DIVORCE AND THE FAMILY COURT: WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?

Approximately 50% of couples who have separated report being victims of violence and/or emotional abuse by their former intimate partners. Family courts can make an important contribution toward reducing the number of intimate partners who report being victims of domestic violence and abuse during and following their participation in divorce proceedings in three ways. First, increase opportunities for participation in nonadversarial procedures. Second, implement mandatory assessment/screening for domestic violence using field‐tested instruments that link subscores on sets of items (e.g., control motivated violence, conflict instigated violence/abuse, substance abuse associated violence/abuse) with appropriate community‐based treatments and/or resources. Third, educate family court judges, lawyers, mediators, and other court personnel in the dynamics of domestic violence generally, as well as the dynamics associated with separation/divorce.     

Victims' perceptions of police response to domestic violence incidents

This study examined the nature of police response to domestic violence incidents with a focus on the identification of areas of police intervention that female victims of domestic abuse find “most” helpful and “least” helpful. The first part of the study was based on the analysis of a random sample of incident reports of domestic abuse cases recorded in 2000 and 2001. These reports were examined to obtain information about the characteristics of domestic abuse victims and summary information about the incidents of domestic abuse offenses. The second stage of the research study involved a telephone survey conducted with a random sample of fifty female domestic abuse victims who called the police. The study examined female victims' perceptions of how the police responded to the domestic abuse incidents, how helpful or not so helpful victims found the police to be when they responded to their calls, and how their cases were handled by the legal system.     

A genealogy of hostility: parental alienation in England and Wales

ABSTRACT

This article explores the emergence and development of parental alienation (PA) in England and Wales. It considers the background into which PA first appeared in private law proceedings concerning children in England and Wales, and examines how it progressed in the case law through the changing political and discursive context of private family law from 2000 to the end of March 2019. A clear pattern emerged of, initially, parental alienation syndrome and subsequently PA being raised in family proceedings and in political and popular arenas in response to concerns about and measures to address domestic abuse. The case law revealed a high incidence of domestic abuse perpetrated by parents (principally fathers) who were claiming that the resident parents (principally mothers) had alienated the children against them, which raises questions about the purpose of PA. More recently, a PA ‘industry’ appears to have amassed comprising experts, therapists and lawyers, advocating transfers of children’s care from ‘alienating’ mothers to non-resident fathers, as well as PA therapy for children and parents. While PA has had a chequered history and is not without its critics, it has become part of the discursive repertoire of current family law, with increasingly harsh consequences for women and children.     

CYBER‐ABUSE—A NEW WORLDWIDE THREAT TO CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

Cyberspace is a new frontier for both international and domestic family law. On the one hand, it presents great opportunities for society and, on the other, great dangers particularly for children. This paper explores a number of issues from a domestic and international family law perspective. These issues include:

• ? What is cyberspace, how has it emerged, and where is it likely to go?
• ? What are the potential dangers for children that arise from children's engagement with cyberspace?
• ? What is the nature and extent of domestic and international family laws that protect children from the dangers of cyberspace?
• ? What are some of the present and emerging policy issues that impact on these matters?

Cyber‐abuse is a term that encompasses a wide range of aggressive online activities.     

Predictive Models of Domestic Violence and Fear of Intimate Partners Among Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Women

Despite a growing body of knowledge concerning family abuse, there is little research focusing on domestic violence in rural settings. Likewise, there is a paucity of research on family abuse among low-income and racial/ethnic minorities who reside in rural areas. This study examined the prevalence of domestic abuse experienced by low-income, predominantly Latina farm worker women. Using logistic regression analysis, we analyzed factors that predict victimization and the influence of those factors on women's fear of their intimate partners. Survey data were collected from 1001 adult female patients of 11 migrant farm worker health care clinics in nine states. Among the study participants, 19% had been physically or sexually abused by a husband, boyfriend, or companion. The strongest predictors of domestic abuse were drug/alcohol use by the respondent's partner, pregnancy, and migrant status. The factors that most influenced respondents' fear of their intimate partners were abuse and frequency of abuse. The article concludes by discussing implications of the study for domestic violence intervention, treatment, and research in rural settings.     

