Spatial and Temporal Distance Between the Victim and Offender as a Factor in Protective Order Violations: How Much Distance is Enough?

Bench, Lawrence L.; Allen, Terry; Douglas, Emily

Research on the effectiveness of protective orders indicates that they have only marginal protective value for the victim. This exploratory study investigated how the physical distance and temporal distance between the victim and offender corresponds to the percent of protective order violations. Results indicated that the percent of protective order violations was reduced to virtually zero when the victim and offender lived 25 miles or more apart. Surprisingly, this condition held for all types of contacts examined (physical, telephone, and cyber). The study concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings and suggestions for future research.

UTAH; INTIMATE partner violence -- Law & legislation; RESEARCH; FRIENDSHIP; CRIMINAL law; INTIMACY (Psychology); LEGAL status of crime victims; SOCIAL media; POPULATION geography; REGRESSION analysis; DOMESTIC violence; CRIMINALS; INTIMATE partner violence; SPOUSES; COMPARATIVE studies; CRIME victims; COMMUNICATION; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; TELECOMMUNICATION; INTERPERSONAL relations; DATA analysis software; SEXUAL partners; TEXT messages; POLICE; DIVORCE; EMAIL

Violence Against Women, 2022, Vol 28, Issue 10, p2359

1077-8012

Academic Journal

10.1177/10778012211032709