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Due to the influence in the late 20th _{century of feminism and the women's}

movement, attention has focused on the criminal justice system and the effectiveness of legislative reform to give more protection to women assaulted by a male partner. As Burton states:

Legislative reform can serve as a vehicle for legitimatizing many feminist concerns which did not otherwise find institutionalised channels for expression (Burton 1985 xvi, cited in Coorey 1988: 16).

However, Coorey’s research found that if women were to gain from legal changes in the area of domestic violence, police, solicitors and magistrates need to have challenged the ideologies upon which they base their

interpretations of this legislation when their decisions went against the interests of women. She suggests it was this authority, ‘given to people in these positions of power (predominantly men) to protect victims of crime, that is misused (sometimes blatantly) to the detriment and further victimisation of women’ (Coorey 1988: 16). The law’s role in dealing with the problem of

domestic violence is seen as important in the literature for two reasons: it may be able to provide a measure of protection to the victims, and it serves as a symbolic and educative role in that attitudes to domestic violence can be, and are, shaped by the law's responses (Seddon 1985, in Hatty 1986: 387). Yet, Coorey’s study found that the criminal justice system had become another form of social control:

The criminal justice system became, in effect, another form of social control of women in addition to personal violence in their homes, and the structural inequalities and lack of adequate services that limited women's abilities to leave abusive situations (control at a social level) (Coorey 1988: 16).

In her review into domestic violence in 1983, lawyer Dr. Robyn Hopcroft noted it was clear that assault was a crime, and the law in itself was adequate but states:

Despite the adequacy of the law in theory, in practice there is

considerable disparity in the treatment by police...in situations where the offender and victim are married. At every stage of the legal process the woman victim of domestic violence is placed at a disadvantage in comparison to all other categories of assault victims...An informal arrest-avoidance policy may be the police practice (Hopcroft 1983: 61).

Almost a quarter of a century later, the literature suggests that progress has been made, with pro-arrest policies established in most American jurisdictions but there is little evidence of any systemic change in most other western countries (Shepard & Pence 1999). Where pro-arrest policies have been developed, police often retain considerable discretion, even with the introduction of whole-of -system approaches such as the Duluth model (Shepard & Pence 1999, Keys Young 2000). Feminist studies, examining issues such as police intervention and addressing police attitudes and

underlying values, continue to indicate the protection of men at the expense of women and children's safety and that police rarely use legal responses

(Coorey 1988; McKinlay [Patton] 1991; Kelly et al. 1999).

The study by Kelly et al. identifies that the criminal justice system fails to prioritise the safety of women experiencing domestic violence (Kelly et al.

1999). Data from 223 respondents identifies four key concerns: a failure of police to respond seriously or sympathetically; a failure to arrest or caution the perpetrator; a slow response time; and no follow-up contact or action (Kelly et al. 1999: 51). Whilst most women identified police response as supportive or sympathetic, 42 per cent were unhappy with the police response due to police attitudes, their minimisation of the seriousness of the violence or an

inappropriate legal response (Kelly et al. 1999: 53). The research indicated that it ‘is both what police do and how they do it that matters to women’ (Kelly et al. 1999: 53). The recommendations from the study include: the need for a nationally agreed mechanism for the collection of statistics; training of police to provide them with a clear definition of domestic violence, information for police on what women want when they call police, an understanding of the social, financial and emotional costs of domestic violence to women and agencies and what increases victim satisfaction and safety; special

prosecutors; attention to legal action regarding bail conditions and breaches; and probable cause or mandatory arrest (Kelly et al 1999: 116-117). They noted that either probable cause or mandatory arrest is currently operational in every state in the United States (Zorza 1995, cited in Kelly et al: 1999).

Whilst assault of another person is recognised as a crime and, in theory, it should make no difference that the perpetrator and the victim are in an intimate relationship, the literature suggests that the legal system often, in practice, continues to ignore assault of women by their male partners whilst punishing violence between strangers (Cook & Bessant 1997; Hanmer & Itzin 2000). The literature also identifies an inconsistency of police response as a key issue (Hanmer & Saunders 1990; Kelly et al. 1999; Hanmer & Itzin 2000). From interviews with police, it was identified there is ‘no shared knowledge base amongst police’ about domestic violence and that support for ‘a law enforcement response was fragile’ (Kelly et al. 1999: 59-60). The study found that police do not agree on ‘what counts as domestic violence or what their role in response to it should be’ (Kelly et al. 1999: 115). This inconsistency resulted in what Kelly et al. call a domestic violence lottery for victims (Kelly et al. 1999: 115). An Australian study found that when an effective police

Two other Australian qualitative studies focus on police responses to

domestic violence (McKinlay [Patton] 1991; Knowles 1996). The former study, qualitative research with 15 women who had experienced domestic violence and subsequently sought help from police, suggests the need for police to use available legislation to more effectively provide women with legal protection and for women to have more access to information about their legal rights (McKinlay [Patton] 1991: 100-101). The study’s recommendations include: the adoption by police of a pro-arrest policy; the provision of domestic violence training addressing the need for attitudinal change; the establishment of a specialised domestic violence police unit to monitor police response; and the need for further research analysing police data on responses to assault and Restraint Orders (McKinlay [Patton] 1991: 103).

Knowle’s primary focus is police officers’ perceptions of their role in domestic violence. It also describes the culture of police and its influence on their handling of domestic violence. Knowle’s study indicates that effective

responses to women are hampered by judgemental attitudes and a reluctance to arrest men, with evidence of police ‘gatekeeping’ women from the legal process (Knowles 1996: 161). Dr Knowles makes 54 recommendations aimed at improving police responses to domestic violence and providing structural support for police.

Despite their difficulties in seeking help, research has shown that women who experience violence from their male partner, above all else, need and want support and protection (Coorey 1988). Some research reports have indicated that arrest can help provide that support and protection as well as prevent the violence. The Minneapolis experiment conducted by the Police Foundation and the Minneapolis Police Department from March 1981 to August 1982 found that arrested offenders were about half as likely as non-arrested

offenders to repeat their violence over a six month follow-up period (Sherman & Berk 1984). There have been a number of overseas research reports since then that have both challenged and supported this finding (National Research Council 1996, cited in Shepard & Pence 1999: 175). However, Zorza’s

determined that ‘no other police action is more effective as a deterrent’ (Zorza 1995, cited in Kelly 1999: 64).