By Gemma Hamilton, Alexandra Ridgway, Anastasia Powell, Georgina Heydon

This research explores the co-occurrence of family violence and sexual harm in Victoria, shedding light on the complex nature and interconnectedness between these two forms of abuse and its impact on victim survivors.

Drawing on victim/survivor and stakeholder interviews, as well as a sector wide survey, the reports present key outcomes of a research project funded by Family Safety Victoria with particular attention towards the implications of key findings for the development of policy, intervention and support. By deepening understandings of the complex interplay between family violence and sexual harm, the research seeks to assist professionals in this space to better address the needs of victim/survivors and work together to strengthen system responses.

Melbourne: RMIT University, 2023. 59p.

By The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; Alicia Deus and Diana Gonzale

The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women was adopted in Belém do Pará, Brazil by all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in 1994, formalizing the definition of violence against women as a violation of their human rights.

The Belém do Pará Convention establishes for the first time the development of mechanisms to protect and defend the rights of women, in the fight to eliminate violence against their physical, sexual and psychological integrity, both in the public and in the private spheres.

The Belém do Pará Convention asks the States Parties to adopt legislative measures of a criminal nature (among others) that “are necessary to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women” (Article 7.c of the Convention) .

Recommendation No. 35 on gender based violence by the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) states that: “Women’s right to a life free from gender-based violence is indivisible from and interdependent with other human rights, including the right to life, health, liberty and security of the person, the right to equality and equal protection within the family, freedom from torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, freedom of expression, movement, participation, assembly and association.”

eminists, surviving victims and academics in Latin America and the Caribbean managed to conceptualize as an offense of femicide/feminicide, developing a great regional debate, documenting and generating evidence in each country and comparing the phenomenon. It is from their great efforts that the typification of feminicide/femicide is achieved and it has been justified based on the standards of international human rights law.

In the framework of the CSW57 in 2013, in the agreed conclusions it was possible to incorporate the concept of femicide as a criminal offense expressing “concern for the violent murders of women and girls for reasons of gender, while recognizing the efforts made to face this form of violence in different regions, particularly in countries where the concept of femicide has been incorporated into national legislation.“

A first tool developed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Women in the Latin American and Caribbean region was the Latin American Model Protocol for the investigation of gender-related killings of women (femicide/feminicide) in the framework of the UN Secretary General’s Campaign UNITE to end violence against women.

On this occasion, both MESECVI and UN Women intend to provide the region with a model law on femicide/feminicide to address the most serious women´s human rights violation. To do so, we will first analyze the existing legislation, provoking debate and improvement in cases where it is required.

Piso 3Ciudad del SaberClayton, PANAMA, UN Women, 2018. 77p.

By Kathii Lynn Austin and Brian Freskos

The U.S. and Mexico are grappling with daunting security crises stemming from the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of guns over the U.S. southern border every year. These weapons are empowering Mexican transnational criminal organizations and inflicting substantial suffering in both countries. This report underscores how reducing cross-border gun trafficking is crucial for achieving the goals of the U.S.-Mexico Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities — a bilateral security agreement announced nearly two years ago. By implementing our recommendations, the U.S. and Mexico can more effectively combat illicit gun flows, saving lives, and improving prosperity.

California: Pacific Council on International Policy, 2023. 85p.

By The Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service Responses to domestic and family violence.

The institutional culture of a police force is of vital importance to a community. A police force is numerically strong, politically influential, physically powerful, and armed. It stands at the threshold of the criminal justice system and is in effective control of the enforcement of the criminal law. Each police officer has extensive authority over all other citizens, however powerful, coupled with wide discretions concerning its exercise. Subsequent stages in the criminal justice process, including courts and prisons, are largely dependent on the activities of the Police Force, and will inevitably be affected by its deficiencies, especially any which are cultural and therefore widespread. Investment in cultural change and strong leadership will remove any last vestiges of a culture that does not value women nor understand the costs to us all of allowing domestic and family violence to continue.

The Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service responses to domestic and family violence (the Commission) was established to examine whether there are cultural issues within the QPS that negatively affect police investigations of domestic and family violence. The Commission was also tasked with investigating if any cultural issues identified contribute to the overrepresentation of First Nations peoples in the criminal justice system. It was also required to consider the adequacy of the current conduct and complaint handling process against officers. This companion report is a compilation of case studies, perspectives and experiences shared with the Commission by victim-survivors, police, and other persons. The information is intended to be a snapshot of the evidence gathered from hundreds of submissions and comments provided to the Commission. The stories and case studies about victim-survivors’ experiences have been taken from submissions from victim-survivors’ and organisation and the free text answers from the victim-survivor survey conducted by the Commission. The survey was answered by 848 people. Information and case studies from or about police members, have been taken from 365 submissions, 53 interviews of current and retired QPS members by Mark Ainsworth, free text answers from the QPS DFV-Q survey 2022 (completed by 2,733 members) and a sample of the approximately 6,200 free text responses to the Working for Qld Survey 2021. Case studies were primarily taken from police material provided under notice to produce documents. The views expressed do not profess to be the views held by all members of the QPS. They are instead a representative sample of the evidence the Commission has drawn its conclusions from. This report is intended to be read alongside A call for change (2022), which outlines the Commission’s findings and recommendations. Where names have been used, these are pseudonyms to provide anonymity. Any other identifying details have also been removed to protect the confidentiality of the people involved. Many of the extracts in this report come from submissions that were provided to the Commission on a confidential basis. In each case consent to publish the submission has been obtained from the author. To the extent possible, the Commission has sought to accurately represent the diverse views and experiences that have been shared. The Commission does not necessarily endorse or support the views outlined within this report.

Brisbane: The Commission, 2022. 56p.

By Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service

The Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service (QPS) responses to domestic and family violence was established as part of the Queensland Government’s response to the recommendations of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce in Hear her voice: Report One (2021). The Commission’s terms of reference tasked it to inquire into any cultural issues within the QPS that influence the investigation of domestic and family violence, and how those cultural issues contribute to the overrepresentation of First Nations peoples in the criminal justice system. The terms of reference also required the Commission to inquire into the capability, capacity and structure of the QPS to respond to domestic and family violence, and the adequacy of the processes for dealing with complaints about police officers to ensure the community confidence in the QPS. To assist it with those inquiries, the Commission gathered information from victim-survivors, the community organisations that support them and police officers. It did this using a variety of methods including by calling for submissions, conducting surveys of victim-survivors and police officers, conducting meetings and interviews, holding public hearings and using its powers to require the production of relevant information and records, including from the QPS. The Commission also examined previous reports and reviews of QPS responses to domestic and family violence and engaged experts to inform its understanding of matters relevant to the terms of reference. The Commission was greatly assisted by the information and perspectives provided by victim-survivors and community organisations. However, what makes the work of this Commission different to previous reviews of QPS responses to domestic and family violence is the extent to which police officers provided information and views about what is working well and what needs improvement. Police officers have a lived experience of the culture of the organisation. Through the input of police officers, the Commission learned of cultural issues of sexism, misogyny and racism which impact on QPS responses to domestic and family violence. By sharing their experiences and views, police officers also informed the Commission about the impact that resourcing issues, structural limitations, and burnout and fatigue has on the QPS response. Police officers told the Commission that, although most police officers conduct themselves admirably towards their colleagues and victim-survivors, the cultural and structural issues in the organisation mean there is need for improvement in the organisation’s response. Through the information and views shared with the Commission, victim-survivors, community organisations and police officers all made a call for change and expressed a hope for improvement.

Brisbane: The Commission, 2022. 412p.

By Heather Nancarrow, Kate Thomas, Valerie Ringland, Tanya Modini

When police are called to an incident of domestic and family violence (DFV), one of their tasks under DFV law is to determine whether a party is in need of protection from future harm. A concern that has arisen out of the application of DFV law is the inappropriate use of legal sanctions, in particular protection orders, against women who use violence in response to violence perpetrated against them. This often occurs where there are conflicting claims of abuse and can result in cross-applications and cross-orders for protection.

This research project focused on identifying areas of improvement in police and court practice in relation to identifying the person most in need of protection, taking account of an ongoing pattern of abuse characterised by coercive control.

Key findings:

• Women—especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women—are being misidentified as perpetrators on protection orders and the effects of this are far-reaching.

• Police culture impacts on the accurate identification of the aggrieved/respondent, for example, through pervasive, stereotypical assumptions about victim behaviour. Police practice also focuses on single incidents of visible or physical violence, which compromises the intent of DFV legislation to provide protection from future harm (by identifying patterns of coercive control).