Is Domestic Violence Learned? The Contribution of Five Forms of Child Maltreatment to Men's Violence and Adjustment

On the basis of a learning-theory approach to the intergenerational transmission of violence, researchers have focused almost exclusively on violent men's childhood experiences of physical abuse and witnessing family violence. Little consideration has been given to the coexistence of other forms of child maltreatment or the role of family dysfunction in contributing to violence. This study shows the relationships between the level of child maltreatment (physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and witnessing family violence), childhood family characteristics, current alcohol abuse, trauma symptomatology, and the level of physical and psychological spouse abuse perpetrated by 36 men with a history of perpetrating domestic violence who had attended counseling. As hypothesized, a high degree of overlap between risk factors was found. Child maltreatment, low family cohesion and adaptability, and alcohol abuse was significantly associated with frequency of physical spouse abuse and trauma symptomatology scores, but not psychological spouse abuse. Rather than physical abuse or witnessing family violence, childhood neglect uniquely predicted the level of physical spouse abuse. Witnessing family violence (but not physical abuse) was found to have a unique association with psychological spouse abuse and trauma symptomatology. These results present a challenge to the understanding of domestic violence obtained from learning theory.     

Exploring the Stressors of Low-Income Women with Abusive Partners: Understanding Their Needs and Developing Effective Community Responses

This study examined how women's experiences of domestic violence may affect their level of stress, as measured by difficult life circumstances and stressful life events for 107 women living in poverty. Results indicated that women with abusive partners reported higher levels of stress than women who had not experienced abuse. Women's perceptions of how their experiences of domestic violence impacted their health and the type of events women perceived to be most stressful were also examined. Symptoms most frequently perceived to be a result of abusive experiences were heart pounding/racing, trembling hands, headaches, and sleep problems. Implications of the findings for research and community intervention are discussed, including the importance of providing not only crisis intervention services, but also the need to create and maintain long-term support and advocacy services for women who have experienced domestic violence.     

Victims With Voices: How Abused Women Conceptualize the Problem of Spousal Abuse and Implications for Intervention and Prevention

Working from the conceptualization of abused women as both victims of and experts on spousal abuse, this study compares how women who have been abused, and how men and women with either less direct or no experience with spousal abuse, understand the problem and their beliefs about how it should be addressed. Results of a telephone survey of Philadelphia adults (N = 1,850) indicate that although in many ways abused women's opinions regarding domestic violence do not differ from those of nonabused women, abused women are more likely to believe that society gives tacit consent to abusive behavior through its silence and that talking openly about the problem will make it easier to solve. These findings suggest that initiatives aimed at changing the social norm around domestic violence may assist in both intervention and prevention efforts.     

STRICTLY LIABLE: GOVERNMENTAL USE OF THE PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIP AS A BASIS FOR HOLDING VICTIMS LIABLE FOR THEIR CHILD'S WITNESS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Studies estimate that between three and ten million children in the United States witness domestic violence annually. Although studies have demonstrated a co‐occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse, there is no concrete evidence to support the assumption that a child's exposure to domestic violence increases the risk to the child of abuse or neglect. Recently the New York State Court of Appeals determined that a child's witness to abuse does not suffice, in and of itself, to show that removal of the child is necessary or that removal is in the “best interests” of the child. Programs which have developed alternatives to presumptive removal understand the importance of viewing the interests of the battered parent and children as being in accord with each other rather than in opposition. Private and government sponsored programs have demonstrated some success in protecting the parent‐child relationship, ensuring the safety of both parent and child, and increasing accountability of batterers while reducing the necessity for removals. Alternative programs are less costly to the state than foster care, and emotionally less costly to the families.     

