Barriers in the Utilization of Domestic Violence Services Among Arab Immigrant Women: Perceptions of Professionals,Service Providers &; Community Leaders

Ten focus group discussions were conducted with Arab American community leaders who had experience with victims of violence in the Arab American population and issues related to domestic violence. Community leaders were selected from an array of backgrounds, ranging from health and human service providers, legal and law enforcement service providers, religious and grass roots community organizations. Focus group discussions explored the role of personal resources, family, religion, culture and social support system in the utilization of domestic violence services by Arab immigrants experiencing domestic violence. In addition, issues related to personal, socio-cultural and institutional barriers in domestic violence service utilization were addressed along with identifying culturally competent policy strategies in reducing barriers for service utilization by Arab immigrants experiencing domestic violence.     

“All the System is Simply a Soap Bubble”: Legal Help-Seeking for Domestic Violence Among Women in Kyrgyzstan

This paper examines limitations in how law enforcement and public health systems respond to domestic violence in Kyrgyzstan. Findings from interviews with domestic violence victims show that these women are subject to ineffectual practices and negative attitudes that tend to minimize domestic abuse and disempower victims. The findings reveal several problematic issues: inconsistencies in the implementation of the law, impunity for abusers because of both personal attitudes and social affinities between the police and abusers, ineffective enforcement of protective orders, and superficial processing of domestic violence cases by the legal system. Additional barriers to help-seeking include a lack of institutional support and guidelines for offering mental health services for victims as well as a scarcity of housing, childcare, and employment opportunities for women seeking to break the cycle of abuse. The findings underscore the need for society-wide changes in attitudes toward domestic violence, stricter mechanisms for enforcing the law, and mandatory training for service providers to facilitate the provision of more accessible and affirmative support to victims.     

Statewide Assessment of Response to Domestic Violence in Louisiana

The Louisiana statewide assessment of domestic violence attitudes and services was a cooperative effort between the Louisiana Community Policing Institute and the Criminal Justice Program at the University of Louisiana, Monroe. The research project included both surveys and focus groups from Louisiana's eight law enforcement planning districts. Results indicate that the response to domestic violence in Louisiana is generally inadequate. Furthermore, problems exist with respect to the definition of domestic violence among agencies. Finally, four basic barriers to successful intervention were identified, including lack of resources, lack of education and training, victims' lack of confidence in the system, and lack of a coordinated response to the problem. Recommendations are presented for overcoming these obstacles.     

Examining the Behavior of a System: An Outcome Evaluation of a Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence

One goal of a coordinated community response (CCR) to domestic violence is to create an infrastructure that will facilitate systems-level, and ultimately societal-level change. This study evaluated whether a CCR implemented in two counties in Georgia would be effective at increasing criminal justice system sanctions for male domestic violence offenders (i.e., arrests, prosecutions, convictions, sentencing, and referrals to batterer intervention programs). Time series analyses revealed that, in both counties, there was a significant increase in arrests of male offenders; however, law enforcement agencies also arrested more women following the intervention. More men were sentenced to probation and to attend a batterer’s intervention program post-intervention in one county; in the second county, there was no change in these outcomes. Results highlight the importance of examining how a CCR may affect the behavior of criminal justice systems, especially in terms of the unintended consequences for women.     

Police civil liability for inappropriate response to domestic assault victims

Over the last several years, the criminal justice system has encouraged survivors of domestic abuse to report their victimization to law enforcement authorities. While some pieces of evidence suggest that police are more sensitive to the plight of domestic survivors, law enforcement response remains incomplete and problematic. This article explores this issue, focusing on police civil liability for inappropriate response to domestic violence. It discusses a specific legal remedy—the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment—highlighting the circumstances under which police are held liable when they fail to prevent victims' injuries because of their inappropriate response to domestic violence. The article concludes that police need more training and education on family abuse so they can become more responsive to victims of domestic violence.     

An Exploratory Analysis of Florida Law Enforcement Domestic Violence Policies

The high social cost of domestic violence has caught the attention of lawmakers and criminal justice agency administrators across the country. As public awareness and concern over the incidence of domestic violence has risen, domestic violence legislation has focused on, among other things, the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The purpose of this study is to examine Florida law enforcement agency response to domestic violence by analyzing agency standard operating procedures (SOPs) across measures identified in the Florida Model Policy for Domestic Violence. Utilizing content analysis, the authors identify agency policy mandates including the number of officers responding to the scene, the use of specialized units, availability of victim advocates, and procedures for investigation.     