• Police sometimes err on the side of caution in making applications, deferring to the magistrate to determine if an order is warranted. However, magistrates in turn may rely on the initial assessments made by police, as may prosecutors. This can create a pinball effect where each decision-maker defers to another’s assessment of the appropriateness of an order. Accordingly, this means that accountability for that assessment is unclear.

• Perpetrators use a range of tactics of systems abuse, such as making false allegations, which can result in inaccurate identification of the person most in need of protection. Once a woman has been identified as a perpetrator, this can then also be used a tool for systems abuse by perpetrators (for example, through threats to call the police).

Key recommendations:

• Create guidance for police on identifying patterns of coercive control.

• Improve processes of decision-making and accountability between police and courts.

• Create guidance for magistrates on how and when they can dismiss inappropriate applications and/or orders

Sydney: ANROWS, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety 2020. 134p.

By Hayley Boxall, Anthony Morgan

Awareness of coercive control within the context of abusive intimate relationships is greater than ever before in Australia. However, there is limited research examining the different patterns and characteristics of abuse, particularly among large Australian samples.

This study examines the characteristics of violence and abuse reported by 1,023 Australian women who had recently experienced coercive control by their current or former partner. The most frequently reported behaviours were jealousy and suspicion of friends, constant insults, monitoring of movements and financial abuse. Over half of the respondents also reported experiencing physical forms of abuse (54%), including severe forms such as non-fatal strangulation (27%). One in three of these women also reported experiencing sexual violence during the survey period (30%). Women were much more likely to seek advice or support when they had also experienced physical or sexual forms of abuse.

Statistical Bulletin 30. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2021. 15p.

By Amy Young, Jennifer Boddy, Patrick O’Leary and Paul Mazerolle

Domestic and family violence (DFV) remains one of the most challenging social problems. Approximately one in six Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner, while one in four women has experienced emotional abuse (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019). Recent government inquiries into DFV in Queensland and Victoria have called for greater focus on intervention and justice responses for perpetrators (State of Victoria 2016; Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce 2021). Both inquiries highlight the inadequacy of programs to hold perpetrators accountable and the need to expand the range of evidence-based intervention options.

Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 676. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2023. 16p.

By Kingsley L Madueke

Cattle rustling in Nigeria has evolved from a sustainable community practice into a significant illicit economy, delivering material profits to conflict actors and multiplying harms. Since 2011, the country has experienced a surge in the number of rustling incidents, resulting in thousands of deaths, loss of livelihoods, widespread destruction and displacement of people. This has had a debilitating impact on the country’s stability.

In Nigeria’s North-West and North-Central regions, in particular, cattle rustling has contributed to growing instability by increasing levels of violent crime. The Nigerian press is awash with stories of heavily armed groups raiding communities, killing people and stealing large herds of cattle. Also of note are the violent activities of the self-defense groups that have emerged in response. Additionally, in some of Nigeria’s most volatile regions, including Northern Plateau and Southern Kaduna, cattle rustling has fed into longstanding conflicts between farmers and herders, fuelling violence and deepening polarization.

Cattle rustling deserves attention because it is among the illicit economies most clearly driving instability in Nigeria, more so than others traditionally focused on as sources of instability, such as armed robbery and drug trafficking. The relationship between cattle rustling and instability is multifaceted: not only has the phenomenon been the cause of thousands of deaths, large-scale displacement of communities and destruction of livelihoods, but it has also repeatedly operated as a significant source of financing for armed groups, including regional insurgent groups operating in north-eastern Nigeria and northern and central Mali. Cattle rustling is also interwoven with longstanding tensions between ethnicities, amplifying these and catalyzing further conflict.

This report focuses on Zamfara and Plateau states, where cattle rustling has fuelled large-scale violence and instability over the past decade. The report also explores the concerning southward diffusion of cattle rustling, with an emphasis on Kwara and Oyo states. While some underlying causes of cattle rustling cut across regions, this research highlights that local drivers of cattle rustling and instability are often distinct and therefore require context-specific responses.

Geneva, SWIT: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime,2023. 46p.

