Findings from research examining the relationship between gender of accused and charges laid in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) were released this month in The British Journal of Criminology. Lead by University of Guelph PhD student and CSSLRV Research Danielle Bader, the research drew from a SSHRC-funded study of specialized domestic violence courts in Canada. In the 1980s, pro-charging policies were implemented in Canada to better respond to IPV and in the late 1990s in Ontario, specialized domestic violence courts were implemented in some jurisdictions. Since then, the percentage of males charged remains higher than females charged, but the percentage of female accused has increased dramatically. Bader, along with co-authors Myrna Dawson and David Walters, professors at the University of Guelph, aimed to discover more about gendered differences in the types of charges laid since little is currently known. Using a sample of more than 1,700 accused, findings revealed that there were differences in types of charges for male and female accused which requires more examination.
