Domestic Violence Legislation and the Police

Abstract

In response to complaints by the battered women's movement, many states passed legislation requiring the police to assist battered women and expanding the arrest powers of the police. By 1983 many states had adopted some of these reforms. This research examines the variability of the adoption of state level police reform legislation. A model is created that looks at the relative influence of socio-economic, political, and feminist indicators on the legislative adoption. The strongest predictor of state adoption of police reform legislation was the percentage of women in the state legislatures. The findings suggest that electing more women to political office will positively influence the adoption of legislation addressing women's issues.

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