Many domestic violence cases do not go to trial because the victim refuses to testify. This article presents a qualitative study exploring the dismissal of criminal charges in domestic violence cases. The 22 judicial and psychosocial professionals interviewed in Montreal, Canada, discussed various consequences of the legal decision to dismiss the charges on victims, perpetrators, justice system professionals, and society as a whole. Respondents clearly did not view the withdrawal of charges as a failure of the criminalization of domestic violence.
Beaud, J.P. ( 2006). L’échantillonnage [Sampling]. In B. Gauthier (Ed.), Recherche sociale: de la problématique à la collecte des données [Social research: From the definition of the problem to the collection of data] (4th ed., pp. 211-242). Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada: Presses de l’Université du Québec.
2.
Bennett, L., Goodman, L., & Dutton, M.A. ( 1999). Systemic obstacles to the criminal prosecution of battering women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 761-772.
3.
Corsilles, A. ( 1994). No-drop policies in the prosecution of domestic violence cases: Guarantee to action or dangerous solution?Fordham Law Review, LXIII, 853-881.
4.
Cretney, A., & Davis, G. ( 1997). Prosecuting domestic assault: Victims failing courts, or courts failing victims?Howard Law Journal, 36, 146-157.
5.
Currie, D.H. ( 1998). The criminalization of violence against women: Feminist demands and the patriarchal accommodation. In K. Bonnycastle & G. S. Rigakos (Eds.), Unsettling truths: Battered women, policy, politics, and contemporary research in Canada (pp. 41-51). Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Collective Press.
6.
Davis, R.C., & Smith, B. ( 1995). Domestic violence reforms: Empty promises or fulfilled expectations? Crime & Delinquency, 41, 541-552.
7.
Dawson, M., & Dinovitzer, R. (2001). Victim cooperation and the prosecution of domestic violence in a specialized court. Justice Quarterly, 18, 593-622.
8.
Dawson, M., & Dinovitzer, R. (2008). Specialized justice: From prosecution to sentencing in a Toronto Domestic Violence Court. In J. Ursel, L. M. Tutty , & J. Lemaistre (Eds.), What’s law got to do with it? (pp. 120-147). Toronto, Ontario , Canada: Cormoran Books.
9.
Ellison, L. ( 2003). Responding to victim withdrawal in domestic violence prosecutions. Criminal Law Review, 760-772.
10.
Erez, E., & Belknap, J. ( 1998). In their own words: Battered women’s assessment of the criminal processing system’s responses. Violence and Victims, 13, 251-268.
11.
Ferraro, K.J., & Boychuk, T. ( 1992). The Court’s response to interpersonal violence: A comparison of intimate and nonintimate assault. In E. S. Buzawa & C. G. Buzawa (Eds.), Domestic violence: The changing criminal justice response (pp. 209-225). Westport, CT: Auburn House.
12.
Flemming, B. ( 2003). Equal protection for victims of domestic violence . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 685-692.
13.
Ford, D.A. ( 1991). Prosecution as a victim power resource: A note on empowering women in violent conjugal relationships. Law & Society Review, 25, 313-334.
14.
Ford, D.A. ( 2003). Coercing victim participation in domestic violence prosecutions . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 669-684.
15.
Ford, D.A., & Regoli, M.J. ( 1993). The criminal prosecution of wife assaulters: Process, problems, and effects. In Z. N. Hilton (Ed.), Legal responses to wife assault: Current trends and evaluation (pp. 127-164). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
16.
Garofalo, J. ( 1991). Police, prosecutors, and felony case attrition . Journal of Criminal Justice, 19, 439-449.
17.
Gauthier, S. ( 2001). La violence conjugale devant la justice: Conditions et contraintes de l’application de la loi [Domestic violence before the courts: Conditions and constraints in the application of the law]. Paris, France: L’Harmattan.
18.
Goodman, L., & Epstein, D. ( 2005). Refocusing on women: A new direction for policy and research on intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 20, 479-487.
19.
Hanna, C. ( 1996). No right to choose: Mandated victim participation in domestic violence prosecutions. Harvard Law Review, 109, 1849-1910.
20.
Hare, S.C. ( 2006). What do battered women want? Victims’ opinions on prosecution. Violence and Victims, 21, 611-628.
21.
Hart, B.J. ( 1993). Battered women and the criminal justice system . American Behavioral Scientist, 36(5), 1-13.
