Citation

Robinson A, Maxwell C. Int. J. Comp. Appl. Crim. Justice 2008; 32(2): 133-147.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Society of Criminology's Division of International Criminology, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This special issue sought to identify and report empirical evidence gathered from countries around the world that demonstrates what effective steps we could take when responding to violence against women (VAW). More specifically, the aims of this special issue were twofold: (1) to showcase criminal justice responses that might significantly decrease rates of VAW, and (2) to expand the intellectual discussion beyond the criminal justice system towards other responses that might also effectively address VAW. The motivation for this focus was our recognition that there has been relatively little systematic attention paid to understanding the benefits and limits of criminalization and criminal justice responses to VAW outside of North America, the UK, and Australia. For example, the United Nations released a report in 2005 that described the extent of VAW, but it was not able to recommend specific policies and practices because of the difficulty of identifying best practices that have been shown to be effective across different national contexts (United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, 2005). We therefore wanted to solicit and publish papers that could address this gap. Unfortunately, after nearly two years of working on this special issue, it is apparent that our aims might have been somewhat idealistic. While the contributions to this special issue help us to understand the approaches that can make a difference to women experiencing intimate partner violence, most of the evidence presented is about why it is difficult to find anything that works! As a collection, the papers demonstrate the many challenges facing those working to improve the response to VAW and the services and support provided to victims: at the individual level (e.g., minority ethnic women requiring support in host countries unfamiliar with their unique geo-historical experiences); the agency level (e.g., police officers reluctant to use the new barring orders in the Netherlands); and, the national level (e.g., governments unwilling or unable to fully implement international agreements on women’s rights).