While a small number of past studies have examined either situational, relational, or systems-level factors that influence battered women's use of either the police, prosecutorial, or court systems, no study to date has examined how these factors each influence women's intentions to reuse these systems. To address this gap, in-person interviews were conducted with 178 women whose assailants had been charged with a domestic violence-related crime against them. Survivors of intimate partner violence were asked about the violence itself, their relationship with the perpetrator (including financial dependence on him), community supports, their expectations, and desires regarding the criminal legal response, and their prior experiences with the police, prosecutors, legal advocates, and the courts. Regression analyses were conducted to examine women's intentions to reuse the criminal legal system in the event of future violence. Consistent with an ecological perspective on behavior (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979), the context of women's lives, the violence they had experienced, and their experiences with the police and the legal system all impacted their intentions. Specifically, women were more likely A R T I C L EThis project was supported by grant #98-WT-VX-0024 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Correspondence to: Ruth E. Fleury-Steiner, Department of Individual and Family Studies, University of Delaware, 116 Alison Hall West, Newark, DE 19716. E-mail: rfs@udel.edu to want further involvement with these systems if they were employed, felt supported by their communities, had received information about services from the police, had experienced case outcomes consistent with their desires, and had been treated well by the criminal legal system. Women were less inclined to intend to use the system in the future if they were legally or financially tied to their perpetrators, if they had been assaulted again before the court case was closed, if court proceedings had been cancelled at least once, and if they had been pressured rather than supported by the criminal legal system. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Each year, approximately 1.3 million women are battered by their intimate partners or ex-partners; nearly one in four women are abused by a partner during their lifetime (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). Research shows that police and court intervention, as part of a coordinated community response, can reduce reabuse in many cases (e.g., Murphy, Musser, & Maton, 1998;Steinman, 1990;Syers & Edleson, 1992). Yet, intimate partner abuse crimes are also underreported. In some of the earlier research on reporting, Walker (1979) reported that only 10% of her sample had called the police. Recent research suggests that currently less than half-perhaps far less than half-of domestic ...

This article explores the roles of social (informal) and institutional (formal) support in the lives of 158 women whose intimate partner abuse (IPA) cases reached the courts in three jurisdictions in the United States.Women were asked who knew about the IPA and their levels of supportiveness. Data analysis includes comparisons across the women in terms of social support and institutional support, and how these were related to the women’s demographic characteristics, whether they were still in a relationship with their abusers, the severity of the violence, and the women’s mental health.

Since the 1994 Violence Against Women Act was signed into law, women seeking safety from intimate partner violence have increasingly sought civil protection orders. Each year, approximately 1 million civil protection orders are issued in the United States. Research suggests that protection orders can help to reduce intimate partner abuse. Moreover, protection orders can offer a variety of reliefs to survivors, including stay away orders, division of property, and custody and visitation stipulations. However, little research has examined factors related to specific conditions of protection orders, particularly around visitation. Given that batterers often use children and visitation as a further tactic of power and control, it is important to reveal which variables are related to visitation decisions and conditions within protection orders. Structured observations of protection order hearings were conducted in family courts involving women seeking orders against male partners. Visitation arrangements determined by judicial officers in hearings tended to be informal; the court provided little support or information. Legal representation only mattered for offenders. Implications for judicial training and for systems advocacy will be discussed.

This article explores how the Internet is a tool for Black women to challenge violence against women of color. It highlights online protest in response to the actions of civil rights organizations' narrow focus on the treatment of Black male offenders while overlooking the civil rights of Black female victims. Specifically, the article examines a protest focusing on the reactions of racial justice leaders to a brutal gang rape in a Palm Beach housing project known as Dunbar Village. Drawing from the literature on collective action frames, this article illustrates how the Dunbar Village protest evolved from an online dialogue to social protest. a gang-style rape occurred in Dunbar Village, an impoverished, predominantly Black housing project in West Palm Beach, Florida. On this date, at least four 1 Black male assailants knocked on a Black Haitian woman's door stating that her car had a flat tire. Once outside, the woman and her young son were confronted at gun point. Forced back in their home, the woman was beaten, raped, sodomized, and forced to have oral sex with her son. Both of them were then tortured

Access to firearms increases the risk of a batterer killing his partner. Moreover, firearms may be more common in homes where intimate partner abuse has occurred. The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 banned possession of firearms by individuals subject to civil protection orders. Yet little research has focused on how this ban is communicated to survivors and batterers. Drawing on systematic observations of protection order hearings, the current study explores factors related to judicial discussion of the ban in court. Implications for improving protection orders and for increasing battered women's safety are discussed.