Research challenges notion that prosecution and conviction for DV is rare

US researchers have challenged the notion that prosecutions and convictions for domestic violence are rare, concluding that the results are highly variable.

The prosecution of intimate partner violence is thought to be infrequent, as is the rate at which those prosecutions result in a criminal conviction. The lack of prosecutorial and court response to intimate partner violence is considered one of the inadequacies of the justice system, an indicator of society’s inattentiveness to violence against women, and another reason to question the criminal justice system’s ability to successfully address violence between intimate partners.

The review of 135 English language studies lead researchers Joel Garner from the Joint Centers for Justice Studies and Christopher Maxwell from Michigan State University to challenge the widely accepted notion that prosecution and conviction for this offence are infrequent. There is great variability in the reported rates of prosecution and conviction for intimate partner violence. These studies report that, on average, about one third of the reported offenses and more than three fifths of arrests result in the filing of charges; more than half of all prosecutions result in a criminal conviction.

For the abstract, click here.