Asian Journal of Women's Studies

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rajw20

The prevalence of officer-involved domestic

violence cases in Mongolia: From the perspective
of support service providers

Saranzaya Gerelt-Od

To cite this article: Saranzaya Gerelt-Od (2023) The prevalence of officer-involved domestic
violence cases in Mongolia: From the perspective of support service providers, Asian Journal of
Women's Studies, 29:1, 45-68, DOI: 10.1080/12259276.2023.2186630

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2023.2186630

Published online: 17 Mar 2023.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 84

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rajw20
ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES
2023, VOL. 29, NO. 1, 45–68
https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2023.2186630

The prevalence of officer-involved domestic violence

cases in Mongolia: From the perspective of support
service providers
Saranzaya GERELT-OD
Gender Specialist and Feminist Researcher, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

ABSTRACT
This research empirically explores the pattern and prevalence of officer-
involved domestic violence associated with the enforcement of the currently
amended Law to Combat Domestic Violence in Mongolia. After a thematic
analysis of seven semi-structured interviews with service providers in
Mongolian national human rights and non-government organizations, three
main themes emerged regarding the relationship between officer-involved
domestic violence and the legal enforcement processes of criminalizing
domestic violence: (a) officer-involved domestic violence is more prevalent
than domestic violence committed by the general population in Mongolia,
(b) law enforcement poorly implements the domestic violence law, and (c)
officer-involved domestic violence is an intersectional issue exemplifying one
of the biggest oppressions to deal with. I argue the bidirectional nature of
this relationship: Not only do law enforcement officers’ attitudes contribute
to the poor implementation of domestic violence law, but police supervisors
contribute to the unsuccessful criminalization of domestic violence by
justifying their intimate partner violence under the name of police
reputation, maintaining a code of silence in the militarized police culture, and
weakening the criminal justice system.

KEYWORDS Officer-involved domestic violence; domestic violence; law enforcement sector; police
culture; law implementation; survivor experience

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 3 November 2021; Accepted 28 February 2023

Introduction
Civil society organizations (CSOs) have been at the forefront in strengthening
democratic reforms in Mongolia since the 1990s. In particular, women-led
CSOs, including informal and formal women’s groups, associations, and net-
works, have been specifically combatting domestic violence (DV) issues up to
present. Under the socialist regime prior to 1990, CSOs were known as mass
organizations, including women-led CSOs. The term was reformed into non-

CONTACT Saranzaya GERELT-OD saranzaya.gerelt@gmail.com

© 2023 Asian Center for Women's Studies, Ewha Womans University
46 S. GERELT-OD

government organizations (NGOs) after the 1990s. Therefore, CSOs and NGOs
are interchangeable throughout this study, and women-led CSOs provide sig-
nificance because of their focus on DV.
Mongolia experienced a dramatic shift from a nomadic culture to modern-
ization in around half a century under the regime of the Soviet Union (1921–
1988), followed by three decades of democratic transition from socialism to a
free-market economy beginning in the 1990s (Baatarzorig et al., 2018; Buyan-
delgeriyn, 2008). With these two substantial transitions, Mongolia underwent
radical structural adjustments. The main highlights of these transformations
include Mongolia’s mining-based national economy, the emergence of a
multi-party system, the development of CSOs, and rapid population growth
(Tumursukh, 2018). Women-led CSOs advocated women’s rights, particularly
the right to be free from violence, and provided legal and psychosocial ser-
vices to survivors while lobbying policymakers to amend the DV law. As a
result, the Law to Combat Domestic Violence (LCDV) was amended to con-
sider DV as a crime in 2016.
DV, including intimate partner violence (IPV), is widespread in Mongolia,
where one in every eight couples receives IPV injuries yearly in the capital
city of Ulaanbaatar, resulting in long-term psychological and physical harm
causing disabilities and even death (Emery et al., 2015). A 2009 study found
that around 37.7% of participants had experienced DV in the last six
months, including physical (18%), emotional (22%), sexual (10%), and
financial abuse (6.9%) (Oyunbileg et al., 2009). Despite achievements made
in the legal system, LCDV has been poorly implemented due to key gaps in
legislative and patriarchal social norms. A study on the implementation of
the newly amended LCDV demonstrated that law enforcement officers ident-
ify DV cases differently between two legislations: the Petty Offence Law and
the Criminal Code (Association of Mongolian Criminologists, 2020). In the
Petty Offence Law, an act of DV is considered a petty offense when constant
abuse is not applicable. In contrast, if elements of the DV act include constant
abuse, it is considered a crime. Nevertheless, the lack of guidance in the law
enforcement unit creates uncertainties when discerning between a petty
offense and constant abuse (Association of Mongolian Criminologists,
2020). This gap is an obstacle to law enforcement officers’ intervention,
especially in IPV cases. From 2017–2019, registered DV crime in Mongolia
decreased significantly, with only 5% of DV acts categorized as a crime. DV
offenses were recorded for 95% of all registered DV calls, indicating that
many DV offense cases failed to be considered a crime during the investi-
gation process conducted by law enforcement officers.
Another critical point regarding the poor implementation of DV law arises
when law enforcement officers are themselves perpetrators of DV/IPV. This is
also referred to as officer-involved in domestic violence (OIDV). In these cases,
DV is more likely to be hidden, and with survivors rarely seeking help or
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 47

reporting the incident to the police (Oehme et al., 2016; Prost et al., 2020).
OIDV appears to be directly linked to men and masculinity issues, primarily
on militarized masculinity, since law enforcement sectors were established
in patriarchal, male-dominated, para-militarized, and highly bureaucratic cul-
tures (Ging, 2019; Perets & Vidmar, 2021). Carefully designed procedures for
OIDV cases are much needed in law enforcement because officers have extra-
ordinary power within the justice system (Oehme et al., 2011). In Mongolia,
there has been no formal data available yet, including research-based
studies on OIDV and its connection to the poor implementation of LCDV.
However, voices of women-led CSOs raised their concerns among their
network. Therefore, this research explores another gap to contribute to the
efficient implementation of LCDV by examining OIDV patterns and preva-
lence in Mongolia using CSOs’ work and interviews with social workers, psy-
chologists, legal practitioners, and advocates.
This study analyzed the poor implementation of DV law in Mongolia using
semi-structured interviews of those who have been working in the system of
implementation of LCDV. These interviews also resonate with Crenshaw’s
(1991) theory on the intersectionality of oppressions, namely gender, race,
disability, or other social statuses that intersect to bring survivors into the
more vulnerable situation of DV. Furthermore, because there is a significant
social, cultural, economic, and legal difference between rural and urban
areas in Mongolia, Crenshaw’s (1991) intersectional approach is needed to
prioritize the safety of the survivors. Therefore, this research examines the
extent to which DV intersects with social oppression in Mongolia. Specifically,
DV within a law enforcement officer’s family is one type of oppression in
which survivors rarely achieve justice. This research provides an opportunity
to identify the current pattern of OIDV incidences and the historical struggle
of the women’s rights movement for legislative changes that seek justice for
survivors who experience prolonged DV and accountability of the perpetra-
tors. Given the lack of academic perspective on this issue in Mongolia, this
research begins by examining existing literature on OIDV conducted in the
United States. The findings and conclusion of the study illustrate the chal-
lenges to address a gap in relation to LCDV and OIDV by drawing on the
experiences of service providers working in the CSOs that advocate for
women’s rights and the elimination of violence against women in the
country.

