NCJ Number
112785
Date Published
1988
Length
187 pages
Annotation
Personal accounts from battered women coupled with testimony from scholars and legal experts focus on the severity of the family violence problem in the United States and legal remedies to protect its victims.
Abstract
The injurious effects of spouse abuse on an entire family and the law's failure to redress marital violence are demonstrated through victims' testimony. The Kings County, New York District Attorney describes her office's pilot programs in this area. Other witnesses discuss pornography as one factor in violence against women, problems in protection order statutes, special training for criminal justice personnel, and the need for victim services. A panel composed of a psychologist, the director of the Domestic Violence Institute, and a former police officer explores reasons why battered women kill their victimizers and new laws relating to joint child custody and visitation that place battered women in jeopardy. The attitude of police officers toward victims of sexual assault is also examined. Witnesses' statements and supporting materials are appended.