Domestic Violence: Books & Treatises

Over the last decade, police departments and state's attorney's offices across the country have adopted mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution policies to handle cases of intimate abuse. In addition to protecting victims from future violence, these policies are intended to change abusers by punishing them for their behavior. Emerging at a time when various dimensions of U.S. society are being 'governed through crime,' mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution have proven controversial. While critics charge that the policies disempower women by removing decision making from them and aggravate the negative consequences of criminal justice interventions in poor and minority com­munities, proponents maintain that the measures are needed to protect battered women and provide them the same legal protections afforded to other victims of violent crime. Somewhat overlooked in this debate has been how mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution affect abusers, a critical question for understanding the power of criminal punishment to combat intimate partner abuse. In Arresting Abuse, Keith Guzik answers this question. Drawing both from firsthand observations of a police department and a criminal court following mandatory pol­­icies and extensive interviews with 30 offenders arrested and prosecuted for domestic vio­lence, Arresting Abuse provides a critical assessment. While mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution allow the state to extend formal legal supervision over an increasing number of violent men and women, thus seemingly increasing its pow­er over them, offenders prove resistant to change. They see themselves as victims of injustice, continue to view their violence as justified, and devise new strategies to preserve their definition and enactment of self. The reasons for these outcomes rest in the nature of power itself--in the state tactics, structures of social inequality, and modes of individual agency through which mandatory arrest and no-drop pro­secution are realized. A key contribution to domestic violence literature as well as to socio-legal scholarship on the power of the law as a force for social change, Arresting Abuse argues that the promise for defeating intimate partner abuse lies in better matching the tactics of state power to the goals of victim empowerment and offender responsibility and to exercise such force through mechanisms that do not exacerbate social inequality.

This volume describes and reviews traditional, time-tested instruments as well as more contemporary assessment methods in the field of family violence. Here practitioners, researchers and programme evaluators should find a wealth of assessment information. Several dozen methods - namely instruments developed for and applied to assessment of violence, risk factors, its correlates and sequelae as it occurs in the family - are included in a reference format. It provides detailed information for each assessment, including development and description of the assessment, target population information, equipment needs, format of the assessment, administration and scoring guidelines, psychometric analysis, primary and related references and scale availability, as well as advantages, limitations and general recommendations for practitioners and researchers. Also included is a general overview of the field and matters pertaining to the assessment of family violence, as well as information on test construction and psychometrics.

Assessment of Partner Violence: A Handbook for Researchers and Practitioners provides a comprehensive review of assessment information spanning five decades of research and three types of assessment methods: interview, self-report measures, and analogue assessment/behaviour coding devices. This handbook offers detailed descriptions and critiques of several dozen instruments in an easy-to-read reference format. Researchers and Practitioners - this volume covers target population, equipment needs, format, administration and scoring guidelines, psychometric analysis, primary and related references, and scale availability as well as advantages, limitations, and general recommendations. psychometric concepts and research issues as well as practical clinical issues in the assessment of partner violence.

In the past forty years, the idea of home, which is central to how the law conceives of crime, punishment, and privacy, has changed radically. Legal scholar Jeannie Suk shows how the legitimate goal of legal feminists to protect women from domestic abuse has led to a new and unexpected set of legal practices. Suk examines case studies of major legal developments in contemporary American law pertaining to domestic violence, self-defense, privacy, sexual autonomy, and property in order to illuminate the changing relation between home and the law. She argues that the growing legal vision that has led to the breakdown of traditional boundaries between public and private space is resulting in a substantial reduction of autonomy and privacy for both women and men.

An examination of the path-breaking legal process that has brought the pervasiveness and severity of domestic violence to public attention in the USA, and has led the United States Congress, the Supreme Court, and the United Nations to address the problem.

Recent laws have given women much-needed rights in seeking protection from abusive men, but judges still hold the authority to issue restraining orders or send batterers to jail. While most studies on state intervention for victims have focused on the role of police, Battered Women in the Courtroom looks at the lives of abused women. This investigation of women, violence, and the courts centers on encounters between women and judges in restraining order hearings in Massachusetts, one of the first states to offer new civil and criminal options to victims of abusive behavior. It also examines the feminist political movements that gave rise to current state laws and considers the effects of men's violence on women's daily lives. James Ptacek questions whether judges still respond to abused women with indifference or impatience, as they have in the past, or whether they now treat battering as a serious crime. He looks at the types of violence that women report to the courts, analyzes how judges exercise their authority in restraining order hearings, examines how they perceive their role in negotiations with women, and studies their impact on women's efforts to escape the social entrapment of violence. The author also considers class and racial dimensions of the issue by drawing on cases from both white and African American communities. Ptacek exposes many of the myths and dilemmas about the abuse of women while addressing the political, institutional, and socio-psychological aspects of women's experiences with the courts. He offers crucial insights into the power of judges to encourage or discourage women from claiming their rights under the law.

