Reconceiving civil protection orders for domestic violence: Can law help end the abuse without ending the relationship?

Source: (2008) Cardozo Law Review 29(4): 1487-1553.

This Article argues that the dual goal of advancing women’s safety and women’s autonomy can be achieved by bringing protection orders that allow ongoing contact between the parties from the margin to the center of domestic violence
law. … Many of the lawyers said that orders permitting ongoing contact are helpful for cases where a domestic violence victim is not ready to end the relationship with her partner and therefore is unwilling to pursue a stay-away order. … Some attorneys who had experience with orders permitting ongoing contact reported that the orders can help change the batterer’s behavior. … In jurisdictions that grant orders allowing ongoing contact, lawyers reported that modifying the order to add stay-away provisions is permissible and is typically easier than obtaining an order in the first instance. … One lawyer said that she used to think that orders permitting ongoing contact were “useless,” but she has recently reconsidered and concluded that they can be beneficial for women who do not want to leave their relationships, a group of victims for whom (in this lawyer’s words) “we do almost nothing.” … Because of the hazards presented by ongoing contact between a victim and abuser, several lawyers stressed the importance of providing clients with a full array of protections, including access to a battered women’s advocate, risk assessment, safety planning, and effective responses from police and other agencies. (Author’s abstract)