Fear and Expectations: Differences Among Female Victims of Domestic Violence Who Come to the Attention of the Police

Abstract

This study investigated a broad range of female victims of domestic partner abuse who came to the attention of the police. Ninety-five consecutive victims were interviewed by officers in a police department's domestic violence unit. Twenty-two percent of the victims matched expectations of women who were both afraid of their abusers and expected future abuse. Surprisingly, 46% of the victims were unafraid of their offenders and believed that future abuse was unlikely. A consistent pattern of findings supports the conclusion that a much broader range of victims than expected comes to the attention of the police. These results suggest exploring alternative police responses for different types of victims.