This work is based on real-life cases from courts relating to how justice is applied to Black men and women. It illustrates how the law works differentially to fulfill the aims of the greater society as opposed to those it is purported to serve. The demographic features of race and class undermine the specified purposes of the law and interfere with its original functions when invoked to protect the African-American female. When directed at the African-American male, it serves a divisive function which further alienates him from both society and family.

Why are some families so violent and how does culture unwittingly sanction such behaviour? Roger J.R. Levesque brings his experience as both a lawyer and a psychologist to this analysis of the family. He sees the solution to family violence in the mandates of global human rights laws.

Domestic violence is encountered by disabled women more frequently than non-disabled women, yet disabled women are less likely to receive appropriate services, and there has been little research on their experiences and how this problem can be addressed.This book, drawing on the first UK national study of disabled women who have suffered domestic violence, highlights the experiences of these women, the nature of the violence perpetrated against them, and the seriousness and range of its impacts. The book draws attention to the gaps in services for disabled women and discusses how professional responses should be developed and improved, pointing to current examples of good practice. It includes first-hand accounts from disabled women and includes contributions from leading disabled women activists.This book will be important reading for students, practitioners, policymakers and academics in the fields of disability and domestic violence.

Enables you represent clients faced with any type of domestic violence and abuse problem, even if no personal injury action is considered. This title provides clear, concise discussions of the law of domestic torts in all 50 states. These discussions cover: Litigation approaches; Likely injury types and remedies; Sources of recovery for damages sustained by the family member; Psychological theories of abuse; Theories of liability; Defense options; Potentially liable third-party defendants; Insurance issues; Sexual abuse allegations during divorce proceedings; Child victim witnesses; and Various psychological profiles of perpetrators and victims. - See more at: http://www.lawbookexchange.com/pages/books/63759/family-law-series-thomson-west/domestic-torts-family-violence-conflict-and-sexual-abuse-rev-ed#sthash.UmUzmLAc.dpuf

Elizabeth Pleck'sDomestic Tyrannychronicles the rise and demise of legal, political, and medical campaigns against domestic violence from colonial times to the present. Based on in-depth research into court records, newspaper accounts, and autobiographies, this book argues that the single most consistent barrier to reform against domestic violence has been the Family Ideal--that is, ideas about family privacy, conjugal and parental rights, and family stability. This edition features a new introduction surveying the multinational and cultural themes now present in recent historical writing about family violence.

This is an honest and insightful discussion of domestic violence from the perspective of a police officer who has experienced it in his home and encountered it professionally.

It offers analysis of scientific and medical information, practical advice, proven tips, domestic violence caselaw and statutes, including: Criminal, Civil, Tort, Divorce, Child custody, Immigration, Civil rights, Equal protection

Although domestic violence is not new, it has only recently been recognized as a problem meriting public attention. Great strides have been made in some areas -- such as protection orders and shelter provision -- but the problem as a whole has proven extremely resistant to countermeasures. n Domestic Violence and the Politics of Privacy, Kristin A. Kelly argues that understanding this resistance requires recognizing the tension within liberalism between preserving the privacy of the family and protecting vulnerable individuals. Practical, real-world information gained from frontline workers underpins the author's suggestions for how to address this tension. Kelly builds upon interviews with more than forty individuals working directly on the problem of domestic violence. Her model is further formed by a critical analysis of the theoretical and legal frameworks used to understand and regulate the relationship between public and private. Book jacket.

An overview of domestic violence; Client counseling, intake and referral; An overview of civil protection orders; An overview of family law cases involving domestic violence; Pre-trial matters; Trying the case; Post-trial issues

Cosimo examines the effects of civil and criminal legal sanctions for domestic violence related offenses on recidivism and on whether the number of legal sanctions imposed by the courts influences non-recidivism status. With an overall recidivism rate of 30.3%, results show that the risk of recidivism is 45% lower for men who experienced two legal sanctions (arrest and probation) relative to men who experienced one legal sanction (civil protective order). Additionally, men with prior criminal court involvement for domestic violence offenses are more likely to recidivate. Rather than reducing opportunities to recidivate, incarceration for offenses committed during the follow-up period is a predictor of recidivism. It is possible that despite legal sanctions, some recidivists are actually emboldened and use whatever opportunities available to them to commit domestic violence.

Examines the psychological makeup of abusive relationships, explains how the justice system can help, and lists services to victims.

Exposing the powerful contradictions between empowering rights and legal rites

Multi-volume, updated treatise; chapter 6 deals with handling domestic violence cases.

Examines the entire spectrum of family violence, focusing onsocial processes and social relationships. The seventh edition of Family Violence: Legal, Medical, and Social Perspectivesby Harvey Wallace and Cliff Roberson is a comprehensive introduction to the study of family violence that guides readers to a better understanding of the challenges involved in reducing or eliminating violence. The six major topics are: domestic partner abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, physical and psychological abuse, identifying when abuse occurs, and discussing the effects of the various types of abuse or violence. Learning Goals Upon completing this book, readers will be able to: -Understand the facets of family violence. -Discuss how violence may be reduced or eliminated. -Identify how each major type of abuse impacts the social and law enforcement agencies that are involved.

Featuring cutting-edge research and expert intervention strategies, the Handbook of Domestic Violence Intervention Strategies: Policies, Programs, and Legal Remedies is designed to prepare professionals to swiftly and compassionately meet the multiple needs of women and children who have suffered from domestic violence.

This startling analysis of violence within intimate relationships contends that every abusive relationship has, paradoxically, a heart of its own. Practitioners must acknowledge and engage this dynamic emotional center in order for interventions to succeed. "The Heart of Intimate Abuse" takes a broad, critical view of standard responses to abuse by today's criminal justice, social work, and medical systems--especially those that respond to violence with coercive interventions such as mandatory arrest, prosecution, and reporting laws. Here is a bold vision of the core dynamics of abuse in families--a vision that professionals can use to realize new policies and implement effective interventions that reach the heart of intimate abuse.

It is clear that physical abuse is an integral component of some intimate relationships. This book addresses not the violence but our responses or lack of responses to that violation of personal integrity and the accompanying trauma. How partner violence is responded to, individually and collectively, may well determine whether the violence can be prevented or will cease once begun. This text is intended to serve as a basic resource for the student, clinician and researcher. It provides a summary of how we have responded to such violence in the past and presents potential future directions for research and prevention efforts.

Intimate Partner Violence is a resource for a wide range of professionals who work with children and families, from specialists working in social services, counseling, education, and child advocacy to experts in the fields of medicine, law enforcement, and mental health. Contents include contemporary concepts and research on the prevalence, nature, causes, and impact of IPV--a pervasive problem in our society that affects adults and children and crosses all socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic boundaries. Intimate Partner Violence addresses not only the initial impact on the victims, but also the consequences IPV has in later life and in subsequent generations as learned behaviors lead to a cycle of family violence. The intent of Intimate Partner Violence is not a comprehensive clinical and forensic reference text meant exclusively for medical and technical professionals, it is a resource that provides a thorough overview to assist managers, supervisors, directors, and other front-line professionals who have the responsibility of setting and implementing policies in making informed and effective decisions. Written by a diverse group of professionals that spans the child protection spectrum, Intimate Partner Violence serves an ideal introduction to the destructive, yet ubiquitous problem and also a valuable reinforcement of knowledge for experts who treat and deal with the pernicious effects of IPV, which often include child maltreatment, on a daily basis. With chapter contributors including, but not limited to, luminaries such as Linda Ledray, PhD, SANE; Sandra Bloom, MD; Peter Cronholm, MD, MSCE; and Jennifer Varela, LMSW, along with forewords written by Annie Lewis-O'Connor, NP-BC, MPH, PhD; Betsy McAlister Groves, LICSW; and Carole Jenny, MD, MBA, this resource is the culmination of the foremost authorities on the subject of intimate partner violence, commonly referred to as domestic abuse. Including chapters with dedicated focuses on relevant topics such as screening and identifying IPV in health care settings, dating violence, children who witness violence, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner response, mental health aspects, and many others, this resource is an easily accessible, general guide that comprehensively covers the multiple aspects of intimate partner violence.

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Through articles, book excerpts, cases, and statutes, the author encourages discussion of the legal system's role in domestic violence situations. Topics range from historical and basic issues, such as restraining orders and tort suits, to controversial ones, including marital rape, arrest and prosecution policies, and battered mothers charged with failure to protect their children from batterers. Other chapters cover how domestic violence impacts different groups. Additional topics include guns, confidentiality and safety, and victims as welfare recipients, workers, tenants, and applicants for asylum. The materials foster critical thinking among students, as they include contradictory points of view.

"In More Than Victims," Donald Downs offers a sympathetic and powerful analysis of the problems attending the use of battered-woman syndrome as a legal defense, ultimately revealing how the syndrome's logic actually harms those it is trying to protect. A persuasive account of how constitutional freedom and individual justice can be threatened by current legal standards, this thorough yet accessible work presents a dramatic rethinking of the criminal justice system. ""More Than Victims" is a powerful step in the right direction. Women as well as men need to be protected from violence, and women, in particular, require better understanding of their sometimes oppressive situations. But they also need to be able to participate fully in the discourse of politics and citizenship. Downs offers a solution that helps to make both possible." Teresa Godwin Phelps, "Review of Politics" "Downs has written an important book on a subject that deserves more of our attention." Susan Mezey, "Law and Politics Book Review" "Comprehensive and compelling. Downs] demonstrates a masterful grasp of the complex legal and philosophical issues implicated in domestic violence cases." Annette DeMichele, "New York Law Journal" "

This book answers two basic but under-appreciated questions: first, how does the American criminal justice system address a defendant's family status? And, second, how should a defendant's family status be recognized, if at all, in a criminal justice system situated within a liberal democracy committed to egalitarian principles of non-discrimination? After surveying the variety of "family ties benefits" and "family ties burdens" in our criminal justice system, the authors explain why policymakers and courts should view with caution and indeed skepticism any attempt to distribute these benefits or burdens based on one's family status. This is a controversial stance, but Markel, Collins, and Leib argue that in many circumstances there are simply too many costs to the criminal justice system when it gives special treatment based on one's family ties or responsibilities. Privilege or Punish breaks new ground by offering an important synthetic view of the intersection between crime, punishment, and the family. Although in recent years scholars have been successful in analyzing the indirect effects of certain criminal justice policies and practices on the family, few have recognized the panoply of laws (whether statutory or common law-based) expressly drawn to privilege or disadvantage persons based on family status alone. It is critically necessary to pause and think through how and why our laws intentionally target one's family status and how the underlying goals of such a choice might better be served in some cases. This book begins that vitally important conversation with an array of innovative policy recommendations that should be of interest to anyone interested in the improvement of our criminal justice system.

What should public prosecutors do when victims withdraw support for domestic violence prosecutions? The answer to this question that motivates the investigation undertaken in this book defends the claim that (other things being equal) domestic violence prosecutors should respond as feminists.This claim is intended as a provocative formulation of the proposition that domestic violence prosecutors should act for reasons generated by the value of reconstituting communities as less patriarchal. This thesis is defended first by developing a general theory of prosecutorial practical reasoning, and then by considering the prosecution of domestic violence offences in particular. Along the way, this book provides an original account of the nature of prosecutorial action, the values that can berealised through such action, and the relationship between these values and the practical reasoning of criminal prosecutors. Moreover, it provides original analyses of two key concepts, domestic violence and patriarchy, and explains the relevance of the latter to a proper understanding of the former. These insights are put to work in answering the motivating question stated above, and provide answers both in terms of what prosecutors would be justified in doing, and what prosecutors should do in order to be effective

Details a new social interaction theory and teaches judges, attorneys, advocates, and academics how to apply it in a trial setting. Battering relationships often escalate to a point where the battered woman commits homicide. When such homicides occur, attention is usually focused on the final violent encounter; however, Ogle and Jacobs argue, while that act is the last homicidal encounter, it is not the only one. This important study argues that the battering relationship is properly understood as a long-term homicidal process that, if played out to the point that contrition dissipates, is very likely to result in the death of one of the parties. In that context, Ogle and Jacobs posit a social interaction perspective for understanding the situational, cultural, social, and structural forces that work toward maintaining the battering relationship and escalating it to a homicidal end. This book details this theory and explains how to apply it in a trial setting. Elements of self-defense law are problematic for battered women who kill their abusers. These include imminence, reasonableness of the victim's perception of danger, and reasonableness of the victim's choice of lethal violence and their proportionality. Social interaction theory argues that, once contrition dissipates, imminence is constant. The victim functions in an unending state of extreme tension and fear. This allows us to understand the victim's view of the violence as escalating beyond control, thereby increasing her reasonable perception of danger and lethality. After social resources, for whatever reason, fail to end the violence, it is then reasonable for the victim to conclude that she will have to act in her own defense in order to survive.

