Amid the media coverage of two reports last week about women and the criminal justice system, links between domestic violence and the causes of crimes by female offenders were largely overlooked.
The Prison Reform Trust's research, Brighter Futures, repeatedly cited the links between women's offending and their experiences of domestic and sexual violence, and stated that their offending "was more likely than men's to be linked to their relationships". Yet analysis of 42 policeand crime plans showed that while most demonstrated a commitment to tackle domestic violence, few acknowledged the distinct approach required for responding to women as suspects or offenders. Certainly, of the hundreds of women and girls in prison I have met, most have experienced domestic and sexual abuse from their partners, fathers, brothers and extended family. On my most recent trip to a women's prison, all but two of those I spoke to had experienced domestic abuse, which was directly linked to their offence.
Mistrust of the police still prevents many women from talking about their abuse. Domestic abuse policy often assumes that "first contact" with the police is when a woman calls to report an incident. However, the women I have met in prison have often only had contact with the police when they have been arrested, and have never called to report their experiences of abuse. For them, "first contact" means something very different, and we are far from acknowledging the link between domestic abuse and women's offending in these instances.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/01/womens-offending-domestic-abuse-link
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