Literature review
Prevalence of OIDV and police culture
DV/IPV is well-documented and globally recognized as a significant social
issue impacting survivors’ physical, economic, sexual, and mental well-
48 S. GERELT-OD

being for a lifetime (Ferrari et al., 2016; Prost et al., 2020). Nevertheless, esti-
mating the prevalence of OIDV has been challenging and invalidated due to
the considerable variability of research methodologies and imprecise objec-
tives since the 1990s (Garvey, 2015; Mennicke & Ropes, 2016; Oehme et al.,
2011). A very first estimation of the occurrence of OIDV towards both intimate
partners and children in the United States was approximately 40% among law
enforcement officers (Johnson, 1991), a much higher rate than demonstrated
in the general public (Goodmark, 2015; Lonsway, 2006). Later studies indi-
cated that the rate of OIDV ranges from 4.8% to 40% (Mennicke & Ropes,
2016, p. 7). For instance, a 1992 study found that 28% of male officers
reported physically abusing their partners (Neidig et al., 1992). In a 1999
study, 7% of Baltimore City police officers acknowledged pushing, shoving,
grabbing, or hitting a partner (Gershon, 1999), and in a 2000 study, 10% of
officers surveying reported that they slapped, punched, or somehow
injured their spouses (Ryan, 2000). A 2005 survey of 475 police spouses
revealed that 60% of them had experienced both verbal and physical vio-
lence due to authority spill over and work-related burnout (Johnson et al.,
2005). Data from arrested officers of OIDV cases indicated that 40% of
cases were considered simple assaults; however, behind this percentage,
officers were mainly charged with lesser or minor offenses that could be a
severe incidence (Stinson & Liederbach, 2013).
The greatest challenge to determining the accurate prevalence of OIDV is
obtaining reliable resources and conducting comprehensive surveys among
officers within the law enforcement system due to its unique culture and
risk factors (Garvey, 2015; Goodmark, 2015; Johnson, 1991; Mennicke &
Ropes, 2016). In the last thirty years, most research heavily relied only on
anonymous self-report surveys that were taken during conferences or
police trainings (Mennicke & Ropes, 2016). Some criminal justice scholars
posited that a self-reported survey is a problematic and limited measurement
to determine concrete OIDV prevalence because there is a strong tendency
for police officers to conceal the incidence of their own family violence
through using their power of authority and maintaining a “code of silence”
to protect their careers (Goodmark, 2015; Stinson & Liederbach, 2013). In con-
trast, few researchers argue that anonymous self-report data are the only
option to identify OIDV prevalence rather than any other official reporting
measures in the law enforcement sector (Mennicke & Ropes, 2016). Recent
studies revealed that law enforcement officers are more likely to report
fellow officers’ OIDV incidences if they are well-trained for DV training
(Johnson & Dai, 2016), particularly with dynamic of OIDV cases included in
this training initiated by the police supervision and administration (Saunders
et al., 2016). Among these existing self-reported surveys, many officers stated
that they witnessed their colleagues abusing their intimate partners, most of
whom were also underreported (Russell & Pappas, 2018; Ryan, 2000).
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 49

Most scholars suggest a relationship between OIDV incidences and the

culture of the law enforcement sector, particularly police culture. Goodmark
(2015) explains that hegemonic and militarized masculinities are deeply
embedded within police culture and thus OIDV is not an individual officer’s
issue but is a systemic issue within law enforcement. Goodmark elaborates
that militarized masculinity and policing in the United States have been
entangled for the last seventy years, leading to an inability of police
officers to distinguish boundaries between work and intimate relationships
(Goodmark, 2015). Because the ideology of both hegemonic and militarized
masculinity promotes a police culture that patronizes or neglects women
and requires officers to be violent (Silvestri, 2012), the OIDV issue is rarely
addressed (Goodmark, 2015; Johnson, 2010). In addition, militarized masculi-
nity may lead police officers to demand silence from their families and respect
for their honor badge. This may justify officers’ abusive behaviors and actions
towards their partners and lead to decreased OIDV incidence reports
(Adelman, 2003; Caulfield, 2001).
The second dimension of police subculture that may contribute to DV/IPV
is maintaining police solidarity, which scholars define as the “blue wall of
silence” (Nolan, 2009) or “code of silence” (Patton, 1993). Police officers
with the same ranks build strong bonding relationships due to the dangerous
nature of the job and the authority to use force to ensure their safety (Good-
mark, 2015; Lott, 1995). This relationship strengthens the “code of silence”
culture when fellow officers’ misconduct, including abusing their power
over their spouses (Lott, 1995). Furthermore, officers who receive OIDV-
related calls have a strong tendency to suppress the records and discourage
reporting their colleagues’ misconduct (Roslin, 2016), thereby disempower-
ing survivors of OIDV who were brave enough to report and increasing the
risk of reoccurrence (Russell & Pappas, 2018; Wetendorf, 2015). This subcul-
ture not only minimizes the reported rates of OIDV (Oehme et al., 2016)
but also triggers a warning for the further security of the whole law enforce-
ment system (Garvey, 2015).
Due to increasing concerns over OIDV prevalence expressed by many
criminal justice scholars, the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP) in the United States stresses that agencies adopt policies on OIDV
by providing a Model Policy as an initial step (Lonsway, 2006). Unfortu-
nately, IACP’s intervention has not been yet implemented across the
country (Goodmark, 2015; Russell & Pappas, 2018). While some agencies
adopted the OIDV policy, it resulted in pressure among officers who
reported OIDV incidents, especially if the offending officer was higher
ranking than the patrol officer (Miller, 2007). As the “code of silence” is
an essential part of the unwritten police subculture (Chemerinsky, 2000),
it is difficult to overcome this barrier to reporting OIDV, especially for
officers who are of lower ranking and must answer to higher-ranking
50 S. GERELT-OD

police supervisors who are responsible for maintaining that attitude and
culture (Patton, 1993).

OIDV and its risk factors

Systemic change is needed to eliminate OIDV within the law enforcement
sector (Garvey, 2015; Goodmark, 2015), but it requires enormous effort, lea-
dership, and willingness from management, making OIDV policies all the
more challenging to implement. Nevertheless, some scholars suggest focus-
ing on risks and protective factors of OIDV to prevent it to reduce the tension
of reporting it. This may further promote a stress-free work environment and
special protection for the survivors. Police work-related stress due to violent
exposure, particularly burnout and authoritarian spill over, has played a sig-
nificant mediating role in contributing to IPV within police families
(L. B. Johnson et al., 2005). Law enforcement officers’ frequent shift rotation
and weekend work shifts exacerbate their traumatic situations and marital
disputes (Erwin et al., 2005), resulting in substance abuse (Stinson & Lieder-
bach, 2013).
Recent research on the risk factors of OIDV in heteronormative settings
indicates that male officers are more likely to commit IPV if they were
subject to parental abuse, parent IPV, and violent arrest, whereas female
officers were more likely to commit IPV only if they were subject to parental
abuse (Williamson, 2021). Other findings suggest that a history of childhood
trauma, including witnessing parent IPV and experiencing child abuse, results
in a higher risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol abuse
among law enforcement officers (Oehme et al., 2012). This linkage has also
directly impacted the perpetration of OIDV (Zavala et al., 2015). More
recent research demonstrated that OIDV cases can be distinguished based
on resolved or unresolved PTSD associated with childhood trauma (Prost
et al., 2020). Officers with unresolved PTSD from childhood family violence
tend to protect perpetrating officers and suppress the relevant OIDV case
data.
Conversely, officers who resolved PTSD associated with childhood trauma
may have a strong willingness to help survivors of OIDV (Prost et al., 2020).
Officers who abuse alcohol and have PTSD, whether associated with child-
hood trauma or not, are further less likely to help survivors of OIDV (Prost
et al., 2020). These are all multi-faceted risk factors for OIDV incidences. There-
fore, scholars recommend not only continuing OIDV training among law
enforcement officers (Saunders et al., 2016) but also implementing constant
DV/IPV training in order to realize a positive response to the implementation
of the DV law and increase the DV arrest rate (Johnson & Dai, 2016; Saunders
et al., 2013). Moreover, relevant education and awareness of PTSD and
trauma-informed psychological services among officers should be included
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 51

to prevent potential OIDV incidence among police families (Prost et al., 2020;
Zavala et al., 2015). Police supervisors also play a crucial role in addressing
OIDV issues within the department by encouraging and working more effec-
tively with their colleagues to help OIDV survivors (Saunders et al., 2016).

Survivors of OIDV
The invisibility of OIDV prevalence was also revealed from survivors’ experi-
ences in officers’ families. Survivors of OIDV encounter multiple barriers
(Oehme et al., 2012; Oehme et al., 2016; Prost et al., 2020; Wetendorf, 2004,
2014, 2015). They rarely receive legal assistance in response to DV since
their partners are officers who are engaged in the DV legal procedures.
Law enforcement officers, including police officers, patrol officers, and correc-
tional officers, know the location of shelters and DV reporting procedures
well, so they may easily manipulate cases (Wetendorf, 2014, 2015).
Likewise, it is difficult for survivors to prove to the police that they have
been abused by their officer partner (Wetendorf, 2015). The offending
officers are often highly skilled for the evidences and trained batterers of
DV/IPV (Garvey, 2015). According to most DV laws, the victim should show
some evidence of abuse to the police, such as bruises or injuries (Oehme
et al., 2011). However, survivors may have nothing to prove because
offending officers know how to abuse them using non-lethal techniques in
which injuries are not visible to everyone (Wetendorf, 2004). Most OIDV
cases are manipulated by the offending officer to be dropped. It is even
more problematic when cases are successfully reported and prosecuted.
The OIDV crime becomes a “he said, she said” situation as case is revealed,
and confidentiality is compromised within the criminal justice sector (Weten-
dorf, 2015). Therefore, survivors must endure these cases on their own (L.
Johnson, 2010; Wetendorf, 2015).
Most survivors only approach informal support services, like police families
or local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), when abuse situations
become unbearable. Unfortunately, abusive police officers can track their
partners using modern digital technology, such as GPS, or confidential infor-
mation not accessible to the general public (Garvey, 2015; Wetendorf, 2014,
2015). Hence, the security of service providers in informal support services
becomes compromised when they help survivors of OIDV (Goodmark,
2015; Wetendorf, 2014). In these cases, legal advocates need to warn survi-
vors that more effort and resistance will be required compared to general
DV/IPV cases (Wetendorf, 2014).
Theories related to OIDV are well-developed and well-studied among crim-
inal justice scholars in the United States, but their relationships with other
criminal justice sectors, such as prosecution, court, and correction sectors,
have rarely been studied. Despite the various research methodologies
52 S. GERELT-OD

applied to identify the prevalence of OIDV, most scholars have shown that
OIDV prevalence is higher or at least similar to the general population due
to the police culture and police authority.
No studies have yet focused on OIDV from the perspective of informal
support services, particularly NGOs that provide comprehensive services to
survivors. However, Wetendorf’s findings (2004, 2014, 2015) demonstrated
the importance of advocates’ work to support OIDV survivors, including
their challenges and guidelines working on OIDV cases in the criminal
justice system. Goodmark’s (2015) findings that those officers who use vio-
lence at home could not successfully enforce the criminalization of DV in
the general population must also be considered (Goodmark, 2015). Both
scholars reveal the complicated dynamic relationship between DV agencies
and law enforcement sectors when encountering OIDV incidences.
Therefore, it is vital to have an informal support service for survivors of
OIDV and, most importantly, informal independent networks not within the
law enforcement system that can identify the prevalence of OIDV from
outside. No study has examined informal support services and their networks
to identify OIDV prevalence and help OIDV survivors in Mongolia. To fill this
gap, this research examines the intersection between OIDV prevalence and
criminalization of DV by law enforcement officers as the result of an empirical
qualitative study conducted with human rights defenders who work in NGOs
in Mongolia.

Methods
Data collection
Based on semi-structured interviews conducted through zoom calls lasting
between one to two hours, qualitative data were collected in July 2021
from seven individuals (one male, six females), including psychologists,
legal advocates, and rights advocates working in various human rights organ-
izations in Mongolia which operate at a national level. The interview partici-
pants were selected based on their lifetime commitment and experience
working directly with DV/IPV victims, direct involvement with the LCDV, crim-
inal justice system, and on their experience witnessing OIDV in the system. All
of them have been advocating for DV related laws and policies for 14–26
years in Mongolia. To ensure the safety and confidentiality of the participants,
P1–P7 were used as codes in the interview quotes used in the findings of the
study.
The participants provided informed consent, and the study’s protocols and
ethical code of conduct were carefully reviewed and approved by the Univer-
sity of Sussex’s Social Sciences and Arts Cross-Schools Research Ethics Com-
mittee. They were asked open-ended and reflective questions to help them
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 53

critically reflect on their work in the past and present on OIDV issues.
However, they were not asked about survivors’ particular cases nor their per-
sonal experiences and information.
The participants’ experiences in providing social, legal, and psychological
support for DV survivors, documenting DV cases (including OIDV), and advo-
cating for legislative changes for at least a decade helped to identify OIDV
prevalence in Mongolia through this data collection. Moreover, the research-
er’s vast practical experiences working in a women-led CSO in Mongolia facili-
tated and strengthened the data collection process of the study based on
trust and network. Although the current study presented compelling
stories on OIDV prevalence in the country for future researchers, the lack of
direct engagement from the law enforcement sector in Mongolia is a signifi-
cant limitation for the research.

Data analysis
The interview questions were developed following a comprehensive litera-
ture review on OIDV and related subjects such as police culture and mascu-
linity, police work and stress, OIDV survivors’ experience, and criminalization
of DV. The questions intentionally focused on specific aspects relating to
service providers from local NGO services for survivors, such as social, legal,
and psychological services associated with Mongolia’s current amended DV
law. The thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step guide
extracted sub-themes from the semi-structured interviews to determine the
prevalence of the OIDV cases.
This study also integrates the theoretical frameworks of Goodmark’s
linkage of OIDV and criminalization of DV (Goodmark, 2015) and Crenshaw’s
(1991) intersectional approach on violence against women with consider-
ation of certain social statuses, including gender, race, disability, and location
in the coding of transcripts. Once initial codes were produced across the data
set, they were then collated into potential themes. An ongoing analysis of
themes, extracts that illustrate each theme’s significant patterns, and their
relationships were included in the research findings.

Findings
In the interviews, participants described the OIDV incidences through their
working experiences with survivors of DV, the cooperation and relationship
with the law enforcement sector, and the historical struggle of the legislative
changes on DV. Three main themes emerged from the thematic analysis of
participants’ stories, which illustrate the relationship between OIDV and
poor implementation of DV law in Mongolia: (a) Higher prevalence of OIDV
compared to those committed by the general population, (b) Poor
54 S. GERELT-OD

implementation of LCDV resulting from lack of capacity and attitude of the

law enforcement, and (c) Challenges to address OIDV from an intersectional
perspective.

Higher prevalence of OIDV compared to those committed by the

general population
The prevalence of OIDV is much higher in Mongolia than in the general popu-
lation based on all respondents’ trigger warnings. Many factors contributed
to diminishing the potential number of reported OIDV incidences, including
patriarchal culture and militarized masculinity culture in law enforcement.
The main factor suppressing the data is that the police are unwilling to reg-
ister OIDV incidences as a DV crime or DV offense. Most of the registered OIDV
cases for local NGOs are constantly denied or dismissed by the official support
services, as in the case described by P2:
Some of our clients whose police officer partners abuse them told us they often
called the police to report their serious incidents. However, no official registered
cases are found in the data when we encounter these cases for further legal pro-
ceedings. It means these cases are officially registered for the first time only
when survivors approach us to seek help. Also, these constant abuses converted
to one-time abuse in the first registration. Thus, DV criminalization was not con-
sidered because these were reported as one-time abuse and not constant abuse
under DV law. (P2, personal communication, July 2, 2021)

Similarly, P3 described how confidentiality and the police code of conduct

conflict with OIDV-related calls and how violence is encouraged in law enfor-
cement culture.
When police receive OIDV related calls, they directly inform the offending
officers to warn them, “resolve your issue with your wife quickly within 24 h.
Otherwise, they have to register it in the data system.” It is very common
among police officers. It does not matter those offending officers are their col-
leagues or not. If the DV abuser is police, they should support each other
because they have to be loyal to their fellow officers in this culture. (P3, personal
communication, July 2, 2021)

Sporadic cases were successfully registered for further legal proceedings but
were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. P4 emphasized that evidence
can be difficult to find because perpetrators are highly skilled in non-lethal
techniques and legal evidence when abusing their partners. For example,
These cases are unique in terms of evidence. Offending officers leave no trace
behind. They use various techniques when they use violence at home. They put
the radio and T.V. sound very loud when they abuse their partners, so their
neighbors never hear of it. They wrap their partners in a blanket and then hit
and punch them outside the blanket, leaving no bruises. These days, they
track our clients using GPS and get information from mobile devices, bank
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 55

accounts, and car locations. All these actions result in substantial psychological
abuse and fear for survivors. Hence, survivors themselves take back their claims
at the first step. Alternatively, filed cases can be dismissed at any stage by a pro-
secutor or judge. (P4, personal communication, July 6, 2021)

Consequently, some survivors never call the police because they know that
the system sides with abusive police partners against their claims. Survivors
have no trust in the criminal justice system because of the abovementioned
issues. They only seek help from informal support services when their lives are
in danger. Several participants (P1 and P2) described this as follows:
It takes more time to build trust in survivors of police families than survivors
from non-police families. They usually found our services from their friends
and colleagues, never from the official resources. One of the reasons survivors
approach us is to leave their will letter or provide some evidence. They
requested us to show their will letters as evidence later if she dies at the
hands of their officer partners. We document these violations in our data
system as service providers rather than pushing them to report. (P2, personal
communication, July 2, 2021)

We can only offer psychological services at least. We feel powerless when we

hear their stories because we are aware of the increased risks that survivors
face if they report. (P1, personal communication, July 1, 2021)

Most resolved cases or sensational news regarding OIDV are problematic. Par-
ticipants described that most of the resolved OIDV cases were resolved by
ordinary citizens rather than police officers. The desire to maintain police
reputation often results in underreporting OIDV cases. P4 mentioned this
below:
Dealing with this issue in this sector is shameful. Law enforcement agencies or
police departments just fired the offending officers during the criminalization of
the DV proceeding. They just escaped from publicly released OIDV cases instead
of addressing this issue systematically in the law enforcement sector. Therefore,
we never know how many actual OIDV cases happened, were reported, and
resolved. It has always been invisible to us. (P4, personal communication, July
6, 2021)

These examples demonstrate that the prevalence of OIDV is remarkably invis-

ible, with the code of silence in the police culture being especially harmful for
law enforcement officers’ families.
Most interestingly, all respondents responded that they frequently work
with OIDV survivors when asked, “how often do you face OIDV cases?” For
instance, two psychologists (P1 and P6) have provided trauma-informed
psychological services for more than 10 OIDV survivors (at least one case
every year). Another psychologist (P5) said she worked with more OIDV
cases because she also worked as a shelter coordinator. According to her
response, her organization provides comprehensive services for over a
56 S. GERELT-OD

thousand DV survivors, including hotline, shelter, social, psychological, and

legal services. Among these survivors, at least 10 survivors came from
police families every year.
Three participants responded to more warning data about OIDV preva-
lence. For example, P1 (who worked at the same organization) described
OIDV prevalence as follows:
Since our organization was established in the late 1990s, we have registered
and documented 10,000 cases of DV so far. Around 20-30% of them are regis-
tered as DV committed by police families. These data are realistic because we
needed the data as proof for policymakers when we advocated the DV law
amendment in 2015. Also, we sent the data to the Ministry of Justice to
demand to take further action in this sector. (P1, personal communication,
July 1, 2021)

P3 who used to work in the law enforcement sector described OIDV similarly:
We have a 2013 study on police work stress and challenge conducted by the
police research center in the police department. From this study, around 30-
35% of police officers responded that they have family disputes, including
financial problems and work stress. This message tells us that OIDV prevalence
is at a high level of danger in Mongolia. Unfortunately, these data were not
reflected clearly in this study for some reason, only included as an annexed
file. OIDV cases are hidden at all stages. Police misconduct became hidden in
the police department, and prosecutors’ misconduct became hidden in the pro-
secution—the same as in the courts. (P3, personal communication, July 2, 2021)

The interviews illustrated that identifying OIDV prevalence has been limited
by factors of police bonding, such as a code of silence and police authority
in the police culture. In addition, participants warned that DV is much
more prevalent not only among police officers, but in prosecutors, judges,
correctional officers, border troops, and soldiers in Mongolia.

Poor implementation of LCDV resulting from lack of capacity and

attitude of the law enforcement
All interview participants stated that the criminalization of DV had not been
successfully conducted since the amendment of DV law in 2016. Although the
amendment intentionally prioritized survivor’s safety to integrate other laws,
such as criminal law, criminal proceeding law, child protection law, victim and
witness protection law, and family law, the law enforcement’s attitude and
capacity are not able to make these changes. Remarkably, P7 emphasized
that law enforcement officers lack the skill and ability to apply comprehensive
laws regarding DV cases:
I appreciate that this sector has made much progress on the DV issue since they
have been criticized for not taking urgent action. Nevertheless, the newly
amended DV law requires law enforcement officers’ legal capacity to apply
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 57

these laws effectively when they encounter DV cases. Unfortunately, they tend
to be applied to only individual DV legislation. Second, there is considerable
confusion in addressing DV in the legislation between crime or offence. The
law does not consider it as a crime unless the nature of the case is constant
abuse. There are no explicit provisions on what DV offence or DV crime are.
Thus, DV incidences are more likely to be addressed by law enforcement
officers’ discretion. Lastly, when we talk about police discretion, we have to
think about the culture of this sector as patriarchal and holding toxic masculi-
nity in where violence has been constantly promoted. So, police officers’ atti-
tudes still view DV as a private matter rather than a crime. (P7, personal
communication, July 10, 2021)

