A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Themes of Love in Victims’ Dismissals of Civil Protection Orders

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110453
Author(s):  
Anne Groggel
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Romantic Love ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Civil Protection ◽  
Legal Intervention ◽  
Protection Orders ◽  
Protection Order

Domestic violence protective orders are the most widely used intimate partner violence-related legal intervention in the United States, yet many victims later ask to have these orders dismissed. This article uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the conditions that help explain why victims of intimate partner violence dismiss their protection orders. Quantitative findings from 841 civil protection order cases show that victims who need protection the most are the most likely to seek dismissals. Victims who experienced recent or physical abuse were significantly more likely to dismiss their protection orders. Qualitative findings from 200 dismissal requests reveal that victims reference common themes of loving the abuser, that the abuser is a good parent, that the abuser is seeking treatment, or that they desire to save the relationship. Victims draw from broad romantic rationalizations when describing their decision to drop a protection order from the court. Building upon insights from constructs of romantic love, this study highlights how the rationalizations victims invoke in their dismissal requests are also associated with their experiences of abuse. A mixed methodological approach reveals a significant contrast between the language in victims’ petitions and their dismissal requests. Victims voiced fear and violence in their petitions for protection orders, then employed meanings of romantic love, reconciliation, and change when requesting that these temporary protection orders be dropped. This contrast reflects the cyclical nature of abuse and suggests that greater attention must be paid to ensuring court officials have a strong understanding of the complexities of victim attrition.

‘Not bullet proof’: The complex choice not to seek a civil protection order for intimate partner violence

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-195
Author(s):  
Jill Theresa Messing ◽  
Meredith E Bagwell-Gray ◽  
Allison Ward-Lasher ◽  
Alesha Durfee
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
System Resource ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Protection Order

Protection orders (POs) are one legal system resource available to survivors of intimate partner violence. Many survivors choose not to obtain a PO, yet prior research has not examined the perspectives of these survivors. This study examined the open-ended survey responses ( n = 308) regarding the choice not to obtain a PO by survivors residing in emergency shelters in the United States. Content analysis indicated that many survivors made deliberate decisions to not seek safety through this venue. Survivors indicated that a PO may increase their partner’s violence, identified substantial barriers, evaluated a PO as unnecessary, preferred alternative strategies, were dealing with complex partner dynamics, and chose to protect their loved ones by not seeking a PO. Women with marginalized identities, in particular, indicated that there are multiple costs to seeking interventions within the legal system. Structural changes are needed within the legal system to facilitate access to justice for survivors.

Gender, Protection Orders, and Intimate Partner Violence in Later Life: A Study of Protective Order Filings in Arizona

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alesha Durfee ◽  
Leigh Goodmark
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Protective Order ◽  
Protection Orders ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
Protection Order

Most analyses of domestic violence and older adults focus on abuse by children and non-intimate caregivers. However, a significant percentage of elder abuse is perpetrated by an intimate partner. This article addresses a gap in the current literature on elder abuse by addressing how older survivors of intimate partner violence use the legal system as a tool to achieve safety by filing for a civil protection order. We critically examine 607 Arizona protection order filings in 2015, comparing those petitions filed by adults 50 and older ( n = 83) with those younger than 50 ( n = 524). We find significant differences in the forms of violence described in the protection order petition, as well as the types of relationships between the petitioner and respondent, the likelihood that an order will be issued, and the provisions requested and granted. Most importantly, gender is a critical component of our analysis—older petitioners are far more likely to be men than younger petitioners, and both petitions and outcomes are very different for older men than for older women. These results are then discussed in the context of the dynamics of older relationships, current firearm laws, and the barriers older adults face when attempting to use resources intended to help survivors achieve safety.

