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Forbes, Emma Elizabeth (2019) Perception and Reality: an Exploration of Domestic Abuse Victims' Experiences of the Criminal Justice Process in Scotland

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Forbes, Emma Elizabeth (2019) Perception and Reality: an Exploration of Domestic Abuse Victims' Experiences of the Criminal Justice Process in Scotland Forbes, Emma Elizabeth (2019) Perception and reality: an exploration of domestic abuse victims' experiences of the criminal justice process in Scotland. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/73000/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Perception and Reality: An Exploration of Domestic Abuse Victims’ Experiences of the Criminal Justice Process in Scotland Emma Elizabeth Forbes L.L.B (Hons), Dip. L.P., MSc (distinction) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Glasgow for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Criminology) School of Social and Political Sciences September 2018 ABSTRACT This thesis is a feminist critique of Scotland’s investigation and prosecution of domestic abuse through the lens of tackling domestic abuse as a gendered offence. It tells two stories: Scotland’s policy and legislative response to this issue and the experience of female victims who report domestic abuse to the police. The apparent sweep of progress on the public stage is juxtaposed with the private struggle of individuals who continue to face barriers to justice. Drawing on in-depth interviews with women who have experienced domestic abuse and those who support them, the data identifies a number of enduring challenges. The data from these interviews is contextualised within a 40-year perspective of Scotland’s policy, legal, social and academic responses to victims of gender violence in general, and domestic abuse in particular. The web of public and private priorities is examined in a temporal analysis which highlights multiple misalignments, a complex hierarchy of timescales and identifies obstacles to effective justice. Recognising the consequences of these tensions and the traumatic impact on victims highlights the ways in which aspects of the justice response could be reconfigured to provide them with greater agency. This thesis argues that legislative change has limited potential until structural inequalities are addressed, the full implications of the public and private dimensions of domestic abuse are understood, and appropriate procedural justice is consistently delivered. Word Count: 99,694 i CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction 1.0 Preamble………………………………………………………………………………...…1 1.1 Research Question…………………………………………………………………..……..4 1.2 Defining Domestic Abuse……………………………………………………………...….4 1.3 What’s in a Name: Victims in the Criminal Justice Process………………………………6 1.4 Counting Domestic Abuse………………………………………………………….……..7 1.5 Public/Private Dichotomy…………………………………………………………..……..9 1.6 Method…………………………………………………………………………………...11 1.7 Structure of Thesis……………………………………………………………….………12 1.8 Contribution…………………………………………………………………………...…14 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.0 Introduction: Domestic Abuse as Hidden………………………………………………..16 2.1 Feminism, Criminology and Victimology……………………………………………….19 2.1.1 Early Scholarship on Violence Against Women…………………………………….…19 2.1.2 Feminist Influence on Criminology………………………………………………..…..21 2.1.3 Feminist Engagement with Victimology…………………………………………….....23 2.2 Victims of Domestic Abuse and the Criminal Justice Response: The Current Picture and Future Responsibilities……………………………………………………………………….30 2.3 Risk: Introduction………………………………………………………………………...39 2.3.1 Assessing Risk in Domestic Abuse…………………………………………………….42 2.4 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..43 Chapter 3: Scotland’s Response to Domestic Abuse: A Timeline Review 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………46 3.2 Timeline Methodology and Parameters………………………………………………….48 ii 3.3 The Early Years of Consciousness-raising……………………………………………….50 3.4 The Influence of the Scottish Parliament and the Emerging Professionalisation of Women’s Groups…………………………………………………………………………….52 3.5 A Scottish Strategy for Victims and the Introduction of Victim Information and Advice………………………………………………………………………………………..56 3.6 A Specialist Domestic Abuse Court: A Product of Concerted Violence Against Women and Victim Policies…………………………………………………………………………..57 3.7 MARAC …………………………………………………………………………………63 3.8 Domestic Abuse Task Force and the Disclosure Scheme………………………………..65 3.9 Supporting Domestic Abuse Victims: Policy and Legislative Framework………………68 3.10 The Current Landscape…………………………………………………………………71 3.10.1 Looking Ahead: Institutional Advocacy, New Law and the Ongoing Campaign……73 