Another two participants (P1 and P4) mentioned that law enforcement
officers’ gender sensitiveness and negotiation skills towards working with
survivors are lacking:
I wonder why police officers are always aggressive and commanding all the
time. At least they should improve their communication and negotiation
skills when they work with non-violent events. They have no skills on how to
communicate with survivors. They are usually rude and commanding when I
bring survivors who experience marital rape or sexual violence to the police
department. They ask survivors many sensitive questions in front of many
people in the room. They have no sense at all. In this matter, survivors are
scared to say anything. (P1, zoom call, July 1, 2021) (P4, personal communi-
cation, July 6, 2021)

However, most participants warned that law enforcement capacity should

not be limited to DV assessment training. There is a need to include monitor-
ing and assessment of the DV training, mental health services, promotion of
police code of conduct, and other technical equipment for police officers to
build capacity in this sector. As few participants repeatedly described:
First, police officers do not have enough equipment. They do not have enough
police cars. In some cases, they are required to walk when there is a DV call. So,
they usually come only after it is too late. Also, there is no private room when
the police officer questions the victim about the case. Second, professional
ethics should be promoted and applied constantly among law enforcement
officers. Without it, OIDV would never be addressed in this sector. Unless pro-
fessional ethics are well instilled in law enforcement, the police officers will con-
tinue to maintain a “code of silence” by suppressing each other’s misconduct.
(P2, personal communication, July 2, 2021)

Another limitation in the implementation of this law is that provisions for

victim protection have not been enforced yet due to the excuse of a lack
of capacity. Namely, a sentence to restrict the movement of DV perpetra-
tors was postponed, and the victim and witness protection independent
unit was liquidated. This puts the country one step behind in ensuring pro-
tection for DV survivors. Few participants (P3, P4, and P7) discussed this as
follows:
58 S. GERELT-OD

The provision of sentencing restriction of movement for DV perpetrators is the

most wanted and the most needed action for survivors who seek legal support.
No matter who the perpetrator is, he always goes or tracks where his partner
goes and then threatens and provokes them, which is annoying. During the
amendment of DV law in 2016, decision-makers postponed enforcing this pro-
vision until 2019 due to the lack of capacity. Now they have postponed it again
until 2022. I wonder there are no political willing or strong leaders to make a
change towards eliminating DV. (P7, personal communication, July 10, 2021)

Moreover, the victim and witness protection independent unit named “Takariin
alba” was liquidated in 2017, and instead, over 25 shelters for victim protection
were established nationwide under the supervision of the police. It is good to
have increased the number of shelters, but under the police supervision is
not ensuring its confidentiality and independence. Thus, OIDV cases cannot
be addressed, nor law enforcement officers’ misconduct as well. Some survivors
do not trust the state’s shelter, especially when law enforcement officer-
involved cases. I remember people requested to bring survivors to our
shelter when a police father raped his daughter because they do not trust gov-
ernment-controlled shelters when officers are involved in a crime. (P4, personal
communication, July 6, 2021)

In this case, law enforcement capacity is lacking not only in their law enforce-
ment officers’ attitudes and behaviors but also in strong leadership, solid
strategies, and commitment to effectively enforce the LCDV at the
decision-making level.

Challenges to address OIDV incidences from an intersectional

perspective
Thirty years of transition to a free market economy in Mongolia exacerbated
social, political, cultural, and gender inequality between rural and urban
areas, plunging many families into gender-based violence, internal migration,
and severe poverty. These events had significant consequences on DV survi-
vors who live in the countryside, directly increasing their risk of receiving
legal assistance. The gap between rural areas and cities in providing services
for survivors is particularly evident in participant interviews. Three partici-
pants (P3, P4, and P7) highlighted these geographical differences in relation
to police families:
All survivors in the rural setting are different from survivors in the urban setting
because there is a small community in the countryside where everything is
impossible to be confidential. If survivors report their DV incidence, a police
officer who receives DV call is more likely to be the perpetrator’s relative or
close friend. Thus, rural women rarely get legal assistance than urban
women. All services are limited in the countryside. Everybody knows what
you do. (P4, personal communication, July 6, 2021)

It is more dangerous for the survivor if an abusive partner is a police officer in

such a small community in the countryside. From the city, the polices are
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 59

assigned to work in the countryside. In this regard, police families, particularly

intimate partners, also settle in the rural area to move away from their families
and friends, following their husbands’ mission and direction. Thus, survivors are
completely isolated from society when they experience DV in such a setting.
Decision-makers in law enforcement agencies never consider the potential
risks of such a problem in police families. Therefore, police families sacrifice
their life. (P3, personal communication, July 2, 2021)

The second dimension is that law enforcement officers’ positionality in this

sector significantly shapes survivors’ experiences. P1, P5 and P6 frequently
highlighted that their clients were abused by not only police officer part-
ners but also high-ranking officers or well-known criminal justice experts
in this sector. Perpetrators of OIDV are thus not only police officers but
also prosecutors, judges, or soldiers. Regardless of the severity of the
DV crime, survivors become more silent. For example, P3 described as
below:
Survivors never receive support from legal authorities if their partners are
recognized or have high-ranking positions in law enforcement. Although survi-
vors are brave enough to report their incidence, the police officers who receive
this call also receive much pressure from their police supervisor. Because those
officers who receive DV related calls are mostly the lowest-ranking police
officers, they are hesitant to initiate proceedings in accordance with the DV
and criminal law. Besides, criminal justice institutions promote their officers’
misconduct to influence the cases to drop by revealing confidentiality in the
case files, persuading survivors to take back their complaints and explaining
how important work their partners do in this sector. I remember many clients
withdrew their claims because of these pressures. I also witnessed many
police officers refused to register OIDV calls because of these pressures. (P3, per-
sonal communication, July 2, 2021)

Lastly, the third critical dimension that intersects OIDV survivors’ experience is
that those who help OIDV survivors are also at a double risk. Legal advocates
(P2 and P7) shared their stories on how their security was in danger when
they work with OIDV cases:
The significant difference for OIDV cases from non-police families is that human
rights defenders face enormous pressures and risk their life just like their clients.
I received many threats from my clients’ abusive partner officers. Namely, some
of them took my pictures, printed them along with his wife’s photos, and sent
them to us with a threat letter. I reported this threat to the police, and the crime
scene investigator identified my client’s abusive officer wrote that letter. But
this case was closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. For
another OIDV case, some high-ranking lawyer in the criminal justice institution
called us and tried to influence us to drop the case. They said to us that “I know
this person very well. Do not ruin his honor of badge and career in the law
enforcement sector. He is my friend and classmate. I know that he never
abuses his partner, so this time, please drop the case.” In this regard, our
work is also in danger in relationship with other government agencies as
60 S. GERELT-OD

well. Thus, most of the advocates are hesitant to work with these cases. (P7, per-
sonal communication, July 10, 2021)

Similarly, P4 described how police perpetrators endangered their shelter

resulting in severe psychological abuse for both survivors and human
rights defenders:
I used to receive plenty of threats from OIDV related cases. One perpetrator
knew our shelter location and broke our window. We reported to the police.
They said that someone shot your window with a gas cannon which is primarily
accessible for police. After that, someone chased the shelter coordinator and
me after work. It is challenging for survivors who see also these scenarios.
Then survivors are more likely to give up. We have to make a double effort
to build trust for survivors of OIDV than survivors from non-police families.
(P4, personal communication, July 6, 2021)

Overall, the experience of DV survivors is significantly distinguished by mul-

tiple axes of oppression, including gender, geographical location, and perpe-
trators’ position. Survivors are more oppressed if perpetrators are high-
ranking officers in the criminal justice system, where masculinity is embedded
in their culture.

