Domestic Violence : Facts and Fallacies

This is an honest and insightful discussion of domestic violence from the perspective of a police officer who has experienced it in his home and encountered it professionally. Davis, a sociologist as well, uses his dual background to demonstrate that current treatment of domestic violence abuses is ineffective. A must read for all police officers, criminologists, and citizens who care about finding a successful solution to this issue.

Ann W. Burgess, Chair of the Panel on Research on Violence Against Women, established by the National Research Council in 1995 at the request of congress writes that, Since the mid 1970s the body of research on violence against women has grown, yet misinformation abounds, and we seem little closer to ending violence against women now than 20 years ago. This book proposes that continuing to rely on the criminal justice system as the remedy for domestic violence is irresponsible and illogical public policy. This nation remains incapable of framing a coherent, consistent, or understandable criminal justice procedure that has effectively prevented domestic violence. Arrest without proper sanctions or proper supervision of abusers and the issuance of civil restraining orders without valid programs in place to assist the victims of abuse are predestined to failure. Current policies that provide for reactive intervention in domestic violence incidents must be replaced by policies that address the cause of domestic violence rather than simply treating its symptoms. This book explains why the criminal justice system can not prevent domestic violence and what the proper role of the criminal justice system should be.

To prevent domestic violence we must concentrate on educational programs and policies that provide for alteration of our social and cultural patterns of behavior that foster this form of abuse. The formula to prevent or curb the continued escalation of domestic violence is available to women by means of our democratic process. Women can challenge the thousands of years of male domination politically, economically and socially by taking public office. The instrumentality to curb what goes on behind the closed doors of our homes and the mechanism to challenge what goes on behind the closed mahogany doors of Capitol Hill are one and the same. The illusory goal of equality of gender, equality and sameness are not synonymous, should be exchanged for a goal of an equity of conduct and a comportment of behavior that provides for fairness and frankness towards one another and a renewed respect for each other.

RICHARD L. DAVIS is Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Quincy College at Plymouth.