Electronic Filing for Domestic Violence Protective Orders: How Utilization Impacts Effectiveness

• In Event: Roundtable: Gender, Crime, and Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pattern of behaviors with far-reaching effects on survivors’ health. Domestic violence Protective Orders (DVPOs) are intended to help protect individuals from IPV revictimization. In the past decade, 14 of the 100 North Carolina counties have adopted electronic filing (e-filing) for DVPOs as part of a state effort to address concerns around plaintiff safety and accessibility to the justice system. E-filing comprises a secure electronic platform that houses and transmits DVPO-related documents and features the assistance of an advocate who guides the survivor through the filing process. To date, no studies have evaluated the effect of e-filing utilization level on DVPO outcomes. We used data from the NC Administrative Office of the Courts to examine how differences in e-filing utilization impact effectiveness. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were utilized to conduct controlled interrupted time series analyses. Examining e-filing county outcomes by rates of utilization yielded differential results: higher sustained DVPO granting among low utilization counties, sustained increases in DVPO denials among all counties, and sustained increase in time to service among high utilization counties. Our findings of differential utilization of e-filing underline the importance of investigating the varied approaches taken by these counties.

Authors

• Muhammad Hudhud, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Theo Beltran, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Beth Moracco, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Julia K. Campbell, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• N Jeanie Santaularia, University of Washington

• Eliana Armora Langoni, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Lacie Emmerich, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Shabbar Ranapurwala, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill