Prosecution decisions in cases of domestic violence involving children

Increasing attention is being paid to the problem of children as the secondary victims of domestic violence. It is now well documented that children suffer as a result of domestic violence. However, it has yet to be shown how, if at all, the presence of children as direct or indirect victims influences the decision-making of the police and prosecutors in those cases of domestic violence which enter the criminal justice process. The findings of an empirical study of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that shed light on this issue are discussed in this article. The research, which combined an analysis of case files with observations and discussions with prosecutors, suggests important differences between the approach of the police and CPS lawyers.     

No longer a civil matter? The design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales

ABSTRACT

This paper assesses the design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales. It draws on data from 400 police classified domestic violence incidents and 65 interviews with victims/survivors, as well as new analysis of government justice data from England and Wales, to address a gap in literature on protection orders.

The paper identifies an increasing civil-criminal ‘hybridisation’ of protection orders in England and Wales, and argues that a dual regime has developed, with orders issued by police and/or in criminal proceedings increasingly privileged (and enforced) over victim-led civil orders. Whilst protection orders are being used – as intended – flexibly to protect domestic violence victims, the way they are applied in practice risks downgrading domestic violence in criminal justice terms.

The conclusions are especially timely in light of current Government proposals to rationalise protection orders by introducing a single overarching Domestic Abuse Protection Order in England and Wales.     

Drawing the Necessary Line: A Review of Dating Domestic Violence Statutes around the United States

Orders of protection help combat dating violence by ensuring a period of separation between the victim and the abuser. The prevalence of dating violence is similar to that of spousal abuse and the effects on the nonmarried victims are just as severe. Some jurisdictions in the United States do not offer victims in dating relationships protective orders and two states restrict orders for same‐sex couples only. Other state statutes are inadequate. A uniform statute that permits participants in dating relationships access to protective orders should be implemented across the country.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• See and understand the changes in dating domestic violence statutes
• Up to date as of 2011 with 2012 amendments to state statutes

     

Specialised domestic violence courts in Canada and the United States: Key factors in prioritising safety for women and children

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the response of specialised domestic violence courts in Canada and the United States to contact disputes where there are allegations of domestic violence. It begins with a discussion of legal reforms responding to domestic violence in Canada and the United States, including the different types of DV courts and their rationales, key features, merits and drawbacks. Evaluations of Integrated DV courts in the United States and Canada are then reviewed. The research shows that although IDV courts hold more promise to deal with contact disputes given their inclusion of family law matters, there are few studies analysing the impact of IDV courts on these disputes, and some suggest these courts may actually increase contact and hence the potential for safety issues to arise. The final section discusses the strengths and weaknesses of IDV courts in relation to contact disputes, identifying the factors that make these specialised courts more or less successful in prioritising safety and minimising harm for women and children.     

Recording of offences on police domestic violence call outs

ABSTRACT

Due to new legislation passed in 2011, Finnish police have been legally obligated to record and investigate all assaults, including petty assaults, occurring in close relationships. Referred to as domestic violence (DV), these assaults can be prosecuted even without victim consent. Much like pro- and mandatory arrest policies, this reform was aimed at decreasing victim and police discretion, based on the assumption that recording and preliminary investigation of every DV incident would help prevent further violence. Comparison between police call outs and the number of offences indicate that in reality not every DV incident is recorded. Using Police and Emergency Call Database data merged with 410 police officer survey responses, the current study presents the first empirical results on legal and extra-legal factors associated with recording DV as an offence in Finland. Factors explaining non-recording are discussed based on police officers’ free-text comments, and implications for policy and practice are presented.     