Relationship Between Two Types of Help Seeking Behavior in Domestic Violence Victims

A coordinated community response system to the help-seeking behaviors of domestic violence victims is critical to minimize the impact of violent events and to educate the public, so that safe and effective conflict management skills may replace violent responses. The focus for the present study is to identify and analyze victims’ choices of law enforcement assistance in stopping the violence and/or aid through the services of the regional family violence center. Some victims select legal channels of support; others rely exclusively on social service support, and others seek assistance from both sources. Characteristics of victims whose cases followed two types of help-seeking behavior patterns—legal support or social support–were determined through archived data from both the records of a regional family violence center (FVC) (n=258) and domestic violence incident reports of a police department serving a city of approximately 200,000 citizens (n=127). Findings indicate that African American victims more frequently sought protection through law enforcement sources than they did through family violence center services, and the reverse was true for Euro-Americans.     

Domestic Violence in Hispanics in the Southeastern United States: A Survey and Needs Analysis

Violence is a significant health issue for Latinas in the United States (US), with 54.9% reporting violent victimization. However, little is known about battering among Hispanic women in the southeast. The southeastern corridor, a rural area in search of cheap labor, is a magnet for undocumented agricultural workers. The purpose of this study was to describe domestic violence in Hispanic/Latino women in the southeastern US, including type and frequency of violence experienced, barriers to obtaining treatment, and services needed by women who have been abused. Hispanic women completed questionnaires developed from information from focus groups. Results indicate that domestic violence is a major health problem for women in the southeast, and document previous findings as well as offer new insights about Hispanic women who have experienced domestic violence. Implications are discussed in terms of the need for community partnerships and interventions, as well as routine screening and crisis intervention.     

Silencing Women's Voices: Nuisance Property Laws and Battered Women

There is little documentation about how nuisance property laws, which fine people for excessive 911 calls, affect victims of domestic violence. In St. Louis, we found that police and prosecutors believe that the law benefits victims of domestic violence by providing them with additional services. By contrast, advocates for domestic violence victims believe that the law undermines battered women's access to housing and discourages them from calling 911. Using qualitative data, we analyze how the organizational structures and dynamics within which each group works give rise to different stocks of working knowledge. We conclude that law enforcement officials are unaware of these harms because women's voices and experiences are marginalized during the enforcement process. This research reveals mechanisms through which law enforcement policies reinforce gender inequality, and illustrates some ways in which gender relations and power come into play in what, on their surface, appear to be gender‐neutral laws.     

Toward a Balanced Approach: Defining Police Roles in Responding to Domestic Violence

Responding to domestic violence poses unique challenges to law enforcement officers. Prior research has focused on issues such as officer safety and arrest policies but overlooked a critical component—the officers’ perception of their role in responding to domestic violence incidents. This study explores how police officers define their roles through the use of focus group interviews with detectives assigned to a domestic violence unit. Findings include the identification of three role perspectives. Recommendations for a more balanced approach of these role perspectives in responding to domestic violence crimes through the use of more effective training, supervision, and evaluation are proposed.     

Lessons from Tuskegee: What Law Enforcement Can Learn from the History of Bioethics

Though Black lives continue to be lost during encounters with law enforcement, we remain far from a policy solution. While leading presidential candidates fail to offer concrete proposals, the recommendations of Campaign Zero appear to have found little traction. Furthermore, we are far from understanding the causes of the disproportionate use of violence against minorities. Faced with a growing crisis, law enforcement would do well to consider professions that have taken successful steps to outgrown their history of racial violence. The medical community’s response to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment is particularly instructive. Much as the medical community responded to a crisis of racial violence by fundamentally reconceptualizing the role of the physician, the time has come for a new ethics of policing that will reshape our understanding of the role of law enforcement.     

The influence of suspect gender in domestic violence arrests

This study examines heterosexual domestic violence incidents involving male and female suspects. The sample includes 428 incident reports filed at the Columbia (South Carolina) Police Department between 1993 and 1997. Police officers appear to use different arrest determinants for women than for men. The implications of these differential law enforcement practices are discussed.     