Quarantine in times of emergency: the scope of s 51(ix) of the Constitution

This article explores the scope of s 51(ix) of the Constitution, the power of the Commonwealth to make laws with respect to "quarantine". While this power has sustained the Quarantine Act without a challenge since 1908, it may be that future national public health emergencies, such as epidemics or bioterrorism, will (as has happened in other countries) demand a level of federal preparedness that requires augmented public health powers at a national level. If so, will the scope of the quarantine power, as determined by the High Court, be wide enough allow the Commonwealth to implement these powers? While there is some advantage in a national approach, there is also some authority suggesting that the quarantine power could not extend to domestic public health controls. If there is uncertainty about the scope of the power, what are the options? Should there be another approach, with the States, Territories and the Commonwealth moving towards uniform legislation and co-operative arrangements?     

PROTECTING CHILDREN WHO WITNESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

This article argues that the Nicholson v. Williams case was decided wrongly because it does not adequately protect the interests and welfare of children who witness domestic violence. It contends that the legal system must do more to ensure the well-being of children who witness domestic violence before permitting them to remain in the custody of their mothers who were living in violent relationships. The article does not support the notion that victims of domestic violence should be prosecuted for failure to protect or child abuse but argues that evidence reveals how detrimental witnessing domestic violence is on a child and that this necessitates the need for stricter measures to be taken to protect children from this danger.     

QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY COURT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT

Increasingly, family courts are seeking ways to focus limited resources on cases that require the most intervention, tailor court responses and dispute methods to each case, and account for the real differences among domestic violence cases. One of the means to that end may be the triaging or screening of cases. This article raises a number of questions about screening and urges that they be addressed by courts and communities that are considering whether and how to design a screening protocol. Issues include: How should we define domestic violence for the purposes of screening? Who should carry out the screening? How can we maximize the likelihood that we will fully assess the context of the violence in each case? How should we assess the risks or dangers inherent in the parties’ situation? How should a screening effort account for changing circumstances as a case proceeds through the courts? How can information gathered in a screening effort improperly impact subsequent decisions of the court?     

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Domestic Violence on Young Children's Intellectual Functioning

This study examined the direct and indirect effects of domestic violence on preschoolers' intellectual functioning. The sample consisted of 100 women and their 3–5-year-old children (44 boys and 56 girls) recruited from the general community. Forty-three percent of mothers had experienced domestic violence within the last year, defined by at least one physically aggressive act by an intimate partner. Children who had witnessed domestic violence had significantly poorer verbal abilities than nonwitnesses after controlling for SES and child abuse, but there were no group differences on visual–spatial abilities. Domestic violence also indirectly affected both types of intellectual abilities through its impact on maternal depression and the intellectual quality of the home environment. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed, as well as the implications for interventions for young child witnesses.     

MANDATED CUSTODY EVALUATIONS AND THE LIMITS OF JUDICIAL POWER

Kelly and Ramsey are clearly correct that a shift from a “how to” approach to custody evaluations to one that asks the more fundamental question “why” is long overdue. However, in addition to assessing the efficacy of custody evaluations (which Kelly and Ramsey propose), the legal system must also clarify the justification for imposing this extensive—and often expensive—intrusion into the privacy of parents. Three possible justifications for these intrusions are examined in this article: privilege, harm, and voluntariness. Is divorce a privilege, rather than a right, and can qualifications (including intrusive and expensive ones) be attached to requesting that privilege? Are custody evaluations instead justified as a means of avoiding harm to children? If a harm justification is asserted, exactly what harm do evaluations prevent, and how do they accomplish this harm avoidance? Finally, given the high value placed on parental cooperation by the family courts, is it simply too perilous for a parent to oppose a custody evaluation if one is suggested, either by the other parent or by the court? If so, are consents to custody evaluations truly voluntary?     

THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AND THE NEED FOR ITS INCORPORATION INTO A BILL OF RIGHTS

In this article I discuss the failure of most democratic countries to accept or properly implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, despite, except in the case of the United States, having ratified it. I consider the domestic implementation of treaties. I discuss, from an Australian perspective, that country's failure to enact a Bill of Rights and argue that children in Australia have suffered as a result. I also discuss judicial approaches to international law and compare the situation in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand and suggest that even in those countries that do have a Bill of Rights, it is not oriented toward children and therefore does not properly recognize their rights.     

