The Goals of IPV Survivors Receiving Orders of Protection

Abstract

Protection orders (POs) are a widely recommended and commonly used intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV), but evidence for their effectiveness is mixed. This mixed methods study used the framework of empowerment to explore the goals of petitioners who seek POs, and the extent to which one group of experts considers these goals to be a good fit with the court's intent. We collected data in three phases: (a) We conducted a qualitative study to generate a list of goals (n = 10); (b) we administered the list to a sample of IPV survivors (n = 157); and (c) we surveyed a group of attorneys (n = 10). Results showed that petitioners endorse many goals for seeking POs and that while their highest priority goals relate to safety, other nearly universally endorsed goals are more psychological in nature, such as moving on with one's life. Petitioners also use the orders to navigate complex relationships, helping themselves to set boundaries in addition to sending a clear message to respondents. Our group of lawyers viewed petitioners' highest priority goals as a relatively good fit with the system, but was fairly pessimistic about the likelihood of success. Petitioners' ratings of progress toward their goals, at the time of the PO hearing, differed markedly from lawyers' perceptions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Survivor-Centered Practice and Survivor Empowerment: Evidence From A Research–Practitioner Partnership

“…Until recently, there was no measure of survivor-defined practice to allow for the exploration of the approach's effectiveness directly. Instead, researchers have demonstrated the relationship between survivors' sense of voice in and control over IPV interventions and survivors' satisfaction with and likelihood of using those services in the future in contexts ranging from police interactions (Cattaneo, 2010) to civil protection order cases (Cattaneo et al, 2016), criminal processes (Hotaling & Buzawa, 2003), and victim services more broadly (Zweig & Burt, 2007). This sense of being heard and having control in the process of seeking help predicts not only survivor satisfaction with services in cross-sectional research, in which survivors report on their feelings retrospectively, but it also predicts outcomes of interest in longitudinal work.…”

El Quebrantamiento de las Órdenes de Protección en Violencia de Género: Análisis de los Indicadores de Riesgo mediante el Formulario VPR4.0

“…Con el fin de no minimizar ningún tipo de vulneración de OP, en el presente estudio se considera el quebrantamiento como tal en cualquiera de sus formas (violento o no violento). De esta forma, atendiendo las consecuencias emocionales que pueden derivar de cualquier tipo de vulneración (Hotaling y Buzawa, 2003) se tiene presente que la víctima, mediante la solicitud de una medida de protección, no solo busca el cese de la violencia sino también la sensación de seguridad que esta proporciona (Cattaneo et al, 2015;.…”

“…En España no se conocen datos empíricos sobre prevalencia del quebrantamiento de OP en casos de violencia de género. Asimismo, las investigaciones internacionales ofrecen resultados contradictorios (Cattaneo, Grossmann y Chapman, 2015), con difícil generalización y falta de grupos de comparación (McFarlane et al, 2004). El metaanáli-sis realizado por Spitzberg (2002) obtuvo un 40% de quebrantamiento, resultados congruentes con el metaanálisis de Russell (2012).…”

“…Los estudios internacionales muestran importantes diferencias en sus conclusiones. Así, diversas investigaciones afirmaron que son un medio suficientemente efectivo (Cattaneo et al, 2015;Logan y Walker, 2009), atendiendo la disminución significativa de violencia (Carlson et al, 1999;Holt, Kernic, Wolf y Rivara, 2003;Moracco et al, 2010), la asociación con la reducción de intervenciones policiales y visitas a urgencias médicas (Kothari et al, 2012) y la percepción favorable de utilidad por parte de las víctimas (Kothari et al, 2012;Logan et al, 2008;Logan y Walker, 2009. Sin embargo, otros estudios concluyeron que las OP ofrecen una seguridad limitada a las víctimas dado el elevado incumplimiento de los agresores (López-Ossorio, González-Álvarez, Buquerín, García y Buela-Casal, 2017; Richards, Jennings, Tomsich y Gover, 2014).…”

Responding to Intimate Partner Violence: Urban Women’s Decisions About Getting Personal Protection Orders When Other Resources are Scarce

“…Logan et al (2008) report that having a PO increased victims’ sense of well-being. Russell (2012) and others find that seeking a PO can be an empowering step for abused women (Cattaneo, Grossmann, & Chapman, 2016).…”