By Shehryar Fazli

The Taliban’s 3 April 2022 edict prohibiting poppy cultivation and the use and trade of all types of narcotics across Afghanistan could have grave implications for a collapsing economy. Poppy is the country’s most valuable cash crop, and its labour-intensive cultivation employs several hundred thousand people, pushing up wages and living standards of those directly and indirectly involved. Requiring little water, the poppy’s resilience in adverse agricultural conditions makes it an attractive long-term investment, especially during one of the worst droughts in decades. The new ban would affect farmers in the rural southwest region, where many Taliban leaders are from, as well as influential players across the opium and heroin supply chain. In the absence of significant financial incentives to these constituencies, the risks of a major backlash probably outweigh any benefits of enforcing a poppy ban. Providing such financial incentives would be dependent on significant foreign assistance. Some prominent experts and commentators infer that international legitimacy and funding was the Taliban’s primary motivation in announcing the edict. If so, there are no signs yet that the move will generate the desired response. Afghanistan has been politically and economically isolated since the Taliban’s August 2021 forceful seizure of power. The freezing of around $9 billion in central bank foreign reserves, held mostly in the US, triggered a collapse of the local currency and major liquidity crisis, while aid cut-offs and sanctions triggered hyper-inflation and impeded trade and other business. There are indications that the international community, led by the US, is softening its position to prevent an economic collapse affecting millions of Afghans who face starvation. Without tangible Taliban commitments to basic rights and equality, however, especially of girls and women, deeper international engagement, including on counter-narcotics, is unlikely. How willing and able the Taliban will be to enforce its edict may remain unclear for several months. The ban came amid the poppy harvest in the southwestern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, bastions of both poppy cultivation and Taliban support. Significant quantities, therefore, may have already been harvested. Transporting them up the supply chain, and to western destinations, will depend on resourceful transnational crime groups. The most important of these are arguably in Pakistan, which shares Afghanistan’s longest border and most of the routes for westward movement of illicit goods, people, and cash from Afghanistan. Criminal networks here traverse the Indian and Iranian borders, and also move their product by sea off the southern Makran coast and Karachi port, to European, African, Asian and Australian markets. These networks, and the geography in which they operate, also require close examination. By better understanding the context and trends, policy-makers will be better able to assess policy options and their implications, especially in Europe, the destination of significant volumes of heroin from Afghanistan

SOC ACE Research Paper No. 9.

Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham. 2022. 35p.

By Summer Walker I Mariana Botero Restrepo

The relationship between illicit economies, conflict and instability has been long debated in academic and practitioner circles, and part of the international policy agenda for some time. From the diamond trade in Sierra Leone to the heroin trade in Afghanistan, illicit economies have been shown to fund insurgencies and political actors, and to contribute to ongoing conflict.

The GI-TOC’s 2021 Global Organized Crime Index shows that of the ten highest-scoring countries for criminality, meaning those with the most pervasive criminal markets and influential criminal actors, the overwhelming majority are countries experiencing conflict or fragility.

This report considers three case studies at different stages of armed conflict to assess the dynamic relationship between criminal networks, illicit economies, and conflict actors and conditions. These three case studies offer unique perspectives in terms of duration, size of the conflict area and stage of the conflict:

• Armed insurgency in northern Mozambique

• Armed groups in Libya and Mali

• Armed groups in Colombia

While these conflicts present three distinct cases, they also share relevant similarities. In these cases, unrest is created after an armed group or groups counter the legitimacy of the state. The national response to the conflict is supplemented with regional and international responses. All situations lack a swift resolution, and the instability persists primarily in areas outside capitals, even after formal conflict resolution. In this way, these three cases are representative of sustained, localized instability deriving from armed conflict between the state and non-state armed groups.

All three conflict areas overlap with areas of established illicit economies. In these settings, the connections between armed conflict and illicit markets evolve over time. The impacts may be commodity-dependent, with different considerations for illegal mining as opposed to trafficked drugs. Illicit markets change over time, as do the power brokers and beneficiaries involved. Illicit economies contribute to long-term enabling environments for instability by prolonging conflict and eroding government responses to conflict. Through the case studies of northern Mozambique, the Sahel region and Colombia, this report identifies ten dynamics that influence illicit economies and conflict situations. These findings make a contribution to vital policy discussions for stabilization and conflict mediation in these – and other – re

Geneva, SWIT: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime., 2022. 74p.

By Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Before February 2022, Russian and Ukrainian organized crime formed the strongest criminal ecosystem in Europe. Having developed along similar lines in the 1990s, Russian and Ukrainian criminal groups and networks controlled a lucrative transnational smuggling highway between Russia and Western Europe that carried gold, timber, tobacco, coal, counterfeit/untaxed goods, humans and drugs. At the more politically connected end of the spectrum, corrupt officials and criminal bosses from both countries exploited Ukraine’s role as a transit country for Russian gas to siphon off millions of dollars, while Ukraine’s oligarch class exerted a strong grip over the country’s economic, political and information spheres.

Kyiv made serious efforts to tackle organized crime and corruption after the 2014 Maidan Revolution but results were mixed, especially in the case of judicial reform; meanwhile, the conflict in the Donbas region helped bolster an array of illicit economies and criminal actors. For organized crime, business was generally good.

The Russian invasion has inflicted a profound shock to this ecosystem. With the war, collaboration between Russian and Ukrainian organized crime interests became impossible due to the political situation (which led many criminals to break such ties) and the pragmatic challenge of smuggling across what was now a violently contested and dynamic front line. Many Ukrainian crime bosses chose to leave the country, as did many oligarchs, including several accused of pro-Russian sympathies. Martial law and the curfew also initially constrained criminal activity. According to senior sources in the Ukrainian police, incidents of armed robberies declined by a factor of between three and four, and the homicide rate dropped to almost zero at the beginning of the war (although this may partly reflect the impact of the war on reporting in the early days of the war). It may be that the impact of the invasion also whittled out some less robust and resilient organized crime groups: according to data from the general prosecutor’s office, the number of organized crime groups under investigation decreased from 499 in 2021 to 395 in 2022 (although this decline alternatively could reflect dimished investigative capacity).

This report explores the changing dynamics in the political economy of Ukrainian organized crime up till December 2022 and maps how the criminal landscape has adapted to the new situation. Given the complexity of the impact of the war in Ukraine on organized crime in both parties to the conflict, the GI-TOC is producing two reports. This report concentrates on developments within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders – with the exception of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk ‘people’s republics’ (LDNR) in the Donbas region, which broke away from Kyiv in 2014 with Russian backing and assistance, and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed the same year. The impact of the conflict on organized crime in these areas and on Russian organized crime more generally will be discussed in a separate report, which will assess trends in sanctions busting and money laundering, changes in trafficking flows east of Ukraine and how Russian organized crime groups have responded to the conflict.

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2023. 60p.

By Irwin, Véronique; Wang, Ke; Cui, Jiashan; Thompson, Alexandra (Statistician)

From the document: "'Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2022' provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. The information presented in this report serves as a reference for policymakers and practitioners so that they can develop effective programs and policies aimed at violence and school crime prevention. Accurate information about the nature, extent, and scope of the problem being addressed is essential for developing effective programs and policies. This is the 25th edition of Indicators of School Crime and Safety, a joint effort of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This report provides summary statistics to inform the nation about current aspects of crime and safety in schools. 'Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety' includes the most recent available data at the time of its development, compiled from a number of statistical data sources supported by the federal government. Such sources include results from the School-Associated Violent Death Surveillance System, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the National Vital Statistics System, sponsored by CDC; the School Shooting Safety Compendium, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense; the Studies of Active Shooter Incidents, sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the National Crime Victimization Survey and School Crime Supplement to that survey, sponsored by BJS and NCES, respectively; the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, sponsored by CDC; the School Survey on Crime and Safety, Fast Response Survey System, ED'Facts', and National Teacher and Principal Survey, all sponsored by NCES; and the Campus Safety and Security Survey, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Some of these data are collected annually, while others are collected less frequently."

Washington D.D. National Center For Education Statistics; United States. Bureau Of Justice Statistics. 2023.. 38p.

Edited by Susanna Johansson · Kari Stefansen Elisiv Bakketeig · Anna Kaldal

This edited collection explores the background and implementation of the Nordic Barnahus (or 'Children's House') model - recognised as one of the most important reforms related to children who are the victims of crime in the Nordic region. This book discusses both its potential to affect change and the challenges facing it. The model was introduced as a response to a growing recognition of the need for more integrated and child-centred services for children exposed to violence and sexual abuse. In the Barnahus structure, different professions work together to ensure that victimized children receive help and treatment and that their legal rights are met. This original study is organised into four broad themes: child-friendliness, support and treatment; the forensic child investigative interview; children's rights perspectives; and interagency collaboration and professional autonomy. Each themed section includes in-depth chapters from different Nordic countries, outlining and analysing the practice and outcomes of the collaborative work engaged in by Barnahus from different perspectives. The introductory and concluding chapters offer a comparative lens useful for policy and practice implementation within the Nordic welfare state context and beyond, ensuring this book has global academic and practical appeal. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to

Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. 402p.

