reported to the police: discrepancies between register-based data and child victim survey

This study examines the reporting and not reporting of child victimization to the police. The study focuses on comparing the police reports of child victimization to the Finnish Child Victim Survey (FCVS) to find out the kind of violence that is reported to the police and the kind that is not. A total number of 242 police reports of 12-year-old victims of physical violence were collected from the Finnish Police Information System. These reports were compared to the 12-year-old children's victimization experiences in the FCVS. Discrepancies between these two data can be found in the victim's gender, the relationship between the victim and the suspect, and the location of the assault. Physical violence against girls committed by mothers is not reported as often as physical violence against boys committed by men.     

Lethal Policing: Making Sense of American Exceptionalism

Thanks to the creation of a national database of police killings, the social distribution, causes, and consequences of police violence are finally amenable to analysis. This article focuses on why the rate of police killings in the United States towers over that in other industrialized nations. Elevated police lethality is deeply rooted in two distinctive aspects of American society and culture. Police violence is both a tool and product of strategies to maintain racial segregation and inequality. However, racism cannot explain the fact that police lethality is greatest in states where African Americans are least prevalent. Elevated police killings are also rooted in America's prevailing ideology (and mythology) of self‐reliance and limited government. Neoliberal ideology helped some politicians cut gaping holes in the social safety net, leaving ill‐equipped and fearful police officers to deal with desperate people who lack adequate treatment and support, yet who have easy access to weapons. It also limits the legislative and regulative authority that centralized policy actors exert over policing. Nevertheless, police overreliance on deadly force is increasingly understood as a national problem requiring large‐scale solutions.     

Does a helping hand put others at risk?: affirmative action,police departments,and crime

Will increasing the number of minority and women police officers make law enforcement more effective by drawing on abilities that have gone untapped and creating better contact with communities and victims? Or will standards have to be lowered too far before large numbers of minorities and women can be hired? Using cross‐sectional time‐series data for U.S. cities for 1987, 1990, and 1993, I find that hiring more black and minority police officers increases crime rates, but this apparently arises because lower hiring standards involved in recruiting more minority officers reduces the quality of both new minority and new nonminority officers. The most adverse effects of these hiring policies have occurred in the areas most heavily populated by blacks. There is no consistent evidence that crime rates rise when more women are hired, and this raises questions about whether norming tests or altering their content to create equal pass rates is preferable. The article examines how the changing composition of police departments affects such measures as the murder of and assaults against police officers.     

Precinct Domestic Violence Teams: Whose Goals Should Determine Program Activities?

ABSTRACT

This article describes an urban community's attempts to increase domestic violence survivors' participation in the criminal justice system by combining social work advocacy, specialized police officers, and prosecutors into precinct domestic violence teams. An analysis of the outcomes of 1,057 domestic violence reports found that the presence of the teams did not result in increased survivor participation in prosecution. A survey of 265 of the survivors indicated that prosecution was rarely a goal of the survivors, whose participation was needed to meet the goals of the criminal justice system. This study illustrates the importance of learning the views of people that interventions are designed to help.     

What really happened? A validation study of rape survivors' help-seeking experiences with the legal and medical systems

Much of what is known about rape survivors' experiences with the legal and medical systems has come from victims' accounts; rarely have researchers collected "the other side of the story" to find out what system personnel say did or did not happen in these interactions. In the current study, rape survivors who sought emergency medical care were interviewed before their hospital discharge about what services they received and how they were treated by social system personnel. Corresponding accounts were then collected from doctors, nurses, and police officers. There was significant interrater reliability between the survivors and legal and medical system personnel regarding what services were or were not provided ("service delivery") and if system personnel engaged in "secondary victimization" behaviors (i.e., statements/actions that could be distressing to victims). However, police officers and doctors significantly underestimated the impact they were having on survivors. Victims reported significantly more post-system-contact distress than service providers thought they were experiencing.