Recommendations for risk management by police of intimate partner violence against women

• Author: European Institute for Gender Equality (EU body or agency)
• Pages: 38-44

3. Recommendations for risk management by police of intimate partner violence against women

European Institute for Gender Equality38

3. Recommendations for risk management

by police of intimate partner violence

against women

(107) Crown Prosecution Service, Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship: legal guidance, domestic abuse, (available at https://

www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-intimate-or-family-relationship).

(108) McEwan, T. E., Bateson, S. and Strand, S. (2017), Improving police risk assessment and management of family violence through a collaboration between

law-enforcement, forensic mental health and academia, Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, Vol. 3, No 2, pp. 119-131.

Principles and

recommendations for police

risk management

Principle 1. Adopting a gender-specific

approach

Risk management should be built on an under-

standing of how gender and women’s inequalit y

shape women’s and children’s experiences of inti-

mate partner violence, and of how gender affects

victims options and perpetrators b ehaviours, to

inform effec tive risk management strategies.

A sound understanding of the gendered dy nam-

ics of intimate partner violence and coercive con-

trol are essential for managing r isk. Ideally, risk

management interventions should follow risk

assessments that include coercive control indi-

cators and that explicitly inform prac titioners’

judgements about risks. Risk management must

maintain a focus on safet y planning with victims

and on holding perpetrators accountable in or-

der to reduce the likelihood of lethal violence and

the harmful consequences of intimate partner

violence on women and children. To this end, po-

lice leadership should promote and implement

training programmes that enable police officers

to identify the gendered dynamics that underpin

intimate partner violence, especially coercive and

controlling behaviours.

Coercive and controlling behaviours have been

defined in the following ways:

Coercive behaviour is an act or a pattern of

acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intim-

idation or other abuse that is used to harm,

punish or frighten the victim.

Controlling behaviour is a range of acts de-

signed to make a person subordinate and/or

dependent by isolating them from sources of

support, exploiting their resources and capac-

ities for personal gain, depriving them of the

means needed for independence, resistance

and escape, and regulating their everyday be-

haviour (107). Such acts include controlling ac-

cess to technology and/or monitoring online

behaviour, including cyberstalking.

Multidisciplinary collaboration can improve police

practice (108), and police can increase their own

capacity in this area by working with womens

rights organisations and victim services agencies

to increase understanding of the impact of gen-

der on risk assessment and risk management of

intimate partner violence.

Police leadership should routinely conduct re-

views and analyses of the learning and develop-

ment needs of police, paying special attention to

developing the necessary understanding of the

gender dynamics of intimate partner v iolence

and the impact of gender on risk management

procedures and processes. Based on the training

needs assessments, mandatory training plans

for all police of ficers involved in risk manage-

ment should be implemented. Training plans can

be distinguished by different levels of compe-

tence and according to the specific role of police

officers under taking risk management activities.