Hearing parties' voices in Coordinated Family Dispute Resolution (CFDR): An Australian pilot of a family mediation model designed for matters involving a history of domestic violence

This paper discusses the Coordinated Family Dispute Resolution (family mediation) process piloted in Australia in 2010–2012. This process was evaluated by the Australian Institute of Family Studies as being ‘at the cutting edge of family law practice’ because it involves the conscious application of mediation where there has been a history of family violence, in a clinically collaborative multidisciplinary and multi-agency setting. The Australian government's failure to invest resources in the ongoing funding of this model jeopardises the safety and efficacy of family dispute resolution practice in family violence contexts, and compromises the hearing of the voices of family violence victims and their children.     

惩防家庭暴力建构和谐家庭——多维视角下的家庭暴力问题

家庭是社会的细胞,在构建社会主义和谐社会的历史背景下,认真反思并全面破解家庭暴力问题,其理论意义和现实意义均格外重大。文章从经济、社会、文化、历史、法律等角度对家庭暴力问题作出了解读,希冀全面准确地揭示家庭暴力的内涵、根源与防治对策。     

The family law detection of overall risk screen (FL-DOORS): Utility as a repeated measure for assessing change in family violence risk over time

Conflicted parental separation is associated with risks to safety and wellbeing for all family members. The Family Law DOORS (FL-DOORS; Detection of Overall Risk Screen) is a standardized screening framework to assist identification, evaluation, and response to family safety risks. The FL-DOORS has previously been validated in two large Australian samples (N = 6089) and found fit-for-purpose as an indicator of family violence and wellbeing risks in separated families. Now, using pilot data from a community mediation context, we examine its utility as a repeated measure for detecting change in safety and wellbeing over time. A pilot cohort of 67 parents engaged in a mediation service for parenting and/or property disputes completed the FL-DOORS at intake (T1) and approximately 8 weeks later (T2). We assessed T1-T2 change scores and correlations in change between variables and used MANOVA to determine if clusters of related scales discriminated change across time. Findings support the psychometric capacity of the FL-DOORS for use as a repeated measure in risk monitoring. We also note possible effects of this early screening process for reducing risk prior to engagement in mediation input. We discuss implementation utility for family law services to monitor change in risk type and magnitude over time.     

试析民初商事公断的法律性质——基于非诉讼纠纷解决的视角

ADR概念来源于美国,原是对20世纪逐步发展起来的各种诉讼外纠纷解决方式的总称,现已引申为对世界各国普遍存在的、民事诉讼制度以外的非诉讼纠纷解决方式或机制的称谓,具有代替性、选择性的特点以及纠纷解决的基本功能。民国初期的商事公断集现代和传统于一身,兼具仲裁和调解的性质特点,任何一种单一的法律性质界定都显得单薄,不能涵盖其全部,而它的这种新旧杂糅的特点都可以纳入"非诉讼纠纷解决机制"这一"模糊"概念之中。     

Gender violence： A perception that the law discriminates in favor of women

Prior to the democratization of the South African society, human rights culture was at a lower ebb, both within the government and the society at large. The society was male dominated and the vulnerable members of society, ostensibly women and children, were not adequately protected against their male counterparts. The Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, brought with it a bill of rights which is justiciable and this led to the promulgation of various legislative measures, notably the Prevention of Family Violence Act, which was later replaced by the Domestic Violence Act, in terms whereof the state attempts to curb the scourge of gender and related violence.     

A review of domestic violence arrest statistics in a police department using a pro-arrest policy: Are pro-arrest policies enough?

This study examined domestic violence arrest statistics in a sheriff's department that does not utilize a community approach and provides little police training on domestic violence. In reviewing all domestic violence reports (n=1870) over a 12-month period, less than one-third (28.8%) of the domestic violence cases ended in arrest. Even the most serious charges (aggravated batteries) were more likely to end without an arrest (62.6%) than with an arrest (37.4%). Although results showed that more men were identified (88.4%) and arrested (91.6%) as batterers than women (11.6% and 8.4%, respectively), closer analyses revealed that arrested women were more often charged with more serious charges (60%) than arrested men (26.0%). Finally, gender and race data indicated that while four-fifths (84.6%) of black females were arrested on felony charges, less than one-fifth (19.5%) of white males were arrested on the same charge. These findings demonstrate a need for further research on factors that may affect pro-arrest policy effectiveness.Forensic psychological resident in private practice in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.     

Preventing relapse versus “stopping” domestic violence: Do we expect too much too soon from battering men?

Given the deeply entrenched habit patterns that characterize domestic violence, the author questions the enormous demands for change that are immediately placed on both abusive men and the clinicians treating them. Battering men are not only required to abruptly and permanently halt overt physical violence, but they are also expected to stop all expressions of dominance and intimidation, and to abandon all their exploitative attitudes and sex-role expectations as well. While it is feasible and necessary to insist upon the cessation of physical violence in order to protect the spouse and family, to what degree can the clinician also demand a total revolution in the abusive male's attitudes, social behavior, and values? To better demonstrate the excessivity of these demands, the author makes a comparison to the treatment of substance abusers, where the features of relapse and enduring cognitive distortions are expected and permitted as part of the normal extended course of recovery. Instead, the author proposes a more realistic and humanitarian set of therapeutic expectations for change, emphasizing relapse prevention and supportive maintenance.     

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.     

Gender effects in attitudes about family violence

We present results of perceptions of family violence from 176 telephone interviews conducted in a Standard Metropolitan Area in Northwest Arkansas. Four research questions are examined: (1) How do men and women differ in their perceptions about the seriousness and causes of family violence? (2) Do men and women differ in their acceptance of specific acts of interpersonal violence and does the gender of the aggressor and victim affect gender perceptions? (3) Do men and women differ in their views about the effectiveness of different intervention agencies? (4) Do men and women differ in their willingness to report acts of child abuse and does the gender of the parent and child affect the likelihood of reporting? Results indicate that females consider the problem as more serious and view public responses to family violence as more effective. Both male and females are more tolerant of acts of aggression and violence if directed by a woman toward a man. Females are more likely to report child abuse but there are significant interactions between the respondent's gender and the gender of the parent and child.     

Predicting dropout of court-mandated treatment in a British sample of domestic violence offenders

Abstract

Prior to starting a pro-feminist domestic violence rehabilitation programme, 120 British male domestic violence offenders completed psychometric and attitudinal measures that assessed pro-domestic violence attitudes, anger, locus of control, self-reported emotional and psychological abuse of a partner, interpersonal dependency and social desirability. Offenders who completed the programme were compared to those who dropped out on these measures and demographic variables. Just under one-third (32.5%) of offenders failed to complete the programme. Of those variables that discriminated between completers and dropouts (age, previous custodial sentences, age at first conviction, marital status, self-reported abuse, and diagnosis of depression), only age (being young), having previously received a custodial sentence and self-reported low levels of physical abuse of a partner predicted attrition. These results are discussed with reference to probation supervision.     

Gender comparisons in the relationship between parental and sibling violence and nonfamily violence

This paper addresses two neglected areas in the research on the relationship between family violence and violence outside the home: violence other than parent-child abuse and the effect of gender. Specifically, we consider both parental and sibling violence as independent variables, nonfamily violence as the dependent variable, and gender as the specification variable. The data were collected from a sample of 306 students in Introductory Sociology and Social Problems classes. The finding of particular importance is that the interaction between the gender of both the aggressor and the victim has a significant effect on the relationship between violence within the home and nonfamily violence.     

Culture in transition: Awareness and appropriate response to domestic violence among Hmong American college students

This explanatory study examined Hmong college students’ experience, awareness, and appropriate response to domestic violence in the Hmong community, using a survey (n?=?231) at one of the largest Hmong-serving institutions in the United States. Findings indicated that 32.8% of Hmong college women had some violence from their romantic partners and two thirds of Hmong college men and women were aware of violence in the Hmong community. Those young generation Hmong reported that the most appropriate method to solve conflicts within the Hmong community is through the traditional clan system. These results can be used to begin formulating research-based cultural competence education for providers in the criminal justice system and facilitate discussions on youth perceptions.     

Criminalisation,modernisation, and globalisation: the US and international perspectives on domestic violence

The growth of modernisation in a society is intimately connected to the growth of legal evolutions related to criminalisation. While modernisation expands the boundaries of tolerance in an open society, it also expands the boundaries of crime and criminalisation. As modernisation expands on a global scale, the process of redefining crime, criminalisation, and victimisation also occurs on a global scale. In the modern societies of the West, the advance of modern law and justice and the progress of the notions of human rights have expanded the boundaries of freedom. They have also expanded the boundaries of criminalisation in a number of social, cultural, political, and economic domains. One of the major areas of criminalisation that has rapidly expanded with modernisation and globalisation, particularly in the West, is domestic violence. During the last 30 years, a series of laws have evolved in these societies that criminalise a wide variety of behaviours related to domestic violence. A comparative study of legislative developments on domestic violence in the United States, Brazil, India, Japan, Bangladesh, and Ghana suggests that, in each, a relatively homogenous set of laws against domestic violence has evolved.     

