Mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence : a mixed methods systematic review

requiring professionals to report cases of IPV, or suspected IPV injuries, to the police or the criminal justice system. The term for
this is mandatory reporting. In spite of its good intention, mandatory reporting of IPV is a controversial issue. The objective of this
review was to systematically search for, appraise the quality of, and synthetize the evidence from quantitative and qualitative
studies on mandatory reporting of IPV. A systematic review of the scientific literature was conducted according to the Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted through Ovid
MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Criminal Justice Abstracts, and SveMedþ. Articles were included if they (a) were peer-reviewed
empirical studies rather than theories or discussions, (b) described mandatory reporting of IPV, and (c) were written in English or
Scandinavian languages. No time limit was applied. Twenty-five research studies met the criteria for review. Victims were generally
supportive of a law requiring professionals to report IPV, although subsamples’ attitudes opposing mandatory reporting were
presented as main findings in a substantial number of studies. Group differences between abused or nonabused women and
knowledge about mandatory reporting of IPV among professionals was mixed and inconclusive. Few professionals had actually
reported IPV under mandatory reporting. Empirical research appears to be scarce, with moderate to high degree of bias and with
only limited recent development.
Keywords: mandatory reporting, domestic violence, professionals, IPV victims, intimate partner violence, systematic review