Civil Protection Orders: Identifying Factors Associated with a Successful and Longer PO

• In Event: Narrative Accounts of Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence and Factors Associated with Civil Protection Orders

Abstract

Using data from ethnographic observations of a local public courthouse, the current study examines what factors impact an applicant’s likelihood of receiving a civil protective order (i.e., PO) and its length of time. More specifically, this research study examines whether: 1) courtroom actors (i.e., judge’s gender, presence of legal counsel, translator, victim advocate, or informal support person); 2) case aspects (i.e., type of abused mentioned, weapon mentioned, and children mentioned); and 3) individual characteristics (i.e., race and gender of victim/applicant and of adverse party/offender) impact an applicant’s likelihood of being granted a civil protective order and its length of time. Several bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the impact of these factors on judicial decisions to approve of civil protective orders. Based on a sample of 303 cases, this study found that several of the independent variables had a significant impact on the likelihood of being granted a PO and its length of time. The results of this study were also supplemented with qualitative data and sets of 3-way interaction analyses and then, discussed in terms of their limitations and implications for future DV research and victim’s short- and long-term safety.

Author

• Alexa Bejinariu, University of Nevada, Las Vegas