The values supporting family privacy and sanctity are firmly rooted in society and the judiciary, as evident in the police response to domestic violence cases. The police have been accused of ambivalence by their dismissive attitudes and through sexism and empathy towards perpetrators of violence against women. Conventional beliefs among the police on gender roles and women’s social image leading to stereotyping them as weak, maternal, and vulnerable are partly the cause of such behavior. Indeed, police responses to domestic violence cases are determined by extralegal factors such as their beliefs and attitudes, individualism, and communal ideologies (Wang et al., 2019). These factors influence their empathy towards perpetrators of domestic violence. Bongirno et al. (2020), citing existing theory on female-victim empathy and male-perpetrator empathy, contend that men have lesser empathy for women victims even as women are often blamed for being violated. However, some recommendations have been made to change police attitudes and culture towards domestic violence.
The above issues can be resolved by developing a culture that transverse the social, educational, and cultural values. They must also adopt practical approaches towards domestic violence through training. Indeed, the police must understand the individualism experienced by every victim of domestic violence. They must not generalize such events, stereotype, or have an attitude towards the phenomenon. Moreover, they should change their attitudes towards women and accept that men can be victims of abuse. Practical training can thus help deconstruct and alter conventional gender-based beliefs, including sexist ideologies in the judiciary. Consistent advocacy and promotion of proactive attitudes have also been shown to stop the vice that continues to disenfranchise women victims of domestic violence.
References
Bongiorno, R., Langbroek, C., Bain, P. G., Ting, M., & Ryan, M. K. (2020). Why women are blamed for being sexually harassed: The effects of empathy for female victims and male perpetrators. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 44(1), 11-27. Web.
Wang, X., Hayes, B., & Zhang, H. (2019). Correlates of Chinese police officer decision-making in cases of domestic violence. Crime & Delinquency, 1-23. Web.