Edited by Danilo Antonio Baltieri

This book covers some recent researches on the interface between drug misuse and crime and demonstrates that some types of violent crimes are more intimately related to alcohol and / or drug consumption. It is written for researchers, health and law professionals engaged in the evaluation, management and treatment of different types of offenders. It is organized by a number of phenomena that are known (or supposed) to link drugs and crime. This book shows that the application of punishment under the guise of deterrence, despite its ineffectiveness, is frequently preferred to a more adequate management for some types of offenders. This book provides ten manuscripts that describe different aspects of the relationship between drugs and crimes, always focusing on Brazilian reality. It shows that a partnership between specialized mental health professionals, lawyers and policy makers is urgent with respect to this subject in Brazil and other countries.

Bentham Books, 2009. 100p.

By The San Francisco Domestic Violence Death Review Team

This Domestic Violence Death Review Team (DVDRT) Pilot was created under the provisions of the California Penal Code 11163.3, in order to fulfill a commitment to review domestic violence-related fatalities, strengthen system policies and procedures, and identify prevention strategies that will reduce future incidents of domestic violence-related injuries and deaths. The DVDRT fulfills a need in San Francisco, as the city lacks staffing for a dedicated Death Review Team. This DVDRT Pilot provides an overview of the DVDRT process and methodology for their investigation into a murder case from October 2014; it lays out details of the event as well as DVDRT’s analysis of evidence and case-related data, and notes the aspects of the event that the DVDRT focused on include: computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems; real-time assistance for police officers in crime scene evaluation; broad interaction and information gathering; the ability of the police department to enforce physical separation when physical violence has occurred; custodial treatment of intoxicated individuals; real-time assistance for police from domestic violence advocates; providing closure and well-being assistance to 911 call-takers and dispatchers; availability and use of body-worn video (BWV) cameras; and in multiple responses to the victim’s address, the efficient and thorough transfer of information to later-responding officers.

San Francisco: The Review Team, 2023. 57p.

By Dyna Ibrahim

Intimate partner violence is a serious issue which continues to negatively affect victims long after the abuse has ended (McGarryet al. 2017; Campbell et al. 2002). This complex issue, broadly, involves physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse, between current and former partners (Northcott 2012; Coker et al. 2002). While, presently, there are no legislated offences in the Canadian Criminal Code specifically related to intimate partner violence, Criminal Code offences of general application, such as physical and sexual assault, criminalize intimate partner violence. There are Criminal Code provisions which consider the fact that an offender abused their intimate partner an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes (Heslop et al. 2016). Even with ample tools, programs and policies at the national, provincial and community levels dedicated to reducing and preventing intimate partner violence in Canada (McCormick and Irwin 2016; Gill and Fitch 2016; Hilton and Eke 2016; Beaupré 2015; Benoit et al. 2014; Northcott 2012), there remains much to be done in the area. In particular, while many studies (Simpson 2018; Calton et al. 2016; Parry and O’Neal 2015; Perreault 2015; Sinha 2013; Beauchamp 2004) have shown that people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are at increased risk for victimization in general, there is little quantitative research on the extent and nature of violence which takes place within same-sex intimate relationships in Canada (Langenderfer-Magruder et al. 2016; Ristock 2011). Related studies suggest that individuals in same-sex partnerships who experience intimate partner violence may face special barriers when it comes to disclosing their experiences or seeking help. For example, the threat of exposing one’s sexual orientation to others and fears about other people’s misguided beliefs that abuse among same-sex partners is mutual have been identified as obstacles which are often unique to victims in same-sex relationships. Moreover, individuals who are in same-sex intimate partnerships are vulnerable to “minority stress”, the psychological pressure from being a member of a minority group that is stigmatized or marginalized. Additionally, previous negative experiences such as discrimination and harassment, and perceptions or anticipation of stigma and negative stereotypes—all of which are particularly prevalent among individuals in same-sex partnerships—may lead to beliefs that these experiences will occur in various other facets of life (Calton et al. 2016; Baker et al. 2015; Edwards et al. 2015; Parry and O’Neal 2015; Benoit et al. 2014; Overstreet and Quinn 2013; Brown 2008; Rostosky et al. 2007). All these factors can reduce the reporting of violence to police and help-seeking among this share of the population. This Juristat article aims to help shed light on the nature of violence which is experienced within same-sex intimate partnerships. Using data from the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, this article will examine, for the first time, the characteristics of police-reported violence among same-sex intimate partners in Canada. In order to increase the scope of analysis and allow for a more detailed examination of incident, victim and accused characteristics, data from 2009 to 2017 are pooled.1 In addition, data from the most recent (2014) General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization) is included in order to examine the self-reported experiences of various forms of intimate partner violence whether it was reported to the police or not. While the focus of this article is violence among individuals in same-sex relationships, information on gender-diverse individuals is not included. Research has shown that people who identify as transgender or non-gender conforming are especially vulnerable to violence in general, as well as violence within an intimate partner setting (Langenderfer-Magruder et al. 2016; Mitchell-Brody et al. 2010; Stotzer 2009). However, the data sources used in this article do not allow for the examination of the experiences of individuals belonging to this segment of the population.

Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2019. 29p.

By Jens Ludwig

The purpose of this project, a collaboration between the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the New York City Police Department, was to develop and test a novel machine-learning based statistical model to predict the risk of domestic-violence victimization to improve intervention in cases at high risk for violence. The field intervention with the NYPD was launched in July 2017. NYPD command maintains a list of high-priority individuals who are thought to be at risk for serious domestic assault. Individuals on this list receive regular home visits from one of the local NYPD’s Domestic Violence Officers (DVOs) to reduce the risk of future victimization. The researchers believe that upon the completion and dissemination of this work, the results will be relevant to researchers and policymakers who are assessing ways to reduce domestic violence.

Washington, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Research and Evaluation, National Institute of Justice, 2022. 11p.

By Kristine Denman, Callie Dorsey, Joel Robinson, Jenna Dole and Ashleigh Maus

The New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center received funding from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study the case processing of domestic and non-domestic aggravated and sexual assault cases. Two primary research questions guide the study. First, it explores whether there are criminal justice disparities among aggravated assault and sexual assault cases involving domestic violence relative to cases not involving domestic violence. Second, it examines whether female defendants are treated differently than male defendants. Overall, we find that case processing outcomes for domestic assault are either the same or less serious than case processing outcomes for non-domestic assault. These findings differ from those found in a national study conducted by BJS, but are similar to other findings in New Mexico and elsewhere. We also find that male defendants generally have more serious case processing outcomes than female defendants, but this is moderated somewhat by domestic violence involvement. This report describes these findings. A summary report can be found in the “Fast Facts” section of our website.

Albuquerque: New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center, 2020. 37p.

By Carly B. Dierkhising and Bo-Kyung E. Kim

The authors of this report examine a project aimed at conducting an evaluability assessment of specialized units in Los Angeles County that interact with children and youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and who are involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The authors seek to fill an information gap by documenting those multidisciplinary service delivery models to help determine whether they are the most effective services for children and youth who have been and/or are at risk of CSE. The three overarching research questions addressed by the study were: what are the program components of the specialized units; what are the associated short-term and long-term outcomes; and how can the programs be assessed for implementation fidelity. By answering those questions, the five specific objectives of the project were to: conduct a scoping review of the literature on programs and program evaluation for youth impacted by CSE in the U.S.; specify and describe the activities of specialized units in Los Angeles County for children and youth who have experienced CSE; develop logic models that include program components and hypothesized outcomes of the specialized units; identify and/or develop measurement tools and a plan to assess program fidelity; and evaluate the research capacity of the agencies. The authors report that they were able to operationalize the activities and outcomes of the project, and they provide examples of a how a unit could be assessed for fidelity. The authors’ assessment of the research capacity of the units indicates that there is potential for successful future evaluation activities, however additional data collection processes would need to be implemented in order to capture the broad range of activities and/or outcomes included in the logic model. The report includes appendixes with relevant documentation, surveys, and forms.

Los Angeles: School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, 2023. 87p.