The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. 

Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: 

Document Title: The Kentucky Civil Protective Order Study: A 

Rural and Urban Multiple Perspective Study of 

Protective Order Violation Consequences, 

Responses, & Costs 

Author: TK Logan, Ph.D., Robert Walker, M.S.W., 

L.C.S.W., William Hoyt, Ph.D., Teri Faragher, 

M.S.W. 

Document No.: 228350 

Date Received: September 2009 

Award Number: 2005-WG-BX-0008 

This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. 

To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federallyfunded grant final report available electronically in addition to 

traditional paper copies. 

 

Opinions or points of view expressed are those 

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect 

the official position or policies of the U.S. 

Department of Justice. 

The Kentucky Civil Protective Order Study: 

A Rural and Urban Multiple Perspective Study of Protective Order Violation 

Consequences, Responses, and Cost 

TK Logan, Ph.D. 

Robert Walker, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. 

William Hoyt, Ph.D. 

Teri Faragher, M.S.W. 

University of Kentucky 

Department of Behavioral Science 

333 Waller Avenue, Suite 480 

Lexington, KY 40504 

September 2009 

National Institute of Justice Grant#: 2005WGBX0008 

Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or 

policies of the U.S. Department of Justice 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

There are many people to acknowledge as this project was an enormous undertaking. First, we want to 

acknowledge all of the women who took the time to share their stories with us. Without their courage 

to speak up and tell their story there would not have been a project. Second, we want to acknowledge 

all of the community advisors who played a key role in the development and implementation of this 

study. There were other key community members who also provided support for the completion of this 

project including the domestic violence shelter staff, each judge who allowed us into his/her court room 

and provided other valuable information and advice, each key informant who spent more than an hour 

on the telephone with us to conduct the key informant surveys, the Administrative Office of the Courts, 

Kentucky State Police, and local jailers who supported us in our efforts regarding this project. This 

project would have been impossible to complete without their support. We also want to thank all those 

who provided feedback on preliminary results as the most important aspect of this project is to ensure it 

helps those who work with the issue of partner violence every day. We also want to thank the many 

students and staff who greatly contributed to collecting information, extracting information from court 

records, entering data, conducting quality control, serving as important community liaisons for the 

study, and helping in numerous other ways to conduct and complete the study. Thanks to Diane Parish 

and Kim Warnick for their careful editing and thanks to Allison Mateyoke-Scrivner for the hard work on 

formatting the report. We also want to acknowledge the prior research on protective orders as this 

study was able to take advantage of that strong foundation by building on prior research findings. 

Further, thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, and a special thanks to Jody 

Raphael for her very thorough review and important comments for the final report. Also thanks to Lisa 

Pruitt for her valuable input on rural culture. Finally, we would like to thank the National Institute of 

Justice for its support of this project. There is no other agency that would support a project like this and 

yet this kind of research is what we need to truly make a difference in addressing the crime of partner 

violence. In particular we would like to thank Bernie Auchter for his ongoing support of the project. His 

global perspective and many years of experience in the field were especially appreciated. He continually 

validated the importance of research like this study to inform policy and practice and to advance the 

ultimate goals of victim safety and offender accountability. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
iii

ABSTRACT 

Intimate partner violence affects thousands of women each year and results in substantial personal and 

societal costs. In response to the need for victim protection, states have established civil protective 

orders (PO). This study addresses several gaps in the research literature on civil protective orders by 

examining PO effectiveness, enforcement, and cost effectiveness. A selected rural area and a selected 

urban area were compared to better understand subtle jurisdictional differences. This study used 

multiple data sources including victim self-reports, key informant interviews, and court data on 

offenders in order to address three major questions: (1) Rural versus urban similarities and differences: 

Do community contextual factors matter? This question was answered by examining official data and 

the current literature on rural versus urban differences and by examining rural and urban key informant 

(n=188) perceptions of factors associated with responses to PO violations to better understand 

community contextual factors in addressing partner violence. (2) Civil protective orders: Justice or just a 

piece of paper? This question was answered by following 106 rural and 107 urban women at baseline, 3-

months, and 6-months after receiving a PO to examine partner violence prior to obtaining a PO and after 

obtaining a PO as well as the PO process, PO violations, victim decisions regarding whether or not to 

report the violations, and justice system responses to reported violations (99% follow-up rate, n=210). 

Also, civil and criminal system histories and justice system responses to PO violations were examined 

using official court records on PO respondents in the cases involving the rural and urban women who 

participated in the study. (3) Costs of protective orders versus partner violence: Is it really worth it? This 

question was answered by examining personal and societal costs of ongoing partner violence, including 

costs to the justice system and to victim quality of life, six months before and six months after a 

protective order was obtained to better understand the full spectrum of costs associated with partner 

violence and the economic impact of protective orders on partner violence and abuse. Results showed 

that half (50%) of the study participants indicated that the protective order had been violated while half 

did not during the six months after receiving the protective order. Even for those who experienced 

protective order violations, the abuse was significantly reduced over time. However, results also suggest 

that community contextual factors do matter in the protective order process and in the enforcement of 

protective orders. For example, more urban than rural PO violators had protective order violation 

charges during the six month follow-up period. Further, stalking the six months prior to obtaining the 

protective order was significantly associated with protective order violations even after controlling for a 

number of relevant variables. Finally, a wide range of costs was examined for each participant including 

medical, mental health, criminal justice, legal, lost earnings, property losses, and time lost for family and 

civic responsibilities as well as an index of quality of life six months before the protective order and six 

months after the protective order was issued. Overall, including changes in quality of life, protective 

orders saved the state $85 million in a single year, a moderate estimate of cost savings. When the 

quality of life index is excluded from the cost analysis, study results show that victim safety is positively 

impacted by protective orders at very little cost except in cases with stalking. This study advances 

knowledge about PO effectiveness, enforcement, and costs, and provides information for policies and 

practice to increase both the effectiveness of protective orders and ultimately the safety of women 

threatened by partner violence in different jurisdictions. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................ii

ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .....................................................................................................................iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 12

BACKGROUND AND PROJECT OVERVIEW .............................................................................. 14

OVERALL STUDY METHOD .......................................................................................................... 21

THE PROTECTIVE ORDER PROCESS AND DEFINITIONS ...........................................................................21

PHASE I: HIRING AND TRAINING OF STAFF, ADVISORY COMMITTEE, FINALIZING PROJECT POLICIES 

AND PROCEDURES, AND PILOTING FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS ...........................................................22

PHASE II: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS, PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS, DATA ENTRY .............................23

PHASE III: SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS AND COST ESTIMATES .............................................................24

PHASE IV: ANALYSIS, INTEGRATION OF DATA, AND DATA DISSEMINATION ..........................................24

SUBSTUDY 1: RURAL VERSUS URBAN SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES: DO COMMUNITY 

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS MATTER? .............................................................................................. 26

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................28

SUBSTUDY 1 METHOD ............................................................................................................................28

Secondary Data ..................................................................................................................................28

Key Informant Interviews ...................................................................................................................28

Interview Procedures and Effort ........................................................................................................29

Analysis ...............................................................................................................................................29

SUBSTUDY 1 RESULTS .............................................................................................................................30

Census And Economic Indicator Differences .....................................................................................30

Rural Versus Urban Differences In Crime Response ..........................................................................34

Attitudes Toward Partner Violence And Protective Orders ...............................................................40

Barriers to Obtaining Protective Orders ............................................................................................46

Protective Order Violations and Police Responses ............................................................................52

Factors In Prosecution And Conviction For Protective Order Violations ...........................................63

SUBSTUDY 1 SUMMARY .........................................................................................................................68

SUBSTUDY 2: CIVIL PROTECTIVE ORDERS: JUSTICE OR JUST A PIECE OF PAPER? ................. 74

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................75

SUBSTUDY 2 METHOD ............................................................................................................................76

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
v

Recruitment and Sample ....................................................................................................................76

Baseline Interview Process .................................................................................................................77

Follow-Up Interview Process ..............................................................................................................79

Overall Study Effort ............................................................................................................................ 80

Key Measures .....................................................................................................................................81

Analysis ...............................................................................................................................................84

SUBSTUDY 2 RESULTS .............................................................................................................................84

Demographics, Employment, And Income .........................................................................................84

Relationship Characteristics ...............................................................................................................85

History Of Violence And Fear of Future Harm ...................................................................................86

Barriers to Protective Orders .............................................................................................................88

EPO Incident And Process ..................................................................................................................91

DVO Process And Stipulations ............................................................................................................93

PO Partner Information ......................................................................................................................95

PO Effectiveness ................................................................................................................................. 97

PO Enforcement ............................................................................................................................... 104

Victim Perceptions Of Protective Order Enforcement ..................................................................... 108

SUBSTUDY 2 SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 114

SUBSTUDY 3: COSTS OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS VERSUS PARTNER VIOLENCE: IS IT REALLY 

WORTH IT? .................................................................................................................................. 119

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 121

SUBSTUDY 3 METHOD .......................................................................................................................... 122

Estimates of Costs Incurred .............................................................................................................. 122

Direct Costs....................................................................................................................................... 122

Tangible and Intangible Indirect Costs............................................................................................. 123

Cost Sources ..................................................................................................................................... 123

Cost Of A Protective Order ............................................................................................................... 129

Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 129

SUBSTUDY 3 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................... 130

Utilization and Losses ....................................................................................................................... 130

Costs Before And After The DVO And Differences In Costs ............................................................. 134

Costs Before And After The DVO And Differences In Costs By Rural Versus Urban Areas .............. 136

Costs Before And After The DVO And Differences In Costs By Violation Group .............................. 139

Avoided Costs Relative To PO Costs ................................................................................................. 144

Estimating The Statewide Impact .................................................................................................... 145

SUBSTUDY 3 SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 148

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
vi

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................... 153

IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................... 154

CONCLUSIONS....................................................................................................................................... 165

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 166

DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS .............................................................................. 175

PUBLICATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 175

PRESENTATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 175

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Introduction 

Civil protective orders (PO) were introduced for the purpose of providing more efficient legal 

protections for individuals who are experiencing partner or other family violence. Despite three decades 

of research on various aspects of protective orders, there is still no comprehensive picture of how they 

are implemented in various jurisdictions across the country or their effectiveness in providing increased 

safety for partner violence victims. To begin to address this gap in the understanding of protective order 

effectiveness, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded this project in 2006 to examine civil 

protective orders in Kentucky from multiple perspectives. This study focused on rural and urban 

jurisdictional differences in the protective order process, protective order outcomes, and costs of 

protective orders as well as the economic impact of protective orders on victim and societal costs of 

partner violence. This report presents findings for three substudies that comprised the grant-funded 

project. 

Study Objectives 

The overall goal of this NIJ project is to inform public policies and justice system practices to enhance 

the effectiveness of protective orders with the ultimate goals of increasing the safety of women 

threatened by partner violence and increasing offender accountability. Although partner violence can be 

perpetrated by both men and women, the vast majority of serious partner violence and protective order 

use is for cases of male violence against female partners. Thus, this project focuses on women victims of 

partner violence. This study used information from multiple perspectives to identify the primary case, 

incident, and community characteristics influencing civil and criminal justice system responses to 

protective order violations in one urban and four rural jurisdictions. This NIJ project included three 

substudies designed to examine five specific aims: 

Substudy 1. Rural versus urban similarities and differences: Do community contextual factors matter? 

1. To examine official court data and the current literature on rural versus urban differences to 

better understand community contextual factors in addressing partner violence in different 

jurisdictions. 

2. To examine rural and urban key informant (n=188) perceptions of partner violence, protective 

orders, and protective order enforcement to better understand community contextual factors in 

addressing partner violence in different jurisdictions. 

Substudy 2. Civil protective orders: Justice or just a piece of paper? 

3. To follow 106 rural and 107 urban women at baseline, 3-months, and 6-months after receiving 

protective orders to examine partner violence during the 6 months prior to obtaining a 

protective order as well as the protective order process, protective order violations, victim 

decisions regarding whether or not to report the violations, and justice system responses to 

reported violations 6 months after obtaining the protective order (99% follow-up rate, n=210). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

2

4. To describe the civil and criminal system histories of protective order respondents and justice 

system responses to protective order violations using official court records on protective order 

cases involving to the rural and urban women who participated in the study. 

Substudy 3. Costs of protective orders versus partner violence: Is it really worth it? 

5. To examine personal and societal costs of partner violence, including justice system costs and 

costs to victim quality of life 6 months before and 6 months after a protective order was 

obtained for 210 rural and urban women to better understand the full spectrum of costs 

associated with partner violence as well as the economic impact of protective orders.

Overall Study Method 

This NIJ Project was completed in four phases. The first phase focused on implementing the study, 

including meeting with the advisory committees in the rural and urban areas and developing and 

piloting the face-to-face interviews. The second phase focused on recruiting 213 rural and urban women 

approximately 19 days after they received the PO and interviewing them about their history of partner 

violence, their experiences with the protective order process, and their experiences of partner violence 

since they received the protective order. Women were also interviewed 3 months (97% follow-up rate) 

and 6 months (n=210, 99% follow-up rate) after they received the PO. Key informant interviews (n=188, 

82% response rate) were conducted in this phase. The key informant and individual interviews used a 

mixed methods approach, including both qualitative and quantitative data collected concurrently 

(Creswell, 2003). The third phase included collecting secondary data from the Administrative Office of 

the Courts and local jails for the rural and urban area in general, and specifically for the 210 protective 

order partners (PO partners) from cases involving women who participated in the study. This phase also 

included identifying economic cost sources. The fourth phase focused on analysis, integration of data, 

and data dissemination. All study procedures were approved by the University of Kentucky Institutional 

Review Board as well as the National Institute of Justice and have been used in prior studies. Results are 

presented by the three substudies as noted in the Figure below. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

3

Definitions 

Throughout the report, PO is used to refer to the civil protective order when referring to the general 

process of protective orders. The term DVO (Domestic Violence Order) will be used to refer to the 

longer-term or full order and EPO (Emergency Protective Order) will be used to refer to the temporary 

order. The terms “partner violence” and “domestic violence” are used interchangeably throughout this 

report. The term “victim” is used to refer to those who have experienced partner violence; however, the 

use of the term in this paper is not meant to imply that women who have experienced partner violence 

are not survivors. Finally, the terms “offender,” “perpetrator,” and “PO partner” are all meant to refer to 

the protective order respondent or the violent partner with the current protective order against him. 

These three terms are used interchangeably. 

Substudy 1: Rural versus urban similarities and differences: Do community contextual factors matter? 

To better understand the contribution of contextual factors in addressing partner violence, one urban and 

four rural jurisdictions were selected for this study. Even though state law clearly applies to every 

jurisdiction, it is hypothesized that jurisdictional differences may have a great impact on the process of 

obtaining protective orders and in the enforcement of protective orders. To understand the rural context 

two things are necessary: (1) having a comparison such as an urban area so that rural trends and unique 

differences can be identified; and (2) using multiple types of data to understand the overt and more subtle 

contextual differences between rural and urban areas. For this study, an urban and an Appalachian rural 

area were compared using several different data sources including: (a) census data, (b) official civil and 

criminal justice data, (c) news reports and other literature on rural areas, and (d) information from a large 

survey (n=188) of criminal justice and victim service representative key informants from the selected rural 

and urban areas. 

Implications and

Conclusions

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

4

Substudy 1 Method 

Socioeconomic and demographic data about the selected urban and rural areas were obtained from the 

2000 census and updated with estimates for 2007 when possible (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). 

Information from the research literature, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Kentucky State 

Police, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and news reports was used to describe the particular 

rural and urban areas selected for this study. Interviews with 188 key informants (77 urban and 111 

rural) were completed mostly by telephone. The sample of key informants was generated using several 

different strategies including: (1) advisory group committee suggestions for whom to contact; (2) listing 

and contacting key agencies in each community (e.g., prosecutor offices, sheriff offices, local law 

enforcement, shelters); and (3) each survey participant was asked to provide names of other individuals 

in their community they believed should be included in the survey. Interviews were done to assess (both 

quantitatively and qualitatively): (a) rural versus urban differences in crime response, (b) attitudes 

toward partner violence and protective orders, (c) barriers to obtaining a protective order, (d) protective 

order violations and police responses, and (e) factors in prosecution and conviction for protective order 

violations. Chi-Squares and ANOVAs were used to examine bivariate relationships. 

Substudy 1 Results 

National prevalence rates of partner violence suggest that rates of partner violence are similar in rural 

and urban areas; however, prevalence rates do not provide information about the experience of partner 

violence which may vastly differ across jurisdictions. One interim step in understanding differences in 

the experience of partner violence is to carefully examine and compare contextual characteristics in 

different jurisdictions. This substudy provides insight into the general protective order process as well as 

information about contextual differences in rural and urban areas. These differences emerged from key 

informant surveys as well as from secondary data and information sources and are framed within the 

literature on Appalachian rural culture. 

First, results suggest that partner violence is a lower priority for the selected rural area 

compared to the selected urban area. Specifically, drug-related crimes appeared to be a higher 

priority in the rural area which may have an impact on overall justice system responses. 

Priorities may matter as using limited justice resources to address one crime may mean there 

are fewer resources to address another crime, and this tradeoff would impact victim safety and 

offender accountability for partner violence. Also, priorities can impact attitudes and 

perceptions. For example, when intimate partner violence occurs in the context of illegal drug 

and alcohol activity involving perpetrators and/or victims, police may be tempted to base their 

responses on the most tangible evidence, most likely the drug or alcohol use or on the drug and 

alcohol-related criminal activity which they perceive as the “cause” of the partner violence. A 

misunderstanding regarding the relationship between substance use and partner violence can 

influence interventions to focus on the substance abuse while neglecting perpetrator 

accountability for the partner violence and the safety of partner violence victims. Other 

information suggesting that partner violence is a lower priority for the rural area compared to 

the urban area included the low rates of success in serving protective order petitions, fewer 

charges, prosecutions and convictions of partner violence related crimes, and lower perceived 

access to protective orders and enforcement for women experiencing partner violence. 

Second, the politics of “who you know” or the “good ole boys” system is a consistent theme that 

emerged as playing a role in justice in the rural area, and was largely lacking in the urban area. 

The issue of politics or networks influencing justice and other resource attainment was also 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

5

highlighted in the literature on rural Appalachian culture. Thus, not only do priorities potentially 

influence decision-making among justice system representatives, but politics may also play an 

important role in influencing perceived payoffs for making specific decisions. 

Third, blame and negative attitudes or distrust of women were mentioned more frequently as 

reasons for partner violence and for obtaining protective orders in the rural area, not only from 

the justice system representatives but also from victim service representatives. Some of these 

attitudes may stem from cultural differences as highlighted in literature on rural Appalachian 

culture. On the other hand, discrimination against illegal immigrants and racism were 

mentioned more in the urban area than in the rural area. Further, several of the responses from 

key informants suggest there are persistent myths about partner violence as a relationship 

issue, as a poverty issue, and as an emotion regulation or control issue. Many of these persistent 

myths and misunderstandings were more prevalent in the rural area. What was missing in many 

key informant responses was the recognition that partner violence is a systematic and 

deliberate set of tactics designed to control another person, and that level of control erodes 

victims’ freedom. Further, key informants indicated that women obtain protective orders for 

revenge or “to get something” which ignores the importance of maintaining women’s safety 

through meeting their other tangible needs such as financial, residential, and child custody 

concerns. Protective orders were designed to provide protection and flexibility in meeting 

women’s specific tangible needs to maintain their safety. 

Fourth, results suggest that it is important to examine both the justice system and the victim 

service perspectives to understand justice system responses to protective order violations. 

There were important differences by agency suggesting that victim service and justice system 

representatives may repeatedly see different subgroups of victims. For example, criminal justice 

representatives compared to victim service representatives, regardless of area, believed that 

fewer women with protective orders actually experienced violations, and of those who do 

experience violations, more are reported to the justice system. This may be because justice 

system representatives are likely to see a wide variety of cases (mild to severe) and to see cases 

that were resolved and did not need to intersect as much with victim services. On the other 

hand, victim service representatives were more pessimistic than criminal justice respondents 

about police responses (i.e., they thought action was less likely) when the offender flees the 

scene. Victim services may be more likely to repeatedly see more severe cases and cases that 

the justice system has had a harder time resolving. These kinds of differences in perceptions by 

agency can make interagency communication and collaboration more difficult. 

Substudy 1 Limitations 

This substudy is one of the most comprehensive key informant studies regarding protective orders to 

date. Although including key informant perceptions is critical to understanding the culture that 

contributes to the experiences of women seeking help for partner violence, they only tell part of the 

story. They must be combined with victim experiences. The findings from this substudy suggest some 

contextual factors to consider and how those factors may influence justice system representative 

decision-making regarding partner violence and protective order enforcement in any jurisdiction. 

However, the results must be interpreted with the caveat that findings may not apply to all rural and 

urban areas of Kentucky or to the rest of the nation. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

6

Substudy 2: Civil protective orders: Justice or just a piece of paper? 

Substudy 2 examined barriers to obtaining protective orders experienced by victims who have recently 

been through the system and the effectiveness of protective orders. Whether protective orders are 

effective or not can be answered in several different ways including: (1) Does the violence stop? (2) If 

the violence does not stop completely, is the violence reduced? (3) Under what circumstances do 

protective orders work best, and for whom? (4) Do women feel safer after they obtain a protective 

order? (5) Are women satisfied with the protective order? This substudy also examined protective order 

enforcement using victim perspectives in addition to official court data. 

Substudy 2 Method 

Overall, 227 women were recruited out of court from five jurisdictions (1 urban and 4 rural) when they 

obtained a DVO against a male intimate partner (PO partner) and one participant was referred to the 

study from a service agency. Participants were recruited and interviewed between June 2006 and 

August 2007. To be eligible for the study, participants had to be: (1) female, (2) 18 years and older, (3) 

planning to stay in, or close to, the recruitment jurisdiction for the next 6 months, and (4) without a DVO 

against that same male intimate partner for at least 6 months prior to the new DVO. Participants also 

had to complete the baseline within six weeks of obtaining a new DVO. The 3 month and 6 month 

follow-ups were done either on the telephone or face-to-face depending on participant preference. A 

97.2% follow-up rate was obtained for the 3 month follow-up and a 98.6% follow-up rate was obtained 

for the 6 month follow-up (98.1% urban and 99.1% rural). Information was obtained for the entire 6 

month period when possible for participants who completed the 6 month interview but missed the 3 

month interview. Analyses included Chi-Squares, ANOVAs, and logistic and linear regressions. 

Substudy 2 Results 

It appears that protective orders provide justice for some, but for others they are just a piece of paper. 

That leaves bigger questions to be answered. Specifically, for whom do protective orders work best and 

under what circumstances? This substudy sought to potentially provide answers to these questions and 

to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses of the protective order process in order to increase access 

to protective orders as well as enforcement. Six main conclusions resulted from this substudy. 

First, there were similarities between rural and urban women in age, income levels, and the 

number of children. There were also important differences with more rural women reporting a 

history of severe violence and threats from the PO partner as well as fear of future harm from 

the PO partner at the baseline interview. Rural women were also more entrenched in the 

relationship potentially complicating their cases, safety, and court actions. For example, more 

rural than urban women were or had been married to the PO partner, had children in common 

with the PO partner, and had spent more time in the relationship with the PO partner. 

Second, obtaining a protective order and seeking enforcement of a protective order take 

courage and persistence to overcome obstacles. Also, women consider a variety of factors in 

deciding whether to report violations, including the seriousness of the violation, level of proof, 

and perceived potential outcomes of reporting the violation. 

Third, the vast majority of perpetrators had a history of charges (mostly unrelated to partner 

violence), incarceration, and convictions before the protective orders were issued against them. 

This may indicate that partner violence is part of a pattern of criminal behavior rather than an 

anomaly. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

7

Fourth, only half of the women in the study reported protective order violations during the 6 

month follow-up period. Further, protective orders were associated with significant reductions 

in abuse, violence, and fear during the 6 month follow-up period. However, of those who 

experienced violations, rural women experienced more violations, on average, than urban 

women and more rural women were fearful of future harm from the PO partner than urban 

women at the 6 month follow-up interview. 

Fifth, stalking plays a significant yet unrecognized role in ongoing violence and protective order 

violations, fear of future harm, and distress due to the abuse for victims. 

And sixth, enforcement, especially for stalking victims, was limited regardless of area. However, 

even though enforcement was limited, there was some evidence that enforcement was stronger 

in the urban area than in the rural area. 

In answer to whom protective orders work best for and under what circumstances, it appears that 

protective orders work best for victims who were not being stalked by the violent partner before the 

protective order was issued, and for those who live in the urban area. The rural area may have had a less 

effective response, in part, due to higher victim blaming attitudes that appeared to be more prevalent in 

the rural area based on the key informant interviews and literature about the rural culture identified in 

substudy 1. 

Substudy 2 Limitations 

The sample size was relatively small and the follow-up time of six months was relatively short. Because 

the sample size was small, the enforcement results must be interpreted with caution. It is also possible 

that more women would experience a violation of the protective order with a longer follow-up period. 

Substudy 3: Costs of protective orders versus partner violence: Is it really worth it? 

Regardless of how effective civil protective orders are, in these economically difficult times the bottom 

line is about costs. As noted in substudy 1, there are numerous alternative uses for limited judicial and 

police resources in both the rural and urban areas. More plainly, spending time on partner violence 

crimes means fewer resources spent on other kinds of crimes. Further, as shown in substudy 2, even if 

civil protective orders are effective at reducing violence, the question of whether or not they are cost 

effective is still not answered. This substudy focused on quantifying the costs of partner violence before 

and after a protective order was obtained, and examining the economic impact of protective orders 

after accounting for the costs associated with protective orders. 

Specifically, this substudy examined: (1) direct and indirect victim costs incurred as a result of the abuse 

6 months before and 6 months after the protective order was obtained in addition to criminal justice 

costs; (2) differences in costs before and after the protective order was issued; (3) avoided costs relative 

to protective order intervention costs; and (4) estimates of the statewide impact of avoided costs 

relative to the costs of a protective order. Costs were examined overall and separately for the rural 

versus urban area as well as for three groups: (a) those who experienced no protective order violations, 

(b) those who experienced protective order violations but no stalking, and (c) those who experienced 

protective order violations plus stalking. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

8

Substudy 3 Method 

The victim interviews used a Life History Calendar method to anchor important events over the course 

of the 12 months of the study (6 months before and 6 months after the DVO was issued) to facilitate 

memory recall for abuse-specific events. Women were asked direct questions about services utilized 

because of the abuse, in addition to time lost from work and other activities, mileage, and property 

losses incurred due to abuse and court related activities. Women were also asked about distress due to 

the abuse for each month. Some other information such as charges and convictions were obtained from 

court records. Next, a dollar value was attached to each reported incurred cost. The costs of an EPO and 

a DVO in Kentucky were reported previously (Logan et al., 2001a; 2004a) but were revised and updated 

with the help of key court personnel. Prior to the analysis, all costs were adjusted for inflation and 

standardized consistent with prices in 2007. 

Substudy 3 Results 

No evaluation of intervention effectiveness is complete without a cost component. This is not an easy 

undertaking and it is certainly not without controversy. It is difficult to quantify the impact of abuse and 

violence on a single life and it is especially difficult to quantify the impact of a justice system 

intervention on partner violence. This substudy contributes to the understanding of the overall and 

specific costs of partner violence in several important ways although there are a number of limitations 

and caveats that must be considered in the interpretation of the results. There are six major findings 

from the results. 

First, consistent with prior research, violence and abuse take a significant economic toll on a 

victim’s life, even when looking at a short time period such as in this study. 

Second, relative to the toll that partner abuse takes on a victim’s life, the cost of a protective 

order is small. 

Third, overall there was not a big difference for most costs before and after the protective order 

was obtained for rural or urban participants except with regard to quality of life and justice 

system costs. Urban participants reported increases in their quality of life after the protective 

order was obtained compared to rural participants who did not report as much relief from 

abuse-related distress. In contrast, police and justice system costs were higher before and after 

a protective order in the urban area but were lower in the rural area (suggesting less assertive 

enforcement). These differences in cost categories may have major implications for increasing 

the understanding of the depth of harm caused by partner violence and how harm might differ 

depending on jurisdiction. 

Fourth, this substudy identified a subpopulation of protective order cases that incur far higher 

costs – cases in which stalking is present. 

Fifth, there were significant savings or reduced costs to the state when victims’ quality of life 

was considered in the cost analysis. Specifically, when applying cost estimates from the sample 

to the state protective order population of female victims (i.e., adjusting for male and same sex 

partner victims), estimates suggest that protective orders saved the state $85 million for a oneyear period, which is likely a conservative estimate of savings. Also, the impact of an 

intervention on quality of life has major implications for future avoided costs to society (i.e., 

beyond a one-year period of time). 

Sixth, protective orders are, at a minimum, a cost-neutral safety intervention. When the quality 

of life index is excluded from the cost analysis the savings are minuscule, suggesting that safety 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

9

for partner violence victims is achieved at very little cost. This finding is of great importance to 

policy development because many social and justice interventions may be costly with little net 

gain to society but are often provided because they are seen as necessary or morally justifiable. 

Thus, when the quality of life index is excluded from the cost analysis, study results show that 

victim safety is positively impacted at very little cost except in cases with stalking. Generalizing 

from this study’s findings to the state’s protective order cases, stalkers with protective orders 

against them cost the state $9 million in a one-year period when quality of life is removed from 

the equation. It should be noted that this estimate only includes protective order cases in which 

stalking is present – including other stalking cases that received a protective order before 2007 

or stalking cases without protective orders would likely engender far greater total costs to the 

state. 

Substudy 3 Limitations 

The cost analysis and estimates include many limitations that require they be interpreted with caution. 

The limitations are detailed in the substudy 3 summary section and are too numerous to report here. 

Even within the limitations, this substudy took a conservative approach and is most likely an 

underestimate of actual cost reductions. 

Overall Study Implications

Findings from all three substudies have been presented and form the basis for eight main implications, 

each having several recommendations for policy, practice, and future research. There is a need to: 

1. Increase access to protective orders by identifying and reducing barriers. This study shows 

that, for most women, protective orders reduce violence and save the state millions of dollars of 

avoided costs. However, results of this study also show that there are significant and 

unrecognized barriers for women in accessing protective orders. For example, bureaucratic red 

tape barriers can prevent, or certainly impede, victims from being able to obtain protection for 

which they are eligible under the statute. Further, there was limited key informant awareness of 

many of the factors women must overcome in asking for help from the court to address this 

very personal issue. There especially seemed to be a lack of recognition of how embarrassing, 

fear provoking, disheartening, and frustrating the process can be for victims. 

2. Address gaps in victim safety and offender accountability in the protective order process.

Once an EPO has been filed, several gaps in victim safety were identified by this study, including 

(a) the time between the filing of an EPO and the DVO hearing; (b) when attempts to enforce 

the order by the victim fail; and (c) when victims have dropped previous orders. 

3. Improve protective order enforcement by examining decision points in the enforcement 

process. Protective orders clearly do have an impact on subsequent violence. However, study 

results suggest that protective order enforcement could be improved. Considering specific 

factors associated with enforcement of protective order violations and factors associated with 

ignoring violations would provide a map to target training for each critical agency that plays a 

role in partner violence protection. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

10

4. Respond to partner stalking more effectively. Results from this study show a significant 

association of stalking and protective order violations; yet, the justice system and victim service 

representatives largely do not seem to acknowledge or appreciate the danger associated with 

stalking or the toll it takes on victims. Stalking was rarely mentioned by key informants, and 

more stalking victims, than victims who experienced violations but no stalking, indicated they 

did not report violations because there was no point or no proof. Further, there were few 

stalking charges in the 6 month follow-up period despite the fact that a significant proportion of 

victims experienced stalking and those victims experienced more violations. In fact, for the rural 

women, those who were stalked were less likely to see any domestic violence-related charges 

than those with DVO violations but no stalking. Partner stalking costs the state around $9 million 

per year primarily for health services and justice system costs when quality of life costs are 

excluded from the analysis. 

5. Acknowledge the significant harm and toll partner violence and stalking impose on victims.

Among the many aspects of partner violence and protective orders examined by this study, one 

facet stood out as poorly addressed in the literature-- the quantification of the impact of partner 

violence and stalking on quality of life, such as pain and suffering for crime victims. It is clearly 

important to address direct and indirect tangible costs of the impact of abuse on victims and to 

society. But, given the results of victim interviews and the case studies, it becomes clear that the 

impact of partner violence and protective orders reach beyond direct and indirect costs. In fact, 

this study suggests the impact of partner violence and stalking, and specifically, the relief of 

distress provided by protective orders, is significant. While the metric used in this study to 

quantify harm or impact on quality of life may not be the best, it was an attempt to begin the 

process of quantifying harm for partner violence victims and to take a deeper look at the impact 

of protective orders. In other words, this study suggests that harm from partner violence and 

stalking needs to be understood from a dual perspective—as derived financial costs to society 

resulting from partner violence and concurrently, as a way to appreciate the damage to human 

lives as a result of partner violence. 

6. Recognize that different agencies may see different groups of victims which can interfere with 

incorporating community collaboration into the response to partner violence. It is essential 

that agencies and communities work together to address partner violence. Results from this 

study suggest that sometimes justice system and victim service agencies are at odds with each 

others’ perceptions of the criminal justice response to partner violence. For example, study 

results indicate that the justice system respondents viewed their response to protective order 

violations much more positively than did victim service representatives. It may be that each of 

these agencies is seeing a different group of victims, with victim service personnel seeing 

women who are having more trouble with the justice system response (and not seeing the 

women in cases that were successfully resolved through the justice system) while justice system 

representatives are focusing on those cases in which action was taken rather than thinking of 

the cases in which violations were not addressed. 

7. Target training of justice system and victim service personnel to increase the understanding of 

partner violence, protective order effectiveness, perpetrator characteristics, and partner 

stalking within jurisdictional and community contexts. Trainings should target: (1) 

misperceptions about protective order effectiveness; (2) characteristics of partner violence 

perpetrators and their extensive histories of criminal justice system involvement indicating 

partner violence is part of a pattern of criminal behavior; (3) substance abuse as the cause of 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

11

partner violence; and, (4) persistent myths and misunderstandings about partner violence, 

stalking, and why women seek protective orders. Further, training must be ongoing and 

multidimensional in order to change deeply rooted misunderstandings and myths about partner 

violence. Some of these attitudes may be ingrained very deeply into the cultural context and will 

take more than an occasional training to address. 

8. Focus future research on gaps in the understanding of the protective order process and 

outcomes. Although this study addressed many of the critical questions about the overall 

effectiveness and the strengths and weaknesses of the protective order process, three areas are 

suggested for the focus of future research including: (1) the need to address gaps in knowledge 

about the “black box” of protective order enforcement; (2) the need to identify problems with 

local statewide data that track arrests, charges, and dispositions as this information could be 

important in the tracking and analysis of progress and problems in addressing partner violence 

and developing more effective policies; and, (3) to better address the quantification of victim 

harm from partner violence. 

Overall Study Conclusions 

This study started by asking three questions. The results suggest that jurisdictional and community 

context does not matter in terms of overall impact of protective orders on continuing abuse and 

violence. Half of the victims in this study, regardless of area, did not experience protective order 

violations and even for those who did experience violations significant reductions were noted in overall 

abuse, fear of future harm, distress due to the abuse, and costs. Also, stalking before the PO was 

obtained was significantly associated with PO violations regardless of area. Further, women, regardless 

of area seem to appreciate the protective order and felt it was effective. However, context does matter 

in victim experiences of the protective order process with rural women experiencing more barriers to 

obtaining protective orders, less relief from the fear and abuse over time, weaker enforcement, and 

higher quality of life and lower justice system costs. Thus, protective orders work best for those who are 

not stalked the 6 months before obtaining the protective order and for those who live in the urban area. 

Finally, the cost analysis suggests that the costs of civil protective orders are very low, especially when 

compared with the toll that partner violence exacts on victims. In essence, this study suggests that, at a 

minimum, increased safety had no additional cost to society; but when victims’ quality of life was 

considered, substantial savings accrue to society. Further, without justice system interventions, partner 

violence offenders are likely to continue a variety of criminal behaviors because partner violence is part 

of a pattern of criminal behavior rather than an anomaly. Thus, when civil protective order interventions 

are successful, substantial reductions in costs are expected to accrue over time as the abuse abates and 

victims get on with their lives. Implications from this study suggest numerous areas for improvements to 

increase access to the protective order process and enforcement. Would improvement of the protective 

order process cost more money? The answer is most likely “yes.” But study results suggest 

improvements would also provide significant cost savings to society. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
INTRODUCTION 

12

INTRODUCTION 

Civil protective orders were introduced for the purpose of providing more efficient legal protections for 

individuals who are experiencing partner or other family violence. In spite of three decades of research 

on various aspects of protective orders, there is still no comprehensive picture of how they are 

implemented in various jurisdictions across the country or of their effectiveness in providing increased 

safety. In 2006, the National Institute of Justice funded this project to examine civil protective orders in 

Kentucky from multiple perspectives in order to examine rural and urban jurisdictional differences in the 

protective order process, protective order outcomes, and costs of protective orders, as well as potential 

avoided costs to society due to the protections that protective orders are supposed to provide. Although 

partner violence can be perpetrated by both men and women, the vast majority of serious partner 

violence and protective order use is for cases of male violence against female partners (Rennison & 

Welchans, 2000; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Thus, this project focuses on women victims of partner 

violence. This report summarizes the results of this project by presenting findings for three substudies 

that comprised the entire grant-funded project. 

The first substudy examined rural and urban key informant perceptions along with court records and 

other secondary data to provide an in-depth picture of jurisdictional differences in the protective order 

process. One goal of this substudy was to describe how statutory provisions play out in real world 

experiences by examining beliefs, attitudes, and opinions of court personnel and victim services 

representatives involved in the protective orders process. 

The second substudy provides a picture of women’s self-reported experiences with violence and the 

protective order system and its outcomes. This substudy not only provides a description of those who 

obtain protective orders, but also provides a detailed look at the process of obtaining a protective order 

as well as the sacrifices and barriers that women experience in obtaining protective orders and trying to 

get them enforced. This substudy also provides detailed information about protective order 

effectiveness and enforcement outcomes. 

The third substudy examined the social and personal costs of abuse and violence, the costs of protective 

orders, and the potential avoided costs due to the protection protective orders provide. These costs are 

provided for the sample of women interviewed and are also extrapolated from the sample to the 

population of victims who obtained protective orders issued in 2007 in Kentucky in order to expand the 

policy implications of the findings from this substudy. 

The report concludes with implications and recommendations for policy and practice developed by 

combining the results of all three substudies. As with all studies, this study has a number of limitations. 

However, even with the limitations this study provides one of the most comprehensive evaluations of 

civil protective orders. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
INTRODUCTION 

13

Given the diversity of perspectives that were taken into consideration in this project and the complexity 

of findings, it is important to ground the findings in the immediate experiences that lead women to seek 

protective orders in the first place. The following examples were excerpted from actual protective order 

petitions1... 

 ...was arguing with husband when he became violent and grabbed me by the hair, hitting and 

punching, he took a belt and beat me across the back several times. He busted my mouth, took a 

clothes hanger and wrapped it in a towel and hit me with it. Pulled out big amounts of hair. 

Slapped and punched me numerous times in the head, face, and chest. Told me I had to take him 

home to another town and that I would not be coming back. Threatened to kill me if I went to 

the police. (45 year old woman with 3 children over 18 who are unrelated to the violent partner)

 Said he was going to kill me—that he could do anything he wanted [to me]. Now he keeps 

coming back and just hanging around watching me. In the past he has set the bedroom on fire 

while I was sleeping and he has hit me. [He has also hit] my brother who has been staying with 

me so he will stay away, but he doesn’t *stay away+. (43 year old women with 3 children under 

18 in common with the violent partner) 

 He poured hot water on me and hit me in my face, I fell and he kept hitting me until he gave me 

a black eye and bruises. Earlier this month he choked me until I urinated on myself and turned 

purple. (21 year old woman with no children) 

He has threatened to beat my brains out. He says he is going to come to my home and shoot me, 

or burn my house down with me and my kids in it. He has told me to watch for his vehicle 

because when he saw me “he would hit me head on.” He has broken my toe. He has left bruises 

on my neck several times from choking me until I couldn’t breathe. He has also threatened to get 

me and our children in a vehicle and hit the first 18 wheeler he saw to put us all out of our 

misery. (23 year old with 3 minor children all in common with violent partner) 

 [He] beat me backwards over a chair and choked me until I blacked out and started losing 

consciousness. He then dropped me on the floor and spit on me. Later that morning he told me 

that he wished he had killed me. He has told me several times that he will kill me. [I am] afraid to 

go to sleep. He has gotten so violent that I fear for my life every day. (30 year old with 3 minor 

children all in common with the violent partner) 

These short petition descriptions give readers only a glimpse into the terror that victims of partner 

violence contend with daily. These excerpts from women seeking a protective order come from both the 

urban and rural areas included in this study. The area was deliberately left out of the petition 

descriptions to underscore the point that the reasons women seek protective orders do not vary by 

jurisdiction as much as their experiences differ in the process of obtaining a protective order and in 

trying to have a protective order enforced. This point is particularly highlighted from the results of 

substudy 1 and substudy 2. The next section provides information about current research findings on 

protective orders and gaps in the literature. The prior research literature provided a strong foundation 

which offered direction in developing and implementing the current study. 

 

1

 These quotes were excerpted from actual Emergency Protective Order (EPO) petitions from study participants. 

Minor editing was done to make them readable and to protect confidentiality.

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 

14

BACKGROUND AND PROJECT OVERVIEW 

This report examined the protective order process from initiation by victims, to how orders are viewed 

and processed by law enforcement and the court systems, to how they affect violence after they are 

issued, to the personal and societal costs associated with them. This section provides an overview of the 

literature on several major aspects of protective orders including benefits of protective orders, 

jurisdictional influences on protective orders, characteristics of women seeking protective orders, the 

effectiveness of protective orders, factors associated with protective order violations, issues with 

protective order enforcement, and costs of partner violence and protective orders. 

What Are The Advantages Of Civil Protective Orders? 