The Comparability of Male Violent Substance Abusers in Violence or Substance Abuse Treatment

The abuse of alcohol is strongly associated with violent behavior in general and domestic violence in particular. The present study examined the compara-bility of dual-problem (i.e., substance abuse and conjugal violence) men in substance abuse and violence treatment milieus. Thirty males in substance abuse treatment and 33 men in violence treatment were identified as being dual-problematic and were administered the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) to assess psychosocial and substance abuse status, the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) for the frequency and type of abusive behavior, the Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90) for psychological distress, and the 16 Personality Factor (16PF) for personality attributes. When dual-problem men from each milieu were compared on these measures, men in the substance abuse-milieu reported not only significantly more severe substance abuse problems, but also more frequent partner sexual abuse. Few other differences emerged. Thus, while current referral procedures may be appropriate in identifying and directing more severe substance abuse problems to the appropriate treatment setting, violent men with difficulties comparable to those seen in violence treatment may also be found in substance abuse treatment. These findings emphasize the need for: (1) routine objective screening for family violence and substance abuse in these two treatment milieus; (2) informed and up-to-date staff in both settings who are sufficiently prepared for the therapeutic challenges such men may present, and (3) more study of how treatment for dual-problem men may be coordinated by the violence and substance abuse treatment communities to optimize their outcome.     

Humiliation,Manipulation, and Control: Evidence of Centrality in Domestic Violence Against an Adult Partner

This paper describes two related studies. Study 1 is a literature review of existing adult partner domestic violence assessment scales. Results of the review revealed that the scales varied on the available amount of empirical evidence for validity and reliability. More importantly, results showed that the content of the scales focused most heavily on the physical abuse aspects of domestic violence. Study 2 is a factor analysis performed on the results of 64 items taken from the Artemis Intake Questionnaire, a clinically relevant tool constructed by treatment providers used in working with the victims of domestic violence. Results indicate that reported humiliation and blame of the victim accounted for the largest amount of variance, followed by controlling the victim, and then physical violence. Results of this factor analysis suggest that greater emphasis must be put on factors other than physical violence in the construction of future domestic violence scales.     

Coping Among Adult Female Victims of Domestic Violence

This paper examines the current literature regarding coping among battered women. It considers a number of contextual factors that are related to women's choices in coping with partner abuse, including factors related to the relationship (e.g., frequency and severity of abuse, length of relationship) and women's resources (e.g., social support, financial resources). Relationships between different forms of coping and psychological outcomes are also examined. As the research in domestic violence coping is somewhat lacking in coherence, theories, and models from the broader coping literature are used to organize the findings from the domestic violence field. Methodological concerns, such as research methods, measurement issues, and sampling, are raised throughout the paper. Suggestions for future research are made.     

The relationship between domestic violence and animal abuse: an Australian study

Several North American studies have found a connection between domestic violence and animal abuse. This article reports on the first Australian research to examine this connection. A group of 102 women recruited through 24 domestic violence services in the state of Victoria and a nondomestic violence comparison group (102 women) recruited from the community took part in the study. Significantly higher rates of partner pet abuse, partner threats of pet abuse, and pet abuse by other family members were found in the violent families compared with the nondomestic violence group. As hypothesized, children from the violent families were reported by their mothers to have witnessed and committed significantly more animal abuse than children from the nonviolent families. Logistic regression analyses revealed, for the group as a whole, that a woman whose partner had threatened the pets was 5 times more likely to belong to the intimate partner violence group.     

Comparing Women and Men Arrested for Domestic Violence: A Preliminary Report

This study uses criminal justice data to compare women and men arrested for domestic violence on their levels of violence, reported victimization, general criminality, and substance abuse. Participants were 45 women and 45 men convicted of domestic violence between 1996 and 1998. Results indicate that women were less likely than men to have a history of domestic violence offenses and nonviolent crimes. They were also more likely to report that they had been injured or victimized by their partner at the time of their arrest. However, in other ways, women and men were similar: they were equally likely to have used severe violence and inflicted severe injuries on their victims; to have previously committed violence against nonintimates; and to have been using drugs or alcohol at the time of their arrest. The implications for treatment for women arrested for domestic violence are discussed.