Protection Orders Protect Against Assault and Injury

Abstract

Objective To measure the efficacy of protection orders (POs) in reducing assault and injury-related outcomes using a matched comparison group and tracking outcomes over time. Methods This study was a retrospective review of police, emergency department, family court and prosecutor administrative records for a cohort of police-involved female IPV victims; all events over a four-year study period were abstracted. Victims who obtained protection orders (POs) were compared to a propensity-score-based match group without POs over three time periods: Before, during, and after the issuance of a PO. Results Having a PO in place was associated with significantly more calls to police for non-assaultive incidents, and more police charging requests that were multiple-count and felony-level. Comparing outcomes, PO victims had police incident rates that were more than double the matched group prior to the PO, but dropped to the level of the matched group during and after the order. ED visits dropped over time for both groups. Conclusion This study confirmed the protective effect of POs, which are associated with reduced police incidents and emergency department visits both during and after the order, and reduced police incidents compared to a matched comparison group.

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

“…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

“…African American women differed from White women in their decreased likelihood of seeking a PO. Kothari et al (2012) found that women who sought POs experienced higher rates of IPV than those who did not. Wright and Johnson (2009) looked at 227 shelter residents and found that the only significant predictors of getting a PO were the frequency of police contact in response to respondents’ most recent partners’ abuse and their levels of trauma re-experiencing symptoms.…”

“…Several studies have shown that having a PO in place had a deterrent effect on rates of IPV (Holt et al, 2003; McFarlane et al, 2004; Messing et al, 2017). Kothari et al (2012), in a methodologically sophisticated, longitudinal study, found increased safety for women who obtained POs. Using a sample of abused women involved with police or the court, they found decreased subsequent police reports and Emergency Room (ER) visits for women who obtained POs.…”

Sexual Violence Victimization and Associations with Health in a Community Sample of African American Women

“…For example, African American women survivors were more likely to seek police help and orders of protection compared to White women, which appears to be consistent with other findings (Bachman & Coker, 1995; Lipsky, Caetano, & Roy-Byrne, 2009; Pearlman, Zierler, Gjelsvik, & Verhoek-Oftedahl, 2003). Yet, Kothari et al (2012) found, in a sample of women survivors of partner violence (including SV) for which the police were involved, that African American women survivors were less likely to obtain protective orders than White women survivors. Such inconsistencies suggest the influence of contextual and cultural factors on the help-seeking behaviors of women survivors (Bent-Goodley, 2007; Boykins et al, 2010).…”

“…The help sources typically sought by SV survivors include reporting assaults to police, obtaining protection orders (POs), receiving emergency medical services (EMS) and emergency trauma department care, turning to social support networks, and, in some cases, seeking mental health services and victim shelter services (Bryant-Davis, Ullman, Tsong, & Gobin, 2011; Kothari et al, 2012). Yet, the majority of all sexual assaults are not reported or shared with social services or law enforcement (Hanson et al, 2003), and often survivors who need medical care and counseling do not receive it (Resnick et al, 2000).…”