The Nation - News from July 7, 1986

Battered women are getting more protection because of increasingly aggressive prosecution of domestic violence, a new study has concluded. The survey said that until recently, most criminal justice officials looked the other way when domestic violence occurred, treating it as a low-priority problem. In Los Angeles, for example, victims who want to drop charges are advised that a crime has been committed and that the prosecutor should decide whether the court should be asked to dismiss a complaint. The study, conducted for the National Institute of Justice, said more than 1.7 million Americans a year face a spouse with a gun or a knife and more than 2 million are beaten by spouses.