Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Targeted Violence

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Policing Practices and Vulnerable People

  • 815 Accesses

Abstract

The various layers of vulnerability are best exposed when we consider targeted violence. In this chapter we consider two forms of targeted violence—domestic and family violence, and hate crimes. The first vulnerabilises all women, and the second targets vulnerable people for harm. Domesticated terrorism, in the form of both domestic violence and hate crimes, target vulnerable people and communities, and failure to respond appropriately to this targeted violence can exacerbate and deepen the vulnerability of victims. Considering targeted violence through the lens of vulnerability enables us to identify and address the causes of this type of violence, and the critical role that police can play in preventing additional harm and, in conjunction with other stakeholders, eliminate the conditions that give rise to all forms of targeted violence. Both forms of targeted violence involve an in terrorem effect—the aim is to make others fearful—and are most often committed by powerful people against powerless and vulnerable people.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The plus sign is added to the end of the LGBTIQ acronym to indicate that despite the ‘alphabet soup’, this acronym does not capture the variety of sex, sexuality and gender identities.

  2. 2.

    Doxxing is the deliberate search for and publishing of private or identifying information about a particular individual on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.

Readings and Resources

Bibliography

  • Adamson, S., & Cole, B. (2007). Evaluation of the West Yorkshire police community scrutiny panels. Hull: University of Hull.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, M. (2010). Is there gender symmetry in intimate partner violence? Child and Family Social Work, 16(3), 245–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ASIO Act 1979 (Cth).

    Google Scholar 

  • Asquith, N. L. (2004). In terrorem: ‘With their tanks and their bombs, and their bombs and their guns, in your head’. Journal of Sociology, 40(4), 400–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asquith, N. L. (2012). Vulnerability and the art of complaint making. In I. Bartkowiak-Théron & N. L. Asquith (Eds.), Policing vulnerability (pp. 147–162). Annandale, NSW: Federation Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asquith, N. L. (2013). The role of verbal–textual hostility in hate crime regulation: Final report. London: London Metropolitan Police Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asquith, N. L. (2015). Honour, violence & heteronormativity. International Journal of Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 4(3), 73–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asquith, N. L., & Fox, C. A. (2016). No place like home: Honour, heteronormativity and hate crimes. In A. Dwyer, M. Ball, & T. Crofts (Eds.), Queering criminology (pp. 163–182). London: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asquith, N.L., Collison, A., Lewis, L., Noonan, K., Layard, E., Kaur, G., Bellei, F., & Yigiter, E. (2019). Home is where our story begins: CALD LGBTIQ+ people’s relationships to family. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 31(3), 311–332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asquith, N. L., Collison, A., Noonan, K., Layard, E., & Kaur, G. (2020). Home is where our story begins: Family, community, and belonging for sexuality & gender diverse CALD people. Sydney: NSW LGBTIQ Domestic & Family Violence Interagency, ACON, Western Sydney University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS). (2019). Domestic and family violence lethality: The facts about intimate partner homicide. Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2018). 4510.0—Recorded crime—Victims, Australia. Canberra: ABS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Network. (2018). Data Report. Sydney: Domestic Violence Death Review Team.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, W., & Cussen, T. (2015). Homicide in Australia: 2010–11 to 2011–12: National Homicide Monitoring Program Report. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative. (2014). Domestic homicide in Canada. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from http://cdhpi.ca/sites/cdhpi.ca/files/Fact_Sheet_1_DH-in-Canada.pdf.

  • Carswell, S. (2006). Family violence and the pro-arrest policy: A literature review. Auckland: NZ Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K. L. (2011). Gender differences in self-reports of intimate partner violence: A review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16(2), 167–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Criminal Code. (1913). (Western Australia) (Australia).

    Google Scholar 

  • Crown Prosecution Service (UK). (2007). A guide to setting up hate crime scrutiny panels. London: CPS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diemer, K. (2015). ABS Personal Safety Survey: Additional analysis on relationship and sex of perpetrator. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://violenceagainstwomenandchildren.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/abs-personal-safety-survey-victim-perpetrator-sex-and-relationship6.pdf.

  • Douglas, H., & Fitzgerald, R. (2013). Legal processes and gendered violence: Cross-applications for domestic violence protection orders. UNSW Law Journal, 36(1), 56–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dryden, F. (2017, October 24). Fiona Pilkington 10 years on—How the tragedy unfolded. Leicester Mercury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Everytown for Gun Safety. (2019). Guns and violence against women: America’s uniquely lethal intimate partner violence problem. New York: Everytown for Gun Safety.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finn, M. A., Blackwell, B. S., Stalans, L. J., Studdard, S., & Dugan, L. (2004). Dual arrest decisions in domestic violence cases: The influence of departmental policies. Crime & Delinquency, 50(4), 565–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fridel, E. E., & Fox, J. A. (2019). Gender differences in patterns and trends in U.S. homicide, 1976–2017. Violence and Gender, 6(1), 27–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedersdorf, C. (2014, August 22). A Deadly Epidemic of Violence Against Women. The Atlantic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harazim, K. (2020, February 20). Brisbane car fire killings of Hannah Clarke and her three children leave Australia reeling amid calls for action on family violence. ABC News.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heal, A. (2019). Nowhere to turn: Domestic abuse by police officers goes unpunished. Retrieved June 12, 2020, from https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-05-01/police-perpetrators-domestic-violence.

