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Prosecution as a Victim Power Resource: A Note on Empowering Women in Violent Conjugal Relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

David A. Ford
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Abstract

Criminal prosecution of abusive men is described here as a power resource used by battered women to help bring about satisfactory arrangements for managing conjugal violence. This article examines relevant theory on exchange and power processes to explain the conditions of victim empowerment. It then describes cases of women who filed charges against their conjugal partners to show how victims may file, but later drop, charges as a rational power strategy for determining the future course of their relationships. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of prosecutorial policies that limit battered women's control over criminal justice processes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , 1991 , pp. 313 - 334
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 by The Law and Society Association

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Footnotes

I appreciate the critical comments offered by Fred DuBow, Wendy Ford, David Funk, Linda Haas, and Charles Jeffords on earlier drafts of this article and revisions suggested by participants in the 1989–90 Family Research Laboratory Seminar at the University of New Hampshire. This article was completed with support of the Family Research Laboratory under a NIMH Postdoctoral Fellowship, grant MH15161-13. I am especially grateful to former Marion County Prosecutor Stephen Goldsmith for his cooperation and support of this research, to Eugenia Smith for her assistance, and to the battered women who graciously shared their experiences.

References

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Statute Cited

Indiana Code § 35-33-1-1(a) (West 1986).CrossRefGoogle Scholar