To increase protections, all states have enacted civil protective orders which provide victims of partner 

violence with a time-limited judicial injunction that directs the offender to refrain from further abusive 

behavior (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1996; DeJong & Burgess-Proctor, 2006; Eigenberg, Berry, Hall, & McGuffee, 

2003). There are several advantages to civil protective orders. First, because the overall purpose of the 

protective order is to prevent future unlawful and violent behavior, there is a lower burden of proof 

than would be required for criminal charges. Specifically, criminal cases require a high level of proof—

beyond reasonable doubt—whereas civil protective orders only require a preponderance of evidence 

meaning there is a lower burden of proof than criminal processes (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1996; Finn, 1989; 

1991). Thus, fewer financial and time costs are associated with civil protective orders than with criminal 

cases. 

Second, punishment can be faster for those who violate civil protective orders because civil protective 

order violations can be addressed with a contempt of court charge. Contempt hearings are typically 

concluded quicker than criminal trials (Lemon, 2001). In addition, many states have protective order 

statutes that provide police with the authority to arrest for violation of its terms rather than having to 

determine probable cause as to whether another crime (other than a protective order violation) has 

been committed. 

Third, civil protective orders can provide a source of empowerment and flexibility for victims in meeting 

their specific needs (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1996; Eigenberg et al., 2003; Finn, 1991; Fischer & Rose, 1995). 

Civil protective orders can be obtained through a direct individual petition process, unlike criminal or 

other legal proceedings which often require a legal representative to petition the court for various 

actions and relief. Further, civil protective orders offer an opportunity to provide situational specificity in 

meeting victim needs. For example, victims may be more interested in being free from future abuse and 

violence rather than punishing the perpetrator (Bachman, 1998; Herman, 2003; Orth, 2003). Also, civil 

protective orders allow judges to provide relief that can be crafted for each individual case in order to 

address victims’ specific safety needs as well as other related needs such as provisions for children, child 

support, and counseling. Thus, civil protective orders allow courts the discretion to tailor protective 

order provisions to the specific needs of the victim and their particular situation. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 

15

Why Would Jurisdictional And Community Context Influences On Protective Orders Matter? 

Jurisdictional and community context differences may profoundly affect access to protective orders as 

well as enforcement. Thus, no study of protective orders can avoid consideration of local jurisdictional 

and community contexts. For example, one context that is often considered in understanding partner 

violence and protective orders is rural versus urban contexts. In general, the literature suggests that 

rates of intimate partner violence are similar for women living in rural and urban areas (Rennison & 

Welchans, 2000). Specifically, estimates from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) suggested 

that 10 per 1000 urban women experienced partner violence in the prior year compared to about 8 per 

1000 rural women and that this trend was similar from 1993-1998 (Rennison & Welchans, 2000). 

Even though rates of intimate partner violence may be similar for women from different geographic 

locations, the experience of intimate partner violence may differ greatly (Kasturirangan, Krishnan, & 

Riger, 2004; Logan, Evans, Stevenson, & Jordan, 2005a; Logan, Shannon, & Walker, 2005b; Logan, 

Stevenson, Evans, Leukefeld, 2004b; Logan, Walker, Cole, Ratliff, & Leukefeld, 2003a). Take for example 

the excerpts from the Emergency Protective Order (EPO) petitions provided above. All that was provided 

was a description of the incident; what is unknown are the barriers these women overcame to obtain a 

protective order, responses from the justice system, and enforcement or lack of enforcement if the 

order was violated. Certainly there are similarities across jurisdictions but there are also differences that 

can make the process much easier or more difficult. In other words, similar incidents of violence (like 

those noted in the EPO petitions above) may have very different responses and outcomes depending on 

jurisdiction. 

Certain environments are inherently diverse because of differences in structural constraints and the 

limited availability of resources (Deitz, 1991; Wheaton, 1999). In general, rural areas have more 

structural constraints such as lower education rates, lower incomes, higher rates of unemployment, and 

more limited services (Appalachian Regional Commission, 2009b; Eastman & Grant Bunch, 2007; 

Eastman, Bunch, Williams, Carawan, 2007; Fishwick, 1998; Grama, 2000; Iceland, 2003; Logan et al., 

2003a; 2004b; 2005a; 2005b; Pruitt, 2008a; 2008b; Porter, 1993; Struthers & Bokemeier, 2000). Fewer 

housing options, jobs, and daycare options exist for rural women who are trying to separate from 

intimate partners (Billings, Ledford, & Norman, 1999; Logan et al., 2004b; Struthers & Bokemeier, 2000). 

Cultural norms may differ in rural versus urban areas. Culture can be defined as the sharing of similar 

beliefs, practices, values, norms, and behaviors which are used to initiate and maintain behavior among 

group members (Hammond, 1978). Rural areas may be more likely to have cultural norms that inhibit 

service access, delivery, and response to violence against women compared to urban areas (Duncan, 

1999; Logan et al., 2003a; 2004b; 2005a; 2005b; Pruitt, 2008a; 2008b; Websdale, 1998). 

Research examining jurisdictional differences in the protective order process and effectiveness is limited 

for a number of likely reasons. First, in order to understand differences in one jurisdiction there must be 

some kind of comparison. Second, it is difficult to quantify subtle contextual differences and multiple 

perspectives should be used so that identified differences are reliable. Third, no standard exists for what 

questions or measures should be used to examine subtle contextual differences, making the process of 

finding jurisdictional or community context differences even more difficult. Even with these difficulties, 

it is extremely important to understand factors that contribute to jurisdictional differences in access to 

protective orders and enforcement in order to better protect women and to tailor training more 

effectively. One of the key goals of this study was to attempt to understand jurisdictional and 

community context differences for a selected rural area and a selected urban area using multiple types 

of information and viewpoints. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 

16

How Many Abused Women Obtain Protective Orders? 

Although there is limited data on how many partner violence victims actually obtain protective orders, 

the existing research suggests that between 16% and 37% of women received a protective order for the 

most recent incident of sexual assault, physical assault, or stalking they had experienced from a current 

or ex-partner (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Another study found about one-third of victims of partner 

violence had received a protective order in the past 5 years (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 

2000). Yet another study found that 40% of women in one shelter reported obtaining protective orders 

against their violent intimate partners at some point in their relationships (Penell, Burke, & Mulmat, 

2002). Using official records to determine estimates, one study found that 12% of women who had 

reported partner violence incidents to the police had received protective orders during a 12-month 

follow-up period, although this study did not mention whether or not these were all women without 

protective orders at the time of the police reported incident (Holt, Kernic, Lumley, Wolf, & Rivara, 2002). 

Another study that used police reports of partner violence found that 22% had subsequently obtained a 

protective order within the 18-month follow-up period but it is not clear whether the sample included 

only women without protective orders at initial recruitment (Weisz, Tolman, & Bennet, 1998). 

One challenge in interpreting data on the number of women seeking protective orders is that these 

rates may be affected by differences in study methodology, whether or not she is eligible to receive a 

protective order in the jurisdiction she lives in, and by procedural barriers that may differ by jurisdiction 

(Logan et al., 2005b). 

What Are Some Of The Important Characteristics Of Women With Protective Orders? 

A wide range of women experience partner violence, and a similarly wide range of women obtain 

protective orders to cope with the abuse (Logan, Shannon, Walker, & Faragher, 2006c). However, a few 

characteristics seem relatively stable across research studies. It appears that women who obtain 

protective orders have a history of severe violence (Carlson, Harris, & Holden, 1999; Gondolf, Hart, 

McWilliams, & Stuehling, 1994; Keilitz, Efkeman, & Hannaford, 1997; Klein, 1996; Logan, Cole, Shannon, & 

Walker, 2007a; Ptacek, 1999). Among the studies reporting relationship length, the average duration of 

the relationship was between 4 and 9 years, suggesting that women who obtain protective orders have a 

long history of violence (Logan et al., 2006c). Studies also indicate that between 35% and 95% of women 

filing protective orders have children (Logan et al., 2006c). Thus, protective orders not only potentially 

provide relief from long term, severe violence but also may help protect children living in these families. 

Do Protective Orders Work? 

The most critical question for any intervention is whether it works. Research on protective order 

violations suggests that violence is not automatically eliminated when the protective order is issued. In 

fact, studies report that between 23% and 70% of victims continued to experience violence after a 

protective order was issued (Carlson et al., 1999; Harrell & Smith, 1996; Keilitz et al., 1997; McFarlane et 

al., 2004; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Specifically, the National Violence Against Women (NVAW) survey 

found that for women who obtained a protective order after the most recent incident of intimate 

partner victimization, 67.6% of rape victims, 50.6% of physical assault victims, and 69.7% of stalking 

victims reported a violation of the order (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Harrell and Smith (1996) found that 

over half of all women reported unwanted contact after obtaining a protective order and over 80% of 

those with violations reported ongoing violence. In a study of over 750 women from multiple 

jurisdictions, Logan and Walker (2009a) found that 60% experienced a violation of a protective order 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 

17

during the 12-month follow-up period. 

Violation rates are likely to differ across studies depending on how new incidents of abuse (“re-abuse”) 

were measured and on other methodological factors (Cattaneo & Goodman, 2005; Harris, Dean, Holden, 

& Carlson, 2001; Hotaling & Buzawa, 2003). In particular, studies that examine only police reports 

typically show a much lower rate of re-abuse than victim reports. In fact, one study found that only 

about half of protective order violations were reported to the police when victim reports (49%) were 

compared to official data (22%) (Hotaling & Buzawa, 2003). Thus, measuring victim perceptions of 

violations is critical given police action hinges on victim notification of violations, yet not all victims 

report violations and even if they do, they do not report every violation that has occurred. Other factors 

that may differ across studies and make the rates of protective order violations appear widely disparate 

include length of time re-abuse was measured (e.g., 6 months or 2 years), the definition of re-abuse 

(e.g., severe violence, all abuse and violence including psychological abuse, any new charge, charges 

directly related to violations of a protective order), sample attrition rates, sample type (e.g., shelter 

sample versus general community samples), and the way re-abuse was assessed (e.g., with a single 

question versus multiple questions). 

This study is designed to address many of the remaining questions on the effectiveness of the protective 

order by building on prior research findings, in particular to identify those for whom protective orders 

work best, and under what circumstances. 

What Factors Are Associated With Protective Order Violations? 

Several factors have been associated with protective order violations in prior research including: (1) 

Women with children in common with the violent partner were more likely to experience continued 

violence and threats (Carlson et al., 1999; Harrell, Newmark, & Smith, 1993; Harrell & Smith, 1996). (2) 

Shorter relationship length was related to increased rates of re-abuse (Carlson et al., 1999). (3) History 

of violence severity in the relationship has been associated with greater likelihood of re-abuse (Cattaneo 

& Goodman, 2005; Harrell et al., 1993). (4) Perpetrator age has been associated with protective order 

violations, with younger offenders more likely to violate the protective order than older offenders (Klien, 

1996). (5) Offender prior criminal history has been associated with continued violence (Cattaneo & 

Goodman, 2005; Klein, 1996) even after court intervention (Klein & Tobin, 2008; Rempel, Labriola, & 

Davis, 2008). (6) Stalking has been associated with protective order violations (Harrell et al., 1993; 

Logan, Shannon, & Cole, 2007b). And (7) Jurisdictional differences exist in barriers to obtaining and 

enforcing protective orders and may influence violation rates and justice system responses to violations 

(Logan et al., 2005b). Another factor that has not typically been associated with protective order 

violations but anecdotally is thought to influence violations is whether or not the relationship continues 

after a protective order is issued. Some believe that continuing the relationship increases the risk of reabuse due to increased access of the perpetrator to the victim while others suggest that separation is 

the time of increased risk (Goldfarb, 2008; Logan et al., 2006c). The current study incorporates these 

salient factors that were identified as being associated with protective order violations in the literature. 

What Do We Know About Protective Order Enforcement? 

Several researchers suggest that one of the major shortcomings of protective orders is the lack of 

consistent or effective enforcement (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1996; Finn, 1989; 1991; Kane, 1999; 2000; 

Mignion & Holmes, 1995). The presence of a protective order does not appear to affect arrest or 

prosecution rates of partner violence offenders (Kane, 1999; 2000; Mignon & Holmes, 1995). For example, 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 

18

Kane (1999) found that the violation of a protective order led to only a 5% higher arrest rate when 

compared to the arrest rate in partner violence cases without a protective order. Mignon and Holmes 

(1995) concluded that even in a mandatory arrest jurisdiction, having a protective order does not 

guarantee that police will arrest the offender when the order has been violated. Harrell and Smith (1996) 

reported that, for their sample of 355 women with protective orders, 290 separate incidents of protective 

order violations were reported to the police but only 59 (20%) resulted in an arrest. 

Once an offender is arrested or brought to the attention of the court, the prosecutor must decide whether 

to pursue the charges. Although there are limited studies examining prosecution and conviction rates for 

partner violence in general, several important findings have emerged. For example, several studies suggest 

that an offender’s prior criminal history as well as documentation of victim injury are associated with higher 

rates of prosecution and conviction (Hirschel & Hutshison, 2001; Kingsnorth, Berdahl, Blades, MacIntosh, & 

Rossi, 2001; Ventura & Davis, 2005). Another study found that cases in which prosecution was not pursued 

(arrested but no charges were filed) had higher rates of re-arrest than cases where prosecution was 

pursued (Wooldredge & Thistlewaite, 2002). However, few studies of prosecution and conviction of 

partner violence examine protective order status, thus leaving a gap in the understanding of how 

protective orders might impact prosecution and convictions in partner violence cases. 

Many decisions are made about protective order violations starting with whether or not the victim 

perceives a violation, whether or not the victim reports the violation, what the police officer does with 

the report of a violation, what the prosecutor decides, and finally, what a judge or jury decides. One gap 

in the current literature on protective orders is an analysis of the decision making process at these 

various levels. 

What Is The Decisional Process In The Enforcement Of Protective Orders? 

There are four main role perspectives, each of which has a window of critical decision opportunity in the 

protective order enforcement process. For example, the initial decision point begins with the individual

victim who has obtained a protective order. Before enforcement is even a question, an individual must 

perceive a violation and decide what to do about the violation (e.g., ignore it, call the police, or file a 

complaint through criminal procedures). If the victim decides to seek law enforcement remedies, a 

second decision point arises with police involvement. The police can: (a) decide to arrest or seek a 

warrant for arrest, and if so, they will decide how much effort to expend locating the offender; (b) 

encourage the woman to file a criminal complaint; (c) talk to the offender but take no other action; or 

(d) choose some other strategy. Assuming the matter becomes a formal complaint or arrest, the third 

decision point comes about with the prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor must decide whether to 

proceed with a criminal case; a judge/jury must decide whether to dismiss the case, to acquit the 

defendant, or to convict the defendant. There may be other decision points in the process but these are 

the main decision points of focus for this study. 

Two primary factors shape the decisional frame of the individual victim—how women understand 

protective order violations and how women evaluate the personal and social costs or benefits of 

reporting violations. First it is important to understand how women decide which violations to report. 

Not all women define violations in the same way or report every violation that occurs. For example, one 

study found that 49.2% of the sample of 118 victims surveyed reported they were assaulted by the 

offender, a protective order was violated, or that they were forced to take out another protective order 

during the 1-year follow-up; yet, when examining official court records, only 22.1% of the cases had an 

official record of violence (Hotaling & Buzawa, 2003). Negative as well as positive outcomes are 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 

19

associated with using the justice system. For example, there are personal costs or perceived tradeoffs 

such as embarrassment/stigma, revictimization by the system, backlash from the perpetrator or 

perpetrator’s family, difficulty in negotiating the system, and lack of system support (Logan et al., 2004b; 

2005a; 2005b). Some costs may not be relevant until women become involved in the justice system 

while other perceived costs/tradeoffs may diminish as they progress through the system. In other 

words, perceived costs may change over time and at different stages in the justice system process. It is 

important to understand how women perceive the personal and social consequences of violations 

including possible interactions with the justice system and how they evaluate the potential negative 

interactions compared to the possible gains. An examination of the factors that play into whether or not 

a determination is made by the victim to report or file for a violation of a protective order is needed. 

At a different level, police, prosecutors, and judges also weigh various costs and tradeoffs to pursuing 

enforcement of a protective order including: spending time on a crime they may think is less important 

than other crimes, factors about the case which may make the case less “viable,” the level of community 

support for aggressive enforcement, and/or concern about victim support for enforcing the order. On 

the other hand, benefits of pursing protective order enforcement may include protecting a victim, 

providing increased safety for the community, and/or punishing an offender for engaging in criminal 

behavior. More specifically, it may be that justice system personnel informally weigh the cost and 

burden of protective order enforcement on the system compared to the perceived gain in personal 

safety to victims and find the cost too great for a very limited gain. In addition to the decisional analysis 

of cost and benefit tradeoffs, there are actual costs to society of partner violence and protective orders. 

These economic costs and benefits have received limited research attention as well. 

What Are The Economic Costs Of Partner Violence And Protective Orders? 

A recent study estimated that intimate partner violence costs society $8.3 billion in 2003, including the 

costs of partner rape, physical assault, stalking, and murder (Max, Rice, Finkelstein, Bardwell, & 

Leadbetter, 2004). This cost estimate accounted for consequences of partner violence such as medical 

care, mental health services, and lost productivity for both paid and household work. Unfortunately this 

cost estimate, like most other cost estimates of partner violence, does not include justice system costs. 

These costs are likely to be significant because, although women with violent partners use a variety of 

services to reduce their level of danger and exposure to further victimization (Coker, Derrick, Lumpkin, 

Aldrich, & Oldendick, 2000; Gondolf, 1998; Hutchison, & Hirschel, 1998; Logan, Shannon, Cole, & 

Walker, 2006b; Shannon, Logan, Cole, & Medley, 2006), the justice system represents an important 

avenue for women seeking safety (Keilitz et al., 1997; Logan et al., 2006c; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). 

Women use two main strategies to enlist the justice system in helping them with partner violence: the 

police and protective orders. These two strategies are not mutually exclusive because many women 

learn about protective orders through the police (Gist et al., 2001), and once protective orders are 

obtained, many women call the police to enforce the order (Buzawa & Buzawa, 1996; Finn, 1989; 1991; 

Kane, 1999; 2000; Mignion & Holmes, 1995). Further, protective orders are often issued from civil 

divisions of the court but are typically enforced through the criminal divisions of the court system 

(Eigenberg et al., 2003). Hence, when examining the protective order processes, both civil and criminal 

justice responses must be considered. 

Another limitation to cost estimates of social problems is that cost estimates do not always carefully 

examine personal quality of life costs. These costs do translate into economic costs but in far more 

complex ways. Specifically, the literature on costs of partner violence does not account for quality of life 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 

20

changes resulting from protective orders over time. For example, thinking back to the incidents 

described in the Emergency Protective Order (EPO) petitions at the beginning of this report, the reader 

gets a picture of one incident or slice in time. It is difficult to estimate the extended personal and social 

costs of daily fear, survival strategies, and other effects of violence on the woman’s capacity to provide 

child care, to work, and to be effective in her many social roles. There is also the question of the cost of 

a miserable existence and lost potential future opportunities. These costs are admittedly difficult to 

quantify and study. However, it is critically important to account in some way for the impact on an 

individual’s quality of life and the potential change on quality of life due to a justice system intervention 

(Cohen & Miller, 1998; Max et al., 2004). 

NIJ Project Goals And Research Questions 

The overall goal of this NIJ project is to inform public policies and justice system practices to enhance 

the effectiveness of protective orders with the ultimate goal of increasing the safety of women 

threatened by partner violence and increasing offender accountability. Specifically, the multiple 

perspectives collected for each of the specific aims was used to identify the primary case, incident, and 

community characteristics influencing civil and criminal justice system responses to protective order 

violations in one urban and four rural jurisdictions. This NIJ project included three substudies to examine 

five specific aims: 

Substudy 1. Rural versus urban similarities and differences: Do community contextual factors matter? 

1. To examine official court data and the current literature on rural versus urban differences to 

better understand community contextual factors in addressing partner violence in different 

jurisdictions. 

2. To examine rural and urban key informant (n=188) perceptions of partner violence, protective 

orders, and protective order enforcement to better understand community contextual factors in 

addressing partner violence in different jurisdictions. 

Substudy 2. Civil protective orders: Justice or just a piece of paper? 

3. To follow 106 rural and 107 urban women at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after receiving 

protective orders to examine partner violence during the 6 months prior to obtaining a 

protective order as well as the protective order process, protective order violations, victim 

decisions regarding whether or not to report the violations, and justice system responses to 

reported violations 6 months after obtaining the protective order (99% follow-up rate, n=210). 

4. To describe the civil and criminal system histories of protective order respondents and justice 

system responses to protective order violations using official court records on protective order 

cases involving to the rural and urban women who participated in the study. 

Substudy 3. Costs of protective orders versus partner violence: Is it really worth it? 

5. To examine personal and societal costs of partner violence, including justice system costs and 

costs to victim quality of life 6 months before and 6 months after a protective order was 

obtained for 210 rural and urban women to better understand the full spectrum of costs 

associated with partner violence as well as the economic impact of protective orders.

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
OVERALL STUDY METHOD

21

OVERALL STUDY METHOD 

This NIJ project was completed in four phases. The first phase focused on implementing the study, 

including meeting with the advisory committees in the rural and urban areas, and developing and 

piloting the face-to-face interviews. The second phase focused on recruiting 213 rural and urban women 

approximately 19 days after they received the PO and interviewing them about their history of partner 

violence, their experiences with the protective order process, and their experiences of partner violence 

since they received the protective order. Women were also interviewed at 3 months (97% follow-up

rate) and 6 months (99% follow-up rate) after they received the PO. Key informant interviews (n=188, 

82% response rate) were conducted in this phase. The key informant and individual interviews used a 

mixed methods approach, including both qualitative and quantitative data collected concurrently 

(Creswell, 2003). The third phase included collecting secondary data from the Administrative Office of 

the Courts and local jails for the rural and urban area in general, and specifically for the 210 protective 

order partners (PO partners) from cases involving women who participated in the study. This phase also 

included identifying economic cost sources. The fourth phase focused on analysis, integration of data, 

and data dissemination. All study procedures were approved by the University of Kentucky Institutional 

Review Board as well as the National Institute of Justice and have been used in prior studies (Logan et 

al., 2005a; Logan, Hoyt, Leukefeld, 2001a; Logan, Hoyt, McCollister, French, Leukefeld, & Minton, 2004a; 

Logan et al., 2005b; Logan & Walker, 2009a; Logan, Walker, & Leukefeld, 2001b; Logan et al., 2003a; 

Logan, Walker, Shannon, & Cole, 2008; Logan, Walker, Stewart, & Allen, 2006e). 

THE PROTECTIVE ORDER PROCESS AND DEFINITIONS 

Protective order petitions in Kentucky can be filed against any family member including spouses and 

former spouses. Members of unmarried couples may also file a petition if they have a child in common 

or if they are currently living together or have lived together in the past (KRS 403.720). The protective 

order (PO) process is typically two-fold. First, victims must petition the court for an Emergency 

Protective Order (EPO) which must be signed by the judge. Once the order has been signed by a judge, 

both the petitioner and the respondent must receive notice of the order and the hearing date before 

the order is active (i.e., before the respondent could be arrested for a violation). The EPO cannot exceed 

14 days each time it is issued; however it can continue to be issued indefinitely every 14 days or so. 

Getting the respondent served with notice of the order and hearing date can sometimes be difficult. 

Basically, if the respondent is not served with the order, the orders cannot be enforced leaving a gap in 

safety. Additionally, victims may have to invest more time trying to get the order served or re-filing the 

petition if it expires before it is served. Also, when a judge believes there is insufficient evidence for an 

EPO, the judge may issue a summons for both parties to appear for a Domestic Violence Order (DVO) 

hearing rather than granting an EPO. This means the initial phase of protection provided by the EPO is 

not granted. 

Second, after notification of the EPO or summons, both parties are expected to attend a court hearing 

where a determination of findings will be entered and will either result in a Domestic Violence Order 

(DVO) or not. The DVO can be issued for up to 3 years. There are two types of Domestic Violence Orders: 

No Violent Contact and No Contact orders. Basically, the No Contact orders consider any contact a 

violation while the No Violent Contact orders allow contact, but not violent contact, for any reason such 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
OVERALL STUDY METHOD

22

as communicating about child issues or even to allow couples to live together. 

Throughout this report, PO is used to refer to the civil protective order when referring to the general 

process of protective orders. The DVO term is used to refer specifically to the longer-term or full order 

and EPO term is used to refer specifically to the temporary order. 

It must also be noted that domestic violence was defined as partner violence for the purpose of this study 

as well as for the key informant survey. The two terms, partner violence and domestic violence, are used 

interchangeably throughout this report. Additionally, the literature often uses the terms “victim” and 

“survivor” interchangeably, with some disciplines favoring one over the other. The use of the term victim 

in this paper is not meant to imply that women who have experienced partner violence are not survivors. 

Rather, the use of the word victim was simply chosen to provide a consistent terminology throughout the 

paper and should be thought of as synonymous with survivor. 

Finally, the terms “offender,” “perpetrator,” and “PO partner” are all meant to refer to the PO respondent 

or to the violent partner against whom the PO is issued. These terms are used interchangeably. 

It should be noted that the actual implementation of the EPO process differs by jurisdiction in three main 

ways. The description of procedural differences was derived from several sources, including an in-depth 

analysis of the process in the rural and urban areas (Logan et al., 2005b), data collected for this study 

(substudy 1) from key informants, and through the community advisory boards. First, in the urban area the 

court clerk’s office provides access to protective orders 24 hours a day 7 days a week. That is not the case 

in most of the rural jurisdictions. Due to budget constraints the court clerk’s office is not staffed all night. 

Thus, either women do not have access to EPOs after business hours or they can try to file an EPO petition 

with the local police, the sheriff’s office, or the state police. Second, in the urban area finding a judge to 

sign an EPO petition is the responsibility of the court clerk’s office after the victim files for the petition. 

Judges are available during business hours and typically a designated judge is on call for these matters 

after hours. However, in the rural area victims are often responsible for finding the judge to get the 

paperwork signed. This is challenging during the day and especially challenging after business hours. Third, 

once the petition is signed by the judge in the urban area court clerk personnel take the paperwork to the 

sheriff’s office so that the respondent can be served with notification of the order and the hearing date. In 

the rural area victims sometimes also have the responsibility of getting the order to the right office in 

order for the respondent to be notified of the order and the hearing date. More specific details of the 

process similarities and differences among the urban and rural areas are described in Logan et al. (2005b). 

PHASE I: HIRING AND TRAINING OF STAFF, ADVISORY COMMITTEE, FINALIZING 

PROJECT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, AND PILOTING FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS 

The activities in Phase I took about six months to complete. A study director and interviewers were hired 

and trained. Two advisory groups were used to inform the study, one from the urban area and one from 

the rural area. Advisory group membership in the urban area included representatives from the 

prosecutor’s offices, local law enforcement, legal aid, victim advocates from a variety of agencies, 

domestic violence shelters, the sexual assault nurse examiner program, and the friend of the court 

office. Those same agencies were represented in the selected study rural site along with representatives 

from social services, State Police, and a residential substance abuse program for women. 

The selected rural jurisdictions were close in proximity, similar on selected census indicators, and had 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
OVERALL STUDY METHOD

23

similar numbers of civil protective order petitions. Four rural jurisdictions were selected to ensure a 

sample size comparable to the urban area as well as to ensure confidentiality. Because rural jurisdictions 

are so small and often only have one judge who handles domestic violence cases, there was concern 

that including only one or two jurisdictions would be too identifying. The goal of this study is not to 

identify anything negative about a specific person (e.g., judge), jurisdiction, or police department, but to 

determine strengths and areas for improvement in addressing partner violence. 

The advisory group met in the selected urban area on March 29, 2006 and April 18, 2007 and in the 

selected rural area on July 17, 2006 and May 2 and 3, 2007 (two separate meetings were held in 2007 in 

the rural area to reduce travel time for key informants). The first meetings were held to help finalize 

study procedures. The second meetings were held to report on progress from both the study 

perspective and the community perspective and to obtain feedback on preliminary results. Also, on 

December 10, 2008, preliminary study results were presented at the Statewide Kentucky Domestic 

Violence Association and Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs annual conference which had 

some of the advisory group members along with a wider group of people from across the state to 

provide feedback about the study and study findings (approximately 80 people attended the session). In 

addition, contact has been maintained with some members of the advisory group on an individual basis 

or at other community based meetings. More meetings, presentations, and publications are planned as 

the study results are finalized. 

The last part of this phase included drafting the interview protocol and piloting the recruitment 

procedures and protocol along with intensive training of the study director and interviewers. 

Approximately 10 pilot interviews were conducted, split across rural and urban. Three of the pilots were 

not used as part of the study data because of substantial changes to the interview protocol after those 

pilot interviews. 

PHASE II: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS, PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS, DATA ENTRY 

Key informant interviews with 207 key informants (85 urban and 122 rural) were completed between 

June 2007 and April2008. Overall there was an 82.8% response rate, an 11.6% refusal rate, and 6% were 

never scheduled. There were no significant differences by area for refusal rates or rates of those not 

scheduled. The sample was generated using several different strategies including: (1) advisory group 

committee suggestions; (2) listing and contacting key agencies in each community (e.g., prosecutors 

offices, sheriff offices, local law enforcement, shelters); and, (3) each survey participant was asked to 

provide names of other individuals in their community that he or she believed should be included in the 

survey. 

Because of the methodology of asking people to refer others that should be interviewed, a few of the 

key informants who completed the survey (n=19, 9%) did not fit into the broad categories of criminal 

justice system representatives or victim service representatives (e.g., a pastor that did not serve partner 

violence victims, a homeless shelter director that did not serve partner violence victims, a food stamp 

worker, a journalist, a transitional housing director that did not service partner violence victims, 

perpetrator treatment, substance abuse counselor, health provider) or were not specifically from the 

target counties (e.g., community action council director). This left a final sample of 188 key informants 

(77 urban and 111 rural). Analysis of bivariate relationships was examined with Chi-Squares and 

ANOVAs. Specific methodological details about this component of the study are reported in the method 

section in substudy 1.

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
OVERALL STUDY METHOD

24

For participant interviews, 228 women were recruited and interviewed. Study participants were 

recruited out of court from one urban and four rural courts when they obtained protective orders 

against a male intimate partner between June 2006 and August 2007 (n = 227). One participant was 

referred from an agency but was screened as eligible and was interviewed. To be eligible for the study, 

participants had to be: (1) female, (2) 18 years and older, (3) planning on staying in, or close to, the 

recruitment jurisdiction for the next 6 months, and (4) without a DVO against that same male intimate 

partner for at least 6 months prior to the new DVO. Participants also had to complete the baseline 

within six weeks of obtaining a new DVO. 

Overall, of those who were actively recruited there was a 66.8% participation rate, a 3.8% refusal rate, 

and 29.4% that were never scheduled. Fifteen interviews were pulled from the study for a variety of 

reasons explained in more detail under the method section of substudy 2, leaving a final baseline 

sample of 213. Participants were followed at 3 and 6 months with an overall follow-up rate of 99% 

(n=210). Analysis included Chi-Squares, ANOVAs, and logistic and linear regressions. Specific details 

regarding the methods are reported in the method section of substudy 2. 

Data were entered into SPSS or Word concurrent with data collection throughout the course of the 

study. This allowed for an additional level of quality control while the study was ongoing as well as 

continuous reporting of study progress. 

PHASE III: SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS AND COST ESTIMATES 

During this phase secondary data were extracted and used to estimate justice system costs as well as to 

characterize partner violence offenders on prior justice system involvement. Court records from the 

Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) were used to extract information about charges and 

convictions for the same 12 months in which the petitioners’ experiences were assessed as well as to 

obtain history of involvement in the criminal justice system. Civil records of EPOs, DVOs, and contempt 

of court charges were also accessed through AOC data. Local jail data for the relevant time period were 

extracted from four jails. One jail refused to cooperate after numerous and varied attempts to access 

the information. Details about this portion of the study are reported in the method section of substudy 

2.

Activities during this phase included identifying economic cost sources for each cost element included in 

the analysis as well as estimating the cost of a protective order. Details about this portion of the study 

are reported in the method section of substudy 3. 

PHASE IV: ANALYSIS, INTEGRATION OF DATA, AND DATA DISSEMINATION 

Analysis, integration of data, and data dissemination were completed during the last months of the 

study period. Because of the vast amount of data from multiple perspectives, results were divided into 

three substudies as noted in the Figure below: 

Substudy 1 Rural versus urban similarities and differences: Do contextual factors matter? 

Substudy 2 Civil protective orders: Justice or just a piece of paper? 

Substudy 3 Costs of protective orders versus partner violence: Is it really worth it? 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
OVERALL STUDY METHOD

25

An overall implication and conclusion section is presented at the end of this report. Data dissemination 

strategies including presentations and publications are ongoing; current efforts are listed at the report’s 

conclusion. 

Figure For The Kentucky Civil Protective Order Study Components

Implications and

Conclusions

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

26

SUBSTUDY 1: 

RURAL VERSUS URBAN SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES: 

DO COMMUNITY CONTEXTUAL FACTORS MATTER? 

Figure For Substudy 1: The Kentucky Civil Protective Order Study Components 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

27

Victim Or Perpetrator, Criminal Justice System Sends Mixed Messages 

Heather2, a 39 year old rural woman, was 27 when she began a relationship with Kevin. Kevin and 

Heather were married for over ten years but had been divorced for about five years. Although they were 

divorced, Heather had recently ended another relationship and had nowhere to live, so Kevin offered to 

let her live with him until she could get back on her feet. One afternoon when Heather came home from 

work, Kevin was waiting for her at the door. As soon as she walked in, he slung her against the wall. 

Then, he forced her to sit down and kept her at knife-point for two hours. He walked away momentarily 

and she thought she could escape; she ran for the door but he caught her and threw her down on the 

ground. He threatened her with the knife to her face, screaming that he was going to cut her face so no 

one else could look at her. She threw her hands up to protect her face, and he stabbed her hands. She 

started screaming and he then took the knife and slid it gently against his neck, leaving small scratches. 

At that point, she got away from him and ran down the street to her workplace and called the police. 

When the police officer arrived, he told her that he would gladly arrest the perpetrator but if there were 

any scratches on Kevin he would have to arrest her as well. She remembered that Kevin had used the 

knife on himself, so she told him not to arrest the perpetrator and went to the emergency room for her 

injuries. The hospital called the police and when the officer arrived he took her report of what happened. 

When she explained what happened the first time she talked to the officer, he told her that the first 

officer probably told her that because his shift was about over and he didn’t want to fill out the 

paperwork. The officer who came to the emergency room filled out a report and advised her to get an 

EPO and to file criminal charges with the prosecutor; she did both. 

During the DVO hearing the judge told her it was partially her fault that this incident occurred because 

she shouldn’t have been in Kevin’s home in the first place. Even so, Heather was granted a no-contact 

DVO for three years prohibiting the perpetrator from damaging her property, owning a gun, or visiting 

her work, and it required him to stay at least 1000 feet away from her at all times. However, she had 

also asked that a Personal Belonging Order be written up so that she could get her belongings out of the 

house, a request which the judge ignored. 

Kevin violated the EPO twice. The first time he violated the EPO, he went to her work and claimed that he 

needed a license plate out of her car. She got it for him but reminded him that he was not supposed to 

have any contact with her. The second time, he found Heather and her male friend in a restaurant. He 

accused her friend of being her “new boyfriend” and began to cuss him out, claiming that “this shit has 

only begun.” Heather reported each of these violations immediately to the police department. She also 

notified the judge of these violations at the DVO hearing. However, she was very frustrated because even 

though he had violated the EPO twice and she had reported the incidents as she was told to do, he was 

not given any sanctions. Kevin did not violate the DVO, Heather believed, in part because he was facing 

criminal charges for the EPO incident and he didn’t want to spend any more time in jail, and in part he 

didn’t know where she was living for some of the six month period after the DVO was issued. Heather 

reported high levels of fear and was unsure of whether she thought the protective order was effective 

because he got away with violating it twice. 

 

2

 Names and details have been changed to protect confidentiality 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

28

INTRODUCTION 

Heather’s story highlights several barriers and obstacles that influence protective order outcomes. First, 

it appeared that several of the criminal justice representatives blamed the victim for her situation which 

may have been, in part, due to Heather’s background (she had been married and divorced several times, 

had experienced partner violence from multiple partners, and had been arrested on substance-related 

charges in the past). Second, the crime of partner violence seemed to be a low police priority in both the 

initial responding officer’s attitude and in addressing the violations of the EPO. And third, there seemed

to be a lack of concern regarding the shared home and property which Heather was asked to forgo in 

the wake of the terror Kevin reigned on her. One question that comes to mind from Heather’s story is 

how her experience might have differed had she lived in an urban area. In other words, one question 

this substudy seeks to answer is whether the obstacles that Heather encountered in help-seeking for 

partner violence differ in the rural versus the urban area in a systematic way. 

In order to better understand the influence of contextual factors in the process of addressing partner 

violence, one urban and four rural jurisdictions were selected for this study. Even though the state law 

clearly applies to every jurisdiction, it is hypothesized that there are jurisdictional differences that may 

have a great impact on access to protective orders, the process of obtaining protective orders, and in 

enforcement of protective orders. Studying partner violence in rural areas has been recognized as 

important by the National Institute of Justice for a number of years. To better understand the rural context 

two things are necessary: (1) having a comparison such as an urban area so that rural trends and unique 

differences can be identified; and (2) using multiple types of data to understand the overt and more subtle 

contextual differences between rural and urban areas. For this study, an urban and an Appalachian rural 

area were compared using several different data sources including: (a) census data; (b) official civil and 

criminal justice data; (c) news reports and other literature on rural areas; and (d) information from a large 

survey (n=188) of criminal justice and victim service representative key informants from the selected rural 

and urban areas. 

SUBSTUDY 1 METHOD 

Secondary Data 

Data were obtained from the 2000 census and were updated with estimates for 2007 when possible. 

Other data including information from the Appalachian Regional Commission, Kentucky State Police, the 

Administrative Office of the Courts, and news reports were used to describe the particular rural and 

urban areas selected for this study. 

Key Informant Interviews 

Interviews with 207 key informants (85 urban and 122 rural) were completed between June 2007 and 

April 2008. Overall there was an 82.8% response rate, an 11.6% refusal rate, and 5.6% were never 

scheduled. There were no significant differences by area for refusal rates or rates of those not 

scheduled. The sample was generated using several different strategies including: (1) advisory group 

committee suggestions of whom to contact; (2) listing and contacting key agencies in each community 

(e.g., prosecutors offices, sheriff offices, local law enforcement, shelters); and (3) each survey 

participant was asked to provide names of other individuals in their community he or she believed 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

29

should be included in the survey. 

Interview Procedures and Effort 

The vast majority of the key informant interviews were completed by telephone (90.8%) although there 

were area differences, with 96.4% done by telephone in the urban area and 86.9% done by telephone in 

the rural area (Z=2.35, p<.05). A very small percentage of interviews were completed by fax (1%) and 8% 

were completed through face-to-face interviews, although more face-to-face interviews were 

completed in the rural area (13%) than in the urban area (1%, Z=3.08, p<.01). Interviews took 

approximately 65 minutes on average to complete although they took slightly longer in the rural area 

(70 minutes) compared to the urban area (59 minutes, F(1, 205)=19.3, p<.001). In all, 223 hours and 40 

minutes were spent to complete all of the interviews. Overall, 2,431 telephone calls were made to 

complete the survey and 155 call-ins were received. Thirty-two emails were sent and 32 in-person 

contacts were made to complete this portion of the study. 

Because of the methodology of asking people to refer others who should be interviewed, a few of the 

key informants who completed the survey (n=19, 9%) did not fit into the broad categories of criminal 

justice system representatives or victim service representatives (e.g., a pastor that did not serve partner 

violence victims, a homeless shelter director who did not serve partner violence victims, a food stamp 

worker, a journalist, a transitional housing director who did not serve partner violence victims, a health 

provider, a substance abuse counselor) or they were not specifically from the target counties (e.g., 

community action council director). This left a final sample of 188 as Table 1 below shows. 

Table 1. Key informants by broad categories and area 

Selected 

Urban Area

N=77

Selected 

Rural Area

N=111

Total

N=188

Criminal justice (e.g., judges, law enforcement, 

prosecutors, defense attorneys, court clerks, jail, probation 

and parole)

33.8%

N=26

41.4%

N=46

38.3%

N=72

Victim Services (e.g., advocates, legal aid attorneys, shelter 

staff, rape crisis staff, counselors/social workers, adult 

protective services, other government program personnel 

that serve victims)

66.2%

N=51

58.6%

N=65

61.7%

N=116

Interviews used quantitative and qualitative information to assess: (1) rural versus urban differences in 

crime response; (2) attitudes toward partner violence and protective orders; (3) barriers to obtaining a 

protective orders; (4) protective order violations and police responses; and (5) factors in prosecution 

and conviction for protective order violations. 

Analysis 

Analysis of qualitative data was done using NVivo and then transferred into SPSS. The qualitative data 

were first surveyed for themes and then coded into those themes with new themes added as necessary. 

All qualitative data analysis was done by the Principal Investigator of the study. For quality control, 20% 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

30

of the questions were independently coded by a research assistant and then compared to the original 

thematic analysis. There was a 90.4% agreement across all categories and questions double coded for 

quality control. All differences were resolved for 100% agreement. Some of the data were combined 

into larger categories once they were transferred into SPSS to facilitate communication of the results. 

Quantitative analysis was done with chi-square or ANOVAs to examine bivariate relationships. 

Results reported below are reported for the study-selected urban and rural areas. However, results 

should not be generalized to all urban or all rural areas in the state. 

SUBSTUDY 1 RESULTS 

Census And Economic Indicator Differences 

The rural area that was targeted for the current study incorporated four southeastern Kentucky counties 

which are also all central Appalachian counties. Three of the four counties are classified as economically 

distressed and the fourth is classified as economically at-risk (Appalachian Regional Commission, 2009a). 

