It's My Decision, Isn't It?: A Research Note on Battered Women's Perceptions of Mandatory Intervention Laws

• NCJ Number: 185939
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 6 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 1384-1402
• Author(s): Alisa Smith
• Date Published: December 2000
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study reports on the views of battered women (n=241) regarding mandatory arrest laws, no-drop policies, and mandatory medical reporting for doctors and nurses.

Abstract

Eight States agreed to participate in the distribution of the surveys for the project. During the summer of 1998, a survey was administered to victims of domestic violence (n=276) who resided in battered women's shelters in these States. After excluding some cases, the sample size was reduced to 241. The primary purpose of the survey was to obtain answers to the following questions: Do victims support mandatory domestic violence interventions? Do they believe that adoption of mandatory arrest and no-drop policies will affect rates of reporting domestic violence to police or prosecutors? Will the adoption of the mandatory medical reporting laws affect victims' seeking medical attention for their injuries? Do victims believe that the interventions are either beneficial to themselves or others? Overall, the women reported support for the adoption of mandatory arrest laws, no-drop policies, and mandatory medical reporting requirements; however, a closer examination of the findings raised questions about the female victims' support for the legislation, the potential consequences of mandatory interventions, and their effectiveness in protecting women from future violence. More women believed the laws would benefit others rather than themselves. A relatively large percentage of victims reported that mandatory laws would reduce their chance of reporting future incidents of domestic violence. Twenty percent of the victims in this study reported that mandatory medical reporting requirements would reduce the likelihood of their seeking medical treatment in the future. These findings thus suggest qualified support for mandatory intervention laws. When victims perceive that a mandatory intervention may have consequences that do not meet their perceived needs, underreporting to police and medical personnel may occur. A comparison of responses across geographic residence and race is discussed, along with study limitations. 5 tables, 3 notes, and 42 references