Question

7. Some crimes involve violence within a family, i.e. between husband and wife, or parents and children. These crimes are often punished less harshly than equivalent violence acts against strangers. In terms of the economics of crime, can you provide a rational for this difference in treatment of violent crime depending on the relation between perpetrator and victim?

Answer 1

The main reason behind difference in treatment of violent crime depending on the relation between perpetrator and victim is the lack of cooperation from the family members due to concern towards family reputation. When the crime involve violence within a family, the family members give more importance to protect the family reputation in the society and persuade the victim to sacrifice own interests forgetting the injuries. Hence in most of the incidents, the authorities may not get enough evidence to award a serious punishment like other cases. Government is also not willing to punish in these incidents because the victim may not cooperate if the punishment is too harsh based on the relationship with the perpetrator.