In addition to being impoverished, recent studies have also identified the Appalachian rural areas as at 

risk for significant health disparities. For example, one study found that the life expectancy of low 

income white women in Appalachia has declined between 1982 and 2001. The authors concluded that 

income alone could not account for the decline because other low income white rural populations did 

not experience that kind of health decline suggesting there are other contextual factors that specifically 

put women at risk for health disparities in rural Appalachia (Murray et al., 2006). Another recent report 

indicated that more individuals living in Appalachia had serious psychological distress and a major 

depressive disorder compared to the rest of the nation (Zhang et al., 2008). Additionally, in general, 

rural areas tend to have fewer available services of all types, and the few that do exist must cover larger 

geographic areas. The quality and consistency of staff are also problematic and higher costs are 

associated with some rural services while individuals in rural areas have fewer personal resources to pay 

for costs (Booth, Ross, & Rost, 1999; DeLeon, Hagglund, & Wakefield, 2003; Leukefeld, Clayton, & 

Meyers, 1992; Ricketts, 1999; Zhang et al., 2008). 

As Table 2 shows, the majority of the individuals living in the selected rural counties were classified as rural 

from the Census data, and the density indicator was significantly lower in the rural area (86 people per 

square mile on average) than in the selected urban area (980 people per square mile on average). Also, 

people living in the rural area were mostly white, born in Kentucky, and living in poverty with lower 

incomes than those in the urban area of the study. More housing units in the rural area did not have 

telephones or automobiles. Further, the selected rural area has a lower proportion of individuals with a 

high school degree and higher unemployment rates. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

31

Table 2. County description for sample selection 

Census Data Selected Urban 

Area

Selected Rural 

Area Kentucky

Population estimate and indices of rural

Population estimate (2007) 279,044 160,819 4,241,474

% Population rural (2000) 4% 86.8%

(78%-91%)

44%

Persons per square mile (2007)

 Range

980.8 86.3

(70.9-106.6)

106.8

Total area size square miles

 Range

284.52 1,863.17

(339.04-787.69)

39,728.18

Population characteristics

% African American (2007) 13.8% 1.1% 7.7%

% Pop born in Kentucky (2000) 64% 84.3% 74%

Poverty indices

% Population below poverty level (2007) 15.9% 25.8% 17.2%

Average income per capita (2000) $23,109 $12,664 $18,093

Median household income (2007) $46,726 $29,545 $40,299

% Housing units without telephone 3% 9% 5%

% Housing units without automobiles 8% 13.5% 9%

Education and unemployment

Men and women 25+ high school graduate or 

more (2000)

85.8% 60% 74.1%

Unemployment rate July 2007 (Kentucky office 

of Employment and Training, 2007)

4.3% 7.2% 5.7%

Female population 16+ not in workforce (2000) 35% 62.3% 45.6%

 

The rural area selected for this study may or may not be representative of other rural areas. However, 

the selection of Appalachian counties adds to the understanding of the characteristics of this particular 

area that has long been characterized as “the other America” or as an undeveloped nation within the 

U.S. (Eller, 2008; Harrington, 1993). The people in Appalachia have experienced stigma, discrimination, 

high rates of poverty and high levels of governmental relief programs for decades with almost half the 

Appalachian population being on some form of governmental subsidy by the 1930s (Eller, 2008). Even in 

2006-2007, following years of economic development, 35.9% of the rural area for this study was 

Medicaid eligible and 32.1% were on disability compared to 13.2% Medicaid and 15% for disability for 

the urban county in this study (U.S. Census, 2009; Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, 2009). The rural 

Appalachian area has five key cultural characteristics that likely influence attitudes and responses to 

partner violence. 

First, the literature on Appalachia has stressed the strong tendency among the residents to keep 

personal problems personal and within the family rather than using public services to solve them. This 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

32

theme is captured by a study on the social historical analysis of poverty in a central rural Appalachian 

county where one informant stated, “I don’t tell anybody else what to do and I don’t want anybody else 

telling me what to do” (Billings & Blee, 2000, p. 162). In other words, Appalachia is characterized by an 

intense self-reliance and has been this way throughout its history (Webb, 2004). This self-reliance may 

play an important role in the response to governmental interference in the home, which is seen as 

exclusively a family matter. 

Second, and related to the first characteristic, rural areas are traditionally more conservative politically 

and socially, and have more traditional views of gender roles (Bush & Lash, 2006; Gagne, 1992; Pruitt, 

2008a; 2008b; Websdale, 1998). These conservative political, social, and gender role views are deeply 

embedded in the high priority assigned to kinship ties and family identities that bound people together 

across the isolated communities (Burns, Scott, & Thompson, 2006; Webb, 2004). Along with these 

conservative views, the religious values among individuals in Appalachian rural areas may influence their 

understanding and responses to partner violence. The Appalachian religion, which is heavily Calvinist 

and fundamentalist, may contribute to more traditional views of gender roles as well as to what some 

have characterized as fatalism or the passive acceptance of fate (Drake, 2001). As one 83 year old 

Appalachian woman put it “I’m rich, rich as the Lord wants me to be” even though she lived in poverty 

(Kennedy, 1999, p. 11). The conservative and traditional gender role norms likely interact with the norm 

of privacy to create an environment that contributes to more tolerance of partner violence (Duncan, 

1999; Logan et al., 2003a; 2004b; 2005a; 2005b; Pruitt, 2008a; 2008b; Websdale, 1998). 

Third, some believe that the history of Appalachia is replete with absentee ownership of land, minerals, 

and the limited sources of wealth in the area which is hypothesized as contributing to the widespread 

feelings of powerlessness to change the culture or “the way things are” (Dunaway, 1995; Duncan, 1999; 

Gaventa, 1980; The Appalachian Land Ownership Task Force, 1983). A study of 20 million acres of 

Appalachian land found that large multinational corporations owned 40% of it as well as 70% of the 

mineral rights (Eller, 2008). Historically, the Appalachian political structure fed on poverty and the 

region’s dependent relationships of its citizens and, more importantly, it stymied serious planning and 

development. Eller has gone so far as to call this political system “feudal” (2008, p. 35). More 

specifically, the Appalachian culture fell under the legacy of local power-brokers handing out “favors” 

(thus the importance of politics or “who you know” in influencing access to jobs and other scarce 

resources as well as justice). This restricted distribution of power and control, combined with the fact 

that many local people do not own property and scarcely benefit from the area’s limited wealth, adds to 

the widespread feelings of powerlessness to change the way things are thought to prevail in the 

Appalachian culture (Duncan, 1999; Gaventa, 1980). These cultural characteristics may contribute to 

persistent tolerance of partner violence. 

Fourth, the Appalachian region as a whole and specifically central Appalachia has a lengthy history of 

poverty with women and children carrying “the heaviest burden of poverty and income disparity” (Eller, 

2008, p. 234). In central Appalachia in 2000, “nearly 70% of female-headed households with children 

under six years old had incomes below the national poverty level” (Eller, 2008, p. 234). Lower 

educational attainment also marks the area with only 65% of the adult population having completed 

high school (Eller, 2008). Along with poverty come health disparities, meaning both a higher rate of 

serious and chronic diseases as well as fewer healthcare choices (Behringer & Friedell, 2006). Resources 

are necessary to have independence from violent relationships and to change traditional gender roles. 

Fifth, another important feature that distinguishes rural area from the urban area for this study is 

topography (see Figure 1). The specific part of rural Appalachia selected for this study is characterized by 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

33

a mountain and river topography where towns often exist solely in narrow serpentine valleys. The 

mountains do not consist of long ridges as in the ridge and valley provinces of Appalachia, but are of 

erratic directions and look from the air like a piece of wadded-up paper after it has been partially 

flattened again. Most of the poorest census tracks are found in the narrow valley areas far from 

interstate highways and the development they bring (Eller, 2008). This particular topography also 

contributes to isolation because homes are built within the narrow areas of flat land in the creek and 

river bottoms. In addition, the predominant exposed roadside rocks are brittle, composed of silica-rich 

clays that when wet are unstable at road cuts, and, as gravel, are slick and dangerous. All of the 

topographical features pose barriers to communication, transportation, and interaction within the 

community. 

Difficult topography, feelings of powerlessness to change the way things are, fundamentalist religion 

and traditional and conservative political and social views especially with regard to gender roles, the 

strong tendency to feel that family matters are private, and limited financial and economic opportunities 

and resources combine to potentially create and sustain barriers to addressing partner violence and to 

obtaining help for partner violence from the justice system. 

Figure 1. Rural and urban topographies 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

34

Rural Versus Urban Differences In Crime Response 

In addition to the differences mentioned above, drug abuse patterns may differ for rural and urban 

areas. While overall illicit drug and alcohol use in rural areas is reported at similar or slightly lower levels 

than in urban areas (CASA, 2000; Kessler et al., 1994; Zhang et al., 2008), prescription drug abuse has 

been noted as a problem in the study-selected rural area (DEA, 2002; 2008). A recent report found a 

higher prevalence of non-medical use of psychotherapeutics by Appalachian adolescents compared to 

non-Appalachian adolescents, although the adult rates were similar (Zhang et al., 2008). Further, that 

same report found that admission rates for primary abuse of prescription drugs are higher in 

Appalachia, especially central Appalachia (the location of the selected rural areas), than for the rest of 

the nation. In addition, one study found considerable overlap of medical and non-medical use of opiods 

with self-reported physical health problems, disability, and chronic pain among an Appalachian sample 

from the location of the selected rural areas for the current study (Havens, Walker, & Leukefeld, 2008). 

Appalachia in general, and the rural area selected for this study in particular, has been recognized in the 

local and national media for significant prescription drug abuse problems including Oxycontin® (Bass, 

2007; Daily Yonder, 2008; DEA, 2002; Meier, 2007; Miroff, 2008; New York Times, 2001; 2002), Lorcet®, 

Lortab®, Vicodin®, Valium®, and Xanax® (Lexington Herald Leader, 2003a; 2003b; 2003c; 2003d; 2003e; 

2009a; 2009b). In fact, at one point 10 eastern Kentucky counties were listed all together as one of the 

areas receiving the most narcotics per capita from 1998-2001 (DEA as cited in the Herald-Leader, 2003f) 

and recently was ranked 7th in the nation in terms of per capita prescriptions overall (Kaiser State Health 

Facts, 2007). A more recent report lists abuse and diversion of prescription drugs, particularly of 

hydrocodone® and oxycodone® as the largest drug problem in southeastern Kentucky (where the target 

rural area is located) and notes that the availability of OxyContin® has actually risen in this area (DEA, 

2008). 

Even though the rural areas selected for this study had higher poverty levels and larger geographic areas 

for law enforcement to cover, the overall arrest rate per 1000 people, as averaged across the four rural 

counties, was larger than the rate for the urban area (see Table 3). This may be due, at least in part, to 

the much higher rates of drug and DUI arrests in the rural area versus the urban area (Beshear & 

Brewer, 2008). The rural area selected for this study was under special law enforcement and 

prosecution policies on drug offenses due to Operation UNITE, which greatly increased arrests for drug 

crimes from 2004 to the present (Operation UNITE, 2009). In 2003, prior to the implementation of 

Operation UNITE’s law enforcement actions, the selected rural area had 64.07 arrests overall per 1000 

people, with 10.46 drug-related arrests and 7.22 DUI-related arrests per 1000 people (Fletcher & Miller, 

2004). Compare those rates with the arrest rates for the rural area in 2007 displayed in Table 3. It should 

be noted that there was a wide range of arrest rates across the four selected rural counties. 

In contrast to the number of substance-related arrests, domestic violence-related arrests (which were 

not a focus of Operation UNITE) were lower in the rural area. Domestic violence-related arrests in 2007 

were also lower compared to the urban area (Administrative Office of the Court, 2008). It is clear that 

rural public sentiment placed an increasing interest in law enforcement toward drug and alcohol-related 

crimes but the effort is not comparable with regard to partner violence-related crime. On the other 

hand, the urban area had received a 2-year grant starting in Fiscal Year 2007 to focus on protective 

order violations and stalking as well as working more closely with the community to address partner 

violence. It is unclear how much influence this grant had on 2007 arrest rates for partner violence in the 

urban area or on any of the study results given that the study period and the urban grant period only 

slightly overlapped. However, there was an increased emphasis on stalking charges in the police 

department starting in Fiscal Year 2006. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

35

Table 3. Arrests and selected arrests per 1000 people by urban versus rural area for 2007 

2007 Selected Urban Area Selected Rural Area Kentucky

Total arrests 

Per 1000

Range

21,313

76.38

15,696

97.6

(68.92-147.88)

393,913

92.87

Drug arrests

Per 1000

Range

2,857

10.24

2,909

18.09

(10.77-22.66)

60,582

14.28

DUI arrests

Per 1000

Range

2,312

8.29

2,009

12.49

(6.36-15.29)

35,252

8.31

DV related arrests*

Per 1000

Range

1,271

4.55

600

3.73

(2.97-4.28)

17,249

4.07

*From FY 2007 and includes charges for Assault in the Fourth Degree (Assault 4th), Domestic 

Violence (DV), Violation of a PO, Stalking in the Second Degree (Stalking 2nd), Stalking in the First 

Degree (Stalking 1st), Assault in the First Degree, Second Degree, and Third Degree (Assault 1st, 2nd, 

3

rd) DV, Assault 4th 3rd offense or greater within 5 years DV, Enhanced Assault 4th DV, murder DV, 

Attempted murder DV, Conspiracy, Complicity, and Solicitation of Murder DV. 

The official arrest data are consistent with the results of the key informant perceptions of what they 

thought the highest priority crimes were in their community in the past year, as shown in Table 4. The 

rural respondents cited drug and alcohol-related crime as the biggest priorities in the past year for the 

criminal justice system in their communities (97.8% of rural criminal justice and 90.8% of rural victim 

service representatives) compared to a much lower proportion of urban respondents (42.3% of urban 

criminal justice and 39.2% of urban victim service representatives). For the rural criminal justice 

respondents, the next most frequently cited crimes were property crime (52.2%) and domestic violence 

(47.8%); for the rural victim service representatives, the next most frequently cited crimes included 

other violent crime and property crime. On the other hand, significantly more urban criminal justice 

representatives mentioned other violent crimes as the biggest priority with domestic violence a close 

second. Also, more urban victim service representatives (64.7%) mentioned domestic violence as the 

biggest priority which contrasted with the proportion of rural victim services representatives that 

mentioned this crime as a big priority (44.6%). Stalking was only mentioned by a few urban participants. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

36

Table 4. Mentioned as the highest priority crimes in the community in the past year 

Criminal Justice Representatives

Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Drug-alcohol related crime (X2(1)=29.62, p<.001) 42.3% 97.8% 77.8%***

Domestic violence 50% 47.8% 48.6%

Property crime 38.5% 52.2% 47.2%

Other violent crime total (X2(1)=3.83, p<.05) 53.8% 30.4% 38.9%*

Sexual assault 19.2% 10.9% 13.9%

Stalking 7.7% 0% 2.8%

Victim Service representatives

Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Drug-alcohol related crime (X2(1)=35, p<.001) 39.2% 90.8% 68.1%***

Domestic violence (X2(1)=4.64, p<.05) 64.7% 44.6% 53.4%*

Other violent crime 49% 50.8% 50%

Property crime 35.3% 49.2% 43.1%

Sexual assault 17.6% 13.8% 15.5%

Stalking (X2(1)=9.5, p<.01) 13.7% 0% 6%**

The responses above were those mentioned without specific prompting. In order to assess the perceived 

seriousness of specific crimes more systematically, key informants were asked to rate how serious each of 

a selected list of crimes was in their communities, as noted in Table 5 below. 

Rural criminal justice and rural victim service representatives rated drug possession and trafficking as more 

serious in their community than urban key informants (a lower rating indicates they thought the crime was 

more serious). There were no other differences by area for criminal justice representatives; most notably, 

domestic violence was rated similarly. However, for victim service representatives, there were several 

significant differences beyond the drug crimes. Urban victim service representatives rated domestic 

violence and sexual offenses as more serious than rural victim service representatives. On the other hand, 

rural victim service representatives rated nonviolent property crime and repeat DUI offenses more 

seriously than did urban victim service respondents. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

37

Table 5. Respondent ratings of the perceived seriousness of crimes

Criminal Justice

Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Drug possession (F(1,70)=5.77, p<.05) 1.54 1.2 1.32*

Drug trafficking (F(1,70)=11.74, p<.01) 1.73 1.2 1.39**

Domestic violence 1.62 1.83 1.75

Child abuse 1.81 1.87 1.85

Repeat DUI offenses 1.92 1.98 1.96

Non-violent property crimes, such as burglary and theft 2.04 2.04 2.04

Sex offenses 2.08 2.30 2.22

Violent crimes, such as homicide, assault, & robbery 2.19 2.35 2.29

Victim Services

Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Drug possession (F(1,114)=31.871, p<.001) 1.8 1.17 1.45***

Drug trafficking (F(1,113)=21.15, p<.001) 1.74 1.23 1.45***

Domestic violence (F(1,114)=10.75, p<.01) 1.25 1.63 1.47**

Child abuse 1.57 1.66 1.62

Repeat DUI offenses (F(1,114)=20.72, p<.001) 2.25 1.64 1.91***

Sex offenses (F(1,114)=5.26, p<.05) 1.73 2.06 1.91*

Violent crimes, such as homicide, assault, & robbery 2.04 2.17 2.11

Non-violent property crimes, such as burglary and theft 

(F(1,114)=13.94, p<.001)

2.51 2.03 2.24***

1=extremely serious; 2=quite serious; 3=somewhat serious; 4=no problem

In order to obtain a clearer picture of key informant concerns about specific crimes in their 

communities, another set of questions was used. These questions were based on the “willingness-topay” concept which uses a contingent valuation methodology developed in the environmental 

economics literature (Blomquist, Newsome, & Stone, 2004; Cohen, Rust, Steen, & Tidd, 2004). Using a 

methodology similar to the Blomquist et al. (2004), and in consultation with Dr. Blomquist (personal 

communication), the question asked: 

If you were making the choices for the budget in your community and you found out there was an 

extra 1 million dollars to add to the existing budget, how much of the 1 million dollars would you put 

into the budget to increase prevention or enforcement for each of the following crimes? Keep in mind 

that if you put more money into prevention or enforcement for a specific crime, efforts will be 

expanded. If no money is given to a specific crime, then prevention or enforcement levels will remain 

the same as they are now. 

As displayed in Figures 2 and 3, the urban criminal justice representatives gave the most money to 

domestic violence, child abuse, and drug possession. The amount allocated for each of the other crimes 

for urban criminal justice representatives was at or below the equal distribution of the 1 million dollars 

for eight categories ($125,000). On the other hand, the rural criminal justice representatives allocated 

the most money to drug possession and drug trafficking, although only drug trafficking was significantly 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

38

different from urban criminal justice representatives ($122,161.15 versus $205,217.37, F(1,70)=4.65, 

p<.05). The amounts allocated to non-violent property crime, repeat DUI offenders, sex offenders, and 

other violent crimes were at or below $125,000 for rural criminal justice representatives. 

Urban victim service representatives allocated the most money to domestic violence ($287,936.51 

versus $200,178.79, F(1,112)=8.61, p<.01) and child abuse, with the other crimes close to or below 

$125,000. The rural victim service representatives allocated the most money toward domestic violence, 

child abuse, drug possession ($58,552.75 versus $153,792.62, F(1,112)=24.279, p<.001), and drug 

trafficking ($98,487.41 versus $140,935.48, F(1,112)=5.65, p<.05). 

Figure 2. Allocation of hypothetical funds to crimes from criminal justice representatives 

Figure 3. Allocation of hypothetical funds to crimes from victim service representatives 

$0.00 

$50,000.00 

$100,000.00 

$150,000.00 

$200,000.00 

$250,000.00 

$300,000.00 

Drug 

possession

Drug 

trafficking*

Child abuse Domestic 

violence

Other 

violent 

crimes*

Sex crimes* Repeat DUI 

offenses

Property 

crime

Urban Rural

$0.00 

$50,000.00 

$100,000.00 

$150,000.00 

$200,000.00 

$250,000.00 

$300,000.00 

$350,000.00 

Domestic 

violence*

Child abuse Sex crimes Drug 

trafficking*

Drug 

possession*

Other 

violent 

crimes

Repeat DUI 

offenses

Property 

crimes*

Urban Rural

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

39

Priorities in each area can also be examined using official court data for charges of specific crimes like 

domestic violence. Actual charge trends for a 5-year period for three specific domestic violence related 

charges were examined. Figure 4 below shows the Assault in the Fourth Degree (Assault 4th) domestic 

violence charges per 1000 people for each area. The rural area started out with slightly higher rates of 

Assault 4th domestic violence charges; however, the urban area has increased the number of charges 

over time while the rural area has remained relatively level. 

Figure 4. 5-year trends for Assault in the Fourth Degree (assault 4th) domestic violence charges by area 

(charges per 1000 people) 

Charges for protective order violations show a very different trend. Urban rates are higher and have 

remained higher over time while the rural rates are not only relatively low compared to the urban area 

but also show a slight downward trend (see Figure 5). 

Figure 5. 5-year trends for violation of a protective order by area (charges per 1000 people) 

2.62

2.14

2.48

2.97 3.19 3.35

3

3.45

3.02

3.09

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

FY 04 FY 05 FY 06 FY 07 FY 08

Assault 4th

Urban Rural

1.2

1.07 1.1 1.11 1.19

0.85

0.78

0.62

0.49

0.58

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

FY 04 FY 05 FY 06 FY 07 FY 08

PO Violations

Urban Rural

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

40

Figure 6 shows the 5-year trends for Stalking 2nd Degree charges. The numbers displayed represent the 

actual charges given the rate per 1000 people was so low. Although stalking charges are low in both 

areas, stalking is clearly something the urban area has focused on in recent years unlike the rural area.

Figure 6. 5-year trends for stalking 2nd degree by area (actual number of charges) 

Attitudes Toward Partner Violence And Protective Orders 

Key informants were asked to describe the three biggest reasons they thought partner violence 

happens. The responses only represent what participants spontaneously mentioned; it does not 

necessarily mean these are the only factors they thought contributed to partner violence. In other 

words, if key informants were systematically asked about a number of factors that they thought 

contributed to partner violence they would likely endorse many more than they would mention 

spontaneously. 

As Table 6 shows, substance abuse was mentioned as a factor contributing to partner violence by more 

rural criminal justice representatives than urban criminal justice representatives. Although most 

comments around substance abuse were related to perpetrator substance abuse, some did indicate 

victim substance abuse was also a contributor. 

Perpetrator characteristics such as impulse control or lack of emotion regulation (including general 

stress), personality or mental health problems, and the need for power control or jealousy were also 

cited by rural and urban criminal justice representatives. Victim service representatives also recognized 

perpetrator characteristics as a factor contributing to partner violence; however more rural victim 

service representatives mentioned this than urban victim services representatives. See below for some 

example statements about impulse control or emotion regulation problems. 

Perpetrators are controlling/abusive because they don’t know how to deal with circumstances 

and lashing out has gotten them what they wanted. 

No adequate modeling on how to cope with anger. 

Inability to control emotions like anger/rage. 

15

9

55

45

60

12

15

3

6

8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

FY 04 FY 05 FY 06 FY 07 FY 08

Stalking 2nd 

Urban Rural

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

41

The perpetrator’s mental health issues, anger management, and emotional control issues. 

Perpetrators don’t know how to control or manage their emotions or how to solve life problems 

other than by violence. 

Frustration by partners who feel that they have been denied something they wanted the most. 

Broken hearts will make someone do something that they normally wouldn’t do.

More rural than urban victim service representatives indicated they believed partner violence happens 

because of family-of-origin learning for perpetrators. 

Victim characteristics were also mentioned by about one-fifth of key informants as contributing to 

partner violence; this theme included victim mental health problems or personality problems that 

perpetrators target (such as low self-esteem) and limited education. This category also included 

statements about victims’ tolerance of abuse and lack of resources. More urban than rural criminal 

justice representatives indicated that partner violence happens because there is a lack of resources or 

support for the victim. 

Many urban criminal justice and victim service representatives indicated that partner violence happens 

because of societal tolerance. The societal tolerance theme included statements about the lack of 

consequences for partner violence, media portrayal of partner violence diminishing the seriousness of 

the crime, and general societal acceptance of partner violence. 

In addition, one-quarter of rural criminal justice respondents indicated that partner violence occurs 

because of relationship issues which included comments such as “just not meant to be together,”

“infidelity,” and “communication problems.” Some other examples of statements from rural criminal 

justice representatives categorized into this theme include: 

Children—some people can deal with children better than others. 

Married too young. 

Marital problems. 

People just can’t get along.

People not making good decisions, bringing in a boyfriend/girlfriend. 

The parties aren’t meant to be together-they fight all the time. 

People not working together all the time. 

Victims spend more at the store and do not pay bills. 

Infidelity. 

Arguments over common things. 

More rural respondents, from both the criminal justice system and victim services, indicated poverty as

a factor contributing to partner violence. Specifically, many comments about poverty from the rural key 

informants revolved around the stress related to financial issues: 

When people are in a poverty situation they are more materialistic and that leads to fighting. 

Financial issues of both the victim and the perpetrator. 

Stressful financial situations. 

Arguments over money. 

Folks who have significant debt are under stress. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

42

Table 6. Reasons domestic violence happens 

Criminal Justice 

Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Substance abuse (X2(1)=4.67, p<.05) 53.8% 78.3% 69.4%*

Perpetrator characteristics 73.1% 54.3% 61.1%

 Impulse control-emotion regulation 34.6% 21.7% 26.4%

 Personality-mental health problems of perpetrator 23.1% 28.3% 26.4%

 Power, control, jealousy (X2(1)=6.5, p<.05) 42.3% 15.2% 25%*

Family learning by perpetrators 34.6% 32.6% 33.3%

SES-poverty (X2(1)=5.6, p<.05) 11.5% 41.3% 30.6%*

Victim characteristics 26.9% 15.2% 19.4%

Victim characteristics 11.5% 10.9% 11.1%

Victim tolerates 3.8% 4.3% 4.2%

Lack of resources or support (X2(1)=9.51, p<.01) 19.2% 0% 6.9%*

Relationship issues 7.7% 26.1% 19.4%a

Poor societal response to partner violence/tolerance (X2(1)=4.26, p<.05) 26.9% 8.7% 15.3%*

Social cultural influence of male entitlement-ownership-superiority 15.4% 6.5% 9.7%

Victim Services

Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Perpetrator characteristics (X2(1)=5.69, p<.05) 49% 70.8% 61.2%*

Impulse control-emotion regulation 17.6% 23.1% 20.7%

Personality-mental health problems 19.6% 30.8% 25.9%

Power, control, jealousy 33.3% 43.1% 38.8%

Family learning perpetrators (X2(1)=3.89, p<.05) 43.1% 61.5% 53.4%*

Substance abuse 31.4% 46.2% 39.7%

Poor societal response to partner violence/tolerance 43.1% 29.2% 35.3%

Social cultural influence of male entitlement-ownership-superiority 

(X2(1)=5.18, p<.05)

39.2% 20% 28.4%*

SES-poverty 11.8% 26.2% 19.8%a

Victim characteristics 11.8% 12.3% 19%

Victim characteristics 5.9% 9.2% 7.8%

Victim tolerates 3.9% 1.5% 2.6%

Lack of resources or support 3.9% 4.6% 4.3%

Relationship issues 7.8% 3.1% 5.2%

a Significant at p<.10 

Key informants were also asked to indicate the three biggest costs associated with partner violence in 

their communities (see Table 7). Because there were few rural-urban differences by agency, agency was 

collapsed to examine general rural-urban differences. The biggest costs mentioned, across area, for both 

criminal justice and victim service representatives, were criminal justice system costs including the costs 

of police, courts, judges, and serving EPOs. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

43

The next largest category of costs mentioned were quality of life costs, although more urban 

respondents mentioned this as a cost than rural respondents. There was also an agency difference with 

more victim service representatives (52.6%), regardless of whether they were from the rural or urban 

area, mentioning quality of life as a cost of partner violence than criminal justice representatives (29.2%, 

X

2

(1)=9.91, p<.01). This category included statements surrounding victims’ quality of life, victim job loss 

or work productivity, housing, and emotional suffering caused by partner violence. 

About one-third of participants mentioned the effect on children as a cost of partner violence. 

The damage done to the children- they are caught in crossfire emotionally, not taught good 

adult skills. 

Victims and children are always affected by the lack of freedom, safety, and security. 

Number one cost-family devastation through the impact on the victim, in-laws, and children due 

to trauma that has been inflicted by the perpetrator. 

Lack of stability in the life of a child in a domestic violence situation. 

It creates a low quality family life. Kids are raised in dangerous homes and not happy, healthy 

homes. 

The effect of abuse on the children who witness the abuse or get the impact of the abuse. 

Costs to children- psychological- can last a lifetime. 

The effects on kids, growing up in domestic violence situations. It limits their ability to be happy, 

well, and productive citizens. 

Effect on children, recreating the cycle of domestic violence through the generations. 

Children-domestic violence results in more juvenile delinquent behavior. 

As expected, health, social, and victim service costs were mentioned as partner violence costs. 

It should be noted that the cost of perpetrator treatment was mentioned by very few respondents; 

although more urban criminal justice respondents mentioned this cost (11.5%) than did rural 

participants (0%, X2(1)=5.54, p<.05). It may be that perpetrator treatment programs are limited in both 

areas, but especially in the rural area. 

Table 7. Respondent views of the costs of domestic violence 

Agency

Urban

(n=77)

Rural

(n=111)

Total

(n=188)

Criminal justice system costs 72.7% 64% 67.6%

Quality of life (X2(1)=7.93, p<.01) 55.8% 35.1% 43.6%**

Effect on children and broken homes 33.8% 39.6% 37.2%

Health care costs 39% 27% 31.9%

Social services 18.2% 12.6% 14.9%

Victim services 14.3% 12.6% 13.3%

Mental health care costs 10.4% 7.2% 8.5%

Child Protective Services (CPS), child removal 9.1% 4.5% 6.4%

Treatment for domestic violence perpetrators 3.9% .9% 2.1%

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

44

Key informants were asked two additional questions to assess general attitudes toward partner violence 

victims. The first was why they thought women obtained protective orders (see Table 8) and the second 

was why they thought men violate protective orders (see Table 9). As expected, a general category of 

protection was mentioned by almost every single respondent. Yet, about one-third of the criminal 

justice representatives, regardless of area, indicated that women sometimes obtain protective orders 

for revenge or to “get something.” More rural than urban criminal justice representatives thought that 

women obtained protective orders to get custody, property, or an upper hand in divorces. Also, more 

rural victim service representatives (one-third) indicated that women obtain protective orders for 

revenge or to “get something.” Although protective orders do have the flexibility to meet women’s 

needs for custody and property secondary to safety needs, the tenor of the comments regarding this 

theme seem to imply some women are solely using protective orders to gain property, custody, or 

revenge rather than to meet their primary safety and other-related needs. A sample of comments from 

rural participants is provided below. 

Protective orders influence custody debates. 

Out of spite/to get perpetrator out of the home. 

To control the situation, to get the divorce. 

Retaliation in divorce/child custody. 

To gain an advantage in a divorce. 

Lawyers encourage the women to get EPOs to look better at divorce court. 

Defiance against her partner, to get back at him because she is just angry at her husband. 

Sometimes there are no grounds; they just seek them for attention. 

In revenge against the perpetrator for abusing her and to be vindictive. 

Got mad because boyfriend got a new girlfriend. 

They want to get away from the relationships and they don’t want to deal with the 

perpetrators, does not necessarily mean domestic violence. 

To use it to break up and be able to go out with someone else. 

Women hold EPOs over the men’s heads to get what they want. 

More urban than rural victim service representatives mentioned that women obtain protective orders to 

protect their children or to leave the abuser. About 15% of victim service representatives also 

mentioned that women seek protective orders for validation, support, or documentation, or because 

they are pressured by others including by child protective services. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

45

Table 8. Why respondents think women obtain protective orders (PO) 

Criminal Justice Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Protection 100% 93.5% 95.8%

Children protection 42.3% 32.6% 36.1%

To leave-to get some peace 34.6% 37.0% 36.1%

Revenge or to get something 30.8% 30.4% 30.6%

Revenge, vindictive 26.9% 15.2% 19.4%

Get custody, property, child support 3.8% 19.6% 13.9%a

Validation, support, documentation 3.8% 6.5% 5.6%

Pressure by others 0% 4.3% 2.8%

Forced by child protective services 0% 0% 0%

Victim Services Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Protection 98% 96.9% 97.4%

Children protection (X2(1)=5.12, p<.05) 68.6% 47.7% 56.9%*

To leave-to get some peace (X2(1)=6.16, p<.05) 37.3% 16.9% 25.9%*

Revenge or to get something (X2(1)=5.39, p<.05) 13.7% 32.3% 24.1%*

Revenge, vindictive (X2(1)=4.86, p<.05) 3.9% 16.9% 11.2%*

Get custody, property, child support 11.8% 21.5% 17.2%

Validation, support, documentation 13.7% 16.9% 15.5%

Pressure by others 19.6% 10.8% 14.7%

Forced by child protective services 9.8% 6.2% 7.8%

a

 significant at p<.10 

 

In response to the question about why they thought men violated protective orders, more urban 

criminal justice representatives compared to rural criminal justice representatives indicated it was due 

to perpetrator attitudes including statements such as they do not take the order seriously, they have 

impulse control problems, they have power and control issues, anger and retaliation, and/or they have 

attitudes of entitlement or ownership of the partner (see Table 9). Regardless of area, almost onequarter of the criminal justice representatives believed the perpetrators violate the order due to 

personality or mental health problems, and close to one-fifth believed it was due to the perpetrator’s

wanting to get back together with the victim or to communicate for other reasons (e.g., financial, 

children). Other reasons mentioned by urban and rural criminal justice representatives included 

statements like women “allowing” the violations to occur and that the violations occur because of 

substance abuse. Almost one-fifth of the urban criminal justice representatives compared to 2% of the 

rural criminal justice representatives believed that protective orders are violated because the 

perpetrators do not understand the order. 

There were no significant area differences in responses for why victim service representatives thought 

men violated protective orders. The overwhelming majority felt violations were due to perpetrator 

attitudes; substantially fewer felt violations were due to personality or mental health problems, because 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

46

the perpetrator wanted to get back together, or to communicate about other family issues such as 

finances or children. 

Table 9. Why men are thought to violate POs 

Criminal Justice

Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Perpetrator attitudes of power and control, anger and retaliation, lack 

of impulse control, and entitlement (X2(1)=8.14, p<.01)

100% 73.9% 83.3%*

Personality-mental health problems 26.9% 21.7% 23.6%

Get back together, family issues (finances), children 11.5% 28.3% 22.2%

Substance use 11.5% 17.4% 15.3%

Women allow it-don’t report 11.5% 10.9% 11.1%

Do not understand order (X2(1)=6.33, p<.05) 19.2% 2.2% 8.3%*

Victim Services

Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Perpetrator attitudes of power and control, anger and retaliation, lack 

of impulse control, and entitlement

98% 96.9% 97.4%

Personality-mental health problems 17.6% 12.3% 14.7%

Get back together, family issues (finances), children 7.8% 13.8% 11.2%

Substance use 5.9% 10.8% 8.6%

Women allow it-don’t report 2% 1.5% 1.7%

Do not understand order 3.9% 6.2% 5.2%

Barriers to Obtaining Protective Orders 

The next group of questions examined perceived access and barriers to obtaining protective orders. 

Respondents were first asked how many women out of 10 experiencing partner violence they thought 

actually requested a protective order. Key informants indicated they perceived that, on average, 4 out of 

10 women experiencing partner violence petition for an Emergency Protective Order (EPO). 

When participants were asked how many women out of 10 they thought actually ended up with an EPO, 

which is the first step to receiving a Domestic Violence Order (DVO) in Kentucky, the answer varied by 

agency but not area (see Table 10). Criminal justice representatives thought 8 out of 10 women who 

petitioned for EPOs received them while victim service representatives thought 6 out of 10 women 

received EPOs (F(1,183)=20.62, p<.001). 

Next participants were asked “how many women out of 10 with EPOs actually end up with DVOs?” 

Urban victim service and criminal justice representatives indicated that 6 out of 10 women would obtain 

DVOs as compared to rural victim service and criminal justice representative responses that 4 women 

out of 10 women with EPOs actually end up with DVOs. 

When asked whether women are sometimes charged fees for something related to the EPO or DVO 

process (e.g., charged to serve notice to the respondent), 3% across both the urban and rural criminal 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

47

justice respondents said they thought women were sometimes charged fees. However, 14% of the rural 

victim service representatives compared to 2% urban victim service representatives indicated that 

women are sometimes charged fees. 

In addition, the criminal justice representatives, across rural and urban areas, estimated the non-service 

rate (i.e., the rate that notice of the EPO and DVO hearing date was not served to respondents) at 21% 

while victim service representatives estimated their community non-service rate, across the rural and 

urban areas, at about 33%. 

Table 10. How many women are thought to obtain Emergency Protective Orders (EPO) 

Criminal Justice 

Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

How many women out of ten experiencing partner violence try 

to obtain a PO?

4.04 4.33 4.23

How many women out of ten petitioning for an EPO actually end 

up receiving an EPO?

7.46 8.15 7.9

How many out of ten who have EPOs actually end up with a 

DVO? (F(1,68)=7.08, p<.05)

5.56 4.18 4.67*

Women are sometimes charged fees for something related to 

the EPO/DVO process 0% 4.8% 3%

Perceived jurisdiction non-service rate 25.6% 18.9% 21%

Victim Services

Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

How many women out of ten experiencing partner violence try 

to obtain a PO?

3.32 3.75 3.56

How many women out of ten petitioning for an EPO actually end 

up receiving an EPO?

6.56 6.27 6.4

How many out of ten actually end up with a DVO? 

(F(1,110)=12.18, p<.01)

5.92 4.38 5.05*

Women are sometimes charged fees for something related to

the EPO/DVO process (X2(1)=4.74, p<.05)

2.1% 14.3% 8.8%*

Perceived jurisdiction non-service rate 33.1% 32.7% 32.9%

Table 11 below displays the perceived barriers to accessing protective orders. The answers came from 

three main questions: (1) What do you think are the three biggest barriers in your community to 

obtaining a protective order? (2) What do you think are the three main reasons why a woman might not 

receive an EPO? And, (3) What are the three biggest reasons a judge would dismiss or not grant a DVO? 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

48

The barriers mentioned for all three of these questions were broken down into three main categories—

availability, accessibility, and acceptability. Because there were only a few agency differences, results 

are displayed for the urban versus the rural area with the few specific agency differences noted in the 

text.

The first main category of barriers, availability includes that impact whether or not the services are 

available to a population in need. This overall barrier had only one response category: failing to meet 

statutory requirements. Overall, about half of the rural and urban respondents mentioned this as a 

barrier. The Kentucky statute does not allow civil protective orders for dating violence—thus civil 

protective orders in Kentucky are not available for victims of dating violence. Therefore civil protective 

orders are only available to women who have lived with, been married to, or had a child in common 

with the respondent. There was a rural-urban agency difference, however, with more urban victim 

service representatives (52.9%) mentioning this barrier than rural victim service representatives (30.8%, 

X

2

(1)=5.83, p<.05). 

The next general category of perceived barriers, accessibility, was broken down into three 

subcategories—barriers related to victim credibility, barriers related to systemic issues, and barriers 

related to judicial bias. 

Of the three subcategories under accessibility, victim credibility was mentioned by the largest 

proportion of respondents. See below for some examples from urban and rural respondents: 

A sincere victim may not appear mentally stable due to heightened emotion. 

Either by the way she looks or how she acts, the judge may view her as “not believable.”

She may not be believed if police have written-up both the perpetrator and victim as being 

mutually violent. 

If there is drug use by the victim and the perpetrator, the incident will be a drug case not 

domestic violence. 

The judge won’t believe her if she has drug use issues. 

If the EPO is filed for power or ammunition in divorce cases. 

If it’s a bogus report; and if women are using it to try to get custody. 

If it is only for revenge against the perpetrator, judge would dismiss. 

A substantial proportion of respondents recognized that there were significant systemic barriers to 

obtaining a protective order including inconvenience, bureaucracy (such as limited hours, difficulty 

navigating the system, and not understanding the steps in the process), and negative gatekeeper 

attitudes. 

Negative gatekeeper attitudes included statements about clerks telling victims they do not qualify and 

clerks, police, or judges discouraging victims from seeking protective orders. 

Unintentional obstruction by clerks and officers—the lack of knowledge of clerks prevents the 

victim from getting an order. 

What I like to call “judicial rudeness,” specifically the people who work in the court system who 

are rude to victims. This kind of rudeness may make a victim walk out and not file for a 

protective order or cause a victim to withhold information from the petition to avoid having to 

explain themselves to the already rude clerks. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

49

Victim being told she can’t get them over weekends, no cooperation from afterhours clerks. 

Employees at courthouse make it difficult or they will deliberately talk them out of it. 

Victims fear the legal system and fear the clerk who humiliates them when they ask for EPO. 

Sheriff’s office worker doesn’t want to write the order depending on the seriousness of the 

domestic violence. 

Support of law enforcement, for example, if women try to file on weekends, the sheriff’s 

department refuses to help until business days. 

There were three other barriers mentioned under this section. In the urban area, which is currently 

dealing with immigrant issues, lack of access to protective orders for those that do not speak English 

was mentioned, an issue which was not mentioned in the rural area. 

Another barrier that a small proportion of key informants (5.3%) mentioned was the non-service rates 

(i.e., the rate of non-service of notice to respondents regarding the EPO). The small number of key 

informants who mentioned non-service as a barrier stands in stark contrast to the official non-service 

rates for the two areas, suggesting key informants may not realize how much of a barrier non-service is 

for victims. Specifically, as Figure 7 shows, the urban area has had a fairly stable non-service rate of 

around 22% over a 5-year period. On the other hand, the rural area has had a relatively stable nonservice rate over double that of the urban area (56%) over the same 5-year period. However, the 56% 

non-service rate is an average across the four rural jurisdictions which is an important caveat because 

one of the rural counties had a much lower non-service rate (22%), while two had a much higher nonservice rate (89% and 72%), and the final county had a non-service rate of around 55% (Kentucky State 

Police, 2008). Clearly, non-service of notice of the EPO is an issue in the rural area, especially in 

particular counties, but seems to be unrecognized as a barrier by key informants. 