  • Hirschel, D., Buzawa, E., Pattavina, A., & Faggiani, D. (2008). Domestic violence and mandatory arrest laws: To what extent do they influence police arrest decisions? The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 98(1), 255–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollomotz, A. (2013). Disability and the continuum of violence. In A. Roulstone & H. Mason-Bish (Eds.), Disability, hate crime and violence (pp. 52–63). London & New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iganski, P. (2001). Hate crimes hurt more. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(4), 627–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Julian, R., & Mason, R. (2009). Analysis of the Tasmania police risk assessment screening tool (RAST): Final report. Hobart: Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmel, M. S. (2002). ‘Gender symmetry’ in domestic violence: A substantive and methodological research review. Violence Against Women, 8(11), 1332–1363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, A.-C., & Guggisberg, M. (2009). Police officers, women and intimate partner violence: Giving primacy to social context. Australian Journal of Gender and Law, 1, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, G. (2014). Legislating against hate. In N. Hall, A. Corb, P. Giannasi, & J. Grieve (Eds.), Routledge international handbook on hate crime (pp. 59–68). London: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, G. (2020). Blue lives matter and hate crime law. Race and Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/2153368720933665.

  • Messinger, A. M. (2011). Invisible victims: Same-sex IPV in the National Violence against Women Survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(11), 2228–2243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Micah Projects. (2020). Cycle of violence. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://micahprojects.org.au/.

  • Mornington, M. (2001). Domestic violence—Domestic terrorism. In J. Pritchard (Ed.), Good practice with vulnerable adults (pp. 185–203). London & New York: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouzos, J. & Makkai, T. (2004). Women’s experiences of male violence: Findings from the Australian component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS). AIC Research and Policy Series, 56. Canberra: AIC.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Women and Policing. (2013). Police family violence fact sheet. Retrieved June 14, 2020, from http://womenandpolicing.com/violenceFS.asp#notes.

  • Noelle, M. (2002). The ripple effect of the Matthew Shepard murder: Impact on the assumptive worlds of members of the targeted group. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(1), 27–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NSW Attorney General’s Department—Crime Prevention Division. (2003). ‘You shouldn’t have to hide to be safe’: A report on homophobic hostilities and violence against gay men and lesbians in New South Wales. Sydney, Network of Government Agencies: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Issues.

    Google Scholar 

  • NSW Police Force. (2020). Hate crimes. Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/crime/hate_crimes.

  • Perry, B. (2003). Introduction: Causes and consequences. In B. Perry (Ed.), Hate and Bias crime: A reader (pp. 93–96). London & New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, B., & Alvi, S. (2012). ‘We are all vulnerable’: The in terrorem effects of hate crimes. International Review of Victimology, 18(1), 57–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strand, S. (2012). Using a restraining order as a protective risk management strategy to prevent intimate partner violence. Police Practice and Research, 13(3), 254–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tasmanian Government. (2019). Safe homes, families, communities: Tasmania’s action plan for family and sexual violence 2019–2022. Hobart: Tasmanian Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tesch, B., Bekerian, D., English, P., & Harrington, E. (2010). Same-sex domestic violence: Why victims are more at risk. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 12(4), 526–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. (2017). Hate crime. Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/index.php/hate-crimes.

  • Thiara, R. K., Hague, G., & Mullender, A. (2011). Losing out on both counts: Disabled women and domestic violence. Disability & Society, 26(6), 757–771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, P. (2011). ‘Mate crime’: Ridicule, hostility and targeted attacks against disabled people. Disability & Society, 26(1), 107–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • True Vision. (2020). IPCC publishes Fiona Pilkington investigation report. Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://www.report-it.org.uk/ipcc_publishes_fiona_pilkington_investigation_r.

  • UK Home Office. (2016). Domestic homicide reviews: Key findings from analysis of domestic homicide reviews. London: Home Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2019). Global study on homicide: Gender-related killing of women and girls. Geneva: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan, C., Davis, E., Murdolo, A., Chen, J., Murrary, L., Block, K., Quiazon, R., & Warr, D. (2016). Promoting community-led responses to violence against immigrant and refugee women in metropolitan and regional Australia: The ASPIRE Project: Key findings and future directions. Compass: Research to Policy and Practice, 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, P. (2011, May 24). Fiona Pilkington case: Police face misconduct proceedings. The Guardian.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, S. (2018). Policing hate: The problematic expansion of Louisiana’s hate crime statute to include police officers. Louisiana Law Review, 78(4), 1413–1445.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wendt, S., Chung, D., Elder, A., Hendrick, A., & Hartwig, A. (2017). Seeking help for domestic violence: Exploring rural women’s coping experiences—Key findings and future directions. Compass: research to Policy and Practice, 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • White Ribbon Australia. (2020). Domestic violence definition. Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/understand-domestic-violence/what-is-domestic-violence/domestic-violence-definition/.

  • Zempi, I. (2017). Calling for a debate on recording violence against police officers as a hate crime. International Network for Hate Studies Blog. Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://internationalhatestudies.com/calling-for-a-debate-on-recording-violence-against-police-officers-as-a-hate-crime/.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

    Nicole L. Asquith & Isabelle Bartkowiak-Théron

Authors
  1. Nicole L. Asquith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Isabelle Bartkowiak-Théron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole L. Asquith .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Asquith, N.L., Bartkowiak-Théron, I. (2021). Targeted Violence. In: Policing Practices and Vulnerable People. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62870-3_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62870-3_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-62869-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-62870-3

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation