NCJ Number
103920
Date Published
1986
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Common misconceptions about family violence and child sexual abuse are examined in terms of their implications for the criminal justice system.
Abstract
Research has shown that family violence is a serious problem that cuts across demographic boundaries. Moreover, battered spouses rarely provoke the violence, and many victims find it economically or psychologically impossible to simply leave. The misconceptions that family violence is a health or social service problem and that arrest will exacerbate the violence have led to inconsistent criminal justice system responses. Police are more likely to attempt to mediate domestic disputes; prosecutors, too, have been less willing to apply criminal law to spouse assault than to other types of assault. Similarly, misconceptions concerning the role of the child victim in the abuse and the child's credibility as a witness have led to underenforcement of the law and lenient policies toward offenders. Such a response tells victims and assailants that violence in the home is not a serious crime, and thus, helps perpetuate the problem. In cases of family violence, the criminal justice system must investigate with the same care it allots to other crimes. The same criteria for charging and the same burden of proof must be applied to all acts of violence, whether they occur in the street or in the home. 105 notes and references.