Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Protective orders: questions and conundrums
Other Titles:	Trauma, violence & abuse
Authors:	Walker, Robert Faragher, Teri Marie Logan, T K Shannon, Lisa
Keywords:	Statistics;Risk assessment;Criminal justice responses;Protection orders
Year:	2006
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Citation:	7 (3), July 2006
Notes:	General overview:This US article reviews research on protective orders to consider issues on their effectiveness to reduce the risk of harm from intimate partner violence, and suggests future research areas to improve public policy in the US. Objectives: There are 5 objectives for this literature review: 1. to give background information about partner violence and the need for protective orders; 2. to explain what protective orders are, how many women obtain them, and their advantages and disadvantages; 3. to look at the characteristics of women who seek protective orders; 4. to examine research on whether protective orders increase women’s safety; and 5. to identify gaps in the practice and research literature. Methods: Literature review is conducted to look at research studies published between 1990 and 2005. Discussion: Key points of the research review are summarised. Barriers exist at different points in the process of using the justice system for obtaining and enforcing protective orders and these barriers may change over time, across jurisdictions and at different stages. With regard to accessibility issues, eligibility criteria, bureaucracy and lack of response and or enforcement by criminal justice staff are discussed. When focusing on women’s perceptions of the acceptability of protective orders, fear of perpetrator retaliation, embarrassment, perceived lack of efficacy, lack of resources, and negative perceptions of the justice system are discussed. Victimisation history, help seeking among women with protective orders, comparisons of women who receive and who do not receive protective orders are looked at. The efficacy of protective orders is also examined. Results: It finds that protective orders give one mechanism for coping with partner violence but research suggests only a small proportion of women obtain orders and many of those that obtain orders also have experienced a long history of severe partner violence. It argues for a need to model positive protective order outcomes as many news stories only portray how orders have failed women and this could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy as women may be less inclined to obtain an order or call the police to report a violation of the order. Conclusions: Implications for practice, policy and research are made. These include: strong and consistent enforcement of protective orders by the criminal justice system should be in conjunction with risk assessment and safety planning; a more balanced perspective on protective order outcomes such as cases modelling positive outcomes to be promoted through the media; and identifying specific barriers for local officials to help women in need of protection from partner violence.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/16410
ISSN:	1524-8380
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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