Patterns of violence and self-harm in women prisoners: characteristics,co-incidence and clinical significance

Self-harm and violence in women’s prisons in England are common and occurring with increasing frequency. We aimed to describe the characteristics and patterns of violent and/or self-harming behaviours in women in prison by conducting a retrospective analysis of routine data about self-harm incidents and adjudications. Incidence rates of self-harm and violence were calculated and associated factors explored using logistic regression. We found that only 6.7% of 5486 women prisoners self-harmed and 7.9% had been violent. Eighty per cent of all self-harm incidents related to 70 women. Almost 4 in 10 women prisoners who self-harmed were also violent. Multiple incarcerations and court movements are associated with incidents of self-harm and violence. Women with high-frequency self-harm (≥6) began self-harming early in their custodial period. We conclude that women prisoners who are very behaviourally disturbed can and should be identified early. They warrant clinical formulation and multi-agency responses to risk. Those with high-frequency self-harm should be cared for by external health services.     

INCREASING THE PROPORTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ARRESTS THAT ARE PROSECUTED: A NATURAL EXPERIMENT IN MILWAUKEE*

Research Summary: Mandatory and pro‐arrest policies in domestic violence incidents have increased strains on prosecutorial and court resources. They have also brought to prosecutors many cases in which victims never wanted batterers charged and prosecuted. Prosecutors are faced with the dilemma of (a) screening out difficult cases up front and expending resources on fewer but more winnable case or (b) prosecuting a larger number of cases as adequately as resources will allow. We studied a natural experiment that resulted when the Milwaukee prosecutor liberalized his screening policy to double the number of domestic violence case filings. After the new screening policy was implemented, time to disposition doubled, convictions decreased, the prevalence of pretrial crime increased, and victim satisfaction declined. Policy Implications: The results do not support the idea that domestic violence cases can be readily prosecuted without regard for victim desires. To commit to such a policy would require a substantial commitment of additional staff, resources to collect additional types of evidence, and a willingness to try a substantially larger number of cases.     

Changing coverage of domestic violence murders: a longitudinal experiment in participatory communication

Stressing relation-building and participatory communication approaches, the Rhode Island Coalition against Domestic Violence worked with journalists to develop a best practices handbook on news coverage of domestic violence murders. This study compares print coverage of domestic violence murders prehandbook (1996-1999) and posthandbook (2000-2002). Significant changes include increased labeling of the murder of intimates as domestic violence and doubled usage of advocates as sources. As a result, domestic violence murders, previously framed as unpredictable private tragedies, are more commonly framed posthandbook as social problems warranting public intervention. The authors conclude that relation-building approaches can affect news cultures and public discourse when conducted in conjunction with comprehensive participatory communications strategies.     

Marital Violence: Is it a Factor Affecting the Reproductive Health Status of Women?

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of violence on the reproductive health of women and utilization of reproductive health services. The study population consisted of 250 married women aged 15 to 49, selected from patients at two different hospitals’ obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Ankara, Turkey. A data collection form and the “Scale of Marital Violence Against Women” were used to obtain data. According to the study, women who have lower education levels and who first experience marriage and sexual intercourse at a younger age suffer from violence more frequently. Women experiencing violence have higher gravida and para numbers. The majority of these women has not undergone appropriate prenatal care and delivered their babies under the supervision of a health care professional. These women have been using traditional and ineffective contraceptive methods. Marital violence has led to unfavorable effects on these women’s reproductive health and utilization of reproductive health services.     

Corporate violence against canadian women: Assessing left-realist research and policy

Canadian researchers, especially feminists, have shown, that male violence against women in both intimate relationships and public places is a significant social problem. Compared to the amount of rigorous work done on this important issue, an equally if not more serious problem for women—corporateviolence—has been given little empirical, theoretical, and political attention The primary purpose of this paper is to articulate how, some left realist survey techniques and policy proposals can contribute to the study, prevention, and control of corporate violence against Canadian women in the industrial workplace. The authors conclude this article by pointing to a few pitfalls of realism which must be add ressed before it can be effectively applied in the Canadian context.     

