The Impact of Victim-Focused Outreach on Criminal Legal System Outcomes Following Police-Reported Intimate Partner Abuse

Randomized control designs have been used in the public health and psychological literatures to examine the relationship between victim outreach following intimate partner abuse (IPA) and various outcomes. These studies have largely relied on samples drawn from health providers and shelters to exami...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Violence against women 2012-08, Vol.18 (8), p.861-881
Main Authors: DePrince, Anne P., Belknap, Joanne, Labus, Jennifer S., Buckingham, Susan E., Gover, Angela R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Battered Women - legislation & jurisprudence
Colorado
Community care
Community-Institutional Relations
Crime
Criminal Law
Criminal Proceedings
Criminals - legislation & jurisprudence
Domestic violence
Ethnic Groups
Female
Females
Health Problems
Housing
Humans
Innovations
Intervention
Legal aspects
Legal System
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Male-female relationships
Mandatory Reporting
Outreach Programs
Partner Abuse
Police
Preventive Health Services
Psychology
Public Health
Residence Characteristics
Sexual Partners
Shelters
Socioeconomic Factors
Spouse Abuse - legislation & jurisprudence
Victim support
Victims of violence
Violence
Women
Women's Health Services
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Summary:Randomized control designs have been used in the public health and psychological literatures to examine the relationship between victim outreach following intimate partner abuse (IPA) and various outcomes. These studies have largely relied on samples drawn from health providers and shelters to examine outcomes outside the criminal legal system. Based on the positive findings from this body of research, we expected that a victim-focused, community-coordinated outreach intervention would improve criminal legal system outcomes. The current study used a randomized, longitudinal design to recruit 236 ethnically diverse women with police-reported IPA to compare treatment-as-usual with an innovative community-coordinated, victim-focused outreach program. Findings indicated that the outreach program was effective in increasing women’s engagement with prosecution tasks as well as likelihood of taking part in prosecution of their abusers. Results were particularly robust among women marginalized by ethnicity and class, and those still living with their abusers after the target incident.
ISSN:1077-8012
1552-8448
DOI:10.1177/1077801212456523