Moral foundations in gender violence cases decided in Portuguese courts

Gender violence encompasses a multitude of morally problematic psychological, physical, and sexual behaviors that, in most countries, constitute criminal offenses. In this study, we investigate the association between moral foundations (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity) and punitive...

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VerfasserInnen: Martinho, Andreia (VerfasserIn) ; Kroesen, Maarten (VerfasserIn) ; Chorus, Caspar (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2024
In: European journal of criminology
Jahr: 2024, Band: 21, Heft: 5, Seiten: 665-693
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Schlagwörter:
Court
Domestic Violence
Gender Violence
latent class cluster analysis
legal cases
Moral Foundations Theory
Morality
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Gender violence encompasses a multitude of morally problematic psychological, physical, and sexual behaviors that, in most countries, constitute criminal offenses. In this study, we investigate the association between moral foundations (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity) and punitive responses to gender violence offenses. Our case study focuses on gender violence in Portugal, a country in which these offenses are a prevalent social problem. We collected data on gender violence legal cases decided in Portuguese courts between 2002 and 2022, and we used a latent class cluster analysis model to identify the complex patterns in the data and reduce such patterns to a distinct number of clusters. Four main clusters unravel latent relations between the foundations mapped in the legal narratives and corresponding punitive responses: (i) Affirmative with suspended prison time (moral rhetoric rooted in Authority); (ii) Mixed outcomes but no prison time (moral rhetoric rooted in Sanctity); (iii) Affirmative with lengthy prison time large compensation (moral rhetoric rooted in Loyalty and Care); and (iv) Affirmative with court fines (moral rhetoric rooted in Fairness). The moral foundations provide a valuable lens to understand the problem of gender violence, but further research is needed to establish the causal mechanisms between morality and punitive responses to gender violence.
ISSN:1741-2609
DOI:10.1177/14773708241229505