NCJ Number
119054
Date Published
1988
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This chapter explores the legal and ethical standards of the "duty to warn" and the "duty to protect" in therapeutic practice.
Abstract
The landmark case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California set the legal standard for therapists that if a patient presents a serious danger of violence to a third party, a duty is incurred to use reasonable care to both warn and protect the intended party. To meet the goals of protecting battered women and children, it is concluded that their safety must be weighed as heavily as the interests of the batterer in rehabilitation. In assessing the lethality of batterers, the counselor has more knowledge than the battered woman regarding the risk of life-endangering assaults and should consider the following factors: threats or fantasies of homicide or suicide, weapons, obsessiveness about partner, centrality of the battered woman, rage, depression, drug or alcohol consumption, and access to the battered woman. In order to protect herself, the battered woman must be provided with information about her options to ensure her safety, such as shelters, legal remedies, or support systems. Because the bonding of batterers in treatment also creates significant risk of increased danger to battered women, therapists have a responsibility to intervene in such activities. 10 notes and 4 references.