While a small number of past studies have examined either situational, relational, or systems-level factors that influence battered women's use of either the police, prosecutorial, or court systems, no study to date has examined how these factors each influence women's intentions to reuse these systems. To address this gap, in-person interviews were conducted with 178 women whose assailants had been charged with a domestic violence-related crime against them. Survivors of intimate partner violence were asked about the violence itself, their relationship with the perpetrator (including financial dependence on him), community supports, their expectations, and desires regarding the criminal legal response, and their prior experiences with the police, prosecutors, legal advocates, and the courts. Regression analyses were conducted to examine women's intentions to reuse the criminal legal system in the event of future violence. Consistent with an ecological perspective on behavior (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979), the context of women's lives, the violence they had experienced, and their experiences with the police and the legal system all impacted their intentions. Specifically, women were more likely A R T I C L EThis project was supported by grant #98-WT-VX-0024 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Correspondence to: Ruth E. Fleury-Steiner, Department of Individual and Family Studies, University of Delaware, 116 Alison Hall West, Newark, DE 19716. E-mail: rfs@udel.edu to want further involvement with these systems if they were employed, felt supported by their communities, had received information about services from the police, had experienced case outcomes consistent with their desires, and had been treated well by the criminal legal system. Women were less inclined to intend to use the system in the future if they were legally or financially tied to their perpetrators, if they had been assaulted again before the court case was closed, if court proceedings had been cancelled at least once, and if they had been pressured rather than supported by the criminal legal system. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Each year, approximately 1.3 million women are battered by their intimate partners or ex-partners; nearly one in four women are abused by a partner during their lifetime (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). Research shows that police and court intervention, as part of a coordinated community response, can reduce reabuse in many cases (e.g., Murphy, Musser, & Maton, 1998;Steinman, 1990;Syers & Edleson, 1992). Yet, intimate partner abuse crimes are also underreported. In some of the earlier research on reporting, Walker (1979) reported that only 10% of her sample had called the police. Recent research suggests that currently less than half-perhaps far less than half-of domestic ...

A high correlation has been found between domestic violence and stalking. However, very few studies have examined what factors predict the occurrence of stalking in relationships characterized by domestic violence. Using in-depth interviews with victims of domestic violence whose cases have gone through the criminal justice system, this article explores this issue. It was found that experiences of stalking by their abusers were very prevalent in this group of domestic violence victims. In terms of predicting stalking, domestic violence victims who were not in a relationship with their abuser, whose abusers had an alcohol or drug problem, who experienced more controlling behaviors by their abusers, and who had experienced prior stalking by their abusers were at the greatest risk of experiencing more severe stalking. Implications for intervention are discussed.

This article explores stalking in the context of intimate partner abuse (IPA) using qualitative data. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 women who experienced stalking and violence from male partners. Findings include an exploration of the relationships between the motivations for stalking, the behaviors utilized, and the impacts of the behaviors for the victims.

The role of gender in intimate partner abuse (IPA) perpetration and victimization has been debated for the last several decades. Two perspectives have emerged regarding this debate. Researchers from the family violence perspective argue that men and women are violent at near equal rates and call for a reframing of the issue from one of woman battering to one of family violence. In contrast, feminist researchers maintain that men make up the majority of perpetrators and women the majority of victims in cases of intimate partner abuse. While some have put forth arguments explaining these differences, this debate is far from over. Using official reported cases of IPA, this study examines 815 IPA cases of which 13% were female perpetrated in an attempt to clarify gender differences and similarities among male and female offenders beyond prevalence rates. Special attention is paid to contextual differences and similarities and implications this research has for future research and policy.

This article explores the roles of social (informal) and institutional (formal) support in the lives of 158 women whose intimate partner abuse (IPA) cases reached the courts in three jurisdictions in the United States.Women were asked who knew about the IPA and their levels of supportiveness. Data analysis includes comparisons across the women in terms of social support and institutional support, and how these were related to the women’s demographic characteristics, whether they were still in a relationship with their abusers, the severity of the violence, and the women’s mental health.