Figure 7. Non-service rates by area 

Another barrier that was mentioned was that other pending court cases, including divorce and criminal 

cases, may reduce the likelihood that a victim receives a protective order in some jurisdictions. For 

example, sometimes the petitioner and respondent are asked by the judge to agree to stay away from 

each other and then told that agreement will be written into the divorce decree. This practice is 

21%

16%

22% 25% 25%

56% 55% 59% 57% 54%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

FY 04 FY 05 FY 06 FY 07 FY 08

Urban Rural

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

50

problematic in that not all petitioners realized they did not have an actual civil protective order, and 

violations of the agreement in the divorce decree can only be enforced by going back to the divorce 

court judge which can take weeks (police cannot enforce this agreed order). Thus, protections under the 

civil protective order do not apply to these cases. In fact, two rural participants were pulled from the 

current study (substudy 2) because neither the interviewer nor the petitioner realized they did not have 

an actual civil protective order until after they were interviewed and information from the court was 

obtained. In both of these cases the judge had made reference to an agreed order in the divorce case 

but the process was confusing. 

Also, there are some cases in which the judge is hesitant to have a hearing and thus grants a protective 

order because there is a perception that if there is a criminal case pending, the information obtained 

during the civil hearing might be used against the respondent in the criminal case.

The next subcategory of accessibility barriers are those related to judicial bias with about 40% of 

participants mentioning this theme. Breaking this down a bit further, 1 out of 5 respondents mentioned 

that victims who have had prior EPOs or DVOs and who have dropped one or more in the past are less 

likely to get another one (more rural respondents mentioned this as a barrier than urban respondents, 

p<.10). For example, 

Judge has a negative opinion of the victim because she is always filing, dropping, and filing 

again. 

If it’s a woman who’s filed many times she loses her credibility. 

Judge is reluctant to grant one if victim had been to court repeatedly. 

“Frequent flyer;” victims come to the court house and keep dropping them (protective orders). 

Multiple appearances of couple; the judge is tired of looking at them. 

Quantity of past EPOs that have been dropped, if there were a lot of past EPOs, they won’t get 

another one. 

Another barrier mentioned under this section was politics. This was a more salient barrier in the rural 

area than in the urban area. In the rural area, respondents talked about barriers such as “who you 

know” and the “good ole boy” systems. For example, 

Political connections could prevent the issue of protective orders. 

The political system here-family influence on the criminal justice system. 

The official knowing the perpetrator and not wanting to serve it. 

Social status, “who you know”.

Politics, if the partner has [political] pull with the judge. 

If the judge or police know the family, whether the perpetrator has a reputation of being a good 

person, or judge thinks victim is on drugs can all influence whether or not the victim would get 

one. 

The judge gets paid off by perpetrator or perpetrator’s family.

The last barrier mentioned under judicial bias included statements that there are certain circumstances 

that might not warrant protective orders. For example, several respondents indicated that if the couple 

had children, if the couple has reconciled, or if the DVO would negatively affect the perpetrator (e.g., 

financially, his job) the petitioner would not receive a protective order. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

51

Acceptability factors, the last main category of barriers, are always important considerations when 

trying to understand barriers to service utilization. 

The most frequently mentioned theme in this category was related to the notion that women do not 

follow through with the protective order because they “just want the whole situation to go away.” In 

other words, some key informants felt that women might not proceed with the DVO hearing because 

they do not want to continue to talk about or deal with the situation, or because they are in denial 

about it happening again. 

Other acceptability barriers include fear of retaliation, no faith in the justice system, lack of resources or 

support, embarrassment, fear of being blamed or not believed, and fear of child protective services 

involvement. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

52

Table 11. Barriers to protective orders 

Urban

(n=77)

Rural

(n=111)

Total

(n=188)

Availability

Failing to meet statutory requirements 58.4% 43.2% 49.5%

Accessibility

Barriers related to victim credibility 85.7% 85.6% 85.6%

Negative victim characteristics 74% 60.4% 66%

Not presented well – no fear 39% 40.5% 39.9%

Lack of proof/not serious enough 41.6% 37.8% 39.4%

Barriers related to systemic issues 75.3% 71.2% 72.9%

Inconvenience, bureaucracy, lack of knowledge 68.8% 62.2% 64.9%

Clerks/gatekeeper attitudes 22.1% 14.4% 17.6%

Language-Disability (X2(1)=15.23, p<.001) 13% 0% 5.3%*

Non-service of notice regarding EPOs 5.2% 5.4% 5.3%

Divorce/criminal case pending 6.5% 2.7% 4.3%

Barriers related to judicial bias 33.8% 44.1% 39.9%

Dropped prior orders 15.6% 27% 22.3%a

Politics/bias (X2(1)=8.16, p<.01) 5.2% 19.8% 13.8%*

Circumstances don’t warrant 7.8% 5.4% 6.4%

Acceptability

Just want it all to go away, victims do not follow through 57.1% 56.8% 56.9%

Fear of retaliation from the perpetrator or perpetrator’s 

family 40.3% 29.7% 34%

No faith in the system 23.4% 25.2% 24.5%

Lack of resources/support 13% 17.1% 15.4%

Embarrassment 15.6% 13.5% 14.4%

Fear of being blamed or not believed 15.6% 12.6% 13.8%

Fear of Child Protective Services involvement 5.2% 3.6% 4.3%

a

 significant at p<.10 

Protective Order Violations and Police Responses 

Key informants were asked a series of questions about protective order violations and police responses. 

The first series of questions asked how frequently they thought women experienced violations and how 

often they thought women reported the violations. There were no rural-urban differences by agency; 

thus, results were compared for criminal justice versus victim service representatives in Table 12 below. 

Criminal justice representatives believed that fewer women experienced violations, but those that did 

experience violations were more likely to take some kind of action through the civil or criminal justice 

system (e.g., calling the police, filing a contempt of court charge, or filing for criminal charges) compared 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

53

to victim service representatives. Also, criminal justice representatives believed that 5 out of 10 women 

with protective orders experienced violations while victim service representatives believed about 7 out 

of 10 women experienced violations. 

Table 12. Violation and reporting frequency by agency 

Agency

Criminal 

Justice

(n=72)

Victim 

Services

(n=116)

Total

(n=188)

How many women out of 10 will experience a violation? (F(1, 185)=17.09, 

p<.001)

5.48 6.72 6.25***

Out of 10 violations a woman experiences how many will she report to the 

police? (F(1, 179)=5.68, p<.05)

4.66 3.83 4.14*

How many women out of 10 who experience a violations but where no arrest 

was made will file a contempt of court charge? (F(1, 181)=7.99, p<.01)

3.44 2.49 2.84**

How many women out of 10 experiencing a violation where no arrest was 

made will file criminal charges? (F(1, 180)=14.54, p<.001)

4.06 2.82 3.27***

Respondents were then asked what they thought the three biggest problems with protective orders 

were. As Figure 8 shows, the top three problems mentioned were that the respondent does not take 

them seriously, that the victim does not report the violation or “allows” contact to happen, and 

enforcement. 

Examples of statements classified into the theme that women “allow” violations include: 

Victims not reporting violations when they should, especially minor things. 

Victim failing to report every violation. 

The petitioner not seeking enforcement and not amending the DVO to allow contact when she 

wants to be back with the offender. 

Women take men back regardless of the protective order. 

Letting the perpetrator stay all night. 

The victim allows perpetrator to contact her which violates EPOs. 

Victims invite perpetrators to come over. 

Petitioner tends to violate the protective order, makes initial contact. 

Victim wants some contact with perpetrator so purposely violates it then it becomes 

meaningless. 

There were significant differences by agency regarding enforcement problems with protective orders, 

with victim service representatives seeing enforcement as a much bigger problem with protective orders 

than criminal justice representatives (X2(1)=17.65, p<.001). 

There was also a significant difference for rural and urban victim service representatives with more 

urban victim service representatives indicating that the perpetrator does not take the order seriously

(60.8%) than rural victim service representatives (35.4%, X2(1)=7.41, p<.01). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

54

Figure 8. Problems with protective orders by agency 

Next, participants were asked about barriers to enforcing a protective order (see Table 13). The largest 

barrier, according to the criminal justice representatives, was that victims allow or even initiate contact 

with the perpetrator, as noted in the responses to the previous question. This category also included 

acknowledgement that victims do not bother the criminal justice system with every violation, that they 

may be too afraid to report, or that they may not have the kind of support which would allow them to 

report violations. 

About half, overall, of victim service representatives mentioned that victims allowing contact or not 

reporting violations was a barrier to protective order enforcement. However, more of the urban (56.9%) 

than rural (40%) victim service representatives mentioned victims not reporting as a barrier to 

enforcement of protective orders (p<.10). As noted in the examples below, some statements in this 

theme recognized barriers victims have to reporting violations while other statements seem more 

blaming. 

Victim allows abusive behavior to continue. 

Victims don’t always report every violation or report violations in a timely manner, only when it 

is convenient for them. 

Women’s willingness to allow perpetrator to violate the protective order. 

Getting back together with the perpetrator. 

Victims don’t want to go forward with charges. We can’t keep him in jail against her will. 

The victim feels that she deserves the abuse. 

Women not believing the order will protect them. 

Access to filing for violation such as not having the opportunity or means to contact that agency 

to file for a violation (e.g., no transportation or not having a phone). 

Women are afraid of something worse happening from the perpetrator if they call the police. 

Women’s fear of the criminal justice system.

The next barrier to enforcing protective orders mentioned by criminal justice system representatives 

47%

36%

30%

47%

31%

62%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Just a piece of paperrespondent does not take it 

seriously

She does not report, allows 

contact

Enforcement*

Criminal Justice Victim Services

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

55

was limited police response with about half mentioning this as a barrier (47.2%). In contrast, the 

majority of victim service representatives mentioned limited police response as a barrier to protective 

order enforcement (74.1%). Themes included in this category were: limited police resources/low 

departmental priority, difficulty in finding the perpetrator, and limited police knowledge or response to 

partner violence. The theme of limited police resources and/or low departmental priority was 

mentioned by more rural victim service representatives (49.2%) than urban victim service 

representatives (23.5%). Some of the statements about limited resources from rural respondents 

included: 

Not enough police officers to deal with drug crimes and other crimes. 

Police not having enough staff; lack of manpower. 

Layout of the land. We are in the biggest county in the state and it sometimes takes over an hour 

to get to the victim. 

Many women live so far out that it takes a long time for law enforcement to respond. 

Some homes are hard to find in the rural area. 

Priorities, especially when resources are tight, do influence responses to partner violence in general and, 

more specifically, they influence situations in which perpetrators have fled the scene according to 

respondents: 

Question of priority, law enforcement agency is so covered up. 

Violations are not a priority to the police. 

Apathy on part of the police-the police don’t try hard to find the perpetrator. 

Law enforcement is lazy and doesn’t want to enforce the order.

Lack of arrests made by officer. 

Police not taking the time to help victims of domestic violence. 

Also, limited police knowledge, response, and action were noted by respondents. Specifically, police 

response is influenced by knowledge about partner violence, protective orders, and what constitutes a 

violation: 

Lack of knowledge by officers about domestic violence in general. 

Police training is needed to increase the understanding of domestic violence. Need more training 

about dynamics of domestic violence. Many say, “It was only a phone call.” A violation is a 

violation regardless of severity, many police don’t understand this. 

The police don’t realize their responsibility in enforcing a protective order.

Laws on protective orders are not clearly understood or interpreted consistently. 

Certainly police attitudes affect responses: 

The police officer feels that women are as bad as the men. 

If there’s a history of repeat protective orders for the wrong reasons such as calling for attention 

or women may be encouraging the violation, making the police hesitant to go out. In other 

words, if the police perception is that the complaining witness is manipulating the system, they 

may not want to help. 

Police not taking the protective order or violations seriously. 

Lack of interest of law enforcement; victims are not believed and often blamed. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

56

And again, the themes of politics or the “good ole boy” system and the subordinate social status of 

women are thought to influence the lack of police action or response to partner violence, especially in 

the rural area: 

Violations are often overlooked if the officer knows the respondent. 

“Good ole boy” network may influence law enforcement to look the other way. 

It’s so small around here, everyone knows everyone—some officers know the perpetrator and 

will take their time serving or responding. 

“Good ole boy system,” small communities, men know each other, the perpetrator knows the 

police, lawyers, judges, who won’t enforce the law on the perpetrator.

Men in this community, even police officers, may have view that women should be subordinate 

and so officers maintain stereotype and feel domestic violence is okay. 

Attitude on the part of law enforcement that domestic violence is a family matter. 

A closely related barrier, “nothing is done,” including the difficulty in proving violations, perpetrators not 

taking the orders seriously, and lack of consequences, was mentioned by more urban than rural criminal 

justice and victim service representatives (see Table 13). 

The final barrier mentioned was the burden on the victim for reporting violations, which included the 

lack of education about violations or how to report, the burden of filing criminal charges, language 

barriers, not having a copy of the DVO for the police when they are called, and their willingness to 

prosecute or cooperate to keep violation charges. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

57

Table 13. Barriers to enforcing a Domestic Violence Order (DVO) 

Criminal Justice Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Victim allows contact, does not report 65.4% 45.7% 52.8%

Limited police response 42.3% 50% 47.2%

Limited police resources/low department priority 15.4% 26.1% 22.2%

Can’t find perpetrator 23.1% 17.4% 19.4%

Limited police knowledge, response, or action 11.5% 21.7% 18.1%

Nothing is done (X2(1)=7.65, p<.01) 61.5% 28.3% 40.3%**

No proof 34.6% 19.6% 25%

 Perpetrators don’t take them seriously/consequences do not stop them 19.2% 8.7% 12.5%

Lack of consequences (X2(1)=7.49, p<.01) 15.4% 0% 5.6%**

Victim burden-barriers 11.5% 2.2% 5.6%

Victim Service Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Victim allows contact, does not report 56.9% 40% 47.4%a

Limited police response 68.6% 78.5% 74.1%

Limited police resources/low department priority (X2(1)=8.02, p<.01) 23.5% 49.2% 37.9%**

Limited police knowledge, response, or action 33.3% 40% 37.1%

Can’t find perpetrator 37.3% 23.1% 29.3%

Nothing is done (X2(1)=8.84, p<.01) 54.9% 27.7% 39.7%**

No proof (X2(1)=6.19, p<.05) 35.3% 15.4% 24.1%*

Lack of consequences (X2(1)=4.63, p<.05) 21.6% 7.7% 13.8%*

Perpetrators don’t take them seriously, consequences do not stop them 11.8% 7.7% 9.5%

Victim burden-barriers 13.7% 6.2% 9.5%

 a

p<.10 

Key informants were asked how often they thought an arrest of an offender occurred when an officer 

was called for a PO violation. Almost half of urban respondents indicated that an arrest occurred often 

(48.1%) compared to about one-third of rural key informants (34.2%, X2(1)=3.62, p<.10). More criminal 

justice representatives indicated that the offender is often arrested (51.4%) compared to victim service 

representatives (32.8%, X2(1)=6.43, p<.05). 

When asked about what factors influence an arrest for PO violations, there were few rural-urban 

differences so results are presented by agency category (see Table 14). Evidence was the principal factor 

mentioned as influencing whether or not an arrest would be made. Specifically, physical injury, other 

corroborating evidence (e.g., property damage, witnesses), and police actually witnessing the violation 

or violence were mentioned as evidence. More urban criminal justice representatives (57.7%) indicated 

that physical injury would influence an arrest than did rural criminal justice respondents (32.6%, 

X

2

(1)=4.3, p<.05). 

 

The next most frequently mentioned category was whether or not the offender had fled the scene. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

58

Perpetrator characteristics were mentioned by about 21% of criminal justice representatives but by 

almost 40% of victim service representatives. 

Also, more victim service representatives than criminal justice representatives believed that a 

perpetrator’s history of violence influenced an officer’s decision to arrest for a violation of a protective 

order. 

Victim credibility was mentioned by about one-third of respondents. This category included victim 

demeanor at the time of the call and victim characteristics such as drug use and mental health 

problems. 

Situational factors were also mentioned by one-third of victim service representatives, although only 

about 10% of criminal justice representatives mentioned this factor. Specifically, more victim service 

representatives compared to criminal justice respondents mentioned that whether or not children were 

present, police knowledge of partner violence, and politics would positively influence the likelihood of 

arrest. Also, some key informants indicated that if a “no contact order” was in effect and the offender 

was on the victim’s premises it was more likely there would be an arrest because they would have proof 

that the offender violated a no-contact order if they saw that he had made contact with the victim. 

Severity of a violation and proof of a DVO were mentioned as factors as well. Although only about 10% 

of respondents mentioned proof of a DVO as a factor, several respondents indicated that the victim 

must have a copy of the order for an arrest to be made even though the information should be entered 

into a statewide database accessible to law enforcement. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

59

Table 14. Factors that influence an arrest for DVO violations 

Agency

Criminal 

Justice

(n=72)

Victim 

Service

(n=116)

Total

(n=188)

Evidence 69.4% 60.3% 63.8%

Physical injury 41.7% 37.1% 38.8%

Other evidence (e.g., witnesses, property destruction) 48.6% 35.3% 40.4%

Police witness 5.6% 12.1% 9.6%

Whether or not the offender has fled the scene 48.6% 43.1% 45.2%

Perpetrator Characteristics (X2(1)=7.18, p<.01) 20.8% 39.7% 32.4%**

History of violence (X2(1)=5.82, p<.05) 6.9% 19.8% 14.9%*

Perpetrator demeanor 11.1% 14.7% 13.3%

Substance use 6.9% 12.9% 10.6%

Offender has other warrants 0% 1.7% 1.1%

Victim Credibility 27.8% 31.9% 30.3%

Victim demeanor 25% 23.3% 23.9%

Victim characteristics 4.2% 11.2% 8.5%

Situational Characteristics (X2(1)=10.71, p<.01) 9.7% 30.2% 22.3%**

Children present (X2(1)=4.3, p<.05) 2.8% 11.2% 8%*

Police knowledge of partner violence 4.2% 9.5% 7.4%

Politics 2.8% 8.6% 6.4%

If offender is there and there is a no contact order 1.4% 3.4% 2.7%

Severity of violation 13.9% 24.1% 20.2%

Aware or proof of order 13.9% 6.9% 9.6%

To better understand police responses to difficult partner violence circumstances, participants were 

asked about two specific situations—what typically happens in their community when police respond to 

a protective order violation call and the perpetrator has fled the scene, and what typically happens in 

their community when it is difficult to determine the primary or predominate aggressor. 

 

Key informants were first asked how often they believed an offender flees the scene when an officer is 

called in response to a violation of a protective order in their community. Overall, 88.8% of respondents 

indicated that the offender often flees the scene, with more urban respondents indicating that the 

offender often flees the scene (94.7%) compared to rural respondents (84.7%, X2(1)=4.57, p<.05). 

Because there were few rural-urban differences in responses to the question concerning what happens 

when the perpetrator has fled the scene, the results are reported by agency. 

As Table 15 shows, 63% of respondents regardless of agency indicated that police do not sufficiently 

take any action when the offender has fled the scene. Specifically, more victim service representatives 

than criminal justice respondents explicitly mentioned that police will not look for the perpetrator and 

that police only tell the victim to call them if the perpetrator comes around again. More criminal justice 

representatives than victim service representatives indicated that the police would inform the victim she 

can file for a violation of a protective order if she wants to pursue the violation charges. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

60

Overall, just over half of the respondents indicated that the police would either look for the perpetrator 

or file for a warrant for arrest. More criminal justice representatives than victim service representatives 

indicated that the police would file for a warrant. And more urban victim service representatives (15.7%) 

said the police would file for a warrant when compared to the rural victim service representatives (3.1%, 

X

2

(1)=5.77, p<.05). 

Only about 12% of respondents indicated that the police would do any kind of safety planning; of those 

who did mention this would happen, most indicated it would consist mostly of referrals or offers to take 

the victim to the shelter. 

Table 15. Police response to domestic violence when perpetrator flees the scene by agency 

Agency

Criminal 

Justice

(n=72)

Victim 

Service

(n=116)

Total

(n=188)

Police inaction 58.3% 65.5% 62.8%

Won’t do anything-won’t look for him (X2(1)=15.6, p<.001) 8.3% 33.6% 23.9%***

Tell victim to file for a violation (X2(1)=5.77, p<.01) 51.4% 28.4% 37.2%**

Call us next time he comes around (X2(1)=8.03, p<.01) 5.6% 20.7% 14.9%**

Police action 59.7% 47.4% 52.1%

Any mention of look for him 48.6% 42.2% 44.7%

Police will file warrant (X2(1)=6.9, p<.01) 22.2% 8.6% 13.8%**

Safety planning (mostly go to shelter) 12.5% 11.2% 11.7%

When asked about what happens when it is difficult to distinguish the primary aggressor, more rural 

criminal justice representatives (87%) than urban criminal justice respondents (42.3%) indicated that 

both parties would be arrested (see Table 16). About 70% of victim service representatives indicated 

that both parties would be arrested with no differences by area. On the other hand, more urban 

criminal justice representatives thought police would tell them to stay away from each other, to have 

one party leave, lecture them, or tell them to file criminal charges or to petition for EPOs. In other 

words, respondents basically indicated the police would let them sort it out in court. About one third of 

victim service representatives indicated that they thought the police would tell the parties to stay away 

from each other or have one of them leave. Only about 8% of the victim service representatives thought 

the police would tell them to file criminal charges or an EPO against each other. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

61

Table 16. Police response when it is difficult to distinguish the primary aggressor 

Criminal Justice Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Arrest both parties (X2(1)=16.03, p<.001) 42.3% 87% 70.8%***

Tell them to stay away or have one party leave or just warn 

them/talk to them (X2(1)=11.47, p<.01)

46.2% 10.9% 23.6%**

Tell them to file criminal charges or EPOs on each other 

(X2(1)=7.67, p<.01) 38.5% 10.9% 20.8%**

Victim Services Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Arrest both parties 64.7% 72.3% 69%

Tell them to stay away or have one party leave or just warn 

them/talk to them 35.3% 29.2% 31.9%

Tell them to file criminal charges or EPOs on each other 3.9% 10.8% 7.8%

Respondents were also asked about specific factors they thought would be more or less likely to 

influence an arrest. As Table 17 shows, there were few rural-urban differences. Further, when examining 

responses by agency the factors rated as most likely to influence an arrest (proof, offender demeanor, 

and officer knowledge and emotion) were the same for both groups, as were factors cited as making an 

arrest less likely (factors related to victim credibility). 

More victim service respondents than criminal justice respondents indicated that minor children at the 

scene would influence the likelihood of an arrest (X2(2)=22.62, p<.001). Also, more urban participants 

compared to rural participants indicated departmental priorities influence the likelihood of an arrest. 

This may be due in part to the fact that the urban police department had received a 2-year grant starting 

in 2007 to focus on protective order violations and stalking as well as to work more closely with the 

community to address partner violence. 

In addition, criminal justice respondents indicated that race and knowing the parties were not likely to 

influence an arrest. On the other hand, urban victim service representatives were much more likely than 

rural victim service representatives to indicate that race plays a role in the likelihood of arrest. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

62

Table 17. Factors that influence the likelihood of arrest of the offender 

Criminal Justice Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

% More likely

Proof

Visible injury to victim 100% 97.8% 98.6%

Severity of injury (on victim) 96.2% 97.8% 97.2%

Offender demeanor

Offender is belligerent to police 96.2% 93.5% 94.4%

Offender is intoxicated 84.6% 91.3% 88.9%

Officer knowledge and emotion

Officer knowledge/understanding of DV 96.2% 86.7% 90.1%

Officers have been to that scene repeatedly 100% 82.6% 88.9%a

Officer is annoyed or becomes angry at the 

scene 

84% 71.7% 76.1%

Minor children are at the scene 53.8% 65.2% 61.1%

Departmental priorities (X2(1)=14.58, p<.01) 80% 32.6% 49.3%*

% Less likely 

Victim’s story is inconsistent 65.4% 73.9% 70.8%

Victim is intoxicated 60% 45.7% 50.7%

Offender has minor injuries 34.6% 55.6% 47.9%

Victim is belligerent 46.2% 46.7% 46.5%

Victim seems extremely calm 34.6% 39.1% 37.5%

Victim and perpetrator have different stories 42.3% 35.6% 38%

% No effect on arrest

Couple is mixed race 84% 88.9% 87.1%

Offender is a minority (African American/Hispanic) 76% 88.9% 84.3%

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

63

Table 17. Factors that influence the likelihood of arrest of the offender, continued 

Victim Services Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

% More likely

Proof

Visible injury to victim 100% 98.5% 99.1%

Severity of injury (on victim) 100% 95.4% 97.4%

Offender demeanor

Offender is belligerent to police 100% 100% 100%

Offender is intoxicated 98% 95.4% 96.6%

Officer knowledge and emotion

Officer knowledge/understanding of DV 92.2% 89.2% 90.5%

Officer is annoyed or becomes angry at the scene 72% 83.1% 78.3%

Officers have been to that scene repeatedly 72.5% 72.3% 72.4%

Minor children are at the scene 78.4% 89.2% 84.5%

Departmental priorities (X2(1)=9.97, p<.01) 79.2% 50% 62.5%*

Offender is a minority (African American/Hispanic) (X2(1)=18.21, 

p<.001)

70.6% 31.2% 48.7%*

Couple is mixed race (X2(1)=7.87, p<.05) 56.9% 31.2% 42.6%*

% Less Likely

Victim’s story is inconsistent 72.5% 75.4% 74.1%

Victim is belligerent 70.6% 70.8% 70.7%

Victim is intoxicated 68.6% 58.5% 62.9%

Offender has minor injuries 51% 61.5% 56.9%

Victim seems extremely calm 39.2% 56.9% 49.1%

Victim and perpetrator have different stories (X2(1)=6.16, p<.05) 37.3% 54.7% 47%*

a

 significant at p<.10 

Factors In Prosecution And Conviction For Protective Order Violations 

The last section of the key informant interviews focused on prosecution and conviction for violations of 

protective orders. As noted in Table 18 below, criminal justice respondents believed that about 7 out of 

10 cases charged with a protective order violation would be prosecuted. Victim service representatives 

viewed the number a bit differently, with urban victim service representatives indicating close to 6 out 

of 10 cases would be prosecuted compared to only 4 out of 10 cases for the rural victim service 

representatives. 

Of those charged with a PO violation, criminal justice representatives believed only about 3 cases out of 

10 would end up with a trial. Again there was a rural-urban difference for victim service representatives 

with urban respondents suggesting, on average, that 3 out of 10 would end up with a trial while rural 

respondents suggested only 2 out of 10 would end up with a trial. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

64

There were rural-urban differences for both criminal justice and victim service representatives with rural 

respondents, regardless of agency, indicating that fewer cases would be found guilty than did urban 

respondents. There were also differences by agency, as rural criminal justice representatives were more 

optimistic regarding the number of cases that would be found guilty than were rural victim service 

representatives (F(1, 105)=6.25, p<.05). A similar trend existed for urban respondents but with a greater 

discrepancy between agencies (F(1,73)=9.37, p<.01). 

Table 18. The number of women perceived to experience a violation, and the perceived number of cases 

that would be prosecuted and convicted for a PO violation 

Criminal Justice Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

How many cases out of ten cases charged with a violation of a protective 

order will actually be prosecuted?

7.76 6.69 7.07

How many cases out of ten will end up in front of a judge or jury rather 

than a plea bargain?

3.88 2.8 3.18

How many cases out of ten that end up in front of a judge or jury will be 

found guilty? (F(1,65)=8.68, p<.01)

7.42 5.65 6.28**

Victim Service Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

How many cases out of ten cases charged with a violation of a protective 

order will actually be prosecuted? (F(1,113)=14.27, p<.001)

5.5 3.6 4.43***

How many cases out of ten will end up in front of a judge or jury rather 

than a plea bargain? (F(1,113)=5, p<.05)

3.04 2.12 2.52*

How many cases out of ten that end up in front of a judge or jury will be 

found guilty? (F(1,113)=8.91, p<.01)

5.76 4.33 4.97**

When examining perceptions of guilty dispositions for specific charges like protective order violations, it 

is informative to compare perceptions to actual data. Figures 9 and 10 below show the rate of guilty 

dispositions for three common domestic violence related charges across a 5-year period for the rural 

and urban areas. When comparing key informant perceptions to official records of charge outcomes, the 

urban criminal justice representative perceptions (using the rounded values) were similar to the official 

data (about 7 out of 10) while the rural criminal justice representatives were slightly more optimistic 

than the official data (6 versus 5). The urban victim service representatives were less optimistic than the 

official data (6 versus 7) as were the rural victim service representatives (4 versus 5). 

As an additional consideration in understanding enforcement in the rural and urban areas dispositions 

of protective order violation charges versus several other common domestic violence-related charges 

are compared below (see Figure 9). The first trend to note is that protective order violations, compared 

to the other charges, have a higher rate of guilty dispositions in the rural and urban areas. The second 

trend to note is that the urban area has almost double the guilty dispositions for Assault in the Fourth 

Degree (Assault 4th) and Stalking in the Second Degree (Stalking 2nd) as well as more guilty dispositions 

for Violation of a Protective Order. At the same time, the rural area has more dismissals for all charges. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

65

Figure 9. 5-year trends for the urban area in dispositions for Assault 4th domestic violence, 

Protective Order Violations, and Stalking 2nd Degree 

Figure 10. 5-year trends for the rural area in dispositions for Assault 4th domestic violence, 

 Protective Order Violations, and Stalking 2nd Degree 

Given the differences in the actual data regarding charge dispositions for the rural and urban areas, it is 

important to consider key informant perspectives on factors that contribute to prosecution and 

conviction of protective order violations. Table 19 displays the most frequently mentioned factors 

thought to influence decisions of whether to prosecute for a violation of a protective order. Not 

surprisingly, credibility and evidentiary issues are important factors in prosecution. However, more 

urban respondents, across agencies, mentioned this than rural respondents. When broken into 

subcategories, the differences are most pronounced with regard to victim credibility (i.e., poor victim 

presentation or negative characteristics), with more urban respondents mentioning it than rural 

respondents regardless of agency. 

20% 18%

61%

12% 17%

71%

18%

34%

47%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Amended Dismissed Guilty

Assault 4th (n=917) Violation PO (n=332) Stalking 2nd (n=62)

1%

52%

31%

3%

38%

49%

0%

82%

0%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Amended Dismissed Guilty

Assault 4th (n=553) Violation PO (n=87) Stalking 2nd (n=11)

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

66

The next most frequently mentioned category was “severity of incident.” 

Victim cooperation was mentioned by 40% of the criminal justice representatives regardless of area and 

by about 30% of urban victim service representatives; however, this was mentioned by only 12% of rural 

victim service representatives. 

Politics was mentioned by a small proportion of the rural criminal justice representatives but was 

perceived as a much bigger factor for rural victim service representatives. Comments categorized into 

the politics category centered on who the perpetrator was connected to in the community, whether or 

not the perpetrator is a known troublemaker, and the perpetrator’s social standing or status in the 

community. 

Themes from comments about prosecutor issues centered on prosecutor time or caseload, how 

winnable the case is, pressure about the case from the community or the media, and prosecutor 

understanding of partner violence. 

Table 19. Factors in prosecution 

Criminal Justice Urban

(n=26)

Rural

(n=46)

Total

(n=72)

Credibility/Evidentiary issues (X2(1)=4.97, p<.05) 92.3% 69.6% 77.8%*

Presence of solid corroborating evidence/proof 50% 37% 41.7%

Perpetrator history of domestic violence and criminal history 34.6% 37% 36.1%

Victim credibility (X2(1)=9.5, p<.01) 42.3% 10.9% 22.2%**

Negative perpetrator demeanor 0% 2.2% 1.4%

Severity of incident (e.g., physical injury, imminent threat) 57.7% 52.2% 54.2%

Cooperative victim 30.8% 45.7% 40.3%

Politics 3.8% 13% 9.7%

Politics 0% 6.5% 4.2%

Prosecutor issues (e.g., case load, bias, media and community pressure) 3.8% 6.5% 5.6%

Victim Services Urban

(n=51)

Rural

(n=65)

Total

(n=116)

Credibility/Evidentiary issues (X2(1)=4.5, p<.05) 82.4% 64.6% 72.4%*

Presence of solid corroborating evidence/proof 43.1% 30.8% 36.2%

Perpetrator history of domestic violence and criminal history 37.3% 38.5% 37.9%

Victim credibility (X2(1)=10.17, p<.01) 35.3% 10.8% 21.6%**

Negative perpetrator demeanor 9.8% 3.1% 6%

Severity of incident (e.g., physical injury, imminent threat) 56.9% 61.5% 59.5%

Cooperative victim (X2(1)=5.26, p<.05) 29.4% 12.3% 19.8%*

Politics (X2(1)=11.01, p<.01) 15.7% 44.6% 31.9%**

Politics (X2(1)=10.72, p<.01) 2% 23.1% 13.8%**

Prosecutor issues (e.g., case load, bias, media and community pressure) 13.7% 27.7% 21.6%

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

67

Factors mentioned by respondents as influencing convictions of protective order violations in a trial are 

presented in Table 20. Both evidence and proof once again emerge as the most frequently mentioned 

factors influencing conviction in a trial. Severity of the violation was the second most frequently 

mentioned category (with no differences by area). 

Victim credibility was mentioned by more criminal justice representatives (51.4% versus 32.8%, 

X

2

(1)=6.43, p<.05) while perpetrator credibility was mentioned by more victim service representatives 

(44.8% versus 22.2%, X2(1)=9.83, p<.01). 

Judge or jury bias, discrimination, and knowledge of partner violence were mentioned by more urban 

than rural respondents; they were also mentioned by more victim service representatives than criminal 

justice representatives (19.8% versus 5.6%, X2(1)=7.36, p<.01). 

Sexism against the victim (who is typically a woman). 

Bias of the jury/judge towards race of perpetrators and victims. 

Judge’s values- judge’s perceptions of domestic violence and victims are warped by his/her 

religious values. 

Judge’s opinion on domestic violence and victim prior to proceedings. 

Stereotyping. 

Depends on the jury, who they are, their feelings toward domestic violence. 

Education about domestic violence; more education leads to more convictions. 

Media-if they picked up on the case there would be more pressure to convict. 

Victim cooperation, how well the attorney (prosecutor or defense) presented his/her case, and politics 

(“who you know”) were mentioned by only a few participants regardless of agency. However, more rural 

participants (8.1%), across agency, mentioned politics such as “who you know” than urban participants 

(0%, X2(1)=4.56, p<.05) 

Table 20. Factors in conviction by jury/judge trial 

Urban

(n=77)

Rural

(n=111)

Total

(n=188)

Solid corroborating evidence/proof 55.8% 60.4% 58.5%

Severity of violation (e.g., physical injury, number of violations) 44.2% 49.5% 47.3%

Victim credibility 44.2% 36.9% 39.9%

Perpetrator credibility 39% 34.2% 36.2%

Jury/judicial bias, discrimination, knowledge (X2(1)=4.37, p<.05) 20.8% 9.9% 14.4%*

Cooperative victim 11.7% 5.4% 8%

Effective attorney representation/case presentation 7.8% 6.3% 6.9%

Politics (X2(1)=6.56, p<.05) 0% 8.1% 4.8%*

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

68

SUBSTUDY 1 SUMMARY 

National prevalence rates of partner violence suggest that rates of partner violence are similar in rural 

and urban areas; however, prevalence rates do not provide information about the experience of partner 

violence which may vastly differ across jurisdictions. One interim step in understanding differences in 

the experience of partner violence is to carefully examine and compare contextual characteristics in 

different jurisdictions. This substudy provides insight into the general protective order process as well as 

information about contextual differences in rural and urban areas. These differences emerged from key 

informant surveys as well as from secondary data and information sources and are framed within the 

literature on Appalachian rural culture. 

Overall there were four main findings from this substudy. First, results suggest that partner violence is 

seen as a lower public safety priority within the selected rural area compared to the urban area. Second, 

the politics of “who you know” or the “good ole boys” system seems to influence justice system 

responses to partner violence in the rural area. Third, key informants have several misunderstandings 

and persistent myths about partner violence that may impact their response to partner violence. Also, 

there was more frequent mention of blame, negative attitudes, or distrust of women regarding reasons 

for partner violence and for obtaining protective orders in the rural area, not only from the justice 

system respondents but also from victim service respondents. Fourth, there are important agency 

culture differences, regardless of area, that should be considered in assessing the overall community 

response to partner violence. Below are more details for each of these findings. 

Violence against women is a lower public safety priority for the rural area than the urban 

area. From the survey responses and the secondary data, it appears that partner violence is a 

lower priority in the rural area compared to the urban area. Placing partner violence as a lower 

priority crime would be consistent with the rural literature suggesting that residents tend to 

have more conservative attitudes toward gender roles and that family matters should remain 

private rather than being subject to public social controls. Four main results from secondary 

data and key informant responses support this theme, including results suggesting that partner 

violence is a lower public safety priority than substance-related crimes in the rural area, 

information from court records and key informant responses indicating that access to protective 

orders is more difficult in the rural area, perceptions indicating there is less assertive 

enforcement of protective orders in the rural area, and responses suggesting that victim injury 

may not be a big enough factor to determine probable cause for an arrest for a violation of a 

protective order. 

In the rural area, the priority assigned to substance-related crimes stands in contrast to the 

somewhat lower importance placed on partner violence crimes. For example, the rural 

respondents from both the criminal justice and victim service agencies indicated that drugrelated crimes were higher priority crimes than other crimes, a consistently different finding

(using a variety of questions) from urban respondents who consistently placed domestic 

violence as a higher priority and as a more severe crime than rural respondents. Whether this 

view is formed because of a more significant drug abuse problem in rural Appalachia or whether 

it is simply viewed as more serious or more “criminal” is unanswerable in this substudy. The 

rural area’s higher ranking of drug-related crime compared to partner violence crimes may be 

more related to the less emphatic justice system responses to partner violence than to illegal 

drug use. Regardless, priorities may matter as using limited justice resources to address one 

crime may mean there are fewer resources to address another crime, and this tradeoff would 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

69

impact victim safety and offender accountability for partner violence. Also, priorities can impact 

attitudes and perceptions. For example, when intimate partner violence occurs in the context of 

illegal drug and alcohol activity involving perpetrators and/or victims, police may be tempted to 

base their responses on the most tangible evidence, most likely the drugs or alcohol use or on 

the drug and alcohol-related criminal activity which they perceive as the “cause” of the partner 

violence. A misunderstanding regarding the relationship between substance use and partner 

violence can influence interventions to focus on the substance abuse while neglecting 

perpetrator accountability for the partner violence and the safety of partner violence victims. 

Further, although key informants, regardless of area, identified a number of barriers to 

obtaining and enforcing protective orders there were indications that access to protective 

orders was more difficult in the rural area compared to the urban area. For example, official 

data showed much higher average non-service rates for the rural compared to the urban area. 

Rural respondents, from both the justice system and victim services, compared to urban 

respondents, estimated that fewer women who petition for a protective order will end up with 

one (approximately 6 out of 10 for the urban area versus 4 out of 10 for the rural area). More 

rural respondents suggested that victims may be charged fees during the protective order 

process (which is a significant barrier given rural women’s lower financial resources and 

opportunities), that politics influences access to protective orders, and the more negative and 

blaming attitudes toward partner violence victims may interfere with access to protective 

orders. 

Additionally, information from court data and from key informants suggests protective order 

enforcement is less assertive in the rural area compared to the urban area. Specifically, there 

were fewer domestic violence-related arrests, fewer protective order violation charges, fewer 

perceived prosecutions for protective order violations, and fewer perceived guilty convictions as 

well as fewer actual convictions of protective order violations in the selected rural area 

compared to the selected urban area. Further, the rural respondents were less likely to indicate 

that an arrest of an offender occurs for a PO violation, and more rural respondents than urban 

respondents indicated that if there was any question about the primary aggressor that both 

parties would be arrested. The high rates of perceived arrests of both parties, especially in the 

rural area, are concerning, given the situation can sometimes look like both parties are 

responsible when that may not at all be the case. However, if partner violence is a low priority, 

an officer may be less inclined to spend time trying to sort out the situation. Together, these 

responses suggest protective order enforcement is a lower priority in terms of allocating 

investigative time and making an arrest in the rural compared to the urban area. 

Overall, there were few rural-urban differences in responses about evidence or the types of 

evidence needed to obtain a protective order or to enforce a protective order—with one 

exception. Urban criminal justice representatives were almost twice as likely (60%) as rural 

criminal justice representatives (30%) to indicate that victim physical injury would positively 

influence an arrest of an offender. This may suggest that rural criminal justice representatives 

believe that having additional corroborating evidence is important in making an arrest for a 

protective order violation. This need for corroborating evidence, even in the wake of a physical 

injury, may be related to more negative and victim blaming attitudes or lack of knowledge about 

partner violence. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

70

The politics of “who you know” or the “good ole boys” system appears to influence justice 

system responses to partner violence. Politics was mentioned as a factor influencing the justice 

system response to partner violence throughout many of the responses from key informants. 

The literature on rural areas, and especially Appalachian rural areas, confirms the idea that 

politics is something community members face on a daily basis. More specifically, in any small, 

relatively isolated community, social networks play an important role in every aspect of life. 

These networks are often thought of as “politics.” Politics may play an especially important role 

in eastern Kentucky for several reasons including: (1) social networks are associated with 

obtaining resources and become especially important when resources like jobs, economic 

security, and access to goods and services are scarce (Sloman & Gilbert, 2000), as is often the 

case in impoverished areas such as those of the selected rural area. (2) Concern with keeping a 

job or social position often relies on social networks in rural areas. In other words, rural 

communities are often characterized by their protection of certain individuals because of fear of 

retribution or loss of social supports (Potter & Gains, 1992). The concern for keeping a job or 

social position has led to such extreme measures as vote buying as noted in the news media. 

