NCJ Number
113930
Date Published
1987
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This paper explores factors that may contribute to public perceptions of domestic assault as less criminal than similar violence occurring outside the family.
Abstract
While this discrepancy in attitudes toward different forms of violence is found in both public attitudes and criminal justice system responses, there appears to be variation in perceptions of criminality associated with various types of family violence. Feminists have argued that the patriarchal system has contributed to these attitudes, while others have suggested that the notion of family privacy is a contributing factor. In some cases, offender stereotypes (e.g., husband rapist) may contribute to less negative connotations. Victim stereotypes, particularly the notion of victim culpability, also contribute to attitudes. Further, it is easier to consider an act a crime when there is greater social distance between observer and actors, when the act is unlikely to affect the observer, and when it occurs in the context of other valued social activities. This same factor may contribute to differential attitudes toward the criminality of various forms of intrafamily violence. For instance, fatal child abuse is viewed as more criminal because there are few exculpatory stereotypes surrounding the offender and the victim, people have little identification with the act, and because the death of the child and the implications of psychopathology and evilness undermine any belief in a social value to preserving the relationship. 3 tables and 13 references.