NCJ Number
213066
Journal
Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 160-186
Date Published
February 2006
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This article presents exploratory evaluation results of an assessment of the AWARE (Abused Women’s Active Response Emergency) victim protection program in the Netherlands and critiques the criminal justice response to domestic violence.
Abstract
Results of the AWARE victim protection program evaluation indicated that abused women admitted to the program benefited through an increased sense of safety and overall life improvements. However, the analysis of the program also demonstrates the consequences of providing intervention services for victims that are based within a criminal legal context. The author argues that the goals of the criminal justice system with regard to domestic violence are at odds with the needs of victims of domestic violence. The evaluation of the AWARE program revealed that a great many abused women were not allowed admittance to the program because of the strict legal eligibility criteria. In fact, the majority of the women who had a history of abuse and were currently being stalked were excluded from the program. The author also contends that the criminal justice system often discounts the perspectives of battered women as suspect and positions the women as unreliable witnesses. In so doing, the legal reconstruction of the abusive relationship takes superiority over the battered woman’s account of what happened, effectively silencing victims. However, given the preeminence of the criminal legal system in rational legal societies, it is unlikely that violence intervention programs will not incorporate a legal context. As such, the author cautions that developing an effective domestic violence intervention program within a criminal legal context depends on valuing the needs and perspectives of victims as valid and crucial to program goals. Evaluation data were drawn from program files on participant demographics and abuse histories, in-depth interviews with nine program participants immediately after entering the program, a focus group interview with key decisionmakers, interviews with nine professionals affiliated with the program, a focus group interview with program participants, and interviews with five women who did not enter the program. Analysis techniques were qualitative. Notes, references