ABSTRACT

Research suggests that women of color (WOC) survivors are often dissatisfied with police response to their calls for intimate partner violence (IPV) assistance due to disrespectful, apathetic, and rude treatment. A strong empirical relationship exists between severity of abuse and police help-seeking among WOC survivors more generally; however, scarce literature exists examining the nature of interactions between officers and WOC survivors during life-threatening abuse situations. This study contributes to the literature by examining WOC's satisfaction with law enforcement response within an interpersonal justice framework, and how survivors' “severe abuse contexts” contribute to police help-seeking decision-making. In-depth interviews were conducted with high-risk WOC IPV survivors. Results revealed two themes that describe participants’ perceptions of police treatment as dismissive/lethargic (T1) and hostile/callous (T2). Findings suggest that unfair treatment from officers has dangerous implications for ongoing survivor safety among WOC. Non-carceral IPV prevention and survivor safety enhancement perspectives are also discussed.

摘要

研究表明，有色人种 (WOC) 幸存者通常不满意警方对她们要求提供亲密伴侣暴力 (IPV) 援助的回应，原因是不尊重、冷漠和粗鲁的对待。更普遍地，WOC 幸存者中虐待的严重程度与警方寻求帮助之间存在很强的经验关系；然而，很少有文献研究在威胁生命的虐待情况下警官和 WOC 幸存者之间互动的性质。本研究通过检查 WOC 对人际正义框架内执法反应的满意度，以及幸存者的“严重虐待背景”如何促进警方寻求帮助的决策，为文献做出贡献。对高风险 WOC IPV 幸存者进行了深入访谈。结果揭示了两个主题，将参与者对警察对待的看法描述为不屑一顾/昏昏欲睡（T1）和敌对/冷酷无情（T2）。调查结果表明，官员的不公平待遇对 WOC 中持续的幸存者安全具有危险的影响。还讨论了非癌症 IPV 预防和幸存者安全增强的观点。