Black and Blue Bloods: Protecting Police Officer Families from Domestic Violence

Officer‐involved domestic violence (OIDV) is a national problem, with police officer families having higher rates of domestic violence than non–police officer families. OIDV is also an underresearched problem with few studies or proposed solutions. Many victims of OIDV do not report their abuse precisely because their abuser is a police officer, whom they fear is in a unique position to protect him/herself from any legal consequences. Often, OIDV complaints are not investigated properly in a nonbiased manner. While a handful of police agencies around the country have developed specific policies and procedures to deal with OIDV, Washington State has enacted legislation that requires its police agencies to adopt OIDV‐specific policies. The International Associations of Chiefs of Police (IACP), an organization that addresses various issues confronting law enforcement, has also developed a model policy on OIDV. This Note proposes that, in light of the Washington legislation and the model policy proposed by the IACP, each state should enact a statute that requires its police agencies to develop policies on OIDV. This Note also outlines a specific set of procedures that such statutes should, at a minimum, require its police agencies to adopt, ranging from educating police officers on domestic violence to developing guidelines on responding to and investigating OIDV complaints.     

Empathic Deficits Among Male Batterers: A Multidimensional Approach

Although recent literature has focused considerable attention on the link between empathic deficits and violence in studies of childhood aggression and sexual assault, relatively few studies have directly examined the relationship of empathic deficits to domestic violence. This study examined a multimodal construct of empathy as proposed by M. H. Davis (1980) and it's relationship to frequency of various types of intimate partner violence in a sample of domestically violent male perpetrators (n = 104). Preliminary results suggest that multiplicative patterns of empathic ability correspond to different types of violence. Moreover, patterns of empathic ability were more useful in predicting various expressions of intimate partner violence than were the empathic factors when considered individually.     

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGISLATION: EXPLORING ITS IMPACT ON THE LIKELIHOOD OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,POLICE INVOLVEMENT,AND ARREST*

Research Summary: This research uses data from the National Crime Victimization Survey to test whether legislation affects domestic violence, police involvement, and arrest. Findings suggest that most laws do reduce the chances of family or intimate violence. Fewer appear to influence police involvement, and none relate to more arrest. This suggests that laws may deter would‐be offenders from harming family and partners. Policy Implications: The findings suggest that states should continue to aggressively pursue domestic violence offenders. However, local officials should recognize that mandatory arrest laws could reduce the number of cases that enter the system. Further, more protection should go toward victims when the state awards them custody of the children.     

A Domestic Violence Course For Medical Students: A Study on Its Effectiveness

International health institutions emphasize the necessity of including the topic of domestic violence which is accepted as a health problem worldwide, into the training of physicians. The fact that physicians should diagnose domestic violence victims who over the years were either neglected or overlooked is also mentioned. The present study aims to measure the effectiveness of the interactive domestic violence course given to Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine (DEUFM) Year V students, with tests implemented before and after the course. The same students were given the same test during Year VI (internship). The students’ average knowledge scores were found respectively as follows: pretest 78.66?±?10.54, second test 94.13?±?3.95 and third test 89.65?±?7.48. There was a statistically significant difference between tests’ average scores. It was observed that, after the course, 4 out of 19 students (21.1%) changed their answers from “no” to “yes” for the question “Have you ever been a victim of physical domestic violence?” A statistically significant difference was found between pre-course answers and the after course answers given to this question. This study showed that the course on domestic violence increased students’ knowledge level and awareness on this issue. Considering that average knowledge level will decrease over time and aiming to improve future physicians’ approach to domestic violence cases, addition of other interactive educational methods to Year V’s course program and proposal of an advanced training session to Year VI’s curriculum are being planned.     

Safety,Satisfaction, and Settlement in Domestic Relations Mediations: New Findings

Researchers and mediators have long been concerned about coercion, intimidation, and safety threats that could occur in mediation for cases where previous violence between the parties has occurred. Most of the research focuses on screening tools to identify parties at risk. When parties screen positive for intimate partner violence (IPV), some proceed to mediation and some do not, depending on the policies of individual mediation programs. But this misses a step: Some cases may benefit from mediation while others won't, but how can we predict whether mediation will be useful and safe in specific instances? This study uses survey data obtained from parties in domestic relations mediations to examine issues of safety, satisfaction, and settlement in the presence of various IPV behaviors.