A study published recently in the International Journal of Law, Crime, Justice highlights the way stereotypes about intimacy and violence may impact legal responses to violent crime. CSSLRV researchers Myrna Dawson and Danielle Sutton used deep sample analysis to examine how seldom studied variables, often related to stereotypes held about intimate partner violence, might impact the treatment of these cases by the courts compared to cases involving non-intimate partners. Their findings challenged the validity of commonly-held stereotypes such as intimate violence is typically a crime of passion, but found that these stereotypes appeared to still play a role in criminal justice decision-making. The benefits of using qualitative deep sample analysis were also highlighted in determining what factors affect court outcomes. The role of intimacy in law has long been the focus of Dawson, a professor and Canada Research Chair. Sutton, a PhD student and a CSSLRV Senior Research Assistant, also examines laws response to homicide, including police-perpetrated homicide.