"Trivial Complaints" explores the historical relationship between privacy and domestic violence through an analysis of litigation and activism. The state has traditionally hesitated in responding to domestic violence, characterizing it as a "private" family matter. The discourse of privacy incorporates presumptions about race, class, and sexuality, and this volume examines the ramifications of such assumptions for victims and activists. Kirsten S. Rambo begins with an analysis of courts' and activists' responses to domestic violence during the late nineteenth century and continues through to the late twentieth century, when the modern battered women's movement emerged on the heels of the battle to secure abortion rights. Rambo explores the seemingly contradictory yet often complementary ways in which the discourse of privacy has been shaped by both movements seeking justice for women. She further examines concepts of privacy as applied to same-sex relationships and domestic violence, and ultimately considers alternative models of privacy that are egalitarian and rooted in empowerment.

nbsp;Choice'snbsp;Outstandingnbsp;Academic Titlenbsp;listnbsp;fornbsp;2013 nbsp; The development of a legal regime to combat domestic violence in the United States has been lauded as one of the feminist movement’s greatest triumphs. But, Leigh Goodmark argues, the resulting system is deeply flawed in ways that prevent it from assisting many women subjected to abuse. The current legal response to domestic violence is excessively focused on physical violence; this narrow definition of abuse fails to provide protection from behaviors that are profoundly damaging, including psychological, economic, and reproductive abuse. The system uses mandatory policies that deny women subjected to abuse autonomy and agency, substituting the state’s priorities for women’s goals. nbsp; A Troubled Marriage is a provocative exploration of how the legal system’s response to domestic violence developed, why that response is flawed, and what we should do to change it.nbsp; Goodmark argues for an anti-essentialist system, which would define abuse and allocate power in a manner attentive to the experiences, goals, needs and priorities of individual women. Theoretically rich yet conversational, A Troubled Marriage imagines a legal system based on anti-essentialist principles and suggests ways to look beyond the system to help women find justice and economic stability, engage men in the struggle to end abuse, and develop community accountability for abuse.

Domestic violence experienced in childhood continues to have an enduring emotional impact into adulthood. The scars it leaves can impact on family lives, employment, and long-term emotional and mental health.This book explores the experiences of adult survivors of domestic violence in childhood. The authors draw on many years' experience at the forefront of the field to bring together current research, best practice guidance for those working with both adults and children, personal testimonies and creative writing from survivors. The book addresses how to work with children exposed to domestic violence to address the issues before they grow up, as well as guidance on working with adult survivors. The personal accounts and poems make real the research and practice guidance. This important book will be essential reading for all those working with survivors of domestic violence in childhood, including counsellors, social workers and therapists, as well as students, academics and policy makers.

This volume examines sentencing hearings in criminal court and the presentation of victim impact statements, as well as child protection cases in juvenile court and the recommendations of guardians ad litem (GALS). Through interviews, observations, and textual analysis, all deeply grounded in an innovative court watch program, the authors illuminate the most effective persuasive practices of victim advocates and GALS as they help protect the rights and needs of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. Mary Lay Schuster and Amy D. Propen offer nuanced interpretations of these strategies in the courtroom setting and provide an understanding of how to develop successful advocacy for vulnerable parties in the legal arena.

This book is a collection of the experiences, insights, and ideas of leading professionals who work with women victims of violence, and who prosecute the perpetrators of such violence. Some articles also address male victims. It is a reference for victim advocates, attorneys, law enforcement, counseling and health professionals, educators and students. It offers ideas on effective programs, policies, and legal developments in the fight against interpersonal violence.

A CRS report for Congress available electronically.

Feminism, violence, and law
The intervention order process
The discourse of intervention orders
Family court proceedings
Family law, legal culture, and domestic violence
The jurisdictional intersection : intervention orders in the family court and children's issues in the Magistrates' Court.