Does Eligibility for Protection Orders Prevent Repeat Abuse of Domestic Abuse Victims in Caribbean States?

• NCJ Number: 227464
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 24 Issue: 6 Dated: August 2009 Pages: 377-387
• Author(s): Mary Spooner
• Date Published: August 2009
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study tested the hypothesis that eligibility for protection orders on Barbados, which became available under legislation in 1992, contributed to a significantly lower risk of repeat domestic abuse for Barbados women, compared to women on St. Kitts, where protection orders were not available.

Abstract

The overall findings of this study indicate that the issuing of protection orders to victims of domestic abuse has not resulted in a significant reduction in revictimization for Barbados women compared with St. Kitts women. Except for an apparently more speedy police response to domestic assault on Barbados, battered women in both countries encountered problems related to bias in the legal system and in their societies generally. Apparently, cultural attitudes toward domestic abuse and male-female interactions contribute to the risk for the domestic abuse of women in both societies. State response to domestic violence must address the inequity in gender relations that is pervasive in both jurisdictions. Official policies must eliminate the inequities in gender relations. This will involve society-wide education about the adverse effects of domestic abuse and the importance of eliminating gender-based violence. The effectiveness of protection orders might be increased by ongoing training of police officers, court clerks, health personnel, and other first responders. This study examined 761 reports of violence against women by their intimate partners on Barbados and St. Kitts. A total of 393 reports were collected from the 2 major police districts. Eligibility for a protection order was created as a dummy variable by combining a living-arrangement variable and a Barbados variable, which indicated whether women lived on Barbados; living arrangement indicated whether or not a couple lived together. Measured victim responses included seeking legal action against the offender without police assistance, and asking the police to warn the offender. 1 table and 43 references