Understanding Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence: The Influence of Victims’ Criminal Histories

• In Event: Focus on the Victim. Victim-centered Approaches to Understanding and Addressing Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

A major factor for nonreporting experiences of domestic violence is whether victims were satisfied with their treatment by the criminal justice system in reporting a prior case of domestic violence. Some victims of domestic violence, particularly those who are women, report both histories of violence beginning with abuse in childhood, as well as involvement with the criminal justice system as offenders. The current study examines the extent to which victims’ experiences with the justice system may be negatively affected by their criminal histories. If victims believe that justice system personnel treated them less sympathetically because they were not viewed as "true" victims, these victims may be less likely to initially seek out the police as a source of relief for their victimization. The current research examines this possibility, while also considering how victims may be more inclined to turn to other sources of support, including domestic violence resource centers, based on their histories and sociodemographic characteristics.

Author

• Amaia Iratzoqui, University of Memphis