Family and Community Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence: Restorative Programs in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 107780122094503
Author(s):  
Joan Pennell ◽  
Gale Burford ◽  
Erika Sasson ◽  
Hillary Packer ◽  
Emily L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Community Networks ◽  
National Study ◽  
Legal Intervention ◽  
Family Separation

Now is the time to rethink reliance on legal intervention to end intimate partner violence (IPV). Arrest, incarceration, and family separation have fallen disproportionately on people who are Black or Brown, impoverished, or immigrant, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ). Restorative approaches bring together the persons harmed, persons causing harm, their family or community networks, or combinations of these stakeholders. Based on a U.S. national study, this article examines: What influences programs to adopt a restorative approach to ending IPV? How do programs safeguard their original vision for social change? What principles guide the programs in carrying out their work in safe and productive ways?

Men Who Seek Protection Orders Against Female Intimate Partners

Partner Abuse ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Mele ◽  
James C. Roberts ◽  
Loreen Wolfer
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intimate Partners ◽  
Protection Orders ◽  
Custody Of Children ◽  
Protection Order

Whereas intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrated by men against women has been studied at length, relatively little attention has been given to violence perpetrated by women against their male intimate partners. This study represents one of relatively few attempts to better understand the experiences of male IPV victims. Specifically, this study explored the characteristics of men who obtain and withdraw a protection order against a female intimate partner, in comparison to those men who obtain and do not withdraw the order. We also looked at the reasons men cite for obtaining and withdrawing a protection order and the types of relief granted by the court. Findings from this study revealed that men who requested protection from abuse (PFA) against female intimate partners experienced a pattern of victimization prior to their requests for protection, including physical, psychological, or emotional abuse. Although, each of these men sought and was granted a “no abuse, stalk, or threaten” order, few of them were able to obtain temporary custody of children they had in common with the defendant, nor were they successful in getting defendants evicted from the home or getting the court to order defendants to relinquish their firearms. A comparison of men who withdrew their PFAs to those who did not withdraw them suggested that men who did not withdraw their PFAs perceived their abusive situations as being more serious. Implications for future research are discussed.

Effects of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrator and Victim Race on Protective Order Determinations

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110281
Author(s):  
Alexandria P. Winstead ◽  
Margaret C. Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Racial Minority ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Protective Order ◽  
Protective Orders ◽  
Protection Order

The legal granting of temporary and permanent protective orders prohibits a perpetrator from engaging in contact with the victim. Although protective orders reduce risk of re-abuse, very little research has explored factors that predict the likelihood that a victim is granted a protective order. Thus, we conducted an archival analysis on data previously collected from a Protection Order Assistance Office in a midwestern region of the United States, testing the influence of victim and perpetrator race on protective order allocations. Specifically, we coded data gathered from 490 petitioners (i.e., victims) seeking a protective order against a perpetrator of intimate partner violence, stalking, or sexual offending. Analyses revealed that racial minority victims were significantly less likely to receive a temporary protective order compared to White victims – effects that were exacerbated when the perpetrator was White (versus racial minority). These results are in line with existing research and theory regarding aversive racism. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed.

scholarly journals Variation in State Laws on Access to Civil Protection Orders for Adolescents Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-615
Author(s):  
Avanti Adhia ◽  
Jaron Goddard ◽  
Mary A. Kernic ◽  
Mary D. Fan ◽  
Monica S. Vavilala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Civil Protection ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Protection Orders ◽  
Civil Protection Orders

Guns, Alcohol, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Epidemiology of Female Suicide in New Mexico

Crisis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenora Olson ◽  
Frank Huyler ◽  
Arthur W Lynch ◽  
Lynne Fullerton ◽  
Deborah Werenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
American Indians ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Injury Death ◽  
Female Suicide ◽  
Blood Alcohol Levels ◽  
Associated Risk Factors

Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the United States, and in women the second leading cause of injury death overall. Previous studies have suggested links between intimate partner violence and suicide in women. We examined female suicide deaths to identify and describe associated risk factors. We reviewed all reports from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator for female suicide deaths occurring in New Mexico from 1990 to 1994. Information abstracted included demographics, mechanism of death, presence of alcohol/drugs, clinical depression, intimate partner violence, health problems, and other variables. Annual rates were calculated based on the 1990 census. The New Mexico female suicide death rate was 8.2/100,000 persons per year (n = 313), nearly twice the U. S. rate of 4.5/100,000. Non-Hispanic whites were overrepresented compared to Hispanics and American Indians. Decedents ranged in age from 14 to 93 years (median = 43 years). Firearms accounted for 45.7% of the suicide deaths, followed by ingested poisons (29.1%), hanging (10.5%), other (7.7%), and inhaled poisons (7.0%). Intimate partner violence was documented in 5.1% of female suicide deaths; in an additional 22.1% of cases, a male intimate partner fought with or separated from the decedent immediately preceding the suicide. Nearly two-thirds (65.5%) of the decedents had alcohol or drugs present in their blood at autopsy. Among decedents who had alcohol present (34.5%), blood alcohol levels were far higher among American Indians compared to Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites (p = .01). Interpersonal conflict was documented in over 25% of cases, indicating that studies of the mortality of intimate partner violence should include victims of both suicide and homicide deaths to fully characterize the mortality patterns of intimate partner violence.

Abusive Men's Use of Children to Control Their Partners and Ex-Partners

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa L. Beeble ◽  
Deborah Bybee ◽  
Cris M. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
The Relationship

While research has found that millions of children in the United States are exposed to their mothers being battered, and that many are themselves abused as well, little is known about the ways in which children are used by abusers to manipulate or harm their mothers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that perpetrators use children in a variety of ways to control and harm women; however, no studies to date have empirically examined the extent of this occurring. Therefore, the current study examined the extent to which survivors of abuse experienced this, as well as the conditions under which it occurred. Interviews were conducted with 156 women who had experienced recent intimate partner violence. Each of these women had at least one child between the ages of 5 and 12. Most women (88%) reported that their assailants had used their children against them in varying ways. Multiple variables were found to be related to this occurring, including the relationship between the assailant and the children, the extent of physical and emotional abuse used by the abuser against the woman, and the assailant's court-ordered visitation status. Findings point toward the complex situational conditions by which assailants use the children of their partners or ex-partners to continue the abuse, and the need for a great deal more research in this area.

Criminal Protection Orders Among Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: Women’s Experiences of Court Decisions, Processes, and Their Willingness to Engage With the System in the Future

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110219
Author(s):  
Samantha C. Holmes ◽  
Christopher D. Maxwell ◽  
Lauren B. Cattaneo ◽  
Barbara A. Bellucci ◽  
Tami P. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Protection Orders ◽  
The Future ◽  
Criminal Protection ◽  
Willingness To Use

Consistent with a therapeutic jurisprudence framework, court decisions and processes can have a therapeutic or antitherapeutic effect on intimate partner violence (IPV) victims. To maximize therapeutic effects, IPV scholars have advocated for survivor-defined practices that emphasize the importance of engaging with victims in a collaborative manner that promotes autonomy, choice, and control. However, limited research exists in the context of criminal protection orders (POs). The current study addressed this gap by assessing whether criminal PO match (whether victims received the level PO they requested [i.e., PO match] or not [i.e., PO mismatch]) and victims’ subjective experiences of the court process were associated with their willingness to use the system in the future to address IPV. In a sample of 187 women whose partners were arrested for IPV, experiencing the court processes as positive (β = .36, p = .001) and court-related fear (β = .41, p < .001) were positively associated with willingness to use the system in the future. Additionally, PO match moderated the association between subjective court experiences and willingness to use the system in the future. Experiencing the court processes as negative ( b = .33, p = .005) and validating ( b = –.36, p = .001) was associated with willingness to use the system in the future only for participants who did not receive the PO level they requested. While experiencing the court as positive ( b = –.40, p ≤ .001) was associated with willingness to use the system regardless of PO match, it was most strongly associated for participants who did not receive the PO level they requested. Results suggest the importance of ascertaining strategies to improve victims’ experiences with the court, especially when victims’ requests are not met, to increase future engagement with the system.

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