Victim Recantation and Disengagement from Prosecution in Intimate Partner Violence Criminally Prosecuted Crimes, Washington, 2014-2016 (ICPSR 38548)
This population-based retrospective cohort study involved current or former heterosexual intimate partners with a misdemeanor or felony-level criminal incident of intimate partner violence (IPV). These cases were referred to and accepted by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in Washington state for prosecution between the years of 2014 and 2016. The ultimate goal of this study was to better inform understanding of the factors that differentiate IPV cases involving victims who disengage from prosecution from cases involving victims who are more engaged (and likely more empowered), thereby better informing how to mitigate barriers and improve overall system response to victims who disengage. This study aimed to provide better understanding of a fuller spectrum regarding victims' needs and vulnerabilities, thereby facilitating provision of more responsive services. The comparison group consisted of otherwise comparable IPV cases that did not, at any point during the prosecution process, involve victim recantation of IPV allegations or disengagement from the prosecution of the criminal IPV case.
This study was designed to address the critical gap in IPV research by accomplishing the following specific aims:
- Determine the unique and independent factors predictive of victim disengagement with IPV prosecution.
- Examine prosecutorial outcomes among criminal IPV cases involving victims who disengage from prosecution relative to cases that do not involve victim disengagement.