External Barriers to Help Seeking for Older Women Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence

There has been relatively little research published to guide the field in identifying and addressing barriers to seeking help for older women who experience domestic violence (DV). The current article focuses on findings related to external behaviors to help-seeking in the Domestic Violence Against Older Women (DVAOW) study. Data were collected in 21 focus groups with 134 women, 45 to 85 years of age. External barriers, described by DVAOW respondents as contributing to the reluctance of some older women to seek help for domestic abuse, include response of family, response of clergy, response of the justice system, and responsiveness of community resources. These findings are discussed with implications for community outreach and future research.

Women’s Knowledge of the Domestic Violence Legislation in Erbil,Iraq and their Response to Spousal Violence

This study assessed the knowledge of 82 married women about existing legislations and law enforcement structure in Iraqi Kurdistan region to combat violence against women and women’s response to spousal violence. A female physician interviewed the participants using a specially designed questionnaire. The women possessed good knowledge about the presence of legislation (76.8 %) and related law enforcement structure (70.7 % to 74.4 %) to combat violence against women, but they lacked adequate knowledge about how to contact the law enforcement agencies. Women’s response to spousal violence primarily included self-defense (37.8 %) or keeping silent (26.8 %), rather than seeking justice (4.9 %). Women’s educational status was positively associated with reporting violence to police (52.1 % vs 29.4 %, p = 0.041) and the health staff (62.5 % vs 35.3 %, p = 0.015). Further research is needed to explore the reasons behind women’s poor knowledge of the details of the existing law enforcement structure and women’s reluctance to seek justice.     

The impact of sentencing options on recidivism among domestic violence offenders: A case study

Past domestic violence research has tended to focus on issues related to law enforcement responses. More recently, the focus has shifted to other components of the criminal justice system, such as prosecution and correctional responses, to determine the best way to reduce domestic violence. This project is a case study of 177 male convicted domestic violence offenders who were sentenced to one of five options: community corrections; jail; a suspended sentence; private counseling, a fine, or restitution; and advisement. The focus of this inquiry is on the likelihood of each sanction reducing future arrests and convictions for domestic violence. The results reveal that no one sanction is more effective than the other options. A draft of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Criminal Justice Association, Chattanooga, TN, 1999. The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this paper. This work stems from a project started by Chesterfield County and Melissa Gross to complete her Master of Social Work degree requirements. The primary authors of this piece are Jill A. Gordon and Laura J. Moriarty. The ordering of names are alphabetical after Melissa Gross.     

Applying the Theory of Reasoned Action to Domestic Violence Reporting Behavior: The Role of Sex and Victimization

Domestic violence is a serious social issue that affects one in every four relationships. Interventions for victims and abusers are contingent upon reporting of the violence, but many cases are never reported. The theory of reasoned action may offer a model for understanding reporting behavior in adolescents and young adults. In a sample of 891 adolescents and young adults, social norms and attitudes were predictive of reporting intentions and subsequently, reporting behavior. For the purposes of this study, reporting behavior was defined as reporting the domestic violence to any individual not directly involved, which could include law enforcement personnel or other individuals who may provide assistance. Understanding how attitudes and social norms affect reporting behavior could be helpful for agencies serving individuals affected by domestic violence.     

The Right to be Free from Domestic Violence in Macau

Domestic violence is a problem which historically has not received adequate attention in Macau. At the outset, it explains why the right to be free from domestic violence matters in Macau. I contend that the treatment of domestic violence is a human rights issue under international human rights law, focusing on the shift in the conceptualization of domestic violence from a private matter into a human rights issue. I denounce domestic violence as human rights violation. The second part depicts the draft law on Combating of Domestic Violence Act and analyzes the possible effects of Combating of Domestic Violence Act that can occur. Then, I intend to highlight the absence of attention to the positive duties of states—not negative duties to restrain from acting (such as a duty not to infringe upon the right to be free from domestic violence), but positive, affirmative duties to protect women.     

Women against men: An examination of domestic violence based on an analysis of official data and national victimization data

In recent years, increased attention has been focused on the victimization of women in domestic assaults. Several studies, derived from police reports, shelter populations, and general social surveys have documented the incidence and nature of this phenomenon. A companion discussion of the victimization of men in domestic assaults has been conspicuously absent. This article adds to our knowledge on domestic violence research by examining the incidence and correlates of male victimizations within the domicile. The findings are based on an analysis of approximately 6,200 cases of domestic assaults reported to law enforcement authorities and of national victimization data reported to the National Crime Survey.