3.10.2 The 2018 Act………………………………………………………………………….75 3.10.3 Evidence Review……………………………………………………………………...77 3.3.3 Privileging Narrative – Evidencing a Continuum……………………………………...79 3.11 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………81 Chapter 4: Methodology 4.0 Preamble………………………………………………………………………………….85 4.1 Introduction: Reflecting on my role as a Prosecutor and a Researcher…………………..85 4.2 Ethical Qualitative Interviews within a Feminist Framework……………………………88 4.2.1 Qualitative Interviews – the rationale………………………………………………….88 4.2.2 Ethical Interviews – Doing the ‘right thing’ and ‘no harm’……………………………92 4.2.3 Identifying and Sourcing Interview Participants: The Selection Process……………...94 4.2.4 Gatekeepers: Interviews with Support Workers……………………………………….97 4.2.5 Interviewees Becoming Gatekeepers: Interviews with Victims………………………100 4.2.6 Shifting Identities……………………………………………………………………..103 4.2.7 Interview Planning and Approach…………………………………………………….104 4.3 Analysis and Coding……………………………………………………………………107 4.4 The Role of the Interviewer: ‘Bias’ and Blurred Roles…………………………………110 4.4.1 Interview with Workers……………………………………………………………….110 iii 4.4.2 Interviews with Victims………………………………………………………………112 4.5 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………112 Chapter 5: Advocacy Support: Challenges to Offering a Professional Service and the Influence of Risk Assessments 5.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..115 5.1 The Evolving Role of the Advocacy Worker…………………………………………...115 5.1.1 What is Advocacy?........................................................................................................117 5.1.2 Advocacy in Practice………………………………………………………………….118 5.1.3 Why Advocacy………………………………………………………………..………124 5.1.4 Reporting to the Police: the First Response…………………………………………..127 5.2 Perception and Professional Judgement………………………………………………...133 5.2.1 The Risk Assessment…………………………………………………………………134 5.2.2 Risk Assessment in Practice: Who is the Expert?.........................................................137 5.2.3 Sharing Risk Assessment Information: Taking it to the MARAC……………………139 5.2.4 The RIC as a Tool for Managerialism………………………………………………...143 5.3 Prosecutorial Discretion, Advocacy and Judicial Judgement: Risk Assessments in Court ………………………………………………………………………………………………144 5.6 Conclusion: The ‘risk’ of Victim-blaming and the risk to advocacy………………… 151 Chapter 6: Competing Chronologies: Victims’ Experiences of Time 6.0 Preamble………………………………………………………………………………...153 6.1 Victims’ Timeline – Dealing with Emotions…………………………………………...155 6.2 Waiting as Tertiary Victimisation………………………………………………………163 6.3 Re-Framing Domestic Abuse: Recognising a Continuum of Coercive Control………..167 6.4 Competing Chronologies: Civil and Criminal Justice…………………………………..172 6.5 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………175 iv Chapter 7: Defining Victim Agency for the Coercively Controlled 7.0 Preamble………………………………………………………………………………...178 7.1 Defining Agency………………………………………………………………………..180 7.2 Elements of Agency…………………………………………………………………….181 7.2.1 Informed Choice – Understanding the Process……………………………………….182 7.2.2 Freedom from Further Criminal Conduct…………………………………………….186 7.2.3 Being Heard…………………………………………………………………………...190 7.3 Expectations and Experiences of Engaging Justice…………………………………….192 7.3.1 Reporting to the Police………………………………………………………………..192 7.3.2 Before Court…………………………………………………………………………..195 7.3.3 At Court……………………………………………………………………………….199 7.3.4 After Court…………………………………………………...……………………….204 7.4 Conclusion: Reconciling Agency and Victimhood…………………………………..…210 Chapter 8: Conclusion 8.0 Preamble………………………………………………………………………………...212 8.1 Reflecting on the Research Aim and Method………………………….……………….213 8.2 Key Findings………………………………………………………………………..…..215 8.3 Analysis of the Findings I: Behind Glass Walls………………….…………………….220 8.4 Analysis of the Findings II: Creating an ‘Intimate Public’…………….……………….224 8.5 Beyond Glass Walls: Using Procedural Justice to Bridge the Gap……………………..227 Appendices………………………………………………………………………………….230 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………...248 v Appendices and Bibliography A1 – Timeline………………………………………………………………...230 A2 – Interview Plan Workers……………………………………………..….235 A3 – Interview Plan Victims…………………………………………………237 A4 - Consent Forms (workers and victims)…………………………………..239 A5 - Plain Language Statements (workers and victims)……………………..240 A6 – Copy of the RIC (risk identification checklist)…………………………246 Bibliography………………………………………………………………….248 Legislation and Caselaw……………………………………………………...298 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It feels like quite a selfish endeavour to take three years to read and research and write about a
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