NCJ Number
220816
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 13 Issue: 3-4 Dated: 2007 Pages: 213-225
Date Published
2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper briefly examines the European Union’s early stage development of policy and practice guidelines to deal with domestic violence offenders and the imminent danger of formulating policy and practice shaped by political lobbyists, rather than on academic literature and evidence-based practice.
Abstract
The European Union lacks a cohesive policy on domestic violence; however, this policy vacuum is in danger of being filled by policy practice that is not driven by academic research and clinical best practice, but by political lobbyists or the growing women’s activist network in Europe that is effecting policy changes and initiating and influencing legislation. Feminist advocates control the curriculum of domestic violence perpetrator programs in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom. Feminist advocates conceptualize domestic violence as unilateral male-to-female violence enacted to control and dominate women, supported by the patriarchal beliefs and systems of the wider society. Academic support for this theory is lacking, however, and scientifically sound evaluations find that programs based on this philosophy have little or no effect on recidivism. Empirical literature suggests that domestic violence is not a unitary phenomenon and that perpetrators are a heterogeneous group whose treatment should match their criminogenic needs and risk. References