Escape From Violence: Risks and Alternatives for Abused Women: What Do We Currently Know? (From Family Violence: Perspectives on Treatment, Research, and Policy, P 67-91, 1990, Ronald Roesch et al, eds. -- See NCJ-126022)

• NCJ Number: 126027
• Author(s): A Browne; D G Dutton
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 25 pages
• Sale Source: British Columbia Institute on Family Violence
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

The current knowledge about wife assault clearly indicates that leaving an assaultive and threatening spouse can be risky for the women and that leaving does not necessarily mean an end to the violence.

Abstract

The current research also does not indicate clearly what happens to women who stay in abusive relationships and try to deal with the abuse in other ways. Services for victims and legal policies designed to sanction and deter offenders and protect victims have grown starting in the 1970's, although police are still reluctant to arrest abusers. The attitudes and perceptions of professionals have also sometimes posed a barrier to improved protection for victims. Further research should focus on the factors associated with the risk of further assault or threat, the measures that most effectively reduce these dangers, and the relationship between the impact of violence on the lives of women and their use of legal and extralegal alternatives. Footnotes and 89 references.