Specifically, eastern Kentucky has been under fire for a number of years for vote buying or other 

fraud related to voting (Dao, 2004; United States Department of Justice, 2004; Lexington Herald 

Leader, 2009c). This may make justice officials hesitant to take action against an individual (and 

the individual’s family) when that family may have a large influence over votes for political 

offices. And elected officials have influence over law enforcement activities (Potter & Gains, 

1992). (3) Corruption of the civil and criminal justice systems can also be influenced by social 

networks or by “who you know.” However, it should be noted that corruption and the influence 

of politics occur in all kinds of official agencies and in a variety of jurisdictions, urban and rural. 

The main point here is that it was mentioned more often as a factor in justice system responses 

to partner violence in the selected rural area compared to the selected urban area.

Key informants have several misunderstandings and persistent myths about partner violence 

that may impact their response to partner violence and some of these misunderstandings and 

myths were especially prevalent in the rural area. Stereotypes, prejudices, and lack of 

knowledge about the dynamics of partner violence are prevalent in the U.S., regardless of 

region, and do influence responses to partner violence. However, they seem to be especially 

prevalent in the rural area selected for this study and this is consistent with the literature on 

rural culture. Literature on Appalachian rural culture suggests that these areas are more 

conservative politically and socially and that they espouse more traditional views of gender 

roles. These more conservative attitudes may also influence attitudes toward the causes of 

partner violence. For example, more rural criminal justice respondents indicated that substance 

abuse (78.3%) and poverty (41%) are important factors in why partner violence happens 

compared to urban criminal justice system respondents (53.8% and 11.5% respectively), while 

more urban than rural criminal justice system respondents indicated perpetrator characteristics 

were to blame for partner violence (73.1% versus 54.3%). Other important attitude differences 

that suggest myths persist in the rural area include the notion that partner violence is associated 

with relationship issues or emotion regulation and control issues. Specifically, one-quarter of the 

rural criminal justice respondents indicated that relationship issues were a factor in partner 

violence compared to only 7.7% of urban criminal justice representatives. There were no 

differences by area in those that suggest partner violence is caused by emotion regulation or 

control issues but about one in four criminal justice key informants mentioned this factor. 

Certainly some of these factors (e.g., substance abuse, poverty, emotion regulation or control) 

are associated with partner violence but in order to hold offenders accountable, responsibility 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

71

for perpetration of partner violence must be placed with the perpetrator. And these factors do 

not recognize that partner violence is a systematic and deliberate set of tactics designed to 

control another person for the direct and personal benefit of the perpetrator (Bancroft, 2002; 

Logan et al., 2009b; Stark, 2006).

Further, more rural criminal justice representatives than urban criminal justice representatives 

indicated that women seek protective orders to gain the upper hand in custody, property, or 

child support proceedings. These attitudes add to the notion that rural respondents, regardless 

of agency, were significantly less likely to acknowledge the significant effect partner violence has 

on the victims’ quality of life when compared to urban respondents. On the other hand, urban 

criminal justice representatives were more likely to indicate that partner violence occurs 

because of the perpetrators’ need for power, control, and jealousy, due to a lack of resources 

for victims, and due to poor social responses or tolerance of partner violence. It is very likely 

that these different attributions affect responses and decisions made with regard to partner 

violence crimes, especially when the circumstances in a partner violence case are less clearly 

defined. 

Differences in persistent myths and attitudes toward partner violence and protective orders also 

prevailed in victim service responses. For example, one-third of rural victim service 

representatives believed that women seek protective orders for revenge or to gain the upper 

hand in divorce, custody, or property proceedings, compared to about 14% of urban victim 

service representatives. On the other hand, more urban victim service representatives than rural 

victim service representatives specifically indicated that they believed women seek protective 

orders to protect their children (69% versus 48%), and to leave/get peace from the violence and 

abuse (37% versus 17%). Protective orders were designed to address primary safety needs as 

well as to address a variety of other needs to maintain safety including housing, child custody, 

and child support. Some key informants seemed to misunderstand the importance of addressing 

victim’s tangible needs concurrently with their safety needs. Thus, not only are specific 

stereotypes and negative attitudes toward partner violence and partner violence victims more 

prevalent in the rural area for the criminal justice system representatives, but there is similar 

evidence in the victim service representative responses, suggesting a robust cultural difference 

that likely contributes to women’s experiences of help-seeking from a variety of agencies. 

Other responses from rural key informants indicated more blame and distrust of women 

throughout the survey responses. For example, the perception that women are “frequent 

flyers,” or drop orders frequently, is another way that mistrust of victims is expressed, in part, 

because it may reinforce beliefs that there is not a “real” problem. In part it may also increase 

perceptions of victims as being uncooperative with the system. Unfortunately, the victims who 

drop orders frequently may be high risk cases and yet may have less opportunity to go back to 

the court for help. 

It should be noted that the urban area was not free of prejudice, bias, and persistent myths. Not 

only did some urban key informant respondents espouse the same kinds of attitudes and 

persistent myths as rural key informants, but also there was more mention of discrimination 

against illegal immigrants and racism in the urban area than in the rural area, although the rural 

area is primarily composed of white Americans born in Kentucky (see Table 2). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

72

Differences in agency perspectives, regardless of area, must also be examined and addressed 

in order to facilitate the response to partner violence. In general, results suggest that the two 

agency perspectives, justice system versus victim services, are important to examine when it 

comes to understanding justice system responses to protective orders and protective order 

violations even within jurisdiction. For example, victim service representatives indicated they 

believed that fewer women seeking protective orders, regardless of area, actually receive one 

compared to criminal justice representatives (estimating approximately 6 out of 10 compared to 

8 out of 10 respectively). Also, criminal justice representatives compared to victim service 

representatives, regardless of area, believed that fewer women with protective orders actually 

experienced violations, and of those who do experience violations, more are reported to the 

justice system. In addition, victim service representatives were more pessimistic than criminal 

justice respondents about police responses (i.e., they thought action was less likely) when the 

offender flees the scene. What may be happening is that victim service and justice system 

representatives repeatedly work with different subgroups of victims. In other words, victim 

services may be more likely to work with victims who have experienced extremely severe abuse 

and with victims for whom the justice system presents significant barriers or even fails them in a 

major way. At the same time, criminal justice representatives may work with victims with a 

variety of different abuse experiences (mild to severe) and may be more likely to see victims for 

whom the justice system did work or who had situations that were easier to address. Working 

with different subgroups of victims may influence generalizations and wider perceptions about 

victims, about victim needs, and about the justice system response to partner violence. These 

differences in perceptions by agency can make interagency communication and collaboration 

more difficult. 

This substudy is one of the most comprehensive key informant studies regarding protective orders to 

date. Although including key informant perceptions is critical to understanding the culture that 

contributes to the experiences of women seeking help for partner violence, they only tell part of the 

story. They must be combined with victim experiences. The findings from this substudy suggest some 

contextual factors to consider and how those factors may influence justice system representative 

decision-making regarding partner violence and protective order enforcement in any jurisdiction. 

However, the results must be interpreted with the caveat that findings may not apply to all rural and 

urban areas of Kentucky or for the rest of the nation. 

Going back to Heather’s story presented at the beginning of the substudy, themes emerge that are 

consistent with the factors thought to play a role in decision-making. For example, Heather had a history 

of partner violence with different partners and a history of drug use. Her reputation in the community 

very well may have played a role in the response of the first officer and the judge. Even though the 

judge blamed her for the abuse for living with Kevin again, he granted her the DVO. At the same time, 

the judge provided her no recourse to get her property from the home which is very concerning and 

sends a negative message to all victims. The first officer’s attitudes toward partner violence and perhaps 

departmental priorities may have played a role in his initial response, which was to warn her that she 

may go to jail if she pushed the situation. Further, the lack of enforcement of the EPO left Heather afraid 

of what might happen if Kevin were to violate the order, likely having a significant impact on her quality 

of life. 

In summary, the findings from this study contribute to the literature and the understanding of rural 

versus urban context. The findings from this substudy suggest that context does in fact matter in 

understanding responses to partner violence. However, the question of whether or not context matters 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

73

is not fully answered with this substudy because it does not include victim experiences. The next section 

describes the results from all of the victims who were interviewed for this study about their experiences 

of abuse and with the protective order process and outcomes. After those results are reviewed, the 

question of whether context matters will be answered in the summary for substudy 2. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 1 

74

SUBSTUDY 2: 

CIVIL PROTECTIVE ORDERS: JUSTICE OR JUST A PIECE 

OF PAPER? 

Figure for Substudy 2: The Kentucky civil protective order study components 











This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

75

Woman Survives Nightmare, Finally Receives Justice 

Emily, a 36-year old urban woman, had been living with Peter for several years. Peter was abusive, 

jealous, controlling, and physically violent during the course of their relationship. Several months before 

Emily sought an EPO, Peter had spent 7 days in jail for abusing her. Unfortunately, 7 days in jail was not 

enough to deter Peter from abusing her more; in fact, the abuse escalated. One seemingly normal 

evening Emily was cooking dinner and Peter went crazy with jealousy. He accused her of not really going 

to see a friend she had visited earlier. He forced her in the car and hit her in the face as she was 

struggling to get out, giving her two black eyes. He then proceeded to drive to a nearby cemetery and 

rammed her car into the locked gate. Peter told Emily to get out of the car and to get into the trunk. He 

struck her repeatedly in the head and back with a metal tool, breaking several ribs in the process. Peter 

then made her get out of the trunk. He tied her hands behind her back and tied something around her 

head to hold a sock he had placed in her mouth. He then took her shorts off and put them over her head 

and put her in the trunk again. The whole time Peter was accusing her of cheating on him. Emily thought 

she was going to die that day; after all wasn’t that why he had driven to the graveyard? He took her out 

of the trunk again to yell at her more about her cheating. She managed to calm him down and eventually 

talked him into taking her home. He made her promise to tell everyone they were in a car wreck. When 

they got home, they noticed her mother had left several messages so Emily called her back and explained

how she had been in a car wreck. Her mother was worried about her and had called the police. By the 

time the police arrived, Peter had left. 

The police took photographs of her injuries and took a report. Initially, Emily stuck with the car wreck 

story because she was afraid of what Peter would do to her if she revealed the truth, but she knew the 

police did not believe her. Eventually she broke down and told them what had happened to her. After the 

police left, she went to the emergency room to treat her three broken ribs and broken arm. A few days 

later she filed for an Emergency Protective Order (EPO) and criminal charges against Peter. Emily did 

receive a DVO and Peter was prosecuted for what he had done to Emily. Emily said she was very scared 

of following through with the court procedures because she was afraid Peter would retaliate, especially 

because she had promised him she wouldn’t tell anyone what had happened. Peter was in jail for the 

criminal charges during most of the six month study follow-up period. At the follow-up interview Emily 

indicated Peter had only contacted her once since she obtained the DVO; he had sent her a letter asking 

if she would lie at his trial so he would get a lesser sentence. She did not report this violation to the police 

but did give it to her lawyer to use at Peter’s trial. 

Recovering from this attack not only took a physical toll on Emily but a significant financial toll as well. 

She did not have health insurance and had medical debt for the treatment of her injuries and car repairs. 

She also lost her job because of the time she missed due to her injuries. At the follow-up, Emily reported 

that although she was doing fairly well, she was still recovering and she thought every single day about 

what Peter will do to her when he is released from jail. 

INTRODUCTION 

Emily’s story highlights the terror and fear that partner violence has on victims. In Emily’s case, the civil 

and criminal justice system worked in that she was not only granted a protective order, but the offender 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

76

was also put in jail for the crimes he committed against her, giving her some temporary peace. Luckily in 

Emily’s case, there were people willing to help her find the courage it took to tell her story and to stand 

up to the person she feared most. Unfortunately, that is not the case for every victim of partner 

violence. 

Results from substudy 1 suggest, as is consistent with the current literature, that partner violence 

continues to flourish for at least three interrelated reasons: (1) perpetrator’s need for power and control 

as well as entitlement; (2) social and cultural tolerance of partner violence; and (3) lack of assertive 

responses to partner violence and protective order violations from the civil and criminal justice system. 

When there are no consequences for partner violence, even when victims ask the courts for help, the 

effects are compounded. In other words, “When the State fails to hold the perpetrators accountable, 

impunity not only intensifies the subordination and powerlessness of the targets of violence, but also 

sends a message to society that male violence against women is both acceptable and inevitable. As a 

result patterns of violent behavior are normalized” (United Nations General Assembly, 2006, p. 29). Of 

course, many factors affect the criminal justice response to partner violence including competing 

demands, limited resources, and the long and arduous process of criminal proceedings. 

While substudy 1 focused on perceptions of key victim service and criminal justice representatives, this 

substudy examined victim perceptions of their experiences with the protective order process and 

whether protective orders are effective. Whether or not protective orders are effective can be answered 

in several different ways including: (1) Does the violence stop after the issuance of a protective order? 

(2) If the violence does not stop completely, is the violence reduced? (3) Under what circumstances do 

protective orders seem to work best, and for whom? (4) Do women feel safer after they obtain a 

protective order? (5) Are women satisfied with the protective order? Additionally, this substudy 

examined victim perceptions of protective order violations and enforcement as well as official court 

data regarding charges against PO partners related to domestic violence and protective order violations 

over time. 

SUBSTUDY 2 METHOD 

Recruitment and Sample 

Overall, 227 women were recruited out of court from five jurisdictions (1 urban and 4 rural) when they 

obtained a DVO against a male intimate partner (PO partner) and one participant was referred to the 

study from a service agency. Participants were recruited and interviewed between June 2006 and 

August 2007. To be eligible for the study, participants had to be: (1) female, (2) 18 years and older, (3) 

planning to stay in, or close to, the recruitment jurisdiction for the next 6 months, and (4) without a DVO 

against that same male intimate partner for at least 6 months prior to the new DVO. Participants also 

had to complete the baseline within six weeks of obtaining a new DVO. The average length of time 

between issuance of the DVO and entry into the study was 19 days (22 days for urban interviews and 16 

days for rural interviews (F(1, 211)=18.2, p<.01). 

Interviewers were all female staff members who had been extensively trained on interview protocols 

and on any potential safety issues that could arise in the research process. A female staff member 

approached women who had obtained a protective order against a male intimate partner from a judge 

after a court hearing. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

77

In total, 546 women were approached in court from one urban (n=332 approached) and four rural 

(n=214 approached) jurisdictions who were eligible for the study. The majority of women approached in 

court gave their contact information (85%) with no differences by area. Three women who completed 

the study did not give contact information but took a study informational brochure and later called to 

participate. Further, only a very small percentage of women, regardless of area, refused in court (2.4%). 

Of the 466 women who gave contact information, 126 were not actively recruited because of study 

scheduling. There was not enough time to actively recruit all of the potential participants because either 

the study ended or the potential participant could not be scheduled within 6 weeks of obtaining the 

DVO, leaving a sample of 340. Overall, of those who were actively recruited there was a 66.8% 

participation rate, a 3.8% refusal rate, and 29.4% who were never scheduled with no significant 

differences by site. “Actively recruited” was defined as at least 2 telephone calls plus 1 interview 

scheduled; or 4 telephone calls plus a mailing or a call in; or 5+ telephone calls (n=340). 

Although 228 women were interviewed, 15 interviews were not used in the final sample. Three of these 

were pilot interviews and substantial changes were made to the interview protocol based on those 

interviews, rendering the data collected for these three pilots unusable. One rural participant completed 

a small portion of the interview initially but never finished the rest of the interview and thus her 

information was not used. Two rural interviews were pulled from the study after revealing during the 

baseline interview that they did not believe they needed the protective order but that child protective 

services forced them to obtain the order for custody of their children. These two cases were used to 

change the screening of rural women to ensure this did not happen again. One rural participant insisted 

that her new boyfriend (not the PO partner) sit in on the interview and the interviewer wanted to 

accommodate her wishes. However, it was study policy that nobody else be present during these 

interviews, so her data were not used. All interviewers were retrained on this particular policy and how 

to handle these sometimes difficult situations. Interviews for two rural and one urban participant were 

pulled from the study after the court records indicated they had not actually received a protective order, 

even though they and the interviewer thought that the judge had in fact given them a civil protective 

order. Finally, three rural and two urban interviews were pulled from the study after court records 

showed that they did not have a 6 month time period between their last protective order and their

current protective order, which was one of the criteria for the study. 

 

Baseline Interview Process 

After consenting, participants began the baseline interview. The interview was separated into six 

sections. 

(1) Locator information. 

(2) Basic demographic, socioeconomic status, children, and community context information. 

Also, Life History Calendars (LHC), which anchored each month with important events 

from the participant’s life, were completed for each of the 6 months before obtaining the 

protective order and for each month between the baseline and follow-ups (approximately 

6 months) to facilitate recall of abuse-related events, their timing, and their duration 

(Caspi et al., 1996; Marcus, 1982; Means, Nigam, Zarrow, Loftus, & Donaldson, 1989). 

(3) Information about the relationship and victimization history with the PO partner, 

consequences of violence, and fear of future harm from the PO partner. 

(4) Information about the Emergency Protective Order (EPO) and Domestic Violence Order 

(DVO) process, barriers, incidents, and violations. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

78

(5) Month-by-month information for victimization, consequences, service use, and losses 

related to the abuse from the PO partner for six months preceding receipt of the DVO. 

More detail on this section is provided in Substudy 3.

After the interview was completed, participants reviewed the locator information for accuracy and for 

anything else they wanted to add to ensure future contact. Before leaving, participants received 

information about partner violence and safety planning, as well as a resource referral sheet tailored to their 

communities. Participants were also compensated $50 for their time. Offering incentives for 

participation is critical to the success of the study (especially longitudinal studies) in part because it 

communicates to the women who participate that their time and opinions are valuable and that the 

study is important (Logan et al., 2008). 

Baseline interviews lasted about 3 hours on average (ranging from 1 hour and 39 minutes to 6 hours). 

The rural interviews lasted about a half hour longer on average (3 hours and 16 minutes) than urban 

interviews (2 hours and 44 minutes) (F(1, 211)=38.2, p<.001). Overall, 632 hours and 5 minutes were 

spent interviewing 213 participants for the baseline interview (see Table 24). 

Interviews were conducted in a variety of places including public libraries, community agencies, 

government buildings, and private residences as Table 21 shows below. There were significant 

differences by area (X2(5)=129.36, p<.001). 

Table 21. Place of baseline interview by area 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Interview place*

Public library 86% 9.4% 47.9%

Community agency/government 

building/hospital, restaurant 3.7% 52.8% 28.2%

Private residence 6.5% 31.1% 18.8%

Spouse abuse shelter 2.8% 3.8% 3.3%

Her workplace .9% 1.9% 1.4%

Jail 0% .9% .5%

The interviews in each area were mostly done by one interviewer (85%) and the interview was split but 

completed within one week of starting for a very small number of participants (6%). Twenty-four 

percent of the participants were scheduled two times and 5% were scheduled three or more times 

suggesting that persistence in scheduling interviews is important for almost 30% of those interviewed 

(i.e., just because someone does not show up or reschedules their interview does not mean they won’t 

eventually participate). For the 213 participants in the sample, 900 telephone calls were made and 291 

confirmation or reminder cards, no-show or can’t contact cards, and thank you cards were sent (see 

Table 24). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

79

Follow-Up Interview Process 

The 3 month and 6 month follow-up interviews were done either on the telephone or face-to-face 

depending on participant preference. Participants were reminded of their rights as a research 

participant before beginning each follow-up. The follow-up interviews had three main sections: 

(1) The locator information was reviewed (only at the 3 month interview) and 

participants were reminded of their Life History Calendar for events they had 

mentioned at baseline and were asked to fill in other important events to facilitate 

recall of abuse-related information. 

(2) Month-by-month information about partner violence victimization, consequences, 

service use, and losses related to the partner abuse was gathered for the three 

months after receipt of the DVO, and for the three months after the first follow-up. 

(3) Fear of future harm from the PO partner was assessed at the 6 month interview. 

Referral resources were provided to participants who wanted them and thank you cards were sent after 

each interview. Participants were compensated $25 for each completed follow-up interview. 

A 95% follow-up rate was originally proposed; however as Table 22 shows, a 97.2% follow-up rate was 

obtained for the 3 month follow-up and a 98.6% follow-up rate was obtained for the 6 month follow-up

(98.1% urban and 99.1% rural). For participants who missed the three month interview but did complete 

the 6 month interview, information was obtained where possible for all 6 months. One urban participant 

refused to continue participation after the baseline interview and did not complete the 3-month or the 

6-month follow-up interview. Two participants (one urban and one rural) could not be located for either 

the 3-month or the 6-month follow-up interviews. 

Table 22. Final sample and follow-up rates 

N Out of Follow-up 

rate

Urban baselines 107 -- --

Rural baselines 106 -- --

Total 213 -- --

Urban 3 months 104 107 97.2%

Rural 3 months 103 106 97.2%

Total 207 213 97.2%

Urban 6 months 105 107 98.1%

Rural 6 months 105 106 99.1%

Total 210 213 98.6%

Follow-up procedures for this study focused on facilitating research study participation as well as for 

comfort and safety of victims and interviewers. The strategies were identified and combined using the 

literature on follow up and interviewing safety strategies, from the research teams’ experience, from 

the advisory group input, and from preliminary work with women in the targeted rural and urban 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

80

communities about conducting research in their communities (Logan et al., 2008). 

About half of the participants chose to do the interview on the telephone at the 3 and 6 month followup. On average the follow-up interviews took about 36 minutes although there were slight differences 

by area with the rural interviews taking a little longer (43 minutes) compared to the urban interviews 

(31 minutes). Overall, the average time between the DVO and the 6 month follow-up was 6 months and 

13 days. Basically, there were, on average, 88 days between the baseline interview and the first followup and 88 days between the 3 month and 6 month interviews. 

Most of the follow-up interviews were conducted by one interviewer and about one-quarter of the 

interviews were scheduled more than one time. 

Interviews were conducted in many of the same locations as the baseline as noted in Table 23. 

Consistent with the baseline interview locations there were significant differences by site for the 3 

month (X2(5)=57.8, p<.001) and the 6 month (X2(5)=34.5, p<.001) follow-up interviews. 

Table 23. Follow-up interview locations by area 

97.2% 3 MONTH FOLLOW-UP RATE Urban

(n=47)

Rural

(n=63)

Total

(n=110)

Of those who did the interview in person (n=110), 

Interview place* 

Public library 70.2% 4.8% 32.7%

Community agency, private business, restaurant 10.6% 52.4% 34.5%

Private residence 10.6% 30.2% 21.8%

Spouse abuse shelter 2.1% 0% .9%

Her workplace 6.4% 6.3% 6.4%

Jail 0% 6.3% 3.6%

98.6% 6 MONTH FOLLOW-UP RATE Urban

(n=45)

Rural

(n=55)

Total

(n=100)

Of those who did interview in person (n=100), 

Interview place*

Public library 53.3% 3.6% 26%

Community agency, private business, restaurant 24.4% 49.1% 38%

Private residence 17.8% 38.2% 29%

Spouse abuse shelter 2.2% 0% 1%

Her workplace 2.2% 5.5% 4%

Jail 0% 3.6% 2%

Overall Study Effort 

Overall a significant amount of work was done to conduct this study as Table 24 outlines. In all, 6,763 

calls out were made, 2,125 cards were mailed, and 626 calls in were received. For a subset of 

participants a slight increase in incentive was offered for a variety of reasons such as additional travel, 

childcare, or because study staff had to reschedule an interview which inconvenienced the participant. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

81

For 57 participants (including both follow-ups), personal visits were made to the participant’s home, 

work, or neighborhood to complete the follow-up interview. All participants received study gifts 

multiple times—magnets, pens, pens and pads, bookmarks, nail files, and safety key chains (with a light 

and whistle). These small gifts all had a generic study name (University of Kentucky (UK) Women’s Stress 

and Coping Study) and toll-free number. A generic study name was used for safety reasons as well as to 

protect confidentiality with regard to study content. 

Approximately 56,652 miles were driven to conduct interviews, go to court, and to travel to and from 

rural offices for trainings, quality control, and other meetings specifically related to recruitment and 

interviews with women. 

In all, 944 hours were spent interviewing the 228 participants, not including the court recruitment time, 

missed interviews, waiting for participants to show up for the interview, travel time to and from 

interviews, interview preparation time, or other activities such as scheduling interviews, reminder calls 

and mailings, thank you card mailings, mailings and calls in between interviews, and locating activities 

which were all time-consuming as well. 

Table 24. Total effort 

Calls out Mailings Calls in

Home/work/

neighbor visits for 

follow-up

Total hours of interview 

time

Baseline (n=213) 2,007 403 240 0 632 hours and 5 minutes

3 month (n=207) 1,479 746 148 18 people 130

3 months not completed (n=6) 89 22 1 4 people 0

6 month (n=210) 1,662 740 136 33 people 123

6 months not completed (n=3) 7 5 0 1 person 0

Pilots/pulled (n=15) 338 97 28 1 person 59

Total 5,582 2,013 553 57 944 hours and 5 minutes

Those recruited but not 

interviewed (n=184) 1,085 107 71

Those recruited but not 

interviewed because study ended 

(n=22)

96 5 2

Total 6,763 2,125 626 57 944 hours and 5 minutes

Key Measures 

Demographic And Socioeconomic. Participants were directly asked about their age, race, 

education level, employment, household income, and the number of children they had. 

Relationship Characteristics. Each participant was directly asked about the relationship with the 

partner she had a protective order against (PO partner), including the length of their relationship, 

how old she and her partner were when they began the relationship, whether or not she had 

ever been married to the PO partner, the number of children she had in common with the PO 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

82

partner, whether she was still in the relationship with the PO partner at the baseline interview or 

whether they thought they might get back together, and how much time she had spent in the 

relationship with the PO partner after the PO was issued. 

Partner Abuse And Violence. Partner abuse and violence were measured by asking a series of 

questions about different abuse tactics including verbal abuse, degradation, jealousy and control, 

financial control, work interference, symbolic violence, children threats, threats of serious harm, 

threats to kill, serious threats to her about close others, actual threats to close others, moderate 

physical, severe physical, and physical assault of others (see Table 27 for example items for each 

tactic type). Women were also asked if their partner had ever forced them to have sex. Stalking 

was measured by asking women, “Throughout your relationship with this partner, did he ever 

frighten you on more than one occasion because he repeatedly followed you, watched you, 

phoned you, wrote letters, notes or email messages, communicated with you in other ways such 

as through another person, or engaged in other harassing acts that seemed obsessive or made 

you afraid for your safety (e.g., stalked you)?” This question asks women about their perception 

of being stalked and was adapted from Tjaden and Thoennes (1998) and from an extensive pilot 

study conducted with women in the target population (Logan et al., 2003a).

An index for the severity of physical violence by the PO partner was created using assigned 

weights. The following weights were assigned for tactics: 2 for symbolic violence; 4 for moderate 

physical violence; 5 for serious threats (direct threats to seriously harm or kill); 6 serious physical 

violence; and 8 for threats or actual use of a weapon. The possible range in scores was 0 to 38.

Fear Of Future Harm. Women were asked a series of questions about how afraid they were of 

future harm because of the PO partner. These questions were adapted from Dutton, Goodman, 

& Schmidt (2006). Subscales of fears were then developed. The specific question was “How afraid 

are you that the following will happen in the next 6 months by or because of the PO partner?” 

The fear categories were: ongoing harassment and threats; physical injury; emotional and 

physical harm of children or interference with child custody; financial problems such as loss of a 

job, loss of housing or other financial problems; public humiliation/damaged reputation; loss of 

control over life; and harm or harassment of close others. All participants were asked these 

questions at baseline. Possible responses ranged from not at all fearful, not very fearful, not sure, 

somewhat fearful, and extremely fearful. The fear questions were added to the follow-ups after 

the follow-ups had started; thus, 170 participants were asked about fear of future harm at the 

follow-up.

EPO Incident. A series of questions was developed to obtain information about the EPO incident, 

including types of violence experienced. 

EPO-DVO Process. A series of questions was developed to assess barriers/problems with 

obtaining an EPO and the EPO process as well as barriers/problems with obtaining the DVO and 

the DVO process. 

DVO Type Of Orders. Women were asked direct questions about the length of their DVO and DVO 

stipulations. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

83

Perpetrator Characteristics. Women’s reports of perpetrator characteristics as well as official 

court records of civil and criminal histories were used to describe characteristics of perpetrators 

including age, race, and charge and conviction history. 

Protective Order Violations And Effectiveness. Protective order violations were classified as 

violations if any violent contact occurred (including property damage, direct threats to the victim 

of harm, death, or with a weapon, moderate physical violence, severe physical violence, and use 

of a weapon on the victims but excluding stalking) and/or if the participant reported the DVO was 

violated during the 6 month period after a DVO was obtained. Effectiveness was also measured 

by asking a direct question about how effective the participant thought the DVO had been for 

her. 

Protective Order Enforcement. Protective order enforcement was examined several ways.

Women reported the number of times they talked to the police, filed criminal charges, or filed 

contempt of court charges. Each woman also reported on whether the PO partner was arrested 

and how many days he was in jail. These questions were asked for each time period including for 

the EPO incident, the DVO period at the baseline, follow-up 1, and follow-up 2. Also, official data 

were examined for the time during the 6 months after the DVO was issued for any felony or 

misdemeanor charges, substance-related charges, and narrow domestic violence related charges 

including Assault in the Fourth Degree (Assault 4th) domestic violence (misdemeanor charge), PO 

violation (misdemeanor charge), and stalking (both Stalking in the First Degree (1st) which is a 

felony charge and Stalking in the Second Degree (2nd) which is a misdemeanor charge).

Several open-ended questions were asked to assess participant responses about why they chose 

not to report a violation, why they thought the PO partner did not violate the EPO/DVO if there 

was a period with no violations, and why they thought the PO partner did violate the EPO/DVO if 

there were violations. 

Perpetrator History Of Criminal Justice Involvement. Court records from the Kentucky 

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) were used to extract information about PO partner’s

histories of charges and convictions. Civil records of EPOs, DVOs, and contempt of court charges 

were also accessed through AOC. Local jail data for the relevant time period were also extracted 

from four jails. One jail refused to cooperate after numerous and varied attempts to access the 

information. Because of the missing official data from one jail, victim reports of jail time for her 

partner were used in the analysis. Victim reports were compared to official jail data from the jails 

that did provide information and the rates and days of jail time were very similar (see limitations 

section of substudy 3 for more detail). Respondent incarceration periods were recorded for 6 

months before the index protective order was issued and for the 6 months after the index 

protective order. 

The charges and convictions were specifically extracted for three time periods (a) 6 months prior 

to the index protective order date; (b) 6 months after the index protective order date; and (c) the 

time before the 6 months prior to the index protective order date (history). Information that was 

extracted included (1) Type of Charge—misdemeanor or felony; (2) Convictions; and, (3) 

domestic violence-related charges and convictions including protective order violations, stalking, 

and assault 4th domestic violence. In addition, the number of DVO amendments was extracted 

from the court record. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

84

All of the secondary data (e.g., jail data, civil and criminal history data) were obtained in hard 

copy form and were extracted by the study staff using a standardized protocol. For quality 

control purposes, 23% of the AOC records of charges, convictions, and civil histories were coded 

independently by two individuals with an interrater reliability of 99.3%. All disagreements were 

resolved for 100% agreement. 

Analysis 

Chi-Squares and ANOVAs were used to examine bivariate relationships. Multivariate analysis was done 

using logistic and linear regressions. Qualitative information was initially analyzed by the study Principal 

Investigator using NVivo. The results were then imported into SPSS for bivariate analysis. For quality 

control, 20% of the qualitative questions were independently analyzed by a research assistant and then 

compared to the original thematic analysis. There was a 93.4% agreement across all categories and 

questions double-coded for quality control. All disagreements were resolved for 100% agreement. 

SUBSTUDY 2 RESULTS 

Demographics, Employment, And Income 

Women in this study were an average age of 33 years old (ranging from 18 to 63 years old), were 

primarily Caucasian (86%), and the majority had children (79%) as Table 25 shows. More rural women 

had children than urban women, and of those with children, more rural women (89%) than urban 

women (77.3%) had children younger than 18 years old. Overall, 54% of urban women had children 

younger than 18 years old versus 79% of rural women (X2(1)=15.02, P<.001) 

Just over a quarter of the sample had less than a high school education and no GED (27%), and just over 

a quarter had a high school education or GED (26%), while about one-third (34%) had at least some 

college education. About half were unemployed at the time of the baseline interview (48%) while 21% 

were working part-time and 31% were working full time. Just over one-third of the rural women 

reported they had not had a job at all in the past year compared to about 20% of the urban women. 

Overall, the average annual reported household income was $21,949. The median household income for 

urban women was $16,000 which is much lower than the median income estimate of $46,726 for the 

selected urban area from the 2007 census. There is a similar trend for the selected rural area with the 

participants in this study reporting a median household income of $13,900 compared to the census 

estimate of $29,545 for this area. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

85

Table 25. Demographic, employment, and income 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Age 33 32 33

Race

Caucasian (X2(2)=30.12, p<.001) 72.9% 99.1% 85.9%***

Black 26.2% .9% 13.6%

Hispanic .9% 0% .5%

% with any children (n=169) (X2(1)=11.22, p<.01) 70.1% 88.7% 79.3%**

 Of those with any children, average number 2.5 2.2 2.3

 Of those with any children, % with children 

 under 18 (X2(1)=4.5, p<.05)

77.3% 89.4% 84%*

Education

Less than HS/GED 25.5% 28.3% 26.9%

HS/GED 25.5% 26.4% 25.9%

Some college 34% 34% 34%

College grad and/or grad school 15.1% 11.3% 13.2%

Current employment status (X2(2)=11.24, p<.01)

Full time 39.3% 21.7% 30.5%**

Part time 23.4% 18.9% 21.1%

Unemployed 37.4% 59.4% 48.4%

Average number of paid jobs past year (F(1, 211)=8, p<.01) 1.5 1 1.3**

No jobs past year (X2(3)=10.24, p<.05) 17.8% 34.9% 26.3%*

1 job past year 39.3% 38.7% 39%

2 jobs past year 29% 17% 23%

3+ jobs past year 14% 9.4% 11.7%

Mean annual household income $24,178

($0-$107,000)

$19,698

($0-$82,000)

$21,949

($0-$107,000)

Median annual household income $16,000 $13,900 $15,000

Relationship Characteristics 

Table 26 describes the relationship characteristics between the participants and the partner they 

received a protective order against. More rural women had been or were married to the PO partner 

while more urban women had cohabitated with the PO partner. More rural women had children in 

common with the PO partner (57.5%) than urban women (39.3%). Only 20% of the urban women and 

2% of the rural women indicated they were in the relationship with the PO partner at the time of the 

interview. Rural women had been in the relationship with the PO partner longer compared to urban 

women, and began seeing the PO partner at a significantly younger age than did the urban women. The 

rural PO partners were also significantly younger than the urban PO partners at the time the relationship 

began. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

86

A few of the women continued the relationship with the PO partner after the DVO was issued, although 

more urban women did so than rural women and, of those who continued the relationship, urban 

women spent more days, on average, in the relationship during the follow-up period than rural women. 

Table 26. Relationship characteristics 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Relationship status (X2(1)=18.66, p<.001)

Spouse or ex-spouse 36.4% 66% 51.2%*

Boyfriend or ex-boyfriend 63.6% 34% 48.8%

# years together (F(1, 211)=5.14, p<.05) 5.1 7.2 6.1*

% kids in common with the PO Partner (X2(1)=7.14, p<.01) 39.3% 57.5% 48.4%**

Of those with completed follow-ups

Urban

(n=105)

Rural

(n=105)

Total

(n=210)

Maintained a relationship after the DVO was issued 

(X2(1)=5.42, p<.05)

34.3% 20% 27.1%*

Of those who maintained the relationship, number of 

days spent in the relationship after the DVO was issued

(F(1,55)=4.06, p<.05)

(n=36)

134

(n=21)

101

(n=57)

122*

History Of Violence And Fear of Future Harm 

The history of violence and abuse was high for both groups as displayed in Table 27. Overall, there were 

significant differences on the physical violence severity index with rural women having higher scores 

compared to urban women. There were also several significant differences when specific abuse tactics 

were examined, including more rural women than urban women reporting financial control, threats 

regarding child interference, and serious threats to close others. Also, more rural women experienced 

threats with a knife or gun (50.5% versus 32.4% of urban women) or had actually had a knife used 

against them or gun fired at them by the PO partner (22.9% versus 4.8% of urban women). Across both 

groups, 31% of women reported being raped (forced penetration or sex acts). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

87

Table 27. History of violence 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Physical severity index (F(1, 211)=10.27, p<.01) 20.37 24.08 22.22**

Verbal abuse (such as insulting or shouting) 100% 100% 100%

Degradation (such as treating you as an inferior, blaming you for his 

problems, doing something to spite you)

99.1% 100% 99.5%

Jealousy and control (such as monitoring your time, isolating you, 

accusing you of having an affair)

100% 99.1% 99.5%

Financial control (such as denying you access to money or bank 

accounts) (X2(1)=5.9, p<.05) 

58.9% 74.5% 66.7%*

Work interference (such as keeping you from having or getting a job, 

causing you to be fired or quit your job)

57% 55.7% 56.3%

Symbolic violence (such as smashing/kicking something, destroying 

your property, threatening to hit or throw something at you)

98.1% 99.1% 98.6%

Child interference threats (of those with minor children, n=142) 

(such as threatening to call child protective services, threatening to 

kidnap your children) (X2(1)=11.29, p<.01) 

51.7% 78.6% 67.6%**

Threatsto kill 66.1% 77.1% 71.9%

Threatsto seriously harm 72.4% 82.9% 77.6%

Serious threats about close others(such as threatening to harm 

your children or others close to you) (X2(1)=15.29, p<.001) 

38.1% 65.1% 51.6%***

Threats with a weapon (X2(1)=7.08, p<.01) 32.4% 50.5% 41.4%**

Actual use of a weapon (X2(1)=14.44, p<.001) 4.8% 22.9% 13.8%***

Actual threats to others(such as actually threatening others close to 

you) (X2(1)=16.92, p<.001)

26.2% 53.8% 39.5%***

Stalking (such as showing up at your work or school against your 

wishes, following you, making harassing phone calls to you or your 

family, threatening to harm himself, breaking into your home/car)

57.9% 64.2% 61%

Moderate physical violence (such as throwing something at you 

that could hurt you, twisting your arm/hair, pushing or shoving 

you)

91.6% 94.3% 93%

Severe physical violence (such as trying to run you down with a car, 

punching or hitting you, kicking or biting you, beating you up, 

choking you, burning you)

86.9% 84.9% 85.9%

Physical assault of others 75.7% 82.1% 78.9%

Rape 25.2% 36.8% 31%

Women were also asked about how afraid they were of future harm from the PO partner. As Figure 11

shows, more rural women were fearful of future harm across every single category than urban women, 

including fear of ongoing threats and harassment (X2(1)=4.57, p<.05), fear of physical injury (X2(1)=9.62, 

p<.01), fear of being humiliated (X2(1)=16.74, p<.001), fear of financial harm or damage such as losing a 

job, losing housing, or other financial problems (X2(1)= 5.23, p<.05), fear of loss of control over their life 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

88

or fear of being controlled and dominated (X2(1)=6.55, p<.05), fear that others would be harassed or 

physically harmed by the PO partner (X2(1)=37.56, p<.001), and, for those with children in common with 

the PO partner, fear that the PO partner would take away or kidnap the children, try to get custody of 

children, or emotionally or physically harm children (X2(1)=10.35, p<.01). 

Figure 11. How afraid are you the following will happen over the next 6 months 

Barriers to Protective Orders 

Like key informants, women were also asked to describe the barriers victims of partner violence might 

experience in trying to obtain help from the criminal justice system. Table 28 below combines responses 

to three open-ended questions: (1) What do you think are the three biggest problems or issues for 

women seeking help through the criminal justice system in your community? (2) What were the three 

main issues or problems with obtaining the EPO; what problems do you think other women might 

encounter during the EPO process? (3) What were three main issues or problems with obtaining the 

DVO; what problems do you think other women might encounter during the DVO process? 

Similar to the analysis of barriers to obtaining protective orders mentioned by key informants in 

substudy 1, victim responses were organized into two overall categories: accessibility and acceptability. 

Within each of those overall categories, there were a number of specific barrier subcategories. 

Table 28 displays the results for the responses to barriers to obtaining a protective order. Fifteen 

percent of the participants indicated that needing a high level of proof of violence and abuse, fear of not 

being believed, and being told the incident was not serious enough were barriers. For example, one 

rural woman petitioned for an EPO because her ex-partner was stalking her and had called her work 

threatening to kill her and anyone else she was seeing. She indicated that not only did she feel that noone believed her, but that also the county attorney said there was “nothing they could do” and the 

judge told her at first that he did not think that was a reason to get an EPO. Another rural woman wrote 

67.3%

43.9%

57.9% 59.8% 59.8%

52.4%

33.6%

80.2%

65.1%

74.5%

84.9%

74.5%

82.0%

75.5%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Urban Rural

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

89

on her petition, “I’m pregnant and I’m scared that he may try and hurt me and my baby. He calls and 

comes to my house uninvited.” She said that the “judge laughed at me and told me that I would not get 

a DVO because I had no case.”

Overall the majority of respondents from both areas mentioned barriers related to systemic issues 

which was consistent with key informant results. Within the subcategory of systemic issues, “navigating 

the system” was mentioned by the most participants, although more urban women mentioned it than 

rural women. Included in this category were not having knowledge of what to do or where to go; 

confusion about the process, conditions, or terms of the order; difficulty in filling out paperwork; not 

having any help through the process; and gatekeeper attitudes. It was surprising to see the number of 

participants from both areas who mentioned the difficulty they had with those they first approached 

about petitioning for an EPO, especially the clerks. For example: 

When I filed my EPO- the woman was really rude. She made me feel like I did not deserve an 

EPO. 

Person at courthouse didn't want to give me an EPO because I had dropped one before. 

Lady at courthouse was rude saying there wasn't enough evidence to get EPO- but she gave me 

one anyway. 

