Intimate partner violence: The role of suspect gender in prosecutorial decision-making

Utilizing a sample of 8,461 cases involving heterosexual intimate partner violence, this paper examines the role of suspect gender in prosecutorial decision-making. Four decision points are assessed: the decision to file charges (versus rejection for insufficient evidence); to file as a felony (versus a misdemeanor or probation violation); to dismiss for insufficient evidence (versus full prosecution); and to reduce felony charges to a misdemeanor or violation of probation. Suspect gender was found to be statistically significant in relation to all four outcomes in favoring female over mate suspects. Numerous interaction effects were observed between gender and measures of prior arrest and offense severity in particular, suggesting that prosecutors distinguish between mate and female suspects across these variables. We suggest that these data provide some support for recent qualitative research suggesting that court personnel are responsive to the gendered asymmetry of intimate partner violence, and may view female intimate violence perpetrators more as victims than offenders.