A new article by Jenny Mouzos and Lance Smith, “Partner violence among a sample of police detainees questions the long held view, at least in this sample, that domestic violence is necessarily gendered

A new article by Jenny Mouzos and Lance Smith, “Partner violence among a smaple of police detainees questions the long held view, at least in this sample, that domestic violence is necessarily gendered:

“In finding that gender was not a factor in involvement in partner violence for police detainees, it suggests that the development of intervention or prevention policies for police detainees needs to view intimate partner violence as not necessarily involving female victims and male perpetrators, but rather couples who engage in violent acts towards each other.

The finding that having dependent children at home increased the risk of detainee involvement in partner violence is significant because it not only has implications for those engaged in the partner violence, but also the children who may be witnessing the violence. While witnessing violence as a child was not a significant risk marker in the current study, the fact that much prior research has found a link (for partner violence in general) cannot be discounted (see Indermaur 2001).

In conclusion, the data showed that a large percentage of the detainees coming into contact with police were involved in intimate partner violence. Associated risk markers were drug and alcohol dependency, prior offending, and intergenerational experiences of violence. This suggests that there are differing levels of intervention required to address the issues of violence and drug use for persons who come into contact with the criminal justice system.”

See the article here.