Discussion and conclusion

This research demonstrates the relationship between the current OIDV
pattern, identified by service providers working in informal support services,
and the current implementation of the newly amended LCDV. The results
confirm that the criminalization of DV in the general population cannot be
addressed. Further, DV survivors are not fully recognized or protected
because many OIDV occurrences within the law enforcement sector are
hidden. This parallels the findings from other OIDV scenarios, including
that the prevalence of OIDV affects DV criminalization within the militarized
masculinity entrenched police culture (Goodmark, 2015), risk factors of police
work-family imbalance (Johnson et al., 2005), police authority use, and non-
lethal police techniques exacerbate DV in police families (Garvey, 2015).
Therefore, legal advocates are enormously challenged when working with
OIDV cases (Wetendorf, 2015). In focusing on service providers’ working
experiences in women-led CSOs towards implementation of the LCDV, I
have also been able to trace the interrelations between the engagement of
CSOs and the criminal justice system, including the law enforcement
sector. The OIDV occurrence contributes to the death of family members,
long-term psychological abuse and fear for survivors, the proliferation
ethical code of conduct breaches in the criminal justice system, and signifi-
cant safety risks for human rights defenders. These are all major obstacles
to strengthening the capacity of the law enforcement system. The OIDV inci-
dences are therefore not only harmful for police families, but detrimental to
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 61

citizens’ trust in law enforcement agencies, as they represent the poor

implementation of the LCDV.
In terms of identifying OIDV prevalence, research findings indicated that
the OIDV rate is higher than the domestic violence committed by the
general population in Mongolia due to police work stress, law enforcement
culture, and patriarchal norms. This finding also resonated with previous
studies suggesting that the high prevalence of OIDV is more dangerous
than the DV prevalence in non-police families (Johnson, 1991, 2010;
Johnson et al., 2005; Stinson & Liederbach, 2013). A 2013 study conducted
by a police research institution in Mongolia revealed that 30-35% of police
officers indicated they have family disputes at home, but decision-makers
of the law enforcement sector suppressed this finding to maintain police
reputation. Furthermore, NGO data revealed that 20-30% of total registered
DV cases (over ten thousand) for the last two decades consisted of OIDV-
related issues. Additionally, all interview participants responded that they fre-
quently encounter OIDV cases, which is very common among law enforce-
ment officers. However, this research only examined OIDV data registered
in women-led CSOs, with the assumption that many unregistered OIDV
cases exist. We may never know the actual prevalence of OIDV as a result
of law enforcement culture (Mennicke & Ropes, 2016), but these NGO data
are compelling. This research consisted of a different methodology approach
than other studies using a thematic analysis to examine semi-structured inter-
views from the perspective of local NGOs, detecting at least minimum preva-
lence. Despite the lack of official statistical data and highly suppressed in the
system for OIDV pattern, a thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s six-step
methodology (2006) allowed for the recognition of rich details regarding
OIDV cases (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
Another fundamental cause for invisible OIDV prevalence is survivors’
experience in law enforcement officers’ families. If their partners are
abusers, being the spouse of a law enforcement officer poses a special
danger to them. These abusers are clever as they know when and how to
abuse and control their partners without leaving evidence (Wetendorf,
2004, 2015). Within the criminal justice system, they are powerful enough
to manipulate or drop OIDV cases at all stages, from the beginning of the
reporting process (Wetendorf, 2015). Survivors must then deal with their
abuses on their own with no legal support in Mongolia. The participants’
highlighted that none of their clients who were abused by officer partners
legally resolved their cases. It is rare if OIDV cases were prosecuted, and if
they were, these cases were mainly prosecuted under citizen status. Most
law enforcement agencies dismiss offending officers during the criminaliza-
tion proceedings for OIDV cases. Thus, survivors receive more threats from
perpetrators who lost their job. In order to decrease this risk, survivors
often choose not to report their partners’ misconduct, which is consistent
62 S. GERELT-OD

with previous studies’ findings (Lonsway, 2006; Oehme et al., 2016; Weten-
dorf, 2015).
This research examined the Mongolian context and culture, supporting
Wetendorf’s (2004, 2015) findings on OIDV survivors’ isolated experiences
for advocates and Crenshaw’s finding on intersecting women’s multiple
oppressions to violence (Crenshaw, 1991). Most participants highlighted
the significant difference between rural and urban areas in Mongolian
social, political, and economic life when providing services for DV survivors.
The long-term transition from a centralized economy to a democracy with
a free-market economy aggravated existing unequal class segregations
between rural and urban (Tumursukh, 2018), which was associated with
internal migration and poverty. Social infrastructures, services, and economic
adjustments, including health and education facilitation and structure of the
law enforcement units, have rarely improved after the collapse of the Soviet
Union (Baatarzorig et al., 2018). Consequently, rural women face more
dangers than urban women when they experience violence in the country-
side due to limited access to services.
Furthermore, nomadism is an essential part of herder families’ culture in this
country, which may prevent DV survivors from receiving urgent services in rural
areas. If DV perpetrators are law enforcement officers in such small commu-
nities, there is no justice or space for survivors in the nomadic culture where
patriarchal norms are deeply entrenched. Service providers in the city who
are assigned to work in the countryside fail to see the survivors’ dynamic
experience of intersecting geographical location, rural culture, and perpetra-
tors’ positionality when facing DV cases. Rather than recognizing survivors’
multiple types of oppression rural areas, service providers, including police,
social workers, and doctors, have a strong tendency to victim-blame. If the
DV case is severe enough to prosecute, service providers may insist on provid-
ing services to them like they provide services for survivors in the cities. That
may be too radical and sudden for rural women who feel more pressured.
Another critical dimension of oppression for survivors experiencing DV in
police families is that those who try to help them are also at double risk.
Human rights defenders and service providers working in NGOs face enor-
mous challenges when helping OIDV survivors as compared to providing ser-
vices for DV survivors from non-police families. They receive threats from
officers and are pressured to jeopardize the cases by local partners, such as
law enforcement, bar association, and court officials. Their shelters have
been further attacked multiple times. In this regard, criminal justice
experts, including police supervisors, police officers, investigators, advocates,
prosecutors, and judges, must work collectively for the sake of victim safety
and offender accountability (Garvey, 2015), and an intersectional approach
to the survival experiences of DV in the Mongolian context must be taken
in order to implement LCDV successfully.
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 63

