Citation

Hilton NZ. J. Fam. Violence 1989; 4(4): 323-337.

Affiliation

Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto, St. George St., M5S 1A1 Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00978574

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There is no distinction in the Canadian Criminal Code between assaults committed on strangers and assaults of spouses. Traditionally, however, wife assault has been considered a private affair, and it has been argued that this attitude continues to be reflected in the police response to domestic disputes. In this study of 240 adults''written responses to assault scenarios, the victim-offender relationship produced variations in ratings of seriousness, in the relative amounts of blame attributed to the victim and offender, and in the recommended police response. In general, nondomestic recidivist offenders tended to be treated most harshly by the subjects, as did offenders who assaulted their victims inside a private house. Additionally, female subjects gave higher ratings of seriousness of the offense, and considered future violence by the offender to be more likely, than did male subjects. The findings are explained in terms of the subjects'' ability to identify with the offender, although the decision-making process in judging cases of assault is evidently complex. The implications of these findings for police officers with discretionary powers are considered.