NCJ Number
130610
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1991) Pages: 199-216
Date Published
1991
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper traces a link between the provision of financial support for women, economic equality for women, and the reduction of violent crime; it argues that policies directed toward economic equality have a long-range impact on violence.
Abstract
Central to the logic of this argument is that the distribution of the frequency of violent crime often is described by a bimodal curve which supposedly distinguishes between minor, unimportant offenders and a distinct group of serious offenders. The latter is the target for many policies. As this bimodal distribution does not exist, policies based on it will be meaningless. The larger group of minor offenders essentially is ignored. The distribution of violence is better described as a continuous skewed curve which retains its shape. Thus, an effective policy to reduce violence would have to shift the entire curve to the left. Reducing the more numerous acts of lesser violence rather than concentrating on the rarer cases of extreme violence would be more effective. Since much violence is nurtured in family settings, policies that decrease stress in family settings would have a meaningful impact on future violence. Stress could be reduced with greater economic equality for women to make it possible for them to leave potentially violent settings. 1 figure and 51 references (Author abstract modified)