22.
Hester, M. ( 2005). Making it through the criminal justice system: Attrition and domestic violence. Social Policy & Society , 5, 79-90.
23.
Hoyle, C., & Sanders, A. ( 2000). Police response to domestic violence: From victim choice to victim empowerment?. British Journal of Criminology , 40, 14-36.
24.
Hudders, N.A. ( 2000). The problem of using hearsay in domestic violence cases: Is a new exception the answer? Duke Law Journal, 49, 1041-1075.
25.
Hugues, P.M. ( 1997). Paternalism, battered women, and the law. Journal of Social Philosophy, 30, 18-28. http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/bwjp/prosecutev/prosecutev.html
26.
Kernic, M.A., Monary-Ernsdorff, D.J., Koepsell, J.K., & Holt, V.L. ( 2005). Children in the crossfire: Child custody determinations among couples with a history of intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 11, 991-1021.
27.
Malaviya, R. ( 2008). From shelter worker to crown attorney: One woman’s journey. In J. Ursel, L. M. Tutty, & J. Lemaistre (Eds.), What’s law got to do with it? The law, specialized courts and domestic violence in Canada (pp. 46-66). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Cormoran Books.
28.
McGuire, L.A. ( 1999, November). Criminal prosecution of domestic violence . Retrieved from http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/bwjp/prosecutev/prosecutev.html
29.
Mills, L.G. ( 1998). Mandatory arrest and prosecution policies for domestic violence. A critical literature review and the case for more research to test victim empowerment approaches. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 25, 306-318.
30.
Mills, L.G. ( 1999-2000). Killing her softly: Intimate abuse and the violence of state intervention. Harvard Law Review, 113, 550-613.
31.
Nielsen, M.B., & Einarsen, S. ( 2008). Sampling in research on interpersonal aggression . Aggressive Behavior, 34, 265-272.
32.
Paillé, P., & Muchielli, A. ( 2008). L’analyse qualitative en sciences humaines et sociales [Qualitative analysis in the human and social sciences] (2nd ed.). Paris, France: Armand Colin .
33.
Pires, A. ( 1997). Échantillonnage et recherche qualitative: Essai théorique et méthodologique [Sampling and qualitative research: Theoretical and methodological testing]. In J. Poupart et al. (Eds.), La recherche qualitative: Enjeux épistémologiques et méthodologiques [Qualitative research: Epistemological and methodological issues] (pp. 113-169). Montréal, Quebec, Canada: Gaëtan Morin .
34.
Robbins, K. ( 1999). No-drop prosecution of domestic violence: Just good policy, or equal protection mandate?Stanford Law Review , 52, 205-233.
35.
Robinson, A., & Cook, D. ( 2006). Understanding victim retraction in cases of domestic violence: Specialist courts, government policy, and victim-centered justice . Contemporary Justice Review, 9, 189-213.
36.
Rondeau, G., Castonguay, S., Brochu, S., & Fredette, C. ( 1998). L’utilisation du système pénal dans les situations de violence conjugale au Québec [The use of the criminal justice system in domestic violence cases in the province of Quebec] (rapport no 3). In G. Lemire et al. (Eds.), Le recours au droit pénal et au système pénal pour régler les problèmes sociaux [The use of criminal law and the penal system to solve social problems] (Les cahiers de recherches criminologiques , no 28, pp. 80-145). Montréal, Quebec, Canada: CICC, Université de Montréal .
37.
Snider, L. ( 1998). Towards safer societies: Punishment, masculinities and violence against women. British Journal of Criminology , 38, 1-39.
38.
Turner, J. ( 1995). Saskatchewan responds to family violence: The Victims of Domestic Violence Act, 1995. In M. Valverde , L. MacLeod, & K. Johnson (Eds.), Wife assault and the Canadian criminal justice system (pp. 183-197). Toronto, Ontario , Canada: University of Toronto Press.
39.
Ursel, J., Tutty, L. M., & Lemaistre, J. (Eds.). (2008). What’s law got to do with it? The law, specialized courts and domestic violence in Canada. Toronto, Ontario , Canada: Cormoran Books.
40.
Wangberg, K.G. ( 1991). Reducing case attrition in domestic violence cases: A prosecutor’s perspective. Prosecutor, 24(3), 8-12.