I went after hours and the woman asked me if I wanted to wait until the next day. She asked me 

if it was an emergency! Had all four kids with me and they were really rude and got an attitude 

with me. 

I had to wait almost 45 minutes before somebody waited on me. There were people there and I 

felt they just didn't care. 

Clerks tried to discourage me from getting an EPO. She told me it would take a lot of time to fill 

out the paperwork. She was very rude and even asked me why I didn’t just stay away from the 

PO partner. 

Clerks made me feel two inches tall because they wouldn’t help me understand how to fill out an 

EPO. 

Clerks made me feel like my life was not important. 

Other accessibility barriers included inconvenience such as the inconvenience of having to take off work, 

arrange for child care, park, limited hours of access, or difficulty in access for the disabled; the time it 

takes to get an EPO and/or DVO; and, “getting the run-around.” 

More urban women mentioned inconvenience as a barrier, while more rural women mentioned “getting 

the run-around.” In the rural area, women are expected to take the forms from office to office and in 

some cases to find the judge themselves to get the EPO signed (Logan et al., 2005b). But some of the 

women seemed to feel the “run-around” was used as an attempt to deliberately frustrate their efforts 

to obtain a protective order as noted in a few of the examples below: 

Couldn't find judge to sign the EPO, the judge was gone. 

Court clerks gave me the run-around. I was sent place to place to try and get an EPO. 

I was given the run-around for who I needed to give EPO to in order to get EPO served- which law 

enforcement agency. 

The court clerks wanted to save themselves a trip to the Sherriff’s office and asked if I would take 

some warrants (unrelated to my case) since I was going to the Sheriff’s office anyway. But then 

the Sheriff’s office wanted to charge me $20 for them. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

90

Giving women the run-around thinking that the women aren't telling the truth. 

Court system gives women the run-around hoping women will drop the complaint. 

As expected, service of the protective order was also mentioned as a barrier. Service of the order is 

particularly important because due process requires that the order be served before it can be enforced. 

About 18% of the participants overall indicated that service was a barrier for them or that they thought 

it would be a barrier for someone else trying to obtain a protective order. This is more consistent with 

the actual rates of non-service (see Figure 7) but stands in stark contrast to the few key informants (5%) 

who mentioned service as being a barrier (see Table 11). 

Barriers related to justice system bias were mentioned by almost twice as many rural women as urban 

women. In particular, politics was mentioned as a barrier by mostly rural women. The category included 

statements about the community reputation of those involved and “who you know” as important in 

influencing justice outcomes along with more general statements that men simply have more rights 

than women in rural communities. Similar proportions of victims and key informants mentioned politics 

as a barrier. 

Also, a number of women from both the rural and urban areas mentioned that they did not feel the 

judge listened to them, felt they were rushed through the system, and/or felt that the judge was rude 

and condescending toward them. Below are a few examples, 

 

I feel like I didn't get to say what I wanted to say because the judge cut me off. 

The judge was extremely rude to me because I had dropped previous EPOs. 

I felt the judge wasn’t as focused on my situation/side as she was on the perpetrator’s.

The judge was “cutting up” with the perpetrator and that made me feel uncomfortable.

The category of acceptability barriers included several important themes as well. The most frequently 

mentioned barrier in this category was lack of faith in the system. Statements classified into this theme 

centered on women’s perception of the lack of enforcement or the lack of a response to the violent 

partner violating the protective order. 

Other problems mentioned included having to sit or stand so close to the PO partner before and during 

the hearing and how the PO partner was allowed to try to intimidate the victim through words or stares 

during the hearing process. More urban women mentioned this than rural women. 

Perpetrator kept giving me intimidating looks and no one asked him to stop. 

It was hard to face perpetrator, to be in same room with him. 

When the judge asked me if I wanted to drop it, I knew perpetrator was going to stare me down. 

I was very scared. 

I didn't want to stand that close to perpetrator- I needed more distance between us. 

Perpetrator was staring at me when we were sitting in courtroom waiting to have our case 

heard. 

Someone, like the police, should be there to keep you safe in hallway before court. 

It was uncomfortable facing the perpetrator; I didn’t realize I would be in the same room with 

him. 

Other acceptability barriers included fear of perpetrator retaliation, embarrassment, and fear of the 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

91

court system in general. 

Table 28. Barriers to EPOs/DVOs 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Accessibility

Barriers related to victim credibility

High level of proof, not serious enough, do not believe her 14% 16% 15%

Barriers related to systemic issues (X2(1)=11.5, p<.01) 77.6% 55.7% 66.7%**

Navigating the system (X2(1)=3.99, p<.05) 63.6% 50% 56.8%*

Lack of knowledge, support, help (X2(1)=9.07, p<.01) 32.7% 15.1% 23.9%**

Gatekeeper attitudes 16.8% 19.8% 18.3%

 Clerks 14% 12.3% 13.1%

Inconvenience-hours, parking, work, childcare (X2(1)=5.4, p<.05) 47.7% 32.1% 39.9%*

 Takes too long 25.2% 15.1% 20.2%

 Run-around (X2(1)=6.44, p<.05) 6.5% 17.9% 12.2%*

Service 17.8% 18.9% 18.3%

Barriers related to justice system bias (X2(1)=7.61, p<.01) 20.6% 37.7% 29.1%**

Politics (X2(1)=8.07, p<.01) 3.7% 15.1% 9.4%*

Judge problems 16.8% 26.4% 21.6%

Acceptability

No faith in the system 29% 28.3% 28.6%

Fear of facing perpetrator (X2(1)=6.89, p<.01) 25.2% 11.3% 18.3%*

Fear of perpetrator retaliation 24.3% 6.6% 15.5%

Embarrassment-social consequences 18.7% 10.4% 14.6%

Fear of process and not being believed 14% 7.5% 10.8%

Didn’t get some things needed 12.1% 4.7% 8.5%

Just want it all to go away (X2(1)=8.73, p<.01) 10.3% .9% 5.6%*

EPO Incident And Process 

Significantly fewer rural women (24.5%) reported living with the PO partner at the time of the EPO 

incident compared to urban women (59.8%, X2(1)=27.17, p<.001). When examining the reported specific 

tactics or types of abuse endured during the EPO incident, the vast majority of women reported verbal 

abuse and degradation (90.1%), 73.2% reported threats of serious harm or death (with more rural 

women indicating serious threats of harm or death, p<.10), and 59.2% reported some form of physical 

assault (see Table 29). 

There were a few significant differences by area with regard to violence during the EPO incident. More 

rural women reported that stalking occurred during or around the time of the EPO incident as did 

threats to them about hurting others close to them. More urban women reported jealousy, control, and 

actual physical assault of others during the incident. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

92

Another difference was that more rural women (58.5%) reported others (not including children) 

witnessed all or part of the EPO incident than did urban women (35.5%, X2(1)=11.29, p<.01). 

Also, regardless of area, women reported that almost two-thirds of the PO partners were using drugs or 

alcohol at the time of the EPO incident (59.6% reported the PO partner was using drugs or alcohol and 

5.6% reported they were not sure if the PO partner was using drugs or alcohol at the time of the EPO 

incident).

Table 29. EPO incident violence 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Verbal abuse and/or degradation 88.8% 91.5% 90.1%

Jealousy and control (X2(1)=9.79, p<.01) 70.1% 49.1% 59.6%**

Stalking (X2(1)=8.01, p<.01) 26.2% 44.8% 35.4%**

Symbolic violence 47.7% 35.8% 41.8%

Threats to seriously harm or kill 68.2% 78.3% 73.2%a

Threaten to kill you 52.3% 64.2% 58.2%

Threaten to seriously harm you (X2(1)=5, p<.05) 64.5% 78.3% 71.4%*

Threaten you with weapons such as a knife, gun or bat 16.8% 20% 18.4%

Serious threats to you about hurting close others (X2(1)=12.73, p<.001) 27.1% 50.9% 39%***

Of those with minor children, child threats 22.6% 28.4% 26%

Any physical assault 63.6% 54.7% 59.2%

Moderate physical 56.1% 46.2% 51.2%

Severe physical 48.6% 35.8% 42.3%

Used a knife or gun on you or some other kind of weapon (e.g., bat) 4.7% 9.4% 7%

Sexual coercion and rape 11.2% 5.7% 8.5%

Actually threatened others 17.8% 28.3% 23%

Physical assault of others (X2(1)=5.07, p<.05) 4.7% 0% 2.3%*

Rural women spent, on average, 3 hours and 36 minutes getting the EPOs compared to urban women 

who spent, on average, 1 hour and 42 minutes (F(1, 206)=8.15, p<.01). As Table 30 shows, about onethird of participants indicated they missed time or activities in getting the EPO with no differences by 

area. Not surprising, the rural women spent more on transportation costs to obtain the EPO than did the 

urban women, probably due to longer travel times to get to the courthouse and to get the paperwork 

where it needed to go. 

There were also significant differences by area for whether or not women had contact with the PO 

partner during the EPO period – the period between when the EPO was in effect and the DVO was 

granted. More urban women than rural women reported contact with the PO partner during this time 

period. However, there was no significant difference in the number of women who perceived violations 

of the EPO by area. Overall, close to one-third indicated that the EPO was violated — the average 

number of violations was 6. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

93

Trying to estimate violations during the EPO period was difficult for several reasons. First, many women 

were not sure when the respondent was actually served, so they were not clear whether or not a 

specific contact or incident was technically a violation. Second, some women thought the EPO was in 

effect when it was first signed by the judge so they counted all contacts as violations, when in reality the 

EPO is not active until the respondent has been served notice (there was likely at least a day’s delay). 

Third, several women indicated they did not realize that any contact (even non-violent contact) was a 

violation of the no-contact EPO so they did not count all contacts as violations. Fourth, some women 

needed to contact/coordinate certain things with the PO partner such as custody, property, and other 

issues and felt that contact was necessary; whether they counted those as violations or not is unclear. 

Fifth, some contacts were made through third parties which many women did not consider to be a 

violation while others did. Thus, the information on EPO violations should be interpreted with caution. 

Even with all of the barriers, time spent getting through the process, and confusion during the EPO 

period, 80.7% of the women regardless of area indicated they were fairly or extremely satisfied with the 

EPO process. 

Table 30. EPO process 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Missed any time or activities to get the EPO (n=75) 37.4% 33% 35.2%

 Total hours of missed time for those who missed time 5 hours 22 min 8 hours 4 min 6 hours 38 min

Average transportation cost for EPO (F(1, 205)=37.6, p<.001) $5.93 $15.19 $10.45***

Had any contact with PO partner during EPO period 

(X2(1)=8.66, p<.01)

45.8% 26.4% 36.2%**

Any violation of EPO during EPO period 33.6% 25.5% 29.6%

 Of those with violations, average number of violations 4.6 8.1 6.1

DVO Process And Stipulations 

The next set of questions pertains to the DVO process and stipulations. Only a small percentage of 

women indicated they were living with the PO partner at the time of the DVO hearing (11.2% of urban 

women and 1.9% of rural women, X2(1)=7.55, p<.01). 

Although on average there were about 17 days between the EPO filing and the DVO hearing, the range 

of days varied between 1 day and 147 days. Basically, the vast majority of women (73.7%) received the 

DVO within 14 days of petitioning for the EPO with another 18.8% receiving the DVO within 4 weeks of 

petitioning for the EPO. Almost 5% (4.7%) of the participants had to wait between 5 and 8 weeks from 

the time they petitioned for an EPO and the time they received the DVO and 2.8% waited between 9 

and 21 weeks. There were no differences by area for length of time between filing for an EPO and 

receiving a DVO. 

Overall, it took about 4 hours (3 hours and 48 minutes) to get the DVO, and the time did not differ 

significantly by area. About half of the participants indicated they had missed work time or any time 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

94

from other activities because of the DVO hearing. Also, rural women spent more money, on average, on 

transportation than did urban women. 

A series of questions was asked about the DVO hearing proceedings (see Table 31). The majority of 

women said the judge had asked them if they had any questions and that that they felt there was 

adequate opportunity to ask questions at the hearing. However, about 30% of women did not feel they 

had time to ask questions at the hearing. About 15% of women indicated they left the hearing confused 

about something, and although over 90% of both rural and urban women indicated they understood the 

terms of the DVO, more rural women indicated they did not understand the terms (10% versus 3%) of 

the DVO. A small percentage of the women had already discovered errors with the DVO (7.5%). Also, the 

vast majority of women, regardless of area, believed that the PO partner understood the terms of the 

DVO, although 12% did not think the PO partner understood the terms of the DVO. 

Table 31. DVO process 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

Missed any time or activities to get the DVO (n=112) 55.1% 50% 52.6%

Total hours of missed time for those who missed 

time

7 hours 42 min 5 hours 36 min 6 hours 42 min

Average transportation cost for DVO (F(1, 206)=20.77, 

p<.001) 

$8.09 $16.76 $12.38***

Judge asked if you had any questions 65.7% 65.4% 65.5%

Felt you had time to ask questions at DVO hearing 75.7% 66% 70.9%

Participant was confused about something after the 

DVO hearing

12.1% 17.9% 15%

Participant feels the respondent understood the DVO 

and the terms

87.7% 87.7% 87.7%

Participant has discovered errors with the DVO 6.5% 8.6% 7.5%

Participant understood DVO terms (X2(1)=4.09, p<.05) 97.2% 90.6% 93.9%*

About half of the women in the sample received a DVO for 3 years, and 30% received a DVO for 2 years 

(see Table 32). However, as Table 32 shows, using an average number of months the DVO was granted, 

rural women had significantly shorter DVOs than urban women. 

The vast majority of women in the rural area (90.6%) received No Contact DVOs while about 60% of the 

urban women received No Contact DVOs and about 40% received No Violent Contact DVOs. 

Overall, 80% of women indicated they were fairly or extremely satisfied with the DVO process. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

95

Table 32. DVO length and stipulations 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

DVO issued average months (F(1, 209)=4.81, p<.05) 26.6 22.9 24.8*

DVO issued less than 6 months .9% 4.9% 2.9%

DVO issued for 6 months 3.8% 10.5% 7.1%

DVO issued for 1 year 29.2% 30.5% 29.9%

DVO issued for 2 years 7.5% 8.6% 8.1%

DVO issued for 3 years 58.5% 45.7% 52.1%

DVO stipulations

No Contact Order (X2(1)=28.25, p<.001) 58.9% 90.6% 74.6%**

No Violent Contact (X2(1)=28.25, p<.001) 41.1% 9.4% 25.4%**

PO Partner Information 

Age and race of the PO partner was extracted from the court records (see Table 33). On average, PO 

partners were 34 years old. Half of the PO partners from the urban area were Caucasian compared to 

98% from the rural area. 

Almost 90% of participants reported that the PO partner had ever been in a controlled environment 

with the vast majority of those reporting that their PO partner had been in jail. About one-third of the 

urban women indicated that the PO partner had ever been in prison compared to 15% of rural women. 

More urban than rural women reported that the PO partner had worked in the past 30 days, while more 

rural women reported their partners were drawing disability in the past year than did urban women. 

Table 33. PO Partner information from victim 

Urban

(n=107)

Rural

(n=106)

Total

(n=213)

PO partner age at the time of the DVO 35 34 35

% Caucasian (X2(1)=58.89, p<.001) 52.4% 98.1% 75.2%***

PO partner ever in any controlled environment 93.4% 85.8% 89.6%

PO partner ever in jail 89.5% 84.9% 87.2%

PO partner ever in prison (X2(1)=10.74, p<.01) 34.6% 15.1% 24.8%**

PO partner employment past 30 days (X2(1)=9.55, p<.01)

Unemployed 34.4% 56.4% 45.3%**

Part time 7.3% 6.4% 6.8%

Full time 58.3% 37.2% 47.9%

PO partner on disability past year (X2(1)=13.84, p<.001) 7.5% 26.7% 17%***

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

96

The next few tables examine civil and criminal histories for the PO partners of the participants with 

completed follow-up interviews using official court data from the state in which the study was 

conducted (n=210). Charges from other states are not included in this data. As Table 34 shows, 77.9% of 

the PO partners had either misdemeanor or felony charges with an average of almost 9 charges, and 

62.9% had any misdemeanor or felony convictions with an average of about 7 convictions. There were 

no differences by area. 

Breaking down the charges into specific felony and misdemeanor charges and convictions, the majority 

of the charges and convictions were misdemeanors as shown in Table 34. About half of those with 

felony charges actually had felony convictions, while the misdemeanor charges and convictions were 

more closely aligned. 

Table 34. Criminal history from official court records (before DVO was issued) 

Urban

(n=105)

Rural

(n=105)

Total

(n=210)

Any charges or convictions

Any misdemeanor or felony charges

Average number of misdemeanor or felony charges 

76.6%

8.97

79.2%

8.18

77.9%

8.58

Any misdemeanor or felony convictions 

Average number of misdemeanor or felony convictions

65.4%

7.91

60.4%

6.39

62.9%

7.19

Type of Charges

Any misdemeanor charge 

Average number of misdemeanor charges

76.6%

6.61

77.4%

6.27

77%

6.44

Any felony charge 

Average number of felony charges

51.4%

4.6

42.5%

4.49

46.9%

4.55

Type of Convictions

Any misdemeanor conviction 

Average number of misdemeanor convictions

63.6%

6.86

59.4%

5.68

61.5%

6.3

Any felony conviction 

Average number of felony convictions

28%

2.7

17%

2.83

22.5%

2.75

When examining specific types of charges, as noted in Table 35, 57.3% of the PO partners had 

substance-related charges and 53.1% had substance-related convictions and this did not differ by area. 

Domestic violence charges can incorporate a broad range of charges and unfortunately the criminal 

history data from the courts do not identify victims. With that limitation in mind, a narrow domestic 

violence charges category was created which only included Assault 4th domestic violence 

(misdemeanor), Stalking 1st degree (felony) and Stalking 2nd degree (misdemeanor), and violation of a 

protective order (misdemeanor). 

As Table 35 shows, more urban than rural PO partners had domestic violence specific charges, especially 

Assault 4th. There were no differences in convictions. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

97

Table 35. Substance use and domestic violence-related charges and conviction history 

Urban

(n=105)

Rural

(n=105)

Total

(n=210)

Substance related charges

Average number of substance related charges

57%

4.62

57.5%

6.03

57.3%

5.33

Substance related convictions

Average number of substance related convictions

55.1%

3.85

50.9%

4.33

53.1%

4.08

Any Narrow Domestic Violence (DV) Specific Charges and Convictions

Any Assault 4thDV, Violation of a PO, or Stalking charge 

(X2(1)=6.15, p<.05)

 Average number of charges

46.7%

1.32

30.2%

1.21

38.5%*

1.27

Any Assault 4th degree DV, Violation of a PO, or Stalking conviction 22.4% 15.1% 18.8%

Specific Narrow DV charges

Assault 4th DV charges (X2(1)=8.84, p<.01) 38.3% 19.8% 29.1%**

Violation of PO charges 13.1% 14.2% 13.6%

Stalking 1st and 2nd degree charges 3.7% .9% 2.3%

PO Effectiveness 

Protective order effectiveness was examined five ways, by examining: (1) the proportion of rural and 

urban women that experienced protective order violations within the 6-month follow-up period; (2) 

factors associated with protective order violations; (3) violence severity before and after the protective 

order for those who experienced violations; (4) the proportion of women who were afraid of future 

harm before and after the protective order; and (5) perceived effectiveness of protective orders. 

Protective Order Violations 

During the 6 month follow-up period after women obtained a protective order, half (50%) 

reported a violation of the protective order and half did not. There were no differences by area. 

Of those who experienced a violation (n=105), urban women experienced 9 violations, on 

average, and rural women experienced 15 violations on average (adjusted for outliers at the 95th

percentile; F(1, 103)=4.11, p<.05). 

Factors Associated With Protective Order Violations 

A logistic regression was used to examine factors most associated with protective order 

violations. Variables that were examined included area (rural versus urban), PO partner age, PO 

partner race, number of felony and misdemeanor charges the PO partner had the 6 months 

before the DVO was granted, relationship to PO partner (ever married versus never married), 

years total spent in the relationship at baseline, any kids in common with PO partner, physical 

violence severity 6 months before the PO, any forced sex 6 months before the DVO, number of 

days spent in the relationship with the PO partner during the follow-up period, and whether or 

not they were stalked 6 months before the DVO was obtained. Two factors were significantly 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

98

associated with violations: forced sex 6 months before the DVO (B=1.179, OR=3.25, p<.05) and 

whether they were stalked during the 6 months before the DVO (B=.617, OR=1.85, p<.05). 

A parallel multiple regression was used to examine the association of the number of days 

stalked six months prior to the DVO with the number of violations after the DVO using the same 

variables as noted above. Only the number of days of stalking 6 months before the DVO was 

significantly associated with the number of violations (B=.239, t=3.04, p<.01). 

Violence Severity 

Using repeated measures ANOVA, it is clear that even among those who experienced DVO 

violations, the severity score was significantly reduced at follow-up (see Table 36). In order to 

examine rural urban differences for physical violence severity, an ANCOVA was used, controlling 

for physical violence severity index scores at baseline and number of days in the relationship 

with the PO partner after the DVO was obtained. There were no significant area differences in 

follow-up physical violence severity index scores. 

When specific abuse tactics were examined for women who experienced violations, the number 

of women who experienced each of the abuse tactics was significantly lower at follow-up

(except for stalking) compared to baseline. And of those who experienced a specific abuse 

tactic, the average number of days each of the tactics was experienced was lower at follow-up

compared to baseline for almost all of the abuse tactics. Repeated measures ANOVA was used 

to test significance for the number of days each tactic was experienced, but because of the low 

numbers for many of the abuse tactics some differences were not found to be statistically 

significant even though they were much lower. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

99

Table 36. Abuse tactics experienced 6 months before and 6 months after the DVO 

for those who experienced violations 

Before

(n=105)

After

(n=105)

Physical severity index (F(1, 104)=189.63, p<.001) 18.98 5.3***

Verbal abuse (z=5.99, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

96.2%

93

62.9%***

21***

Degradation (z=5.95, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

93.3%

90

58.1%***

26***

Jealousy and Control (z=5.8, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

89.5%

135

53.3%***

24***

Financial control (z=3.97, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

41%

100

16.2%***

32*

Work interference (z=3.12, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

28.6%

66

11.4%***

14

Symbolic violence (z=6.65, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

68.6%

26

22.9%***

11**

Child threats (z=3.25, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

29.5%

27

11.4%***

10

Threats to kill (z=6.76, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

72.4%

16

25.7%***

9

Threaten to seriously harm you (z=7.81, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

83.8%

27

30.5%***

13*

Serious threats to you about close others (z=5.78, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

54.3%

21

16.2%***

3*

Threats with a weapon (z=4.62, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

33.3%

10

7.6%***

1*

Use of a weapon (z=2.47, p<.01)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

13.3%

3

3.8%**

1

Actual threats to others (z=3.2, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

34.3%

16

15.2%***

2

Stalking 

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

59%

122

48.6%

53***

Moderate physical (z=8.87, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

76.2%

30

15.2%***

2

Severe physical (z=7.27, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

58.1%

19

10.5%***

1

Physical assault of others (z=3.07, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

8.6%

2

0%***

0

Rape (z=4.34, p<.001)

 Of those who experienced, the number of days experienced

21%

43

1.9%***

5

*p<.10; **p<.01; ***p<.001

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

100

Given that stalking played such a significant role in violations of the protective order, 

subsequent analyses examined outcomes by violation group. Specifically, three violation groups 

were defined as: (1) those who experienced no violations (n=101); (2) those who experienced 

violations but no stalking (n=54); (3) and those who experienced violations plus stalking (n=51). 

Four participants were not included in the violation group analysis because it was too difficult to 

categorize them into violation groups. Specifically, three participants reported they were stalked 

but did not report that the DVO had been violated. One participant was not included because 

although the DVO was not violated while it was in effect, it was in effect for a very short time 

and when it expired she was severely physically abused. Some of the outcomes were only 

relevant for the two groups that experienced violations: the Violation but No Stalking group and 

the Violation Plus Stalking group, while other outcomes were relevant for all three violation 

groups. 

On average, the Violation but No Stalking group (n=54) had 7 violations compared to 18 for the 

Violation Plus Stalking group. Adjusted mean physical violence severity scores at follow-up were 

examined for the Violation but No Stalking group (n=54, M=4) and the Violation Plus Stalking 

group (n=51, M=6.6) controlling for their baseline physical violence severity index score, number 

of days spent in the relationship after the DVO was obtained, and area. There was a trend 

toward significance by group (F(1,100)=4.1, p<.10). Thus, victims who experienced violations 

plus stalking reported more overall violations and more severe violence during the follow-up 

period than did victims who experienced violations but no stalking. 

Fear Before And After The PO

Fear dimensions were examined in three ways: (1) the overall reduction in the proportion of 

women who were afraid of future harm from baseline to follow-up; (2) comparisons of fear of 

future harm at follow-up for rural and urban women; and, (3) comparisons of fear of future 

harm at follow-up by violation group. Fear subscale means were examined by violation groups 

controlling for area (rural versus urban area). The sample for this analysis includes only those 

who had a follow-up measure of fear (n=170).

Starting with the examination of the proportion of women experiencing fear from baseline to 

follow-up, as Figure 12 shows, there were significantly fewer women who reported fear of 

future harm at follow-up compared to baseline in every one of the fear categories including 

ongoing harassment and threat (z=3.91, p<.001), fear of physical injury (z=3.51, p<.001), fear of 

public humiliation/damaged reputation (z=5.37, p<.001), fear of financial consequences (z=4.52, 

p<.001), fear of loss of control over life (z=4.31, p<.001), fear that close others will be harassed 

or harmed (z=2.89, p<.001), and, for those with children in common with the PO partner, fear of 

child harm or interference (z=2.23, p<.01). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

101

75.9%

57.6%

80.0%

67.6% 70.0%

57.6%

74.4%

42.4% 37.1%

47.6% 40.6% 44.1% 40.6%

51.2%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Baseline Follow Up

Figure 12. Fear of future harm for baseline and follow-up

Consistent with the baseline fear results, at the 6 month follow up more rural women compared 

to urban women feared future harm by the PO partner in the form of: ongoing harassment and 

threat (X2(1)=6.58, p<.05), physical injury (X2(1)=7.42, p<.01), public humiliation/damaged 

reputation (X2(1)=5.63, p<.05), financial consequences (X2(1)=5.18, p<.05), loss of control over 

life (X2(1)=7.75, p<.01), that close others will be harassed or harmed (X2(1)=6.71, p<.05), and, for 

those with children in common with the PO partner, fear of child harm or interference 

(X2(1)=4.87, p<.05). Figure 13 shows the proportion of rural and urban women who reported 

they were afraid of future harm. 

Figure 13. Proportion of rural and urban women who say they were afraid of future harm at the 6 month 

follow-up

 

41.6%

26.0% 32.5%

37.7%

21.2%

34.5% 29.9%

61.3%

46.2%

53.8% 55.9%

48.4%

59.6%

49.5%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Urban Rural

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

102

The proportion of victims for each of the three violation groups for fear of future harm at the 

follow-up were also compared (see Figure 14). There were significant differences on every fear 

subscale including: fear of ongoing harassment and threat (X2(1)=20.99, p<.001), fear of physical 

injury (X2(1)=14.18, p<.01), fear of public humiliation/damaged reputation (X2(1)=10.78, p<.01), 

fear of financial consequences (X2(1)=6.81, p<.05), fear of loss of control over life (X2(1)=17.08, 

p<.001), fear that close others will be harassed or harmed (X2(1)=11.81, p<.01), and, for those 

with children in common with the PO partner, fear of child harm or interference (X2(1)=6.97, 

p<.05). As the Figure shows, there was a linear relationship of violation group and fear of future 

harm with the No Violation group having the lowest proportion of women indicating they were 

afraid of future harm from the PO partner, the Violation but No Stalking group having more 

women indicating fear of future harm than the No Violation group but fewer than the Violation 

Plus Stalking group, and the Violation Plus Stalking group having the highest proportions of 

women indicating fear of future harm. 

Figure 14. Proportion of women in each of the three violation groups who say 

 they were afraid of future harm at the 6 month follow-up

An ANCOVA was used to examine follow-up fear subscale means for violation group controlling 

for area. There were significant differences for every subscale including fear of: ongoing 

harassment and threat (F(2,163)=13.25, p<.001), fear of physical injury (F(2,163)=9.07, p<.001), 

fear of public humiliation/damaged reputation (F(2,163)=4.98, p<.01), fear of financial 

consequences (F(2,163)=5.16, p<.01), fear of loss of control over life (F(2,163)=6.99, p<.01), fear 

that close others will be harassed or harmed (F(2,163)=7.88, p<.01), and, for those with children 

in common with the PO partner, fear of child harm or interference (F(2,82)=2.63, p<.10). 

37.5%

25.0% 30.0%

38.6% 33.8% 35.9%

30.0%

48.9%

35.6%

44.4% 42.2% 35.6%

60.0%

37.8%

81.0%

59.5%

69.0% 69.0%

57.1%

68.2%

61.9%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

No Violations Violations Violations + Stalking

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

103

Perceived Effectiveness Of The PO 

It is important to note here that at the 6 month follow-up interview 91% of the protective 

orders were still in effect. Almost 5% (4.8%) of women indicated that their orders had expired, 

and only 4.3% indicated they had dropped the order. 

Women were asked, at the 6 month follow-up, how effective they thought the DVO was for 

them. There were no differences by rural or urban area with the mean rating at 3.3 (fairly 

effective). 

However, when mean ratings of effectiveness were examined by those who experienced 

violations (M=2.85, fairly effective) versus those who did not (M=3.76, extremely effective) 

there were significant differences (F(1, 208)=43.76, p<.001). 

Figure 15 displays the distribution of effectiveness ratings for those who experienced violations 

and those who did not. Fewer women who experienced DVO violations, compared to those who 

did not experience any violations, indicated that they felt the DVO was fairly or extremely 

effective. 

Figure 15. DVO effectiveness ratings by violation group 

 

When broken down further, those who did not experience violations (M=3.76), those who 

experienced violations but no stalking (M=3.17), and those who experienced violations plus 

stalking (M=2.51), results showed an overall significant difference for violation group 

(F(2,203)=31.77, p<.001). 

Figure 16 shows the distribution of effectiveness ratings by violation group. More women in the 

No Violation group indicated they thought the DVO was fairly or extremely effective than the 

other two groups. More women in the Violation but No Stalking group indicated they thought 

the DVO was fairly or extremely effective than the Violation Plus Stalking group. More women in 

the Violation Plus Stalking group indicated they did not feel the DVO was effective compared to 

the other two groups. 

95.3%

1.9%

77.2%

18.1%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Effective Not effective

No Violations Violations

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

104

Figure 16. DVO effectiveness ratings by violations plus stalking groups 

PO Enforcement 

Overall, of those who experienced a violation after obtaining a DVO, 62% indicated they talked to the 

police, to the county attorney (2%), or to a judge for contempt of court charges (1%) with no difference 

by area or by violation group (65% reported the violation to some entity within the criminal justice 

system). Figure 17 shows that of those who officially reported a violation, 27.9% said the PO partner was 

arrested, although more were arrested in the urban area (37.5%) than in the rural area (19.4%, 

X

2

(1)=2.74, p<.10). 

And of those who reported violations and reported that the PO partner was arrested, 91.7% of urban PO 

partners had an official charge during the follow-up period compared to 42.9% of rural PO partners 

(X2(1)=5.43, p<.05). 

Figure 17 highlights the considerable attrition from violations to actual charges. Starting at the top with 

the number of victims who experienced a violation (n=105), followed by those who reported the 

violation to the justice system (n=68), then those who reported there was an arrest (n=19), then those 

who had any charge in the court record during the 6 month follow-up period (n=14), suggests that, 

overall, only 18% of violation cases resulted in arrest and only 13% had any kind of charge during the 

follow-up period. 

95.3%

1.9%

85.2%

11.1%

68.7%

25.5%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Effective Not effective

No Violations Violations Violations + Stalking

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

105

Figure 17. Violations, arrests, and charges 

Also, those who experienced violations and reported them to criminal justice officials experienced the 

same number of violations on average (12.3) as those who did not report violations, after adjusting for 

area and follow-up physical violence severity index score. However, of those who experienced 

violations, those who reported violations to the criminal justice system experienced more severe 

violence (6.2 versus 3.7, F(1, 101)=3.5, p<.10) than those who did not report violations. 

Official data for those who experienced any violation during the follow-up period and who reported the 

violations to the criminal justice system are presented in Table 37 below. More urban PO partners had 

any charges during the 6 month follow period, and specifically more narrow domestic violence related 

charges than rural PO partners. Over half of the urban PO partners who violated the PO and who were 

reported to the justice system had PO violation charges and just over one-fifth had Assault 4th domestic 

violence charges compared to less than 3% of the rural PO partners. There were few stalking charges 

regardless of area. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

106

Table 37. Of those with reported violations, charges during the follow-up period by area 

Urban

(n=32)

Rural

(n=36)

Total

(n=68)

Any felony or misdemeanor charges (X2(1)=5.79, p<.05) 62.5% 33.3% 47.1%*

Any substance-related charges 15.6% 22.2% 19.1%

Narrow domestic violence charges (X2(1)=20.97, p<.001) 56.2% 5.6% 29.4%***

Assault 4th domestic violence (X2(1)=5.95, p<.05) 21.9% 2.8% 11.8%*

Violation of a protective order (X2(1)=22.06, p<.001) 53.1% 2.8% 26.5%***

Stalking 1st or 2nd degree 6.2% 0% 2.9%

Because there were significant rural and urban differences for charges, Table 38 shows charges by 

violation group and area (only for those with reported violations). 

For the urban area there were significant differences by violation group, with more of the PO partners in 

the Violation Plus Stalking group having any charge, and specifically, Assault 4th degree domestic 

violence charges and stalking charges. This is in stark contrast to the rural area, with more PO partners 

in the Violation but No Stalking group having any charges and specifically more narrow domestic 

violence charges than those from the Violation Plus Stalking group. It is also important to note that for 

the rural area, more PO partners from the Violation but No Stalking group were charged with substancerelated charges than those in the Violation Plus Stalking group. 

Table 38. Of those with reported violations, charges during the follow-up period by group and area 

Urban Violations

(n=18)

Violations + Stalking

(n=14)

Any felony or misdemeanor charges (X2(1)=2.74, p<.10) 50% 78.6%*

Any substance-related charges 11.1% 21.4%

Narrow domestic violence charges 50% 64.3%

Assault 4th domestic violence (X2(1)=6.4, p<.05) 5.6% 42.9%*

Violation of a protective order 50% 57.1%

Stalking 1st or 2nd degree (X2(1)=2.74, p<.10) 0% 14.3%*

Rural Violations

(n=13)

Violations + Stalking

(n=23)

Any felony or misdemeanor charges (X2(1)=5.79, p<.05) 46.2% 26.1%*

Any substance-related charges (X2(1)=3.11, p<.10) 38.5% 13%*

Narrow domestic violence charges (X2(1)=3.75, p<.10) 15.4% 0%*

Assault 4th domestic violence 7.7% 0%

Violation of a protective order 7.7% 0%

Stalking 1st or 2nd degree 0% 0%

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

107

The next set of analyses focused on the relationship of reporting violations to the police and an arrest of 

the PO partner in one timeframe and the effect, if any, that it had on subsequent time periods (EPO 

incident, DVO period at baseline, follow-up 1 period, and follow-up 2 period). 

Starting with the EPO incident, 73.8% reported talking to the police about the incident and there was no 

difference by area. 

Of those who talked to the police about the EPO incident, more urban women indicated that the PO 

partner was arrested (44.7%) than did rural women (17.7%, X2(1)=13.22, p<.001). There was no impact 

of arrest for the EPO incident on whether or not a violation occurred during the entire follow-up period; 

just over half experienced a violation regardless of arrest for the EPO incident. This pattern did not vary 

by area. Further, there did not appear to be any impact of an arrest for the EPO incident on the number 

of violations or the severity of physical violence during the entire 6 month follow-up period. 

Because there was only one total arrest during the DVO period at baseline (19 days on average), 

subsequent analysis examined whether reporting violations to the police had any impact on later 

violations (see Table 39). 

There was no significant difference in violations for follow-up 1 by area for those who experienced a 

DVO violation and talked to the police during the DVO period. However, of those who experienced a 

violation and talked to the police during the DVO period, 28.6% of the rural women (n=4 who were also 

all from the Violation Plus Stalking group) experienced a violation at follow-up 2 compared to 0% of 

urban women (X2(1)=2.8, p<.01). There was no significant difference in violations at follow-up 2 for 

those who experienced a violation and talked to police during the follow-up 1 period. 

Overall, it appears that an arrest for the EPO incident had little impact on subsequent violations. 

Further, it does not appear that talking to police in one period had much impact on future violations. 

Unfortunately the small numbers of reported violations and even smaller number of arrests within each 

time period make it difficult to examine the impact of violation reports and arrests on continuing 

violence with this sample. Thus, these results must be interpreted with caution. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

108

Table 39. Violations, reports of violations, and arrests for each time period by area 

Urban

(n=105)

Rural

(n=105)

Total

(n=210)

DVO period violations at baseline (X2(1)=4.27, p<.05) 19% 31.4% 25.2%*

Of those with DVO period violations at baseline, % reported to 

the criminal justice system

40%

(n=8)

45.5%

(n=15)

43.4%

(n=23)

Of those with a DVO period violation at baseline and who 

reported violations to the criminal justice system, % arrested

0%

(n=0)

6.7%

(n=1)

4.3%

(n=1)

FU 1 period violations 21.9% 30.5% 26.2%

Of those with FU 1 violations, % reported to criminal justice 

system

69.6%

(n=16)

53.1%

(n=17)

60%

(n=33)

Of those with FU 1 violations and who reported the violation 

to the criminal justice system, % arrested (X2(1)=7.34, p<.01)

56.2%

(n=9)

11.8%

(n=2)

33.3%**

(n=11)

FU 2 period violations 16.2% 23.8% 20%

Of those with FU 2 violations, % reported to the criminal justice 

system

58.8%

(n=10)

56%

(n=14)

57.1%

(n=24)

Of those with FU 2 violations and who reported the violation 

to the criminal justice system, % arrested (X2(1)=7.34, p<.01)

30%

(n=3)

35.7%

(n=5)

33.3%

(n=8)

 

Victim Perceptions Of Protective Order Enforcement 

To better understand victim perceptions, three questions were asked at each interview: (1) why they 

chose not to report a violation (for those who did not report at least one violation); (2) why they think 

the PO partner did not violate the PO (if there was any period where the PO was not violated); and, (3) 

why they thought the PO partner did violate the PO (if the PO partner violated the PO). Responses to 

each of these questions across all three interviews were combined and are shown in Tables 40, 41, and 

42 below. 

Before results of the open-ended questions are presented it is important to present some background 

information. Of women who experienced violations, when the number of violations and the number of 

times talked to the police were considered, there were significant differences by area. On average, 

urban women reported 74% of the total number of violations they experienced to the police; however, 

rural women, on average, reported 31% of the total number of violations they experienced to the police 

(F(1,103)=3.19, p<.10) although it is important to remember that, of those who experienced violations, 

rural women experienced more violations on average (15) than urban women (9, F(1,103)=4.14, p<.10). 

However, when violation groups were examined there were no significant differences; overall, 51% of 

the total number of violations was reported to police regardless of violation group (Violation but No 

Stalking and Violation Plus Stalking). Because not every single violation was reported, the reasons for 

why women did or did not choose to report every violation is important to consider. 

Table 40 displays, by area, the reasons women had for not reporting PO violations, if there were any 

violations that were not reported. There were no rural-urban differences. The biggest reason reported 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

109

was that they did not believe the justice system would take it seriously, either because they had not 

received help in the past, they did not feel the violation was that serious, there was no proof, or they 

believed they would be in trouble themselves or blamed somehow for the violation. See some examples 

below: 

Because he is already on the run from the cops so I don’t feel like they could do much for me if 

they haven’t gotten him yet for the other charges against him.

Because it’s a pain in the ass. They aren’t helpful. When I’ve called the cops in the past because 

the perpetrator was destroying the property and the cops said they couldn’t do anything because 

it’s a law in Kentucky that since we’re married half the property is the perpetrator’s so he can 

destroy it. Plus a lot of cops are men and so they take the perpetrator’s side.

Police had told me the last time that I called over a violation that they [the police] had to catch 

him breaking DVO. 

I just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of reporting it and there’s no way to prove it. It’s my 

word against his. 

I was tired of speaking to police because they weren't helpful. 

I felt police wouldn’t really do anything except give me the run-around. 

I thought him hitting me wasn’t bad enough to call the police. 

It does no good. They are absolutely no help to me. He has to be in my house and beat me or my 

daughter before they do something. Maybe if he killed me it would get their attention. 

The next most frequently mentioned theme was that they did not report the violation because they did 

not want the PO partner to experience any negative consequences. Statements classified under this 

theme included: 

I don’t want to hurt the perpetrator more, or get him in trouble for just threatening me, he 

hasn’t hit me. 

Because he has young kids and I didn’t want him going to jail.

I know he doesn’t mean to be abusive; he just can’t control his anger.

Because he is on probation and would go to jail, I don’t want to see him go to jail. 

I am trying to be nice to him and I don’t want him to go to jail.

One urban participant did not report violations of the PO in the second follow-up because she had 

reported a violation in the first follow-up and felt that the police charged the PO partner with things he 

did not do and put him in jail for all of those charges. She was afraid that if she reported a violation 

again the PO partner would be treated unfairly again. 

“Bureaucracy” with reporting a violation was also mentioned as a reason for not reporting violations. 

This theme included statements like, “not really being sure of how to go about reporting the violation,”

“planning on telling the judge next time I am in court,” and, “someone from the court system told me

not to report telephone call violations but to just hang up.” 

Approximately 11% of participants indicated they did not call the police because they just didn’t want to 

deal with it or wanted it all to go away. Statements classified into this theme included: 

I wished the abuse would stop. I just wanted it all to go away. 

I didn’t want to bother with it. I wanted to put it behind me.

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

110

I thought the perpetrator would stop calling me on his own if I ignored it. 

I was hoping the perpetrator would stop bothering me before I have to resort to taking him to 

court. 

