Joanne Belknap

The Gendered Nature of Risk Factors for Delinquency

Traditional delinquency theories typically exclude girls and examine economic marginalization as the primary risk factor for boys. More recent mainstream theories expand the childhood strains associated with delinquency but fail to account for the link between childhood abuses and subsequent offending reported in the feminist pathways studies of girls and women. In addition, policies since the 1990s request the development of “gender-specific services” for delinquent girls without examining how the risks are gendered. This study of 444 incarcerated youths’ self-reports indicates the contribution of feminist pathways to better understand the risks associated with and improve the responses to girls’ and boys’ delinquency by examining demographic, abuse, family, school and peer, and self-esteem variables.

He Hits, She Hits Assessing Gender Differences and Similarities in Officially Reported Intimate Partner Violence

Within the study of intimate partner violence (IPV), controversy exists over whether perpetration and victimization of domestic violence is gender specific (gendered). Some researchers maintain no or few gender differences in IPV offending and victimization, particularly at less severe levels. Others argue that IPV is highly gendered and perpetrated largely by men against their female partners and expartners. Using officially collected data (through pretrial services and police reports) in a large Midwestern city, this study examined 2,670 IPV cases of which 14% had female defendants. This study was an effort to further clarify the debate regarding gender differences and similarities in reports of perpetration, victimization, context, and consequences of IPV. The two political and research perspectives that guide this debate, the family violence and feminist perspectives, are also discussed.

The Extensive Sexual Violation and Sexual Abuse Histories of Incarcerated Women

A growing body of research reports on the lifetime prevalence of sexual victimization experiences among incarcerated women. However, none of this research provides a detailed account of the many types and levels of sexual violations and sexual abuses, the age of occurrence, and the victim–offender relationship. This study used the Sexual Abuse Checklist (designed by the first author) and a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) to obtain a detailed account of 391 incarcerated womens self-reported sexual violation and abuse histories. Seventy percent of the women reported at least one violation consistent with what qualifies as “rape” in most states in the United States today, and half of the women reported child sexual abuse victimization. The most prevalent victim–offender relationships were male strangers, male lovers or boyfriends, male dates, husbands, uncles, brothers, male cousins, and stepfathers.

Police responses to battering in a progressive pro-arrest jurisdiction

This study was conducted in Boulder County, Colorado, a jurisdiction with a pro-arrest policy in place since 1986 and with a progressive agency, the Domestic Abuse Prevention Project (DAPP), designed to oversee systemic responses to intimate partner battering. The data for this study consist of the 1,521 incident reports of intimate partner battering submitted by Boulder County police in 1994. In addition to examining the types of police responses, we employed multivariate analysis to examine legal and extralegal characteristics potentially related to police responses to battering, using two dependent variables: (1) whether any formal police action was taken, and (2) whether the defendant was taken to jail (the most extreme police response). Overall the findings suggest a far more serious police response to batterers than found in prior studies. Moreover, extralegal factors appeared to play a less prominent role in police decision making than reported in previous studies. The findings indicate the signifi...

Life History Models of Female Offending The Roles of Serious Mental Illness and Trauma in Women’s Pathways to Jail

Our mixed-methods study advances understanding of pathways to offending for jailed women with and without mental illness. Life history interviews with 115 women from five U.S. states examined how onset of crime and delinquency varied based on mental health status and trauma exposure. Women in jails had high rates of mental health disorders, with a majority meeting lifetime diagnostic criteria for a serious mental illness (50%), posttraumatic stress disorder (51%), and/or substance use disorder (85%). Cox regression analyses were utilized to examine associations between life experiences and risk of engaging in specific criminalized behaviors. Serious mental illness was associated with substance use, running away as a teen, and drug offending. Substance use disorder was related to earlier onset of substance use and driving under the influence. Intimate partner violence increased women’s risks for property crimes, drug offending, and commercial sex work. Witnessing violence increased risks for property crimes, fighting, and use of weapons. Experiences of caregiver violence increased the risk of running away as a teen. Qualitative narratives were reviewed to provide insight into connections between women’s experiences and onset of criminal behavior. Findings demonstrate a need for gender-responsive and trauma-informed practices to address mental disorders and victimization among women offenders.

The Impact of Community-Based Outreach on Psychological Distress and Victim Safety in Women Exposed to Intimate Partner Abuse

OBJECTIVE Using a longitudinal, randomized controlled trial, this study assessed the impact of a community-based outreach versus a more traditional criminal justice system-based referral program on womens distress and safety following police-reported intimate partner abuse (IPA). METHOD Women (N = 236 women) with police-reported IPA were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 interdisciplinary community-coordinated response program conditions: Outreach (community-based victim advocate outreach) or Referral (criminal justice system-based victim advocate referrals to community-based agencies). Participants were interviewed 3 times over a 1-year period: within 26 (median) days of police-reported IPA, 6 months later, and 12 months later. Primary outcome measures included posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptom severity (Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale; Beck Depression Inventory-II), fear appraisals (Trauma Appraisal Questionnaire), IPA revictimization (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale), and readiness to leave the relationship with the abuser. RESULTS One year after the initial interview, women in the Outreach condition reported decreased PTSD and depression symptom severity and fear compared with women in the Referral condition. Although both conditions were unrelated to revictimization in the follow-up year, women in the Outreach condition reported greater readiness to leave the abuser and rated services as more helpful than women in the Referral condition. CONCLUSIONS This is one of the first studies to examine community-based outreach in the context of an interdisciplinary community coordinated response to police-reported IPA. The findings suggest that community-based outreach by victim advocates results in decreased distress levels, greater readiness to leave abusive relationships, and greater perceived helpfulness of services relative to system-based referrals.

The Impact of Victim-Focused Outreach on Criminal Legal System Outcomes Following Police-Reported Intimate Partner Abuse

Randomized control designs have been used in the public health and psychological literatures to examine the relationship between victim outreach following intimate partner abuse (IPA) and various outcomes. These studies have largely relied on samples drawn from health providers and shelters to examine outcomes outside the criminal legal system. Based on the positive findings from this body of research, we expected that a victim-focused, community-coordinated outreach intervention would improve criminal legal system outcomes. The current study used a randomized, longitudinal design to recruit 236 ethnically diverse women with police-reported IPA to compare treatment-as-usual with an innovative community-coordinated, victim-focused outreach program. Findings indicated that the outreach program was effective in increasing women’s engagement with prosecution tasks as well as likelihood of taking part in prosecution of their abusers. Results were particularly robust among women marginalized by ethnicity and class, and those still living with their abusers after the target incident.

The Development of a Comprehensive Measure of the Sexual Victimization of College Women

It is only in recent years that sexual victimization has been identified as a salient problem on college and university campuses. Researchers have used a variety of different methodologies and data sources to describe the extent and the nature of sexual victimization of college women. These studies, however, are most commonly flawed by an incomplete conceptualization of sexual victimization (e.g., omitting sexual harassment and stalking), and by the inability to distinguish between different ranges of more and less serious sexual victimizations. This article presents a comprehensive measure of sexual victimization that includes incident reports to gather detailed accounts of sexual victimizations.

Routine Activity Theory And The Risk Of Rape: Analyzing Ten Years Of National Crime Survey Data

This analysis applies routine activity theory to the risk of rape, using 10 years (1973-82) of NCS data. In addition to univariate analysis describing characteristics of the victimization itself, bivariate and multivariate (discriminant) analyses are employed to assess the risk of rape, comparing 762 rape and attempted rape victims with 2,523 randomly selected non-rape victims. Most characteristics concerning the rape incident itself (e.g., time of day and season) were consistent with routine activity theory. However, the place of occurrence was not. Additionally, discriminant analysis showed that marital status, age, family income, and the number of living units per structure appear to be the strongest predictors of the risk of rape. Unlike most prior research, race was not a factor in the risk of rape, although race was correlated with those factors influencing the risk of rape. Given the fundamental level of these predictor variables, the likelihood of affecting the level of rape through policy appears limited.

ACTIVIST CRIMINOLOGY: CRIMINOLOGISTS’ RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL AND LEGAL JUSTICE

Similar to many criminologists, my interest in pursuing this career was driven by a desire to improve responses to injustices, on both small and large scales. I believe that among criminologists, this dedication to effect changes in social and legal justice disproportionately drives those of us historically kept out of the academy due to our race, gender, class, sexual identity, and/or other marginalizations. Fortunately, there is a growing diversity among criminologists and this has had a powerful impact on expanding the scope and depth of the field. At the same time, I am concerned that academic training and university climates frequently work against our commitment to advancing social and legal justice changes, what I refer to as “criminology activism.” This address is a call to action, stressing criminologists’ responsibility to advocate for social and legal justice on small and large scales. Numerous types of criminology activism are identified (e.g., in research, service, and teaching), including the requisite to continue diversifying the representation of criminologists.