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One Difficulty Faced By Policy Makers Is The Diverse Range Of Stakeholders ...


One difficulty faced by policy makers is the diverse range of stakeholders who are involved with domestic violence as a criminal justice policy issue. These stakeholders all have their own interests in the development of domestic violence policy. They include what amounts to an outward expanding concentric circle of participants including family members, social workers, counsellors, police and medical staff in front-line positions, lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, and finally probation services and jail staff. Each of these layers should act as a buffer from elevation to the next level. For instance if social workers and counsellors are able to perform their roles effectively, there should not be a need for the matter to get to the next step of involving legal services and likewise, if the courts make effective orders, this should act as a buffer from there being a need for custody.
Another aspect of criminal justice policy with respect to domestic violence is an appreciation of the positive impact that raising the awareness of the public in general through advertising and other targeted campaigns can have. It has long been accepted that there is substantial under-reporting of occurrences of domestic violence. Victims of domestic violence are often made to feel isolated from those around them. They often feel that they are at fault or that the alerting of the authorities will result in the break up of their families. This is an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome and must be kept in mind by policy makers. By raising the public's general awareness of domestic violence and the warning signs to look out for (for instance unexplained bruising and cuts, withdrawal from social networks, etc) it is hoped that instances of domestic violence can be picked up at an earlier stage. Likewise, by emphasising that it is not the sufferer's fault, that they will be able to speak to someone that will not judge them and that they can trust, and that it is something that affects thousands of people and not just themselves, it is also hoped that more sufferers will not stand for being battered any longer.
While raising the awareness of domestic violence throughout the community will no doubt save lives, it does however increase the crime statistics and create a need for additional resources to be allocated by policy makers. These resources need to be added both at the ground level, for example social workers and police, but also in Courts and ultimately prisons. Furthermore, people coming into contact with domestic violence situations need specialist training to ensure that they provide the correct response to a given situation. This will apply especially to situations in which the people involved are from a non-English background culture where cultural misunderstandings between those attempting to assist and those being assisted must be overcome.

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