I really don’t want the perpetrator to go to jail. I just want him to leave me alone. I just want a 

divorce. 

Participants also mentioned that they did not report violations sometimes because it was too much to 

deal with or that they were too stressed to deal with the police or court. Some examples of statements 

that fit into the “too much-too stressed theme” are presented below: 

I don’t know. I guess I get tired of dealing with it. It’s annoying to go to court.

Because it takes me all day and then I’ll miss work and I’ll get nothing done.

When he was calling me which was a violation of the EPO, I didn't call police because I was too 

stressed out and didn't feel like dealing with police. 

Because the court is in [town+ and that’s just too far away.

A minority of women reported they were too afraid of the PO partner to report violations. 

A very small proportion of women indicated they did not report violations because of their children. 

These women were concerned about the impact calling the police might have on their children and 

included statements like: 

Didn’t want to make a big deal out of it in front of kids. 

I don’t want my kids to say I sent daddy to jail. 

Didn’t want to explain to kids why daddy had to go to jail. 

Don’t want kids to hate me for sending daddy to jail. 

Table 40. Reasons for not reporting violations EPO/DVO by area 

Urban

(n=105)

Rural

(n=105)

Total

(n=210)

The justice system won’t take it seriously 40% 41% 40.5%

Don’t want the PO partner to experience negative 

consequences

17.1% 14.3% 15.7%

Bureaucracy 12.4% 14.3% 13.3%

Just wanted it all to go away 9.5% 11.4% 10.5%

Too much—too stressed 9.5% 12.4% 11%

Afraid of the PO partner 9.5% 8.6% 9%

Children 4.8% 4.8% 4.8%

Reasons for not reporting were also examined by violation group (see Table 41). More of those from the 

Violation Plus Stalking group indicated they did not report violations because there was no point, 

because there was no proof, or because of bureaucracy. On the other hand, more of the Violation but 

No Stalking group indicated they did not report violations because they did not feel they were serious 

enough. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

111

Table 41. Reasons for not reporting violations of EPO/DVO by violation group 

Violations no 

Stalking

(n=54)

Violations + 

Stalking

(n=51)

The justice system won’t take it seriously 62.3% 76.9%

No point (X2(2)=3.46, p<.10) 34% 51.9%*

Not that serious (X2(1)=4.88, p<.05) 43.4% 23.1%*

No proof (X2(2)=9.73, p<.01) 9.4% 34.6%**

Don’t want the PO partner to experience negative 

consequences

34% 23.1%

Just wanted it all to go away 20.8% 17.3%

Bureaucracy (X2(2)=3.66, p<.10) 15.1% 30.8%*

Too much—too stressed 15.1% 19.2%

Afraid of PO partner 13.2% 15.4%

Children 13.2% 5.8%

Participants were also asked why they thought the PO partner did not violate the protective order if 

there was a period (EPO period, DVO period at baseline, follow-up 1, or follow-up 2) with no violations 

(see Table 42). The overwhelming majority of women reported that the PO partner did not violate the 

PO because he did not want to go to jail or back to jail. 

I think he is devastated with everything that has happened and the way his life has gone. He has 

had so much legal trouble lately I don’t think the he wants to contact me and go back to jail. 

Because he doesn’t want to go to jail.

He is scared of being arrested. 

Because the judge informed him that he would go to jail if he violates DVO order. 

Because he was scared to go back to jail. 

He spent two days during the EPO period in jail due to outstanding warrants, failure to appear, 

failure to pay fines, and for no fishing license. He is afraid to go back to jail. 

Because he understood what EPO meant; he knew I wasn't playing and he is scared of jail. 

Because he is scared of me calling the police and scared of going to jail. 

Because he knows he could go to jail if he contacts me; or he is coming to terms with the 

restrictions and consequences of the DVO. 

About one-fifth of participants indicated that the PO partner did not violate the PO because he was in 

jail, although more urban women said this than rural women. 

Also, one-fifth of the participants said he hadn’t violated the PO because the PO partner loves her and 

wants the relationship to work, he wants help or wants to change, because they think the PO partner 

has changed, or they think that the treatment program helped him change. More urban women said this 

than rural women as well. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

112

Almost one-fifth of participants indicated that the perpetrator did not violate the PO because he 

realized that she was serious about stopping the abuse and that she would not continue to put up with 

it. 

Close to 15% of participants indicated that the PO partner did not violate the PO because he had moved 

on with his life. Some examples of statements classified into this theme include: 

Because he doesn’t care and is not interested in working things out. 

He is with another woman now, and he was shocked that I had gotten EPO because I don’t 

usually take up for myself. 

Because he doesn't care about me. 

He is with another woman. 

A few women indicated that the PO partner had limited access to her; she thinks he is just waiting for 

the right time to get her. 

Another theme was that the PO partner was afraid of other social consequences (e.g., losing his gun, 

losing his job), because of family pressure, or because he is not using substances any more. 

Reasons why the PO partner did not violate the PO were also examined by violation group. However, the 

only significant difference was that fewer women from the Violation Plus Stalking group reported that 

the PO partner was afraid of the law (63.5%) than women from the Violation but No Stalking group 

(79.2%, X2(1)=3.2, p<.10). 

 

Table 42. Reasons why the PO partner did not violate the EPO/DVO by area 

Urban

(n=105)

Rural

(n=105)

Total

(n=210)

He doesn’t want trouble with the law 83.8% 75.2% 79.5%

He was in jail (X2(1)=4.29, p<.05) 25.7% 14.3% 20%*

He loves me, wants help, changed, treatment helped 

(X2(1)=3, p<.10)

24.8% 15.2% 20%*

He realized I was serious 20% 16.2% 18.1%

He has moved on-does not care anymore 11.4% 18.1% 14.8%

His access is limited because he does not know where I 

am or there are others around me most of the time

10.5% 7.6% 9%

He is waiting to strike 6.7% 6.7% 6.7%

He is afraid of other social consequences 3.8% 3.8% 3.8%

Family pressure 4.8% 2.9% 3.8%

He was clean (X2(1)=8.3, p<.01) 7.6% 0% 3.8%*

On the other hand, women who had experienced any violation of the protective order were asked about 

their perceptions of why the PO partner violated the PO (see Table 43). Just over one-third reported that 

the PO partner simply did not take the order seriously or that he wanted to harass, control, or check up 

on her. For example, 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

113

He violated EPO to see what I am up to and to make me mad. 

Because he was trying to put fear in me. 

Perpetrator has been verbally abusive and threatening me because he wants control over the 

situation. 

Because he wants me back so he can have control. 

He was being nosy and while I was at a friend’s house, he was lying in the backyard of my 

friend’s house spying on me.

Because he is just violent and has done it so long; he doesn't know how to control his violence. 

He is a control freak too. 

He told me he didn’t care about the DVO order.

Because he was just being mean and he thinks he’s above the law.

Also, almost one-third of the participants indicated that the PO partner just wanted to talk or to get back 

together. Examples of statements that were classified into this theme include: 

Because he loves me and wanted to tell me he was sorry. 

He wants to get back together with me and for me to drop all charges. 

Because he wants me to run back to him and forgive him. 

Because he keeps thinking that I am just mad at him and that I will get over it. He keeps thinking 

we are going to get back together. 

Because he wasn’t supposed to call, but he knew what he did was wrong and called to apologize. 

He also tried to make me feel guilty because he didn’t have anywhere to go.

Because he wanted to talk to me and wanted to see the baby. 

 

Only about 8% of participants indicated that the PO partner contacted her because the PO partner 

wanted her to drop the PO or pending criminal charges. 

There were no significant differences for any of these themes by violation group. 

Table 43. Reasons the PO partner violated the EPO/DVO by area 

Urban

(n=105)

Rural

(n=105)

Total

(n=210)

Did not take it serious and wanted to harass me 33.3% 38.1% 35.7%

Did not take it serious (X2(1)=4, p<.05) 16.2% 27.6% 21.95*

To harass me, control me, check up on me 21.9% 17.1% 19.5%

He just wanted to talk or to get back together 27.6% 25.7% 26.7%

He wanted me to drop the PO 9.5% 5.7% 7.6%

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

114

SUBSTUDY 2 SUMMARY 

It appears that protective orders provide some with justice, but to others, they are just pieces of paper. 

That leaves a bigger question to be answered. Specifically, for whom do protective orders work best, 

and under what circumstances? This substudy sought to potentially provide some answers to these 

questions and to identify some areas of strength and weakness in order to increase access to protective 

orders as well as enforcement. There were six main conclusions from this substudy. First, although there 

were some similarities between rural and urban women, there were also some important differences. 

Second, obtaining a protective order takes an inordinate amount of courage and persistence to 

overcome obstacles. Also, it is clear that women consider a variety of factors in deciding whether to 

report violations. Third, the vast majority of perpetrators had a history of charges, incarceration, and 

convictions before the DVOs were issued against them. Fourth, protective orders were associated with 

significant reductions in violence during the 6 month follow-up period. Fifth, stalking plays a 

considerable yet unrecognized role in ongoing violence, fear, and frustration for victims. And sixth, 

strong enforcement, especially for stalking victims, seemed to be lacking in this study regardless of area. 

Below are more details for each of these results. 

The rural and urban women in the study had some important similarities. Women who 

obtained protective orders and participated in this study were, on average, in their early 30s 

although the ages ranged from 18 to 63 years old. Participants, regardless of area, had extensive 

histories of abuse by the PO partner. Median incomes were also similar across area but were 

much lower than those reported from the census data, suggesting study participants had more 

limited financial resources than the general population in each of these areas. Also, almost 70% 

of the women in the study had children younger than 18 years old, signifying that the abuse not 

only affected the participants but also their children. 

Rural women were more entrenched in the relationship and experienced more severe 

violence and fear. Specifically, more rural than urban women were or had been married to the 

PO partner, had been in the relationship longer, had children younger than 18 years old (just 

over 50% of urban women compared to about 80% of rural women), had children in common 

with the PO partner, and were unemployed in the year prior to the DVO. Rural women also 

endured more severe violence and more of them reported serious threats of harm to close 

others as well as threats and actual harm from a knife or gun than did urban women. Also, more 

rural than urban women reported fear of future harm from the PO partner at the baseline 

interview as well as at the 6 month follow-up interview. At the same time, more rural than 

urban women were separated from the PO partners at the time of the EPO incidents and fewer 

rural women maintained relationships with the PO partners after the DVOs were obtained. 

There are significant barriers to obtaining a protective order. Consistent with key informant 

responses that identified a number of barriers to protective orders this substudy of victims 

strongly suggests that there are a number of obstacles and inconveniences women must endure 

to obtain a protective order regardless of jurisdiction. In fact, many of the same barriers were 

mentioned by both the key informants and the victims. In particular, high proportions of both 

samples mentioned the difficulty in navigating the system as a barrier to obtaining a protective 

order, that politics and bias play a role in accessibility of protective orders, and that women 

must overcome a number of acceptability barriers (e.g., fear of perpetrator retaliation, 

embarrassment, their lack of faith in the system, and their fear of being blamed or not believed). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

115

Particular barriers and obstacles were more salient for women from rural or urban jurisdictions. 

For example, more urban women mentioned problems navigating the system, not having 

knowledge or support during the process, fear of facing the perpetrator, and transportation 

difficulties than rural women. On the other hand, more rural women mentioned politics and the 

difficulty of getting the EPO signed by the judge and served as barriers. Rural women also 

reported spending more time, on average, obtaining the EPO and more on transportation costs 

for the EPO and the DVO than did urban women. Even with so much effort put forth by the rural 

women, they received shorter DVOs, on average, than urban women did. 

The decisional context for women experiencing ongoing abuse after a protective order is 

important to examine. As mentioned in the introduction, there are decisions that are made at 

the victim level including deciding whether or not a violation has occurred, and, if so, whether 

and where to report the violation. It is clear that women do not report every single violation and 

that their decisions about whether or not to report the violation take into consideration the 

seriousness of the violation, proof, and past history of the justice system response. Results also 

suggest that women want the violence to stop but do not necessarily want the perpetrator to go 

to jail. These goals meet the spirit of what the civil protective order was meant to do. However, 

when the PO is violated, sometimes women’s goals are not met. Some women want the 

perpetrator punished and almost seem to be defeated because of the lack of response from the 

criminal justice system. Others do not want the perpetrator to go to jail such that they continue 

to put up with violations, especially if they are perceived by the victim as not that serious. 

Closely related to the notion of goals, women appear to do a kind of cost-benefit analysis for 

whether or not to report the violation, trading off the seriousness of the violation with the 

probability that anything, or nothing, would come from reporting the violation to the justice 

system. Women also appear to consider whether reporting a violation might result in retaliation 

from the PO partner for “stirring things up.” Other reasons some women indicated they did not 

report violations included statements about not wanting to harm the perpetrator and not 

wanting the children to see their father in trouble. This seemingly careful consideration of 

factors about whether or not to report a violation stands in stark contrast to some of the key 

informant responses suggesting women are vindictive toward the perpetrators on one hand, 

and on the other hand that they just do not care about enforcing the violation. 

Consistent with many women’s fears, of those who experienced a violation and reported the 

violation, few perpetrators were arrested and even fewer had official charges that were noted in 

their court records. This trend was even greater for cases from the rural area. For example, of 

those who reported violations, more urban perpetrators were charged with domestic violencerelated charges than were rural perpetrators (56% versus 6%). These low charge rates may be 

the reason rural women reported a smaller proportion of violations (31%) than urban women 

(74%) even though the rural women experienced more violations on average (15) than urban 

women (9). 

The decisional context that victims consider must be understood from all sides including justice 

system and victim service personnel in order to best meet victim safety needs. These results also 

highlight the importance of understanding victims’ perceptions of contextual differences in 

obtaining and enforcing protective orders. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

116

Perpetrators had extensive histories of involvement in the criminal justice system and other 

characteristics that should be considered when addressing partner violence. Over threefourths of perpetrators had prior charges (mostly unrelated to partner violence crimes), with the 

average being 9 charges and over 60% had prior convictions. Also, close to 60% had substancerelated charges. Further, close to 90% had been incarcerated. These characteristics were 

present for rural and urban perpetrators. However, more rural perpetrators were unemployed 

and more were on disability than urban perpetrators. This means that they may have more time 

to spend around the house with access to the victims, or more time to stalk and harass them. 

Protective orders are effective in reducing abuse and violence. Only half of the participants, 

regardless of area, indicated that the DVO was violated during the 6 month follow-up. Even for 

those who did experience violations, violence and fear of future harm were significantly reduced 

during the follow-up period. However, of those who experienced violations, rural women 

experienced more violations, on average, than urban women. And, rural women continued to be 

more fearful of future harm from the PO partner than urban women. 

Victims indicated they thought the protective order was effective. The majority of women, 

regardless of area, felt the protective order was effective. Only 4.3% of women dropped the 

order by the end of the 6 month follow-up. When asked why they thought PO partners did not 

violate the DVO, the majority of women indicated it was because the PO partner was afraid of 

going to jail. 

Partner stalking is a significant risk factor for ongoing violence and fear. Stalking was 

significantly associated with violations even after controlling for a variety of factors, such as 

severity of physical and sexual violence 6 months before the DVO was issued, involvement of 

the PO partner in the criminal justice system 6 months before the DVO was issued, number of 

days in the relationship during the follow-up period, and other relevant factors. Being stalked 

was also associated with more fear of future harm and with lower perceptions of DVO 

effectiveness. At the same time that stalking wreaks havoc on the victims’ lives, the criminal 

justice system does not seem to be acknowledging it as a serious issue, as evidenced by few to 

no charges of stalking and the lack of differences in arrests or charges for victims who 

experienced violations but no stalking and victims who experienced violations plus stalking. 

Further, stalking victims seemed more pessimistic about their ability to obtain help from the 

criminal justice system, as evidenced by their reasons for not reporting violations. More stalking 

victims indicated they did not believe the criminal justice system would do anything about the 

ongoing violence and harassment, and that it would be too difficult to prove, basically rendering 

them with little hope of protection. 

Partner stalking does not seem to be aggressively addressed through the justice system. 

Overall there were very few domestic-violence related charges in general and specifically very 

few stalking charges noted in the official records for this study. However, although there were 

few charges overall during the 6 month follow-up for perpetrators who had a PO violation 

reported to the police, there were more domestic violence-related charges in the urban area for 

PO partners who violated the PO and stalked the victim compared to PO partners who violated 

the PO but did not stalk the victim. This trend is reversed for the rural area. More rural PO 

partners who violated the PO but did not stalk the victims had charges, especially substance 

abuse and domestic violence-related charges, than PO partners who violated the PO and stalked 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

117

the victims. This striking contrast may be related to a greater disregard on the part of the rural 

justice system of the seriousness of stalking. 

Results from this substudy help to answer several questions that are currently gaps in the research 

literature on protective order effectiveness. The question from substudy 1, does context matter, can be 

more fully answered when this study’s results are combined with results from substudy 1. Context does 

not appear to impact the number of victims who experience protective order violations. Further, 

stalking is a significant risk factor for protective order violations regardless of area. Context does seem 

to matter with regard to barriers to obtaining protective orders and with regard to protective order 

enforcement. The rural area may have had a less effective response, in part, due to higher victim 

blaming attitudes that appeared to be more prevalent in the rural area based on the key informant 

interviews and literature about the rural culture identified in substudy 1. In answer to the question 

posed in the current study, for whom do protective orders work best and under what circumstances, it 

appears that protective orders work best for victims who are not being stalked by the violent partner 

before the protective order was issued, and for those who live in the urban area. 

This substudy also has a number of limitations which must be noted. First, the sample size was relatively 

small and the follow-up time of 6 months was relatively short. Because the sample size was small the 

enforcement results must be interpreted with caution. Also, it is possible that with a longer follow-up

period more women may experience a violation of the protective order. However, the results on 

protective order effectiveness in these same two selected rural and urban areas were generally 

replicated in an earlier study that incorporated a larger sample (756 women) and a longer follow-up (12-

months) (Logan & Walker, 2009a). 

Enforcement was difficult to measure in this study because women do not always know the legal 

outcomes of a reported violation. At the same time, it is difficult to distinguish partner violence-related 

charges in official court records given that a variety of charges can result from a domestic violence call. It 

is also possible that there is a delay in reporting a charge from the local courthouse to the 

Administrative Office of the Courts and perhaps some of the charges in the 6 month follow-up period 

were from the first 6 month period (e.g., charges from the EPO incident, violation of the EPO), or 

perhaps some of the charges that were incurred had not yet been officially noted in the record when the 

records were obtained for the study. 

In conclusion, several issues are highlighted by Emily’s story and underscored with study results. First 

and most importantly, the civil and criminal justice systems are the key to safety for women 

experiencing terror from partner violence. The efforts that many in the justice system put into this crime 

must be recognized and applauded. Certainly the results of this study and others suggest there are still 

inroads to be made, but these inroads must build on the strengths that are present in every jurisdiction. 

Second, it takes courage to face not only a person who has put you through unspeakable terror but also 

to face the court system which can be overwhelming and sometimes difficult to navigate or predict. 

Emily revealed during the course of her interview that she was very afraid to reveal the details of what 

transpired that terrible day that initiated the EPO and criminal process. The ambiguity about how the 

justice system would respond to her story and what would happen once she did disclose likely increased 

her anxiety, stress, and fear levels. Not only is it embarrassing to admit this had happened to her in a 

public forum, but she had to overcome all of the stress and anxiety associated with the justice system 

processes. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 2 

118

Third, it is critically important to remember that what is revealed during the EPO petition and DVO 

hearing only provides a small glimpse into the daily terror, harassment, degradation, threats, and other 

kinds of abuse women deal with and provides almost no picture of the lasting financial, emotional, and 

physiological effects the abuse will have on a person in the future, even if perpetrators are removed 

from their lives. As in Emily’s case, the consequences of what happened to her during this relatively 

short relationship will likely stay with her for a very long time. Likewise, the fear she lives with regarding 

what Peter might do when he is released from jail will linger. It is important for justice system personnel 

to realize that what they see and hear is likely a shallow picture of what really happened in the past and 

what may happen in the future when she walks out the courtroom door. Luckily, Emily did get justice 

and peace from turning to the criminal and civil system, at least temporarily. 

One remaining question is whether or not one can put a price on quality of life and relief from being 

verbally, psychologically, and physically battered on a regular basis. The next study, substudy 3, will 

attempt to answer that question. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

119

SUBSTUDY 3: 

COSTS OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS VERSUS PARTNER 

VIOLENCE: IS IT REALLY WORTH IT? 

Figure For Substudy 3: The Kentucky Civil Protective Order Study Components 



This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

120

Stalking Victim Seeks And Finally Finds Relief 

Lauren was a 27 year old urban woman who was currently attending college. Lauren was in a 

relationship with Mike for five years. They had moved from the Seattle area to Kentucky during their 

relationship but had been separated for three years prior to Lauren’s obtaining a DVO. Lauren 

experienced severe physical and psychological abuse from Mike. For example, Mike would sometimes 

lock the refrigerator during finals week so that she could not eat. He would sometimes pour buckets of 

water on her as she was leaving to take her exams, forcing her to take the tests soaking wet. When they 

got to Kentucky, Mike told her that Kentucky was different from Seattle and that he could “do whatever 

he wanted and nothing would happen to him.” Lauren reported that Mike had stalked her during their 

relationship and during periods of separation, including all six months before she obtained the DVO. Even 

though they had been separated for years and Mike had a new girlfriend, he continued to follow her, 

read her mail, harass her friends and family about her, had a friend sometimes follow her, and called her 

repeatedly. The final straw for Lauren was one day when Mike called her at work and threatened to take 

her car, house, and dog. He also threatened to come to her workplace and “show how serious he was.” 

After she hung up on him, he called back fifteen more times. That day she filed for an EPO. 

Mike’s current girlfriend called her after the EPO was in effect and left a message from Mike saying that 

Lauren could have custody of the dog, and that he was only fighting for the dog to have control over her. 

She did not report this third party contact to the police because she didn’t feel threatened and also 

because she feared it would make Mike mad, and that if he became angry enough he might change his 

mind and fight for custody of the dog. She did, however, tape-record the message and played it in court 

during the DVO hearing. Lauren was frustrated with the DVO hearing because she felt the judge 

disregarded the EPO violation and because Mike lied under oath and the judge overlooked it. However, 

Lauren did receive a 3-year no-contact DVO. Mike did not violate the DVO one time during the six month 

follow-up. Lauren believed that he did not violate the DVO because he was afraid of going to jail. Lauren 

reported finally feeling safe and was excited about finishing college and what the future held for her. 

Stalking Victim Seeks Respite To No Avail 

Sarah was a 22 year old rural woman who had started dating Eric when she was 16 years old. They had 

two children together. Sarah and Eric had separated two months before she obtained the EPO; however, 

Eric took the kids while she was running an errand and when she called the police, the police advised her 

to get back together with Eric to get the kids and then leave with them when she felt safe enough to do 

so. The next month they separated again and she filed for an EPO shortly after. Sarah had endured years 

of abuse and stalking. Eric stalked her while they were in the relationship and during periods of 

separation. Most recently he had been following her, driving by her home and work, watching her at 

home and work, showing up unexpectedly at various places, waiting for her where he expected her to be, 

harassing others to get information about her, and leaving her numerous threatening phone calls. Sarah 

sought a protective order after Eric tried to run her off the road and into a semi-truck and also for the 

constant threatening phone calls. The judge granted Sarah a six month no-contact DVO and ordered Eric 

to stay at least 1000 feet away from her and to stay away from her work. 

Sarah believed the DVO was useless because it did not stop Eric from calling, threatening her, or 

continually stalking her on a daily basis. He even called her family and harassed them regularly. The few 

times she had called the police they were not helpful. Several times they told her that they couldn’t help 

her unless they caught him in the act of violating the protective order so she should call them next time 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

121

he was violating the order. For example, one day Eric showed up at her work and yelled at her to come 

home. When she said no, he ripped his shirt off and began punching her car and threatening her. A coworker called the police, but Eric had gone before they got there. The police told Sarah to call them if he 

came back to her workplace. Over the course of the six month follow-up period, Eric violated the DVO 

over 150 times and Sarah spent almost $4,000 fixing property that Eric had damaged. Sarah reported 

being stressed and depressed because of the abuse every single day six months before the DVO and 

every single day the six months after the DVO was issued. She didn’t feel that she would likely report 

future violations to the police because the police were not very helpful and had repeatedly refused to 

arrest him. 

INTRODUCTION 

The two stories above illustrate disparate protective order outcomes. The first story exemplified a 

positive outcome—one which provided relief after many years of abuse, harassment, and stalking. In the 

second story not only was the criminal justice system response ineffective but may have actually been 

harmful to Sarah by showing Eric there were no consequences for violating the order and by decreasing 

Sarah’s quality of life due, in part, to her frustration with not being able to obtain help. 

As shown in substudy 2, civil protective orders reduced abuse and violence for most of the victims in the 

study. However, public policies must be based not only on the outcomes for the affected individuals, but 

also for society at large. In substudy 1, key community professionals who are involved in the protective 

order process indicated they had concerns about multiple crimes in their communities. In many cases 

law enforcement and court resources are limited and allocating them to one crime type may limit 

resources toward another. However, to justify the allocation of justice system resources to the 

processing and enforcement of protective orders – even though they are shown to be effective – it is 

necessary to also establish the cost effectiveness of an intervention such as protective orders. This 

substudy focused on quantifying the costs of partner violence before and after a protective order was 

obtained and examined the economic impact of protective orders after accounting for the costs 

associated with protective orders. 

Although a few studies on the costs of violence against women suggest that partner violence exacts a 

significant toll on society (e.g., Max et al., 2003; Miller, Cohen, & Wisersema, 1996), cost estimates often 

vary. The differences in cost estimates arise for several reasons including differing definitions of partner 

violence, differences in which specific costs were included in the analysis, different methodologies used 

to estimate costs, and different estimates of specific costs such as the cost of a dental or doctor visit. 

Two main categories of costs that are often considered in the cost estimates of social or health 

problems are direct and indirect costs (World Health Organization, 2008). Direct costs are those that 

require actual payments by individuals or institutions. These costs can be divided into medical and nonmedical costs and are most often considered when thinking about the direct victim costs of partner 

violence. For example, the costs most often mentioned by key informants (80% of the categories) in 

substudy 1 were direct costs such as health services, mental health services, and victim safety services 

as well as non-medical direct costs such as civil or criminal justice system costs. 

Indirect costs include resources and opportunities that were lost to victims as a result of abuse and 

violence. This category of costs includes reduced productivity (e.g., lost time at work, lost time for 

caregiver duty, lost time for other activities), transportation costs, and lost personal property or 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

122

property damages. Also included in this category are indirect intangible costs such as health-related 

quality of life, often referred to in civil litigation or as part of victim impact testimony as “pain and 

suffering” resulting from a crime or violence. 

Few studies have incorporated a wide variety of costs and then examined potential reduced costs after a 

justice system intervention. One way to frame reduced costs after an intervention is to think of them as 

avoided costs to society. In other words, if it is assumed that costs before an intervention are stable, 

then it is assumed that the costs would have continued without the intervention. Thus, any reduced 

costs due to the intervention can be thought of as avoided costs. Using an analysis of avoided costs, it is 

possible to show whether there is a benefit to society at large. 

Specifically, this substudy examined: (1) direct and indirect victim costs incurred as a result of the abuse 

6 months before and 6 months after the protective order was obtained in addition to criminal justice 

costs; (2) differences in costs before and after the protective order was issued; (3) avoided costs relative 

to protective order intervention costs; and (4) estimates of the statewide impact of avoided costs 

relative to the costs of a protective order. Costs were examined overall and separately for the rural 

versus urban area as well as for three groups: (a) those who experienced no protective order violations, 

(b) those who experienced protective order violations but no stalking, and (c) those who experienced 

protective order violations plus stalking. 

SUBSTUDY 3 METHOD 

Estimates of Costs Incurred 

Direct Costs 

A Life History Calendar was used in the victim interviews to anchor important events over the 

course of the 12 months of the study (6 months before the DVO and the 6 months after the 

DVO). Women were asked direct questions about services utilized to cope with the abuse for 

each month. Monthly assessments and anchoring time with key life events facilitated recall and 

helped women separate service use associated with the abuse from service use unrelated to the 

abuse. Questions to assess tangible costs of partner violence for the study sample were 

developed using methodology from prior studies (Cohen, 2001; Max et al., 2003; Miller et al., 

1996) and in collaboration with Dr. William Hoyt, the economic consultant for this study. Dr. 

Mark Cohen Justin Potter, Professor of American Competitive Enterprise and Professor of Law, 

Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, was also consulted by telephone 

at the beginning of this project regarding the development of the interview protocol and cost 

categories to include. 

Women were prompted to report service utilization for doctor, dental, and emergency room 

visits, urgent treatment care, hospital use, ambulance, and physical therapy visits for each of 6 

months before the DVO was obtained and for each of the 6 months after the DVO was obtained. 

Mental health services were also assessed by asking about specific use of mental health 

counseling, psychiatry, marriage counseling, pastoral counseling, group therapy for mental 

health or substance abuse, and residential substance abuse treatment. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

123

Victim services utilization included information about the use of a victim advocate, crisis line, inperson crisis counselor, and nights stayed in a domestic violence shelter or homeless shelter. 

Use of legal services, including private attorneys and legal aid attorneys, was assessed. 

The number of times that women reported talking to the police and the number of nights 

victims reported that the perpetrator was in jail before and after the DVO was used along with 

information from court records. Charges and convictions were extracted from official court 

records for the study time period. 

Tangible and Intangible Indirect Costs 

Women were also asked a series of questions about time missed from work and other family 

and civic responsibilities including household chores, childcare, other family care, school, and 

volunteer activities due to the abuse. Transportation costs directly related to court, prosecution, 

or other justice system activities were assessed. Also, the value of lost or damaged property for 

each month was reported. 

To fully evaluate the impact of domestic violence on its victims and the costs and benefits of any 

programs intended to address it, it is important to attempt to quantify the impact of violence 

and its impact on quality of life for victims (Cohen, 1999; 2005; Cohen & Miller, 1998). Women 

were asked to detail the number of days that they experienced serious stress, depression or 

anxiety due to the abuse. They were asked to do this for each of the 6 months before and the 6 

months after the issuance of the protective order. The maximum number of days for any one of 

the three conditions was used as an index of the negative impact on quality of life. 

Cost Sources 

The next step was to attach specific dollar values for each reported incurred cost. Local and state data 

were used where possible. The final cost estimates used in the analysis and the sources are noted in 

Tables 44, 45, and 46. 

Table 44 provides more details about the direct health-related cost estimates. Direct costs, such as 

doctor visits, were estimated based on state Medicaid data for females 18 years and older. For these 

estimates it is important to note that the data represent only fee-for-service claims that are not 

Medicare cross-over cases. Estimates are for the billed average per claim for females 18+ for each type 

of provider (Kentucky Department of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning, 2008). 

Several estimates were based on average Kentucky hourly rates for the specific profession (Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, 2007). 

Mental health service costs include the costs associated with a visit to a mental health professional, 

psychiatrist, marriage counselor, or pastor. Each of these is measured as the number of hours of use 

with the exception of a visit to a psychiatrist which was estimated at 30 minutes per use, the cost of a 

group therapy session (1.5 hours), and the cost of residential substance abuse treatment (per day). 

Most of the mental health service costs were estimated using the 2006 annual cost report compiled by 

the Kentucky Department of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addiction Services 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

124

(Kentucky Department of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addiction Services, 2007). This 

report is a composite of cost reports filed by each of the 14 regional community mental health centers 

who provide publicly-funded treatment services in Kentucky. The costs included both Medicaid-funded 

services as well as services funded by federal block grants or by state general funds. Cost reports follow 

the cost accounting procedures recognized by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

The reports show actual and allowed costs of services independent of charges or actual 

reimbursements. Reported costs include only those direct and allocated costs that are tied to allowable 

activities. So, for example, staffing time devoted to prevention services is deducted from the Medicaid 

per unit service cost estimates because prevention is not an allowed cost under the Kentucky Medicaid 

Program. All allowed costs are bundled by service category and are divided by the number of client 

service units to arrive at estimated cost per unit of service. Thus, the proportion of all staff time devoted 

to outpatient services (both direct services time and indirect time such as record-keeping) is allocated to 

the outpatient cost modality. This aggregated cost is then divided by the number of units of service 

provided to arrive at the unit cost of outpatient treatment. The urban area estimates were mean costs 

of services for the Bluegrass Region and the selected rural area estimates were mean costs for the 

Kentucky River and Mountain Comprehensive Care Center Regions that served women in the rural area. 

Psychiatric inpatient treatment was derived using data from 36 psychiatric facilities from several cities 

across the nation (Cromwell et al., 2005). Within facilities, one to three routine care units were selected 

in a non-random manner in order to ensure significant numbers of Medicare patients and a mix of 

specialty care (e.g., geriatric, med-psych). The primary data were provided by all staff seeing patients on 

a study unit over a 7-day period using an adjusted estimate of the number of staff minutes for each 

patient on each shift termed “resource intensity” (RI). Shift RIs were then summed to the patient-day 

level. Because occupational groups have different hourly wage costs, they were weighted across 11 

different groups (e.g., therapists, mental health specialists, psychiatrists) by a set of constant RN-relative 

wages. Primary data were augmented with information from the Medicare Cost Reports that detail each 

facility’s routine costs and the kinds of labor and non-labor resources assigned to the unit. Overhead 

costs were derived from general service cost centers. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

125

Table 44. Direct health and mental health service costs 

 

Cost Category Cost Per Service Unit Cost Source

Health Service Costs*

Dental $205.10 2006 Fee-for-service Medicaid data females 18+

Doctor $277.24 2006 Fee-for-service Medicaid data females 18+

Emergency room $1,042.76 2006 Fee-for-service Medicaid data females 18+

Outpatient clinic (urgent treatment) $277.24 Estimated at the cost of a doctor visit

Hospital night $3,120.36 2006 Fee-for-service Medicaid data females 18+

Ambulance $973.85 2006 Fee-for-service Medicaid data females 18+

Physical therapy $34.38 per hour Hourly wage per national labor statistics

Mental Health Service Costs**

Mental health professional

$124.32 Urban

$88.88 Rural KY Department of Mental Health Services FY 06

Psychiatrist (30 minutes)

$137.08 Urban

$123.37 Rural KY Department of Mental Health Services FY 06

Marriage counselor $17.61 per hour Average KY salary 2007

Pastor $20.44 per hour Average KY salary 2007

Group therapy for mental health 

(1.5 hours)

$39.99 urban

$28.38 rural KY Department of Mental Health Services FY 06

Residential substance abuse 

treatment

$92.11 per day urban

$128.30 per day rural KY Department of Mental Health Services FY 06

Psychiatric inpatient $595 per day Cromwell et al., 2005 Estimated in 2003 dollars

*Rural site costs were averaged across rural service areas. ** Mental health service costs were estimated in 1 hour units unless 

otherwise noted. 

Table 45 shows the direct non-health related costs. Victim service costs were estimated from personal 

communication with three shelter directors (one in the selected urban area and two serving all four of 

the selected rural areas). Victim service costs include costs associated with the use of a victim advocate, 

crisis line, crisis counselor, domestic violence (DV) shelter nights, and homeless shelter nights. Total 

costs of victim services are based on the number of uses (contacts) of each of these services for each 

victim. 

Legal fees are the costs of attorneys used by victims in proceedings related to domestic violence cases. 

These include the costs of legal aid attorneys and private attorneys; the costs are not necessarily paid 

for by the victim. The same cost (per hour) is applied to both legal aid and private lawyers using the 

average hourly wage for an attorney in Kentucky (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007). 

The cost sources for charges and convictions were more challenging. After reviewing the literature and 

personally speaking with several nationally recognized economists including Dr. Cohen, costs were used 

from Aos, Miller, and Drake (2006). Aos et al. estimated costs of arrests from police and sheriffs’ offices’

expenditures. Expenditure data for each jurisdiction were obtained from the Washington State Auditor. 

Sub-categories such as DARE expenses were excluded. Arrest data were divided into violent felonies, 

non-violent felonies, and arrests for misdemeanor offenses (traffic arrests were not included). The 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

126

felony arrest cost source used for the current study was the lowest reported felony arrest estimate from 

the Aos et al. (2006) report. The conviction estimates were from “The marginal operating costs for court 

processing expenses were estimated with expenditure data from the Washington State Auditor and 

workload data from the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts” (p. 38). Expenditures 

from district courts, municipal courts, family court fees, and law libraries were excluded from the total 

superior court expenditures. Also, the prosecutor expenditure data were adjusted to exclude the costs 

of the civil, consumer affairs, and child support enforcement divisions. 

The average statewide cost of a night in jail was provided by Kentucky Department of Corrections for FY 

2005-2006 (Kentucky Department of Corrections, 2008). 

Each contact with the police was estimated to be one hour and an hourly rate was obtained from the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Contempt of court DVO violations were estimated using the same methodology as the PO intervention 

costs which are described below. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

127

Table 45. Direct non-medical costs 

Cost Category Cost Per Service Unit Cost Source 

Victim Service Costs*

Victim advocate

$6 per contact urban

$13 per contact rural Personal communication with shelter directors

Crisis line (phone)

$6 per contact urban

$3.75 per contact rural Personal communication with shelter directors

Crisis counselor (face-toface)$6 per contact urban

$13 per contact rural

Estimated at the same as advocate per personal 

communication with shelter directors

DV shelter night

$55 per night urban

$34 per night rural Personal communication with shelter directors

Homeless shelter night

$15.31 per night urban

$31 per night rural

Personal communication with shelter director

Legal Fees

Legal aid attorney $41.41 Hourly wage in KY 2007

Private lawyer $41.41 Hourly wage in KY 2007

Police and Justice System Costs

Felony charges/arrest $5,370

2004 dollars 

Used the lowest cost for a felony arrest from 

Aos, Miller, & Drake (2006)

Misdemeanor 

charges/arrest $305 2004 dollars from Aos, Miller, & Drake (2006)

Felony conviction $1,522 1996 dollars-used the lowest cost for a felony 

conviction from Aos, Miller, & Drake (2006)

Misdemeanor conviction $593 1996 dollars from Aos, Miller, & Drake (2006)

Night in jail $32.64 KY Department of Corrections FY 06

Police $18.10 Average hourly wages in KY given by the BLS 

(2007)

Contempt of court DVO 

violations

$122.22 Estimates based in interviews and reviews by key 

court personnel

*Rural site costs were averaged across rural service areas. 

Table 46 displays information about lost opportunities, mileage, and property. Though the survey 

instrument provided information on earnings, the minimum wage was used to value the lost earnings 

associated with time lost from employment due to the abuse (there was little difference whether the 

minimum wage was used or whether the participant reported wage was used to estimate costs). 

The survey also assessed estimates of lost time in other activities including household chores, childcare, 

other family care, school, and volunteer activities. These are aggregated together into the category of 

Family and Civic Responsibilities. Following the practice of assuming that the alternative use of time in 

these activities could be time in compensated employment, the minimum wage was used as the cost of 

a foregone hour from one of these activities. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

128

Mileage and transportation costs were based on the estimated travel of the victims specifically 

associated with partner violence including criminal proceedings, legal advice, and health and medical 

care due to the abuse. However, most of the participants reported only mileage directly related to 

justice system activities. For reported mileage, the official Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mileage rate 

was applied (Internal Revenue Service, 2007). 

Estimates by the victims of lost or damaged property attributable to the actions of the PO partner are 

included in the category “Lost Property.”

The final cost in the indirect costs category is the quality of life index. To create an estimated value for 

the cost of a day of stress, anxiety, or depression due to the abuse, the cost of an outpatient visit to a 

mental health professional was used. While this proxy may be controversial, in the absence of an 

established quality of life cost barometer, this proxy at least provides one way to characterize the 

impact of a full day of depression, serious stress, or anxiety. This cost source is a fairly conservative 

estimate and does not account for any medication women may be taking to reduce stress, anxiety, or 

depression due to the abuse. Further, it is well-documented that sustained periods of stress, anxiety, or 

depression have a significant impact on health and other areas of life (Logan, Walker, Jordan, & 

Leukefeld, 2006d). 

Table 46. Tangible and intangible indirect costs 

Cost Category Cost and Source

Employment and Lost Earnings*

Employment Minimum Wage ($5.85 in 2007)

Family and Civic Responsibilities*

Household chores Minimum Wage 

Childcare Minimum Wage 

Other family care Minimum Wage 

School Minimum Wage 

Volunteer activities Minimum Wage 

Transportation and Lost Property

Transportation costs Values based on those reported values from the survey OR 

computed by taking reported mileage x the official mileage rate.

Lost property Values computed based on victim reports. 

Quality of Life Index

Max days of stress, anxiety, or 

depression

Cost of a visit to a mental health professional ($124.32 urban, 

$88.88 rural)

*Employment and family and civic responsibilities are measured in hours. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

129

Cost Of A Protective Order 

The estimated costs of an EPO and a DVO in Kentucky were previously reported (Logan et al., 2001a; 

2004a). These prior estimates were revised and updated with the help of key court personnel, including 

the urban Family Court Administrator, Supervisor for the District Court Clerks, Chief Family Court Judge, 

the Sheriffs Family Court Domestic Violence Monitor, and the Assistant Director for the Domestic 

Violence shelter who also worked in a County Sherriff’s office with domestic violence cases for over nine 

years. Once the estimates were updated, they were reviewed by the Family Court Administrator and 

three family court judges. Changes were made accordingly. 

The basic procedure for estimating costs was to break down the EPO, DVO, and DVO amendment court 

process into finite steps and estimate average time for each step along with the appropriate salary. 

Salaries for judges and other court personnel were obtained from a public database of state salaried 

workers (Kentucky.com). The average per case cost of serving an EPO was estimated assuming three 

service attempts, with one hour for each attempt and an estimated average of 30 miles for each service 

attempt. Table 47 shows the resulting costs of an EPO, a DVO, and an amendment. The cost of a 

contempt of court hearing was similarly estimated. 

