NCJ Number
218934
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 237-246
Date Published
May 2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study measured the following variables for rural White (n=371), urban White (n=254), and urban African-American (n=103) women with protective orders against intimate partners: relationship characteristics, victimization experiences, protective order stipulations and violations, and self-reported effectiveness of the orders.
Abstract
The study found that regardless of the race or residential environment of the women, they reported experiencing high rates of physical and psychological violence from their partners. Although the majority of the women reported that the protective order was effective in keeping the abusive partner away from them, almost one in four of the women reported that her partner had violated the order even though it had only been in effect an average of 5 weeks. Compared to the urban women, the rural White women reported longer involvement in the violent relationship, worse economic circumstances, more victimization, more protective order stipulations, and feeling less safe. The urban White women and the urban African-American women reported similar information on their abusive relationship, socioeconomic characteristics, and perceptions of protective-order effectiveness. Researchers obtained permission from four court jurisdictions (three rural and one urban) to recruit female petitioners for the study after they had been granted protective orders. To be eligible for the study, the women were required to be 18 years old or emancipated and have obtained a protective order (domestic violence order) against a male intimate partner within 6 months of entering the study. Psychological and physical abuse were measured with a combination of instruments. Participants' responses to an open-ended question about the effectiveness of the protective order were categorized and independently coded by two researchers. 6 tables and 33 references