Kaylin Renee Gibson

Professor Lunsford
UWRT 1103-010
18 April 2015
Domestic Violence and Criminal Law
Do laws put in effect today protect the victims of domestic violence?

Of females killed with a firearm, almost two-thirds were killed by their intimate
partners. The number of females shot and killed by their husband or intimate partner was
more than three times higher than the total number murdered by male strangers using all
weapons combined in single victim/single offender incidents in 2002.

The above statistic is so startling, and according to the Violence Policy

Center, it is one that they take very serious. It is time to take notice of one of the
largest problems in the United States, domestic violence. Domestic violence has
broken up families, caused homelessness, and dispirited its victims for many
years. While researching this topic, I have tried to answer the question of whether
or not the laws of today provide enough protection for victims of domestic
violence.
First, let us take time to understand what domestic violence really is. According to
The United States Department of Justice, domestic violence is defined as a pattern of
abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or sustain power
and control over another intimate partner. With that being said, there is no way for me to
give a more detailed definition. The patterns of domestic violence may be physical,
sexual, emotional, economical, or relate to psychological actions or threats of actions that
influence another person (The United States Department of Justice). Behaviors such as

these can include terrorization, manipulation, degradation, isolation, and many more. So
what is done to protect these victims of these situations?
In the last few decades, I have found that police arrests for domestic violence
cases have increased dramatically. David Hirschel, of The Journal of Criminal Law and
Criminology, found that police have been permitted to make warrantless arrests in cases
of domestic violence (256). In an experiment called the Minneapolis Domestic Violence
Experiment of 1984, law enforcement went out to investigate the most effective and
proper response to domestic violence. The responses included arresting the subject on the
spot, ordering one of the parties out of the residence, and advising the couple (Kothari,
4847). This experiment found that the domestic violence acts and threats were reduced by
50 percent once arrests took place. They found this information by interviewing the
victims after the abusers were incarcerated. Although this was just an experiment, law
enforcement took it extremely serious and continued to work in this manner following the
experiment.
My mother is one example of a victim who suffered from domestic violence, and
luckily, law enforcement officials did everything in their power to arrest the abusers she
had. After the arrests were made, police officers kept in contact with her. She is extremely
lucky to have dealt with the officers she dealt with.
According to David Hirschel and his colleagues, current research indicates that
the passage of mandatory and preferred arrest domestic violence laws has resulted in an
increase in arrests for intimate partner violence (256). With the mandatory arrests rates
for domestic violence rising, victims feel safer and more secure knowing that the abusers

are incarcerated. While, these victims feel safer, they still worry about when the abusers
get out. So how are they protected then?
Victims have the option to get a temporary protective order, or a final domestic
violence protective order. A temporary court order usually lasts until the hearing of the
court case, which is normally a seven to ten day wait. A final domestic violence
protective order lasts up to one year, but may be available for an additional two years
(Domestic Violence Protective Orders). Both work to try to ensure the safety of victims
by not allowing the abuser to come certain distances from you, and if they do they are
subject to jail time. Since protective orders do not always protect these victims, they need
much more than just a court order to ensure their safety, however. John Murphy, of The
Modern Law Review, states, that even though X has been granted an order of protection,
Y will not always refrain from assaulting X (854). So what are the other options that
victims have?
One option that victims have is alternative housing. Shelters and halfway houses
are the main forms of alternative housing. States are required to grant women the legal
security of tenure as an essential part of their responsibility to eliminate domestic
violence (Paglione, 129-130). With laws, such as these, domestic violence victims are
ensured safety from their abusers.
Another option that victims have is to file a suit for divorce, assuming that the
abuser is married to the victim. When filing a suit for divorce, the victims, usually, sues
the abuser to end the marriage. If the court decides this is the only way to protect the
victim, the property is then divided, spousal support is decided on, custody determination
of children will be determined, along with child support payments, then the health

insurance of the children will be agreed upon (Lovik 25-26). Of course this option is
only available to victims who are married, and/or have children, however, it is still an
alternative to just having a protective order.
After investigating, and researching ways on how domestic violence victims are
protected from their abusers after law enforcements gets involved, I found that the
criminal justice systems does as much as possible, if not more, to protect victims. They
go out of their way to ensure the safety of victims, along with the safety of the children
involved. Domestic violence is a topic that tends to be forgotten about by the public eye,
but when law enforcement is involved, I found that they do not forget about the victims. I
was shocked at my findings, but I am happy to know that the criminal justice systems
does all they can to protect victims.

WORKS CITED

"Domestic Violence Protective Orders ("50B Orders")." WomensLaw.org Because

Knowledge Is Power. National Network to End Domestic Violence, INC., 1 Jan.
2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?
id=563&state_code=NC - content-10056>.

"Domestic Violence." The United States Department of Justice. U.S. Department of

Justice, 23 July 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.justice.gov/ovw/domesticviolence>.

Hirschel, David, Eve Buzawa, April Pattavina, and Don Faggiani. "Domestic Violence
and Mandatory Arrest Laws: To What Extent Do They Influence Police Arrest
Decisions?" The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-) 98.1 (2008):
255-98. Print.

Kothari, Jayna. "Criminal Law on Domestic Violence: Promises and Limits. Economic
and Political Weekly 40.46 (2005): 4843-849. Print.

Lovik, Mary. "The Legal System and Your Rights Under the Law: How Does It
Work?" Domestic Violence Survivor's Handbook. Michigan Domestic Violence
Prevention and Treatment Board, 1 Jan. 2002. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.accesskent.com/Courts/Prosecutor/pdfs/FIA-Pub78_69249_7.pdf>.

Murphy, John. "Domestic Violence: The New Law." The Modern Law Review 59.6
(1996): 845-60. Print.

Paglione, Giulia. "Domestic Violence and Housing Rights: A Reinterpretation of the

Right to Housing. Human Rights Quarterly 28.1 (2006): 120-47. Print.

The Violence Policy Center, When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2002 Homicide
Data: Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Incidents,
Sept. 2004. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2004.pdf>.