Several caveats must be made here. Although it is assumed that with a protective order more vigorous 

law enforcement responses are applied, police and justice system costs were not counted as PO costs 

for several reasons. First, criminal justice system costs were present before the DVO was issued and it is 

plausible to assume that criminal justice costs would be incurred in partner violence situations even in 

the absence of a DVO. Second, it is difficult to know which charges and convictions are associated with 

the PO and which are not. Given these limitations, police and justice system costs were included in the 

cost categories in order to examine changes before and after the DVO rather than as part of the PO cost. 

Table 47. Protective Order Costs 

EPO $148.12 Interviews with multiple individuals

DVO $100.04 Interviews with multiple individuals

DVO Amendment $114.83 Interviews with multiple individuals

 

Analysis 

Information was analyzed for the 6 months before the DVO was issued and for the 6 months after the 

DVO was issued. This means that the EPO period, including violations, personal costs or losses, and 

justice system costs associated with the EPO are included in the 6 months before the DVO was issued. 

To reduce the number of cost categories used in the analysis, costs were aggregated by related services 

or other functions. Specifically, nine cost categories were used: Health Service Costs; Mental Health 

Service Costs; Victim Service Costs; Legal Fees; Police and Justice System Costs; Employment and Lost 

Earnings; Family and Civic Responsibilities; Transportation and Lost Property; and, Quality of Life Index. 

Prior to the analysis, all costs were adjusted for inflation and standardized so that they are consistent 

with prices in 2007. Thus, for example, the 2006 Medicaid fee of $277.24 for a doctor visit was 

converted to $285.07 reflecting the 4.1% increase in average prices from 2006 to 2007. The Bureau of 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

130

Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for all goods was used to make inflation adjustments 

(http://www.bls.gov/cpi). 

The means of several cost categories were skewed by extreme outliers. In these cases, the means were 

adjusted for measured costs in such a way that for any individual whose cost was above the 95th

percentile, the outlier value of their reported cost was replaced with the cost at the 95th percentile. 

These adjustments were made for reports of health and mental health service use, family and civic 

responsibility losses, and the quality of life index. While this adjustment reduced costs, it was done for 

both costs before and after the issuance of the DVO and did not have any significant impact on the 

difference in total costs before and after the issuance of the DVO. 

The first set of analysis compared costs before and after the issue of a DVO/EPO. As discussed earlier, 

the victims’ reports were used to construct cost estimates for 6 months before and 6 months after the 

issuance of the DVO/EPO. The total sample used in the analysis was 209. One participant was excluded 

from the analysis because she had very high costs due to longer-term care from a psychiatric inpatient 

facility before and after the DVO was obtained and was thus an outlier from the rest of the sample. 

Costs were compared for the selected rural area (n=105) and the selected urban area (n=104). Costs 

were also examined by violation groups: 1) those with no DVO violations during the 6 month-follow-up

period (n=100); 2) those with DVO violations but no stalking (n=54); and, (3) those with DVO violations 

plus stalking (n=53). 

SUBSTUDY 3 RESULTS 

Utilization and Losses 

 

Tables 48, 49, and 50 show the proportion of the sample that reported any use of a service and the 

average number of times the service was used. Overall, the number of women using health and mental 

health services actually increased slightly (see Table 48). This is especially true for dental visits, doctor 

visits, hospital stays, mental health counseling, psychiatrist visits, and group therapy. Even though there 

were some slight increases in utilization, it is important to note that only about one-third of participants 

used any kind of mental health services before or after the DVO was issued and only one-fifth to onefourth indicated they went to counseling with a mental health professional before or after the DVO was 

issued. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

131

Table 48. Direct health and mental health service use 

 

Before

(n=209)

After

(n=209)

Health Services 66% 76.1%

Dental visit 

 Of those with dental visit, average number of times

11.5%

1.17

23.4%

1.49

Doctor visit

 Of those with doctor visit, average number of times

47.4%

4.2

64.1%

3.68

Emergency room

 Of those with emergency room visits, average number of times

38.3%

1.6

23.4%

1.47

Outpatient clinic (urgent treatment)

 Of those with outpatient clinic visit, average number of times

1.9%

1

1.9%

1.5

Night in hospital

 Of those with any time in hospital, average number of nights

8.1%

1.76

14.8%

3.42

Ambulance 

 Of those with any ambulance care, average number of times

3.8%

1

1.9%

1

Physical therapy

 Of those with any physical therapy, average number of times

1%

9

3.3%

12.29

Mental Health Services 30.6% 33%

Mental health professional visit

 Of those with any mental health counseling, average number of times

21.1%

8.52

24.9%

7.81

Psychiatrist

 Of those who saw a psychiatrist, average number of times

4.8%

15.3

10%

6.86

Marriage counselor

 Of those who saw a marriage counselor, average number of times

1%

7.5

1.9%

8

Pastor

 Of those who sought counseling through a pastor, average number of times

5.7%

7.75

3.3%

7.29

Group therapy for mental health

 Of those with any group therapy, average number of times

4.8%

13.3

10%

21.86

Residential substance abuse treatment

 Of those with any residential substance abuse treatment, average number of days

2.4%

76.8

2.4%

49.2

Psychiatric inpatient

 Of those with any psychiatric inpatient treatment, average number of days

1%

1

0%

0

Victim services use decreased slightly from before to after the DVO was issued, but again, only about 

one-third of the sample reported using any victim services before or after the DVO, with the majority of 

service use being from victim advocates (see Table 49). Legal services increased from the 6 months 

before to the 6 months after. There is a rural-urban difference in the use of advocate and legal services. 

More urban women that reported talking to a victim advocate before (39% versus 25.7%, X2(1)=4.26, 

p<.05) and after (38.1% versus 24.8%, X2(1)=4.33, p<.05) than rural women, while more rural women 

reported using legal services before (33.3% versus 17.1%, X2(1)=7.29, p<.01) and after (27.6% versus 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

132

53.3%, X2(1)=14.41, p<.001). The rural area traditionally has fewer victim advocates and rural women 

often rely on legal aid or private attorneys to help them navigate the justice system. 

Fewer misdemeanor arrests occurred during the follow-up period than during the 6 months before the 

DVO was issued, but misdemeanor convictions were higher during the follow-up period. Victim use of 

the police declined greatly for the 6 months after the DVO was issued. 

Table 49. Direct non-medical costs

Before

(n=209)

After

(n=209)

Victim Services 36.8% 33%

Victim advocate

 Of those who talked to a victim advocate, average number of times

32.1%

4.12

31.1%

4.23

Crisis line

 Of those who talked to a crisis counselor on the phone, average number of times

8.6%

1.17

1.4%

4

Crisis counselor 

 Of those who talked to a crisis counselor face-to-face, average number of times

6.2%

1.15

2.9%

2.83

DV shelter night

 Of those who spent the night in a shelter, average number of nights

5.7%

15.33

3.3%

64.71

Homeless shelter night

 Of those who spent the night in a homeless shelter, average number of nights

0%

0

.5%

67

Legal 25.4% 40.7%

Legal aid attorney

 Of those who spoke with a legal aid attorney, average number of times

14.8%

2.35

24.4%

4.94

Private lawyer

 Of those who spoke with a private lawyer, average number of time

14.8%

3.26

25.8%

6.2

Police and Justice System Costs

Police 

 Of those who talked to the police, average number of times

81.3%

2.31

35.4%

3.28

Jail

 Of those with any time in jail, average number of nights

44.5%

18.54

40.7%

54.31

Contempt of court DVO violations

 Of those with any contempt of court violations, average number of times

0%

0

9.6%

1

Felony charges/arrest

 Of those with a felony charge, average number of charges

11%

1.57

10.5%

1.91

Misdemeanor charges/arrests

 Of those with a misdemeanor charge, average number of charges

41.6%

2

27.8%

2.53

Felony conviction

 Of those with a felony conviction, average number of convictions

1.4%

1

3.3%

1.57

Misdemeanor conviction

 Of those with misdemeanor convictions, average number of convictions

19.1%

1.78

33%

1.94

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

133

Table 50 displays time lost from work and from other responsibilities for the 6 months before and the 6 

months after the DVO was issued. The number of women reporting missing time from work and other 

activities declined from the 6 month period before the DVO to the 6 month period after the DVO. 

However, of those who reported lost time in the 6 months after the DVO, in most cases they reported a 

greater number of hours lost compared to the 6 months before the DVO. This trend holds for 

transportation and property losses as well. 

For quality of life, there is a slight decrease in the number of women reporting any stress, depression, or 

anxiety from the abuse from the 6 month period before the DVO was issued to the 6 month period after 

the DVO was issued. For those who did report any days of distress during the 6-month period after the 

DVO was issued, there was a decline in the average number of days in which distress was experienced 

because of the abuse. 

Table 50. Tangible and intangible indirect costs 

Before

(n=209)

After

(n=209)

Any lost time from work, family, or civic responsibilities 59.8% 23.4%

Employment

Of those who lost time from work, average number of hours

37.3%

16.47

12%

38.16

Household chores

Of those who lost time from household responsibilities, average number of hours

21.5%

96.44

12.4%

142.35

Childcare

Of those who lost time from or had to provide for child care, average number of hours

14.4%

28.53

1.4%

51

Other family care

Of those who lost time from other family care responsibilities, average number of hours

3.3%

47.36

.5%

32

School

Of those that missed time from school, average number of hours

8.1%

16.47

3.3%

69

Volunteer activities

Of those that missed time from volunteer activities, average number of hours

.5%

7

1.4%

4.33

Transportation costs

Of those with any transportation costs, average number of costs

99%

$31.78

14.4%

$59.05

Lost property 

Of those with any lost property, average value of that property

45.9%

$1,114.05

11.4%

$1,568.35a

Health Related Quality of Life

Of those reporting any days of stress, depression, or anxiety due to the abuse, average

number of days in the past 6 months

98.6%

129.59

93.3%

85.58

a

Adjusted at the 95th percentile for outliers. 

Table 51 shows the protective order costs. Specifically, 100% of the sample received DVOs and 100% 

received an EPO (or a summons which is estimated to cost the same), but almost 26% of the sample 

received more than one EPO with the average number being three EPOs. Also, using court records, 

18.6% had the DVO amended during the 6 month follow-up period. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

134

Table 51. Protective order costs 

Before

(n=209)

After

(n=209)

EPO 100% 0%

More than one EPO

Of those with more than one EPO, average number of EPOs

25.8%

3.02

0%

DVO 100% 0%

DVO Amendment

Of those with a DVO amendment, average number 

0% 18.6%

1.33

Costs Before And After The DVO And Differences In Costs 

Table 52 shows the overall costs for the sample for the 6 months before the DVO and the 6 months after 

the DVO as well as for the differences in costs. In column (a) of the table, the mean costs for each of the 

nine cost categories before the issuance of the DVO are reported. Columns (b) and (c) give the lower and 

upper bound for the ninety percent confidence interval for each cost category. Column (d) gives the 

mean costs after the issuance of the DVO with columns (e) and (f) providing the ninety percent 

confidence interval. Finally, column (g) gives the differences in costs after and before the issuance of the 

DVO, with columns (h) and (i) providing the confidence intervals. 

The total costs associated with partner violence in the sample are extremely high both before and after 

the issuance of the DVO. Total costs before the DVO are, on average, almost $17,500 per person and 

approximately $12,800 per person after the DVO. By far the largest costs are associated with quality of 

life with these averaging approximately $13,400 per person before the DVO and $8,500 per person after 

the DVO. Other major costs include health services, police and justice system costs, and costs from 

property loss. 

Column (f) shows the difference between costs before and after the issuance of the DVO. A negative 

number, denoted by (.), means there was a cost savings while a positive number means there was an 

increase in costs. As can be seen in column (f), there is a dramatic reduction in the costs associated with 

the quality of life, meaning that the number of days that the victim reported stress, anxiety or 

depression was significantly reduced – in fact, a reduction of approximately 36% occurs from before to 

after the DVO. Smaller reductions in costs are associated with mental health services, employment and 

lost earnings, family and civic responsibilities, and lost property. Categories in which costs increased 

after the DVO include victim services, health services, legal fees, police time, and justice system 

expenditures. Of course, some of these cost increases might simply reflect increased utilization of public 

services once the victim has obtained a DVO that were difficult for them to access before the DVO was 

issued. 

As can also be seen in column (f), when including costs associated with quality of life, there is an 

extremely large reduction in costs – $4,665 per victim, a reduction of 27%. When quality of life costs are 

not included, there is an increase in costs of $225 after the DVO, though as suggested by the range of 

the confidence interval on this estimate, this difference in costs is not significantly different from zero. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

135

Table 52. Costs for all victims (6 months) 

1

Note that the sum of costs in columns (b), (c), (e), and (f) does not equal the total costs reported in these columns as the 90% confidence interval is calculated for total cost. For 

the same reason, the differences for the 90% confidence interval (columns (h) and (i) do not equal the difference in the columns (e) – (b) and (f) – (c). 

Before DVO After DVO Difference 

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 354.37 330.32 378.41 

Victim Service Costs 17.07 10.66 23.49 20.37 13.50 27.24 3.30 (2.90) 9.49 

Mental Health Service Costs 309.55 232.63 386.46 234.89 165.85 303.94 (74.65) (133.44) (15.86)

Quality of Life Index 13,428.05 12,593.17 14,262.93 8,537.56 7,765.09 9,310.02 (4,890.49) (5,819.61) (3,961.37)

Health Service Costs 1,613.19 1,338.93 1,887.44 1,889.71 1,571.29 2,208.14 276.53 (93.15) 646.21 

Legal Fees 30.05 21.89 38.21 70.52 56.58 84.47 40.48 26.78 54.17 

Police and Justice System Costs 1,432.22 1,164.54 1,699.89 1,762.78 1,457.03 2,068.54 330.57 (15.09) 676.22 

Employment and Lost Earnings 53.57 32.87 74.26 34.15 17.57 50.72 (19.42) (45.77) 6.93 

Family and Civic Responsibilities 102.23 77.94 126.52 70.06 47.50 92.62 (32.17) (59.80) (4.53)

Lost Property 493.20 311.07 675.33 193.52 91.77 295.28 (299.67) (504.39) (94.96)

Total Costs117,479.12 16,498.69 18,459.54 12,813.57 11,831.41 13,795.73 (4,665.54) (5,703.97) (3,627.00)

Total Costs excluding Quality of 

Life Index

4,051.07 3,598.33 4,503.81 4,276.02 3,785.64 4,766.39 224.95 (327.88) 777.00 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

136

Costs Before And After The DVO And Differences In Costs By Rural Versus Urban Areas 

Table 53 summarizes both the costs before and after the DVO as well as the differences in these costs 

for rural participants. The analogous information is reported for urban participants in Table 54. Costs 

before the issuance of a DVO (column (a) in Tables 53 and 54) in the two areas are relatively similar. 

Overall total costs before the DVO in urban and rural areas differ by only $612.47, or 3.6%, with costs for 

urban participants being higher. However, when quality of life costs are excluded, the difference in costs 

before the DVO was issued actually increases to $1,020 or 28.8%. Specifically, the biggest difference in 

costs before the issuance of a DVO is in the quality of life ($408 higher in the rural area), mental health 

($286 higher in the urban area), and police and justice system costs ($722 higher in the urban area) cost 

categories. Table 55 column (a) reports the difference in costs before the issuance of a DVO (Urban costs 

– Rural costs). 

Following the issuance of the DVO, total costs are actually lower in the urban area compared to the rural 

area ($12,693 vs. $12,930). When quality of life costs are excluded, however, costs are substantially 

higher in the urban area ($5,145) than in the rural area ($3,423), with a difference of $1,723 or 40.2%. 

Even more pronounced is the difference in some of the specific cost categories. Following the issuance 

of the DVO, quality of life costs are now substantially lower for participants in the urban area ($7,548) 

than in the rural area ($9,508), a difference of $1,960, or 23%. While police and justice system costs rose 

in both areas following the issuance of a DVO, the increase is much greater for the urban area which 

increased from $721 before the DVO to $1,204 after the DVO was obtained. 

The differences in costs before and after the DVO in the two areas were compared to get an indication 

of the relative effectiveness of the issuance of a DVO (see Table 55). In the urban area, total costs are 

$3,295 lower after the issuance of a DVO while in the rural area they are $2,514 lower. The difference 

between the difference in urban costs from before and after the DVO was issued and the difference in 

rural costs from before and after the DVO was issued was $850 (see Table 55). When quality of life costs 

are excluded, costs after the DVO are $342 lower in the urban area but $1,077 lower in the rural area. 

Specifically, the largest difference between the two areas before and after a DVO is due to the 

differences in the changes associated with the quality of life; the reduction in these costs in the urban 

area is $1,550 more than in the rural area. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

137

Table 53. Costs to rural victims (6 months) 

Before DVO After DVO Difference 

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 357.73 312.73 402.74 

Victim Service Costs 17.88 6.21 29.55 22.33 9.42 35.25 4.45 (8.06) 16.97

Mental Health Service Costs 167.96 90.84 245.08 94.51 36.89 152.14 (73.45) (162.54) 15.65

Quality of Life Index 13,630.03 12,442.45 14,817.62 9,508.11 8,323.84 10,692.38 (4,121.92) (5,669.30) (2,574.54)

Health Service Costs 1,551.98 1,083.82 2,020.14 1,745.22 1,205.69 2,284.74 193.24 (473.18) 859.65

Legal Fees 37.23 22.94 51.51 97.70 71.24 124.16 60.48 34.51 86.44

Police and Justice System Costs 1,074.92 681.11 1,468.73 1,166.59 751.01 1,582.17 91.67 (451.58) 634.92

Employment and Lost Earnings 55.13 12.90 97.36 30.07 2.64 57.50 (25.06) (75.10) 24.99

Family and Civic Responsibilities 89.81 54.15 125.48 57.38 21.73 93.03 (32.43) (82.08) 17.22

Lost Property 550.91 199.31 902.52 209.04 20.40 397.68 (341.87) (727.34) 43.59

Total Costs117,175.85 15,813.19 18,538.51 12,930.96 11,480.11 14,381.80 (4,244.90) (5,976.02) (2,513.77)

Total Costs excluding Quality of 

Life Index 

3,545.82 2,918.25 4,173.38 3,422.85 2,621.90 4,223.79 (122.97) (1,077.16) 831.21

1

Note that the sum of costs in columns (b), (c), (e), and (f) does not equal the total costs reported in these columns as the 90% confidence interval is calculated for total cost. For 

the same reason, the differences for the 90% confidence interval (columns (h) and (i) do not equal the difference in the columns (e) – (b) and (f) – (c).

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

138

Table 54. Costs to urban victims (6 months) 

Before DVO After DVO Difference 

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 350.94 314.77 387.11 

Victim Service Costs 16.25 6.18 26.33 18.37 8.10 28.64 2.12 (5.89) 10.12

Mental Health Service Costs 453.91 289.12 618.70 378.03 225.93 530.13 (75.88) (186.16) 34.39

Quality of Life Index 13,222.10 11,594.87 14,849.34 7,547.98 6,136.93 8,959.02 (5,674.13) (7,274.88) (4,073.38)

Health Service Costs 1,675.59 1,210.71 2,140.48 2,037.05 1,494.28 2,579.81 361.45 (225.83) 948.74

Legal Fees 22.73 9.42 36.04 42.81 23.81 61.81 20.08 0.72 39.45

Police and Justice System Costs 1,796.52 1,294.76 2,298.28 2,370.67 1,783.99 2,957.34 574.15 (53.81) 1,202.11

Employment and Lost Earnings 51.98 25.99 77.97 38.31 9.34 67.27 (13.67) (52.34) 24.99

Family and Civic Responsibilities 114.89 68.52 161.26 82.98 42.10 123.87 (31.90) (76.03) 12.22

Lost Property 434.35 175.29 693.42 177.71 22.35 333.06 (256.65) (561.45) 48.15

Total Costs117,788.32 15,854.30 19,722.35 12,693.89 10,820.73 14,567.04 (5,094.44) (6,894.33) (3,294.54)

Total Costs excluding Quality of 

Life Index 

4,566.22 3,682.53 5,449.91 5,145.91 4,312.22 5,979.60 579.69 (341.66) 1,501.05

1

Note that the sum of costs in columns (b), (c), (e), and (f) does not equal the total costs reported in these columns as the 90% confidence interval is calculated for total cost. For 

the same reason, the differences for the 90% confidence interval (columns (h) and (i) do not equal the difference in the columns (e) – (b) and (f) – (c).

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

139

Table 55. Difference in costs between rural and urban victims (Difference in Urban Costs – Difference in 

Rural Costs) 

Difference in 

Before DVO Costs 

Difference in 

Post DVO Costs 

Difference in 

Difference in Costs

(a) (b) (c) 

Mean Mean Mean 

Victim Service Costs (1.63) (3.97) (2.34)

Mental Health Service Costs 285.95 283.51 (2.44)

Quality of Life Index (407.93) (1,960.14) (1,552.21)

Health Service Costs 123.62 291.83 168.22

Legal Fees (14.50) (54.89) (40.39)

Police and Justice System Costs 721.60 1,204.07 482.48

Employment and Lost Earnings (3.15) 8.24 11.38

Family and Civic Responsibilities 25.07 25.60 0.53

Lost Property (116.56) (31.33) 85.23

- - -

Total Costs 612.47 (237.07) (849.54)

Total Costs excluding Quality of Life Index 1,020.40 1,723.07 702.67

Costs Before And After The DVO And Differences In Costs By Violation Group 

The next set of tables shows the same comparisons of costs before and after the DVO for each of the 

three violation groups: (1) the No Violation group; (2) the Violation but No Stalking group; and (3) the 

Violation Plus Stalking group. 

Table 56 provides the mean costs for the No Violation group for the 6 month period before and the 6 

month period after the DVO was issued. Total costs including quality of life are reduced by almost six 

thousand dollars ($5,987), or 37% of the costs before the DVO. When the quality of life costs are not 

included, there is a small ($321) reduction in costs though this reduction is not statistically significant. 

In Table 57, costs are reported for the Violation but No Stalking group during the 6 months before and 

the 6 months after the DVO was issued. The pattern of costs is generally similar to that found for the No 

Violation group. However, total costs, both before and after the DVO, are higher for the Violation but No 

Stalking group compared to the No Violation group, particularly for lost property and quality of life. 

Similar to the previous group, there is a significant reduction in quality of life costs from the 6 month 

period before the DVO was issued to the 6 month period after the DVO was issued. In addition, there is 

a sizable reduction in costs associated with property losses. In contrast, police and justice system costs 

increase considerably over time. Of course, as this group was classified based on DVO violations, this 

result is not surprising. 

The differences in total costs for the Violation but No Stalking group are of similar magnitudes to those 

for the No Violation group. The difference in costs before and after the issuance of the DVO is 

approximately the same for both groups as is the difference in quality of life costs. In the absence of 

quality of life costs there is a small ($152) reduction in costs that is not statistically significant. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

140

Costs for the Violation Plus Stalking group are provided in Table 58. Although this group had lower costs 

before the DVO was issued than the Violation but No Stalking group, the costs after the issue of the DVO 

are much higher ($17,591 vs. $13,452). This is primarily due to much higher quality of life costs (more 

days of stress, depression, and anxiety), higher health service use costs, and higher costs associated with 

lost property. 

As can be seen in column (g), the reduction in quality of life costs after the issuance of the DVO for the 

Violation Plus Stalking group is much smaller than it was for the other two groups ($2,712 vs. $5,666 and 

$5,498) and the increase in justice costs is much higher ($1,048 vs. $570). While there is a reduction in 

total costs of $1,006 when quality of life is included, this estimate is not significantly different from zero. 

When quality life costs are not included for the Violation Plus Stalking group, costs increase from before 

the DVO was issued to after by $1,706. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

141

Table 56. Cost for the No Violation group (6 months) 

Before DVO After DVO Difference 

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 342.26 309.81 374.71 

Victim Service Costs 15.87 4.82 26.93 19.15 7.74 30.55 3.27 (6.31) 12.86 

Mental Health Service Costs 260.82 140.16 381.48 187.20 73.65 300.76 (73.62) (150.82) 3.59 

Quality of Life Index Costs 12,203.84 10,691.64 13,716.03 6,537.90 5,276.87 7,798.94 (5,665.93) (7,325.84) (4,006.03)

Health Service Costs 1,534.60 1,080.89 1,988.30 1,767.86 1,229.69 2,306.02 233.26 (409.56) 876.08 

Legal Fees 28.69 14.76 42.63 41.39 22.12 60.65 12.69 (7.51) 32.90 

Police and Justice System Costs 1,636.09 1,114.15 2,158.03 1,475.66 987.99 1,963.33 (160.43) (790.53) 469.66 

Employment and Lost Earnings 26.92 11.83 42.01 9.78 (0.50) 20.06 (17.14) (34.84) 0.55 

Family and Civic Responsibilities 56.42 28.88 83.97 10.06 (0.20) 20.32 (46.36) (73.44) (19.28)

Lost Property 283.50 86.85 480.14 10.50 (10.33) 31.32 (273.00) (471.34) (74.66)

Total Costs116,046.75 14,280.15 17,813.35 10,059.49 8,526.90 11,592.07 (5,987.26) (7,691.51) (4,283.02)

Total Costs excluding Quality of 

Life Index

3,842.91 3,026.35 4,659.48 3,521.58 2,769.04 4,274.12 (321.33) (1,193.02) 550.36 

1

Note that the sum of costs in columns (b), (c), (e), and (f) does not equal the total costs reported in these columns as the 90% confidence interval is calculated for total cost. For 

the same reason, the differences for the 90% confidence interval (columns (h) and (i) do not equal the difference in the columns (e) – (b) and (f) – (c).

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

142

Table 57. Costs for the Violation but No Stalking group (6 months) 

1

Note that the sum of costs in columns (b), (c), (e), and (f) does not equal the total costs reported in these columns as the 90% confidence interval is calculated for total cost. For 

the same reason, the differences for the 90% confidence interval (columns (h) and (i) do not equal the difference in the columns (e) – (b) and (f) – (c).

Before DVO After DVO Difference 

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 377.70 302.10 453.31 

Victim Service Costs 10.25 0.18 20.32 24.05 6.92 41.18 13.80 (0.40) 27.99 

Mental Health Service Costs 405.52 186.04 625.00 339.41 149.11 529.71 (66.11) (220.05) 87.83 

Quality of Life Index 14,583.73 12,732.20 16,435.26 9,085.77 7,408.11 10,763.43 (5,497.96) (7,597.25) (3,398.67)

Health Service Costs 1,568.66 1,035.56 2,101.75 1,679.22 1,043.97 2,314.46 110.56 (482.41) 703.53 

Legal Fees 29.52 8.14 50.90 69.75 38.09 101.42 40.24 9.83 70.64 

Police and Justice System Costs 1,418.23 871.43 1,965.03 1,988.87 1,223.54 2,754.19 570.64 (186.49) 1,327.76 

Employment and Lost Earnings 114.06 26.56 201.56 49.56 (0.61) 99.72 (64.50) (166.75) 37.74 

Family and Civic Responsibilities 152.95 79.39 226.51 90.93 29.84 152.02 (62.02) (129.43) 5.40 

Lost Property 819.26 188.25 1,450.27 124.67 (24.02) 273.36 (694.59) (1,347.07) (42.12)

Total Costs119,102.17 16,785.45 21,418.89 13,452.22 11,258.68 15,645.76 (5,649.95) (8,131.94) (3,167.97)

Total Costs excluding Quality of 

Life Index

4,518.44 3,512.92 5,523.96 4,366.45 3,291.49 5,441.41 (151.99) (1,315.45) 1,011.47 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

143

Table 58. Costs for the Violation Plus Stalking group (6 months) 

1

Note that the sum of costs in columns (b), (c), (e), and (f) does not equal the total costs reported in these columns as the 90% confidence interval is calculated for total cost. For 

the same reason, the differences for the 90% confidence interval (columns (h) and (i) do not equal the difference in the columns (e) – (b) and (f) – (c).

Before DVO After DVO Difference 

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 353.65 314.40 392.89 

Victim Service Costs 26.67 7.05 46.30 18.90 1.67 36.12 (7.78) (25.69) 10.14

Mental Health Service 304.43 130.42 478.44 218.68 69.50 367.85 (85.75) (269.29) 97.79

Quality of Life Index 14,628.81 12,772.56 16,485.07 11,917.20 10,075.28 13,759.13 (2,711.61) (4,825.72) (597.49)

Health Service Costs 1,815.97 990.92 2,641.02 2,353.92 1,444.08 3,263.76 537.95 (585.85) 1,661.75

Legal Fees 33.29 15.24 51.34 129.04 87.69 170.39 95.75 56.73 134.77

Police and Justice System Costs 1,043.28 502.84 1,583.72 2,092.03 1,294.04 2,890.01 1,048.75 285.99 1,811.50

Employment and Lost Earnings 42.29 19.84 64.75 66.10 8.97 123.22 23.80 (36.45) 84.06

Family and Civic Responsibilities 139.24 71.39 207.08 166.77 86.40 247.15 27.54 (73.44) 128.52

Lost Property 563.25 127.25 999.26 628.90 175.39 1,082.41 65.65 (536.45) 667.74

Total Costs118,597.23 16,557.85 20,636.61 17,591.53 15,232.14 19,950.93 (1,005.70) (3,500.04) 1,488.64

Total Costs excluding Quality of 

Life Index 

3,968.42 2,898.31 5,038.53 5,674.33 4,247.59 7,101.07 1,705.91 82.93 3,328.89

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

144

Avoided Costs Relative To PO Costs 

Table 59 presents the same results described above in a slightly different format. Unlike the earlier 

tables, these costs were estimated for a one-year period assuming the same rate of incurring costs, both 

before and after the issue of the DVO. That is, costs for a year before the DVO was issued and a year 

after the DVO was issued were assumed to be twice the costs for 6 months in all categories of costs. 

Table 59 displays the total difference (reduction) in costs from before to after the issuance of the DVO. 

PO costs are those associated with the PO, including the costs of EPOs, DVOs, and Amendments. These 

costs vary only slightly among the three groups, between approximately $350 and $377. 

On an annual basis, the net reduction in costs (avoided costs – PO intervention costs) is quite large for 

the entire sample, with a net reduction of $8,976 per year. For the No Violation group it is $11,632 and 

for the Violation but No Stalking group the net reduction is $10,922. While there is still a net reduction 

for the Violation Plus Stalking group, it is extremely small at $652. If quality of life costs are excluded, 

only the No Violation group showed a net reduction in costs of $300, although this reduction is not 

statistically significant. 

Alternatively, relative costs can be expressed as the ratio of avoided costs to PO costs or reduction in 

alternative costs per $1.00 of PO costs. This is essentially producing a benefit-cost ratio in which the 

benefits are the reductions in costs from before to after the issuance of the DVO and the cost is the PO 

cost. Then a ratio exceeding one would indicate benefits (avoided costs) exceeding PO costs. 

For the entire sample this measure is quite large – $30.75 of avoided costs per $1.00 of PO costs. 

Avoided costs are even higher for the No Violation group at $40.58. For the Violation but No Stalking 

group, the avoided costs per $1.00 of PO costs were about $35. There is a very small gain for the 

Violation Plus Stalking group of $2.98. 

When quality of life costs are not included, there is either no reduction in avoided costs or the reduction 

is very small and not statistically different from zero overall and for each specific violation group. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

145

Table 59. Avoided costs relative to PO costs (12 months) 

Estimating The Statewide Impact 

As a final measure of the economic impact of DVOs, the estimates of the differences in costs before and 

after the issuance of a DVO were extrapolated from the sample to the state population of victims with 

DVOs issued in a one year period. For this analysis, it is assumed that the same pattern would hold 

throughout the Commonwealth. Of course, this assumes a similar population of victims and 

perpetrators in addition to similar enforcement of DVO and costs. Thus these estimates should be 

interpreted with caution. 

In FY 2007, 11,212 DVOs were issued (Kentucky State Police, 2008). Although there is no way to know 

what proportion of these were female victims of male perpetrators, the number was adjusted by taking 

15% of that population for male victims or victims in same-sex relationships consistent with what U.S. 

Department of Justice estimated (Rennison & Welchans, 2000). This leaves an estimated population of 

9,531. Applying the proportions from substudy 2, it is estimated that 50% would not experience DVO 

violations (n=4,766). Likewise, this would suggest that just over a quarter (25.25%) would experience 

A. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

All Victims 

B. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

No Violation group

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 354.37 330.32 378.41 342.26 309.81 374.71

Avoided Costs – PO Costs 8,976.71 6,899.77 11,053.66 11,632.27 8,223.73 15,040.81

Avoided Costs - PO Costs 

excluding Quality of Life 

(804.27) (1,910.20) 301.66 300.40 (1,443.30) 2,044.10

Avoided Costs per $1.00 of PO 

Costs 

30.75 (160.71) 187.32 40.58 28.68 52.48

Avoided Costs per $1.00 of PO 

Costs excluding Quality of Life (1.57) (145.37) 79.34 2.44 (3.51) 8.39

C. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

Violation but No Stalking group

D. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

Violation Plus Stalking group

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

PO Costs 377.70 302.10 453.31 353.65 314.40 392.89 

Avoided Costs - PO Costs 10,922.20 5,956.80 15,887.60 652.05 (1,841.35) 3,145.46

Avoided Costs - PO Costs 

excluding Quality of Life 

(73.72) (2,408.28) 2,260.84 (2,059.56) (3,678.00) (441.12)

Avoided Costs per $1.00 of PO 

Costs 

35.80 18.68 52.91 2.98 (5.34) 11.30

Avoided Costs per $1.00 of PO 

Costs excluding Quality of Life 0.86 (6.47) 8.19 (6.05) (11.40) (0.70)

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

146

DVO violations but no stalking (n=2,454) and just under a quarter (24.75%) would experience DVO 

violations plus stalking (n=2,359). 

Table 60 summarizes the estimates of annual statewide reductions in cost after the issuance of a DVO 

based on the application of case characteristics and cost estimates from this study sample to the state 

DVO population. When applied to the entire population of victims, when quality of life costs are 

considered, the reduction in costs after the issuance of the DVO is extremely large – $85.5 million for all 

victims (see Figure 18). The majority of this cost savings, $55.4 million, is attributable to the 50% of the 

population of victims who encounter no DVO violations. Significant reductions in costs also arise in cases 

in which the victim encountered DVO violations but no stalking ($26.8 million). Only in the case in which 

there were violations plus stalking is there no significant reduction in costs when quality of life is 

considered. 

When quality of life costs are not considered, the differences in costs before and after the issuance of 

the DVO are not statistically different for the No Violation group or for the Violation but No Stalking 

group. These figures should be considered a lower bound of the estimate of the cost impact of DVOs as 

it is placing a zero value on any reductions in stress, anxiety, and depression suffered by the victims. As 

these reductions are real benefits, they should be considered. The difficulty is knowing how they should 

be valued. 

However, it is also important to note that when quality of life is not considered, there is a significant loss 

of almost $9 million for those who continue to experience violations plus stalking (see Figure 19). 

Table 60. Avoided costs relative to PO costs extrapolated 

from the sample to the population (12 months) 

A. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

All Victims 

B. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

No Violation group

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

Avoided Costs - PO Costs 85,557,061 65,761,736 105,352,433 55,433,583 39,190,166 71,676,980 

Avoided Costs - PO Costs 

excluding Quality of Life 

(7,665,469) (18,206,069) 2,875,125 1,431,565 (6,878,027) 9,741,154 

C. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

Violation but No Stalking group

D. Avoided Costs Relative to PO Costs, 

Violation Plus Stalking group

Mean 90% Confidence Interval Mean 90% Confidence Interval 

Avoided Costs - PO Costs 26,805,618 14,619,377 38,991,864 3,910,504 (7,854,834) 15,675,844 

Avoided Costs - PO Costs 

excluding Quality of Life 

(180,925) (5,910,469) 5,548,620 (8,882,440) (16,528,137) (1,236,744)

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

147

Figure 18. Overall annual statewide savings (including quality of life costs) by violation group 

 

*Numbers do not add up to the exact total due to rounding 

Figure 19. Overall annual statewide savings/losses (without quality of life costs) by violation groups 

($10,000,000)

($8,000,000)

($6,000,000)

($4,000,000)

($2,000,000)

$0 

$2,000,000 

$4,000,000 

$6,000,000 

$8,000,000 

$10,000,000 

$1,431,565 

($180,925)

($8,882,440)

No Violations Violations Violations + Stalking

$0 

$20,000,000 

$40,000,000 

$60,000,000 

$80,000,000 

$100,000,000 

$55,433,583 

$26,805,618 

$3,910,504 

No Violations Violations Violations + Stalking

$85,557,061*

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

148

SUBSTUDY 3 SUMMARY 

No evaluation of intervention effectiveness is complete without a cost component. This is not an easy 

undertaking and it is certainly not without controversy. It is difficult to quantify the impact of abuse and 

violence on a single life and it is especially difficult to quantify the impact of a justice system 

intervention on partner violence. This substudy contributes to the understanding of the overall and 

specific costs of partner violence in several important ways although there are a number of limitations 

and caveats that must be considered in the interpretation of the results. After reviewing the major 

findings of this substudy the limitations will be discussed in detail. 

There are six major findings from the results. First, consistent with prior research, violence and abuse 

take a significant economic toll on a victim’s life, even within a very short time period as in this study. 

Second, relative to the toll that partner abuse takes on a victim’s life, the cost of a protective order is 

small. Third, overall there were no significant difference in costs before and after the DVO was obtained 

for rural and urban victims; however there were some important differences in specific cost categories 

that may have major implications for increasing the understanding of the depth of harm caused by 

partner violence and how harm might differ depending on jurisdiction. Fourth, this substudy identified a 

subpopulation of protective order cases that incur far higher costs – cases where stalking is present. 

Fifth, there are significant savings or reduced costs to the state when victim quality of life is considered 

in the cost analysis. And sixth, when the quality of life index is excluded from the cost analysis, study 

results show that victim safety is positively impacted at very little cost except in cases with stalking. 

More details about study findings are presented below. 

Partner violence and abuse take a significant toll on victim’s lives. This substudy sought to 

quantify economic costs of partner violence 6 months before a DVO was issued and 6 months 

after a DVO was issued. The literature was used to develop specific cost categories primarily 

focused on direct costs related to service utilization including health service use, mental health 

service use, victim service use, legal services use, and civil and criminal justice system costs. 

Also, indirect costs related to lost opportunities such as the opportunity to work, perform other 

activities and duties, lost property, and transportation costs were estimated. It was assumed 

that these losses would not have been incurred if not for the abuse and violence. There are 

other losses that could have been included, such as the time spent dealing with child protective 

services initiated after filing for an EPO, impact of the abuse and service utilization due to the 

abuse of the children, and other costs. However, this study focused on clearly identifiable direct 

victim costs which were relatively conservative estimates. 

Overall, for the 6 months of violence before the DVO, the average per case cost of partner 

violence (including quality of life) was about $17,500. For the 6 month period after issuance of a 

protective order, the average cost per case was about $13,000. The largest reductions over time 

were associated with the quality of life index, lost time, and property losses. Some costs 

increased including health care and justice system costs. Health care costs may have increased 

because women may have had more time to go to the doctor or to the dentist after the DVO 

was issued. On the other hand, there may have been injuries from the EPO incident that 

required ongoing treatment which would have increased costs. This is one area of inquiry that 

needs more investigation.

Relative to the toll that partner abuse takes on a victim’s life, the cost of a protective order is 

small. This study also quantified the cost of a civil protective order including the cost of 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

149

obtaining an EPO, the cost of obtaining a DVO, and the cost of amendments to the DVO. The 

costs of protective orders were estimated in a previous study (Logan et al., 2001a; 2004a) and 

those estimates were updated for this study following a similar process but in collaboration and 

with scrutiny by more court personnel. The estimated average cost of the PO intervention for 

the total sample was about $354, a very low cost to the justice system compared to the costs 

associated with partner violence before and after the DVO. 

Important cost differences between urban and rural areas were identified. Overall no 

significant differences in costs were found before and after the DVO was obtained for either 

rural or urban victims. However, when specific cost categories were examined there were 

several key differences. While the relatively small sample limits the ability to make strong 

statements about differences in costs, urban participants reported a larger increase in quality of 

life after the protective order was obtained compared to rural participants who did not report as 

much relief from abuse related distress. In contrast, police and justice system costs were higher 

before and after a protective order in the urban area but were lower in the rural area 

(suggesting less assertive enforcement). These differences in specific cost categories may have 

major implications for increasing the understanding of the depth of harm caused by partner 

violence and how harm might differ depending on jurisdiction. 

One group of victims incurred far higher costs overall—those cases where stalking was 

present. To obtain a better understanding of the costs and cost reductions before and after a 

DVO was obtained, results were examined by violation group (No Violation group, Violation but 

No Stalking group, and Violation Plus Stalking group). Overall, including the quality of life index, 

for every dollar of the PO intervention spent (using a 12-month period of time), there was $31 in 

avoided costs (cost savings). This ratio increases for the No Violation group to almost $41 and is 

not much different for the Violation but No Stalking group at $36. However, the cost savings are 

significantly lower for the Violation Plus Stalking group ($3). Thus, the victims who experience 

persistent stalking do not benefit as much as the other two groups from a PO economically or 

with regard to distress. 

The cost ratios discussed above represent costs that include the quality of life index, the largest 

cost category. When this category is excluded, there are still net gains, albeit very small ones, for 

the No Violation group ($2.44) and the Violation but No Stalking group ($.86). However, for 

every dollar spent on the PO intervention, there was $6 in losses for the Violations Plus Stalking 

group. 

There were significant cost savings or avoided costs to the state from protective orders 

overall. The cost estimates from the sample were extrapolated to the population of victims who 

obtained a DVO in 2007. Results from the extrapolation should be interpreted with caution. 

Even so, this study attempted to generalize the costs and avoided costs of protective orders to 

an entire state taking into account the initial costs of violence before any intervention. The first 

step in this analysis was to take the total number of DVOs issued in 2007 for the state 

(n=11,212). This number was adjusted by 15% to account for male victims and victims with same 

sex partners, as costs and service utilization may differ for these populations, leaving an 

estimated 9,531 DVOs issued to female victims in 2007. Specifically, when applying cost 

estimates from the sample to the state protective order population, estimