Intimate Partner Violence

Catalog description

CRJU 309 This course will provide students with an overview of the theoretical paradigms examining the definitions of, causes of, ramifications of, and interventions for intimate partner violence. More specifically, from a criminal justice perspective we will (1) examine the nature and extent of intimate partner violence; (2) take an in-depth look at the perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence; (3) examine theories to gain a better understanding of why these forms of violence take place; (4) examine the criminal justice response (e.g., police, courts, corrections, juvenile justice) to intimate partner violence; and (5) examine some of the larger cultural contexts within which the varieties of abuse occur. This course recognizes that a disproportionate number of the victims are women, but that a strict feminist analysis needs to be modified to recognize abuse in same sex relationships and a growing literature on female offenders.