Overall, the most significant practical implication of these findings was

that all interview participants who were engaged in national human
rights NGOs in the context of domestic violence were dissatisfied about
the current implementation of the LCDV due to the lack of law enforce-
ment’s capacity and police culture. Although the law enforcement sector
made significant steps towards DV in following legislative changes, most
of their officers and leaders still hold a historically embedded perception
that domestic violence is a private matter rather than a crime, resulting
in the ineffective criminalization of DV. This is evident from a current
study on the implementation of LCDV where 90% of the total registered
DV cases were considered a DV offense and only 5% were resolved as a
DV crime (Association of Mongolian Criminologists, 2020). Participants’
interviews highlighted the continuation of a code of silence among law
enforcement officers by concealing the fellow officer’s domestic violence
accusation, demonstrating that their attitude strongly encourages DV in
the law enforcement culture, which supports existing literature on OIDV
in relation to police culture (Goodmark, 2015; Nolan, 2009; Patton, 1993;
Perets & Vidmar, 2021).
Alternatively, the police profession, police supervision, and police
environment play vital roles in the response to OIDV and DV issues.
The more novel finding arising from this study is that police attitudes
and discretion perpetuate DV. I argue that this appears to be happening
in Mongolia at two levels. First, police supervisors and departmental
leaders are setting a poor example for other police officers to deal
with DV and OIDV issues by committing serious DV offenses (including
femicide, rape, and long-term psychological abuse) and concealing
them. Previous studies demonstrate that police supervisors are the
most influential and supportive in response to OIDV, suggesting that
police seniors should serve as DV trainers (Saunders et al., 2016).
However, this research finding from the Mongolian context indicates
that more threats occur from senior police supervisors to law enforce-
ment officers who first received OIDV related calls. Rather than serving
as role models and standing up against OIDV in the law enforcement
culture, senior police supervisors justify their violence under the name
of police reputation and honor of badge, indicating that their attitude
remains obsolete.
For further investigation of the OIDV relationship with LCDV, risk and pro-
tective factors of OIDV, such as police PTSD and mental health, work spill over
effect, and police code of conduct, would be valuable. Moreover, examining
other types of professionals, such as prosecutors, soldiers, correctional
officers, and border troops, in addition to police officers, is significant to
analyze the toxic and militarized masculinity entrenched in their culture,
which may be contributing to DV.
64 S. GERELT-OD

Acknowledgements
I would like to sincerely thank all the participants in Mongolia who shared their invalu-
able experiences and stories from a local NGO perspective. These are stories that
demonstrate the historical struggle of women’s movements and organizations for leg-
islative and transformative changes in the context of freedom from violence.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor
Saranzaya GERELT-OD is a gender specialist, feminist and human rights advocate spe-
cializing in women’s and girls’ rights, social justice, and gender-based violence. She
has worked with civil society and development organizations in Mongolia for over
10 years. She conducted this research during her postgraduate studies in Gender, Vio-
lence and Conflict at the University of Sussex in the UK. Email:
saranzaya.gerelt@gmail.com

ORCID
Saranzaya GERELT-OD http://orcid.org/0009-0005-6221-0913

References
Adelman, M. (2003). The military, militarism, and the militarization of domestic vio-
lence. Violence Against Women, 9(9), 1118–1152. https://doi.org/10.1177/
1077801203255292
Association of Mongolian Criminologists. (2020). Addressing gaps in domestic violence
response in Mongolia. https://cutt.ly/t31EZJJ.
Baatarzorig, T., Galindev, R., & Maisonnave, H. (2018). Effects of ups and downs of the
Mongolian mining sector. Environment and Development Economics, 23(5), 527–542.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X18000153
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative
Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Buyandelgeriyn, M. (2008). Post-post-transition theories: Walking on multiple paths.
Annual Review of Anthropology, 37(1), 235–250. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.
anthro.37.081407.085214
Caulfield, S. L. (2001). Militarism, feminism, and criminal justice: Challenging institutio-
nalized ideologies. In P. B. Kraska (Ed.), Militarizing the American criminal justice
system: The changing roles of the armed forces and police (pp. 120–140).
Northeastern University Press.
Chemerinsky, E. (2000). The rampart scandal and the criminal justice system in Los
Angeles county. Guild Practitioner, 57(3), 121–133. https://scholarship.law.duke.
edu/faculty_scholarship/1421/.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and vio-
lence against women of color. In D. K. Weisberg (Ed.), Applications of feminist legal
theory (pp. 363–377). Temple University Press.
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 65

Emery, C. R., Wu, S., & Tsolmon, O. (2015). The peril of order? IPV, injury, and order in
Mongolian families. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(1), 62–82. https://doi.org/
10.1177/0886260514532526
Erwin, M. J., Gershon, R. R., Tiburzi, M., & Lin, S. (2005). Reports of intimate partner vio-
lence made against police officers. Journal of Family Violence, 20(1), 13. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s10896-005-1505-3
Feldman-Summers, S., & Palmer, G. C. (1980). Rape as viewed by judges, prosecutors,
and police officers. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 7(1), 19–40. https://doi.org/10.
1177/009385488000700103
Ferrari, G., Agnew-Davies, R., Bailey, J., Howard, L., Howarth, E., Peters, T. J., Sardinha, L.,
& Feder, G. S. (2016). Domestic violence and mental health: A cross-sectional survey
of women seeking help from domestic violence support services. Global Health
Action, 9(1), Article 29890. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v9.29890
Garvey, T. (2015). The highly trained batterer: Prevention, investigation, and prosecu-
tion of officer-involved domestic violence. Strategies: The Prosecutors’ Newsletter on
Violence Against Women, 14(14), 1–12. https://aequitasresource.org/wp-content/
uploads/2018/09/Strategies-The-Highly-Trained-Batterer-14.pdf.
Gershon, R. (1999). Police stress and domestic violence in police families in Baltimore,
Maryland, 1997–1999 ICPSR version. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University [pro-
ducer], 1999. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social
Research [distributor], 2000-08-28. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02976.v1.
Ging, D. (2019). Alphas, betas, and incels: Theorizing the masculinities of the
manosphere. Men and Masculinities, 22(4), 638–657. https://doi.org/10.1177/
1097184X17706401
Goodmark, L. (2015). Hands up at home: Militarized masculinity and police officers who
commit intimate partner abuse. Brigham Young University Law Review 1183, U of
Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-4. https://ssrn.com/abstract=
2575677.
Johnson, L. B. (1991, May 20). On the front lines: Police stress and family well-being. In
Hearing before the select committee on children, youth, and families, house of repre-
sentatives: 102 congress first session (pp. 32–48). U.S. Government Printing Office.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED338997.pdf.
Johnson, L. B. (2010). Spouse violence among police officers: Work- family linkages. In
L. E. Ross (Ed.), The war against domestic violence (pp. 171–190). CRC Press LLC.
Johnson, L. B., Todd, M., & Subramanian, G. (2005). Violence in police families: Work-
family spillover. Journal of Family Violence, 20(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10896-005-1504-4
Johnson, R. R., & Dai, M. (2016). Police enforcement of domestic violence laws:
Supervisory control or officer prerogatives? Justice Quarterly, 33(2), 185–208.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2014.887762
Lonsway, K. A. (2006). Policies on police officer domestic violence: Prevalence and
specific provisions within large police agencies. Police Quarterly, 9(4), 397–422.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611104268884
Lott, L. D. (1995). Deadly secrets: Violence in the police family. FBI Law Enforcement
Bulletin, 64(11), 12–16. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.
journals/fbileb64&div=93&id=&page=.
Mennicke, A. M., & Ropes, K. (2016). Estimating the rate of domestic violence perpe-
trated by law enforcement officers: A review of methods and estimates.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 31, 157–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.
09.003
66 S. GERELT-OD

