Does Type of Child Risk Affect Whether Mothers Seek Assistance for Intimate Partner Violence From Civil or Criminal Court?

• NCJ Number: 249990
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: March 2016 Pages: 474-495
• Date Published: March 2016
• Author(s): J. E. Palmer; L. M. Renner; L. A. Goodman; M. A. Dutton
• Length: 22 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2001-WT-BX-0001
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This study examined whether risks to children of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) affect the type of legal assistance accessed by the survivors.

Abstract

The study hypothesized that the level and type of perceived child risk would be associated with whether women sought a protection order in civil court or filed charges against a current or former intimate partner in criminal court. Using data from a sample of predominantly African-American women (N=293), the study found that some forms of child risk were positively associated with seeking a civil order of protection but negatively associated with pressing criminal charges. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are presented. 65 references