U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today a new guidance from the Justice\u00a0Department designed to help law enforcement agencies prevent gender bias in their response to sexual assault\u00a0and domestic violence, highlighting the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability\u00a0systems, a press release Attorney Ronald Sharpe’s office issued on Tuesday has revealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cGender bias, whether explicit or implicit, can severely undermine law enforcement\u2019s ability to protect\u00a0survivors of sexual and domestic violence and hold offenders accountable,\u201d said Attorney General\u00a0Lynch. \u201cThis guidance \u2013 developed in collaboration with law enforcement leaders and advocates from across\u00a0the country \u2013 is designed to help state, local, and tribal authorities more fairly and effectively address\u00a0allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault. In the days and months ahead, the Department of Justice\u00a0will continue to work with our law enforcement partners nationwide to ensure that they have the tools and\u00a0resources they need to prevent, investigate, and prosecute these horrendous crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s guidance \u2013 which reflects input from a wide array of stakeholders, including police leaders,
\nvictim advocates and civil rights advocates \u2013 aims to enhance the Justice Department\u2019s partnership with law
\nenforcement officers who work tirelessly to protect their communities, advance bias-free policing and uphold
\nthe civil rights of the people they serve. The Justice Department\u2019s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), the Civil Rights Division and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) collaborated
\nto produce the guidance.<\/p>\n
The guidance serves two key purposes. First, it aims to examine how gender bias can undermine the
\nresponse of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to sexual assault and domestic violence. Second, it provides a set
\nof basic principles that \u2013 if integrated into LEAs\u2019 policies, trainings and practices \u2013 will help ensure that gender bias, either intentionally or unintentionally, does not undermine efforts to keep victims safe and hold offenders accountable.<\/p>\n
The guidance, through a series of detailed case examples, advises law enforcement agencies to\u00a0incorporate the following principles into clear policies, comprehensive training and effective supervision\u00a0protocols:<\/p>\n
A form of discrimination, gender bias may result in LEAs providing less protection to certain victims on\u00a0the basis of gender, failing to respond to crimes that disproportionately harm a particular gender or offering less\u00a0robust services due to a reliance on gender stereotypes.<\/p>\n
Gender bias can manifest in police officers misclassifying or underreporting sexual assault and domestic\u00a0violence cases; inappropriately jumping to conclusions and labeling sexual assault cases unfounded; failing to\u00a0test sexual assault kits; interrogating rather than interviewing victims and witnesses; treating domestic violence\u00a0as a family matter rather than a crime; failing to enforce protection orders; or failing to treat same-sex domestic\u00a0violence as a crime. These failures may ultimately compromise law enforcement\u2019s ability to ascertain the facts,\u00a0determine whether the incident constitutes a crime and develop a case that holds the perpetrator accountable.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice has included additional resources in an appendix to the guidance to further\u00a0assist LEAs in improving their response to sexual assault and domestic violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today a new guidance from the Justice\u00a0Department designed to help law enforcement agencies prevent gender bias in their response to sexual assault\u00a0and domestic violence, highlighting the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability\u00a0systems, a press release Attorney Ronald Sharpe’s office issued on Tuesday has revealed. \u201cGender […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[191,2474,147],"tags":[929],"yoast_head":"\n