Prosecutorial discretion for domestic violence cases: an examination of the effects of offender race,ethnicity, gender,and age

Much of the existing literature on courts and sentencing has focused on judicial decision-making. Prior research on prosecutorial decision-making is more limited, with even less attention paid to the prosecution of domestic violence cases. The research that has been conducted has produced inconsistent results regarding the effects of legal and extralegal variables. The current study focuses on the effects of extralegal suspect characteristics on the decision to dismiss domestic violence cases in a large Midwestern county from June 2009 to December 2009. The findings demonstrate that gender and race have a strong influence on prosecutors’ decisions to dismiss charges in domestic violence cases. Contrary to the focal concerns perspective, however, the results indicate that males and Black and Hispanic offenders are more likely to have their cases dismissed. Implications for future research are discussed.     

WTO贸易报复机制的实施——以利益集团理论为视角

WTO争端解决机制中的贸易报复机制是WTO最具特色、最具创造性的部分,该机制以法律手段保障裁决或建议的执行,其主要目的是"促使违反义务的成员方遵守WTO义务",国内利益集团有动力促成这一目标的实现。国内利益集团通过向政府或政府机构提出他们的利益要求从而影响国家贸易政策的制定;通过对政府施加政治压力从而达到实施报复措施的目的,进而促成败诉方尽快全面地履行WTO争端解决机构的裁决,纠正或取消其违规措施以符合WTO的规定。     

中国参与建立的区域贸易争端解决机制

RTA争端解决机制是RTA中的重要内容。本文从东盟自由贸易区(AFTA)等实例出发考察了RTA争端解决机制对RTA运行的影响,并对CEPA以及我国对外签署的两个自由贸易区,中国-东盟自由贸易区(CAFTA)和中国-智利自由贸易区(中智FTA)的争端解决机制,作了分析。RTA争端解决机制是保障RTA正常运行的核心,作为一种新型的RTA,CEPA应当构建正式的争端解决机制。CAFTA以及中智FTA的争端机制基本上顺应了世界RTA发展潮流,但也应当在实施过程中进行进一步的完善。     

A history of the use of the concept of parental alienation in the Australian family law system: contradictions,collisions and their consequences

ABSTRACT

This paper presents insights into the history and current deployment of the concept of parental alienation in the Australian family law system. It begins in 1989, when an article on parental alienation syndrome was first published in an Australian law journal. It then traces aspects of the socio-legal and social science research, gender politics, law reform and jurisprudence of the following 30 years, paying attention to moments of significant change. The impacts of major amendments that emphasise the desirability of post-separation shared parenting outcomes in 1996 and 2006 are specifically considered. More recently, in 2012, reforms intended to improve the family law system’s response to domestic and family violence were introduced. The history reveals an irreconcilable tension between the ‘benefit’ of ‘meaningful’ post-separation parent-child relationships and the protection of children from harm. When mothers’ allegations of violence in the family are disbelieved, minimised or dismissed, they are transformed from victims of abuse into perpetrators of abuse – alienators of children from their fathers. Their actions and attitudes collide with the shared parenting philosophy. This is arguably an inescapable consequence of a family law system that struggles to deal effectively with family violence in the context of a strong shared parenting regime.     

从理念转变到多元协作——略论美国家事纠纷解决机制新发展

在过去的二十年间,美国家事纠纷解决机制经历了理念与制度上的转变,主要体现在对对抗制诉讼程序的反思、对家事纠纷自身属性的深刻理解和对家事纠纷解决机制目的的重新认识三个方面,并在此基础之上产生出一系列新的制度和程序,从而体现出法院与其他社会组织协同合作,共同解决家事纠纷的新趋势。而这种转变也为我国家事纠纷解决机制的完善提供了新的思路。     

Barriers to safety* for victims of domestic homicide

ABSTRACT

Research on domestic homicide has focused on risk factors presented by perpetrators such as prior violence, threats to kill, stalking, access to weapons, mental health concerns, controlling behaviour and separation. However, there has been less focus on the barriers that victims face regarding finding support, increasing personal safety and decreasing violence and risk of homicide. The present study explored 20 potential barriers that female domestic homicide victims faced using 183 cases occurring between 2002 and 2012 from the Ontario (Canada) Domestic Violence Death Review Committee to examine the presence and frequency of these barriers within the sample. Using two-step cluster analysis, different profiles of barriers were identified that centred on victims’ fear, social isolation and mental health. The study is limited in being a post hoc analysis of homicides and no causal links can be made. The implications of this finding are discussed in the context of risk assessment, risk management and safety planning.     

Domestic violence: A national study of the nature, size and effects of domestic violence in the Netherlands

This article reports on a large-scale nation-wide study conducted by Intomart among 1,000 randomly selected Dutch adults (male and female) about their experiences with domestic violence. An important goal of the survey was to generate general information on domestic violence. It turns out that nearly half of the Dutch population (45%) has at one time been a victim of some form of non-incidental domestic violence. It was also demonstrated that both men and women become victims of domestic violence, and the high percentages of victimization during childhood are particularly striking. Furthermore, it turned out that domestic violence often involves a combination of physical, mental and sexual forms of violence.