Reforms and Defences in the Context of Sex and Domestic Violence - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Today it is recognized that the divide between public and private violence is less distinct, and violence between intimates has become a more salient public policy issue than ever before. Increased public intervention within the private sphere has been legitimated by new legislation, new police powers, and changing attitudes towards state intervention. Domestic violence is now, in theory, recognized as a ‘real’ crime, and the fact that it typically occurs in the home does not deflect from its status as a criminal offense.

It examines the extent to which the choices made by police and prosecutors can be understood in terms of evidential criteria and offense seriousness, and the extent to which they are shaped by the informal ‘rules’ of the organizational culture. The roles and criteria of provocation are examined and police officers, prosecutors, victims, and suspects in respect of these considerations are explored.

The first developments in public policy concerning domestic violence began in 1975 with the Parliamentary Select Committee hearings on Violence in Marriage. That was the first concerning matter of domestic violence, which gave birth to an endless series of crimes and is still on its way. Prior to this, police officers had been advised against arresting men who were violent to their partners. Giving evidence to the 1975 Committee, the Association of Chief Police Officers denied the need for any change in their service: ‘Whilst such problems take up considerable police time . . . in the majority of cases the role of the police is a negative one. We are, after all, dealing with persons bound in marriage, and it is important, for a host of reasons, to maintain the unity of the spouses’. The Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Court Act 1976; the Housing Act 1977; the Domestic Violence and Magistrates Act 1978; and the Matrimonial Homes Act 1983, all provided reforms for the eviction of violent men, their arrest for a breach of an injunction, and the rehousing of victims of domestic violence.

During the 1970s and 1980s, in the United Kingdom, the feminist movement had put the issue of men’s violence against women in the home on the public agenda (Stanko, 1989). In doing so, it created the environment for government change and for empirical studies of the character, prevalence, and incidence of domestic violence as well as assessments of the response of the criminal justice system. Hence, a plethora of studies on domestic violence emerged. (Hoyle, 1998) ...Download file to see next pages Read More