Systematic review of female perpetrators of intimate partner violence and their treatment

摘要

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has received increasing attention over recent years, both in the media and in research (Randle & Graham, 2011). IPV can be an attempt to have power and control over a partner in an intimate relationship (Bowen, 2009), and its effects are far reaching (Cho & Wilke, 2010). The majority of research has investigated male perpetrators with the literature on female perpetrators being somewhat limited (Carney, Buttell & Dutton, 2007). Criminal justice agencies have largely been educated about male perpetrators of IPV (Henning & Feder, 2004), and as a result it is unclear whether treatment options for female perpetrators are effective. This systematic review investigated the effectiveness of the current treatment options for female perpetrators of IPV and the characteristics of this specialist population. This review revealed that there is not enough research on female perpetrators of IPV. The results indicate the effectiveness of treatment programs for female offenders of IPV is varied at best. It was also revealed that female perpetrators tend to have some similarities to their male counterparts, but there were also differences. Implications for future research and the development of treatment programs for partner aggressive women are discussed.