Miller, L. (2007). Police families: Stresses, syndromes, and solutions. The American
Journal of Family Therapy, 35(1), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926180600
698541
Neidig, P. H., Russell, H. E., & Seng, A. F. (1992). Interspousal aggression in law enforce-
ment families: A preliminary investigation. Police Studies: The International Review of
Police Development, 15(1), 30–38. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?
handle=hein.journals/polic15&div=12&id=&page=.
Nolan, T. (2009). Behind the blue wall of silence. Men and Masculinities, 12(2), 250–257.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X09334700
Oehme, K., Donnelly, E. A., & Martin, A. (2012). Alcohol abuse, PTSD, and officer-com-
mitted domestic violence. Policing, 6(4), 418–430. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/
pas023
Oehme, K., Prost, S. G., & Saunders, D. G. (2016). Police responses to cases of officer-
involved domestic violence: The effects of a brief web-based training. Policing, 10
(4), 391–407. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paw039
Oehme, K., Siebert, D. C., Siebert, C. F., Stern, N., Valentine, C., & Donnelly, E. (2011).
Protecting lives, careers, and public confidence: Florida’s efforts to prevent
officer-involved domestic violence. Family Court Review, 49(1), 84–106. https://doi.
org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2010.01355.x
Oyunbileg, S., Sumberzul, N., Udval, N., Wang, J. D., & Janes, C. R. (2009). Prevalence
and risk factors of domestic violence among Mongolian women. Journal of
Women’s Health, 18(11), 1873–1880. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2008.1226
Patton, A. L. (1993). The endless cycle of abuse: Why 42 U.S.C. 1983 is ineffective in
deterring police brutality. Hastings Law Journal, 44(3), 753–808. https://repository.
uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol44/iss3/7/.
Perets, T., & Vidmar, C. (2021). Men, masculinities, and gender-based violence: The
broadening scope of recent research. Sociology Compass, 15(3), 18. https://doi.
org/10.1111/soc4.12861
Prost, S. G., Saunders, D. G., & Oehme, K. (2020). Childhood family violence and officer
responses to officer-involved domestic violence: Effects of cumulative and resolved
trauma. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 22(2), 194–207.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355720907641
Roslin, A. (2016). The secret epidemic of domestic violence: How it affects us all.
Domestic Violence Report, 21(3), 33–52. https://www.civicresearchinstitute.com/
online/article_abstract.php?pid=18&iid=1160&aid=7574.
Russell, B. L., & Pappas, N. (2018). The officer involved domestic violence. International
Journal of Police Science & Management, 20(2), 134–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/
1461355718774579
Ryan, A. H. (2000). The prevalence of domestic violence in police families. In D. C.
Sheehan (Ed.), Domestic violence by police officers: A compilation of papers submitted
to the domestic violence by police officers conference at the FBI academy (pp. 297–
307). U.S. Department of Justice.
Saunders, D. G., Prost, S. G., & Oehme, K. (2016). Responses of police officers to cases
of officer domestic violence: Effects of demographic and professional factors.
Journal of Family Violence, 31(6), 771–784. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-
9822-2
Saunders, D. G., Tolman, R. M., & Faller, K. C. (2013). Factors associated with
child custody evaluators’ recommendations in cases of intimate partner vio-
lence. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(3), 473–483. https://doi.org/10.1037/
a0032164
 ASIAN JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES 67

Silvestri, M. (2012). Managerial masculinity: An insight into the twenty-first-century

police leader. In D. G. Barrie, & S. Broomhall (Eds.), A history of police and masculi-
nities, 1700–2010 (pp. 235–254). Taylor & Francis Group.
Stinson, P. M., & Liederbach, J. (2013). Fox in the henhouse. Criminal Justice Policy
Review, 24(5), 601–625. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403412453837
Tumursukh, U. (2018). Interrogating women’s activism in the age of neoliberal demo-
cratization in Mongolia: The emergence of women’s NGO. [Doctoral Dissertation,
Auckland University of Technology]. Auckland University of Technology Library.
https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/0bb58c35-1547-4376-
a324-384bcdb8dfe2/content
Valentine, C., Oehme, K., & Martin, A. (2012). Correctional officers and domestic vio-
lence: Experiences and attitudes. Journal of Family Violence, 27(6), 531–545.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-012-9448-y
Wetendorf, D. (2004). When the batterer is a law enforcement officer: A guide for advo-
cates. Battered Women’s Justice Project Criminal Justice Center. https://www.bwjp.
org/assets/documents/pdfs/batterer_officer_guide_for_advocates.pdf.
Wetendorf, D. (2014). Police-perpetrated domestic violence: An advocate’ s pessimistic
historical perspective. Domestic Violence Report, 19(3), 35–36. https://www.
civicresearchinstitute.com/online/article.php?pid=18&iid=870.
Wetendorf, D. (2015). Abusive police officers: Working the system. http://www.
dwetendorf.com/art-worksystem.html.
Williamson, M. (2021). The role of sex on officer perpetrated intimate partner violence:
An empirical analysis of mechanisms of intimate partner violence. Deviant Behavior,
42(5), 611–629. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2020.1779546
Zavala, E., Melander, L. A., & Kurtz, D. L. (2015). The importance of social learning and
critical incident stressors on police officers’ perpetration of intimate partner vio-
lence. Victims & Offenders, 10(1), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2014.
890688

ABSTRACT IN MONGOLIAN
Энэхүү судалгаа нь Монгол Улсад шинэчлэгдсэн Гэр бүлийн хүчирхийлэл
(ГБХ)-тэй тэмцэх тухай хуулийн хэрэгжилттэй холбоотой хууль сахиулах
байгууллагын албан хаагчдаас (хууль сахиулагчид) гэр бүлийн хүчирхийлэл
үйлдэж байсан нөхцөл, хэв шинж, тархалтыг эмпирик байдлаар судалсан.
Монгол Улсад хүний эрхийн чиглэлээр ажилладаг үндэсний хэмжээний
төрийн бус байгууллагуудын үйлчилгээ үзүүлэгчидтэй хийсэн (хагас
бүтэцтэй сэдэвчилсэн) ярилцлагын үндсэн дээр хууль сахиулагчаас үйлдсэн
ГБХ болон ГБХ-ийн хуулийн хэрэгжилтийн үйл явц, тэдгээрийн хоорондын
уялдаа холбоог тодорхойлвол дараах дүгнэлтэнд хүрэв. Үүнд: (а) хууль
сахиулагчаас үйлдсэн ГБХ нь нийт хүн амын үйлдсэн ГБХ-ээс илүү байна,
(б) хууль сахиулах байгууллагын чадавх, хандлага дутмагаас ГБХ-тэй
тэмцэх тухай хуулийн хэрэгжилтэд сөргөөр нөлөөлж байна, (в) хууль
сахиулагчаас ГБХ үйлдсэн нөхцөл нь огтлолцлын асуудал бөгөөд энэ
төрлийн хэргийг шийдвэрлэхэд саад болж буй гол хүчин зүйлүүдийн нэг
юм. Энэ нь дараах байдлаар нотлогдож байна. Үүнд: Хууль сахиулах
байгууллагын ажилтнуудын ГБХ үйлдсэн хандлага нь ГБХ-тэй тэмцэх тухай
хуулийн хэрэгжилтэд муугаар нөлөөлөөд зогсохгүй, цагдаагийн удирдах
албан тушаалтнууд хамтрагчийн зүгээс үйлдсэн хүчирхийллийг зөвтгөж,
гэмт хэрэг гэж авч үзэхгүй нуун дарагдуулахад хувь нэмэр оруулж байна.
68 S. GERELT-OD

Үүний суурь шалтгаан нь цагдаагийн нэр хүндийг хамгаалах, хагас цэрэгжсэн

байдалтай цагдаагийн салбарт цагдаа цагдаагийнхаа хэргийг нуун дарах соёл
буюу чимээгүй байх дүрмийг баримталсанаар шударга ёсыг хамгаалах
тогтолцоог гажуудахад хүргэж байна

KEYWORDS хууль сахиулагчийн үйлдсэн гэр бүлийн хүчирхийлэл; гэр бүлийн хүчирхийлэл;
хууль сахиулах салбар; цагдаагийн соёл; хуулийн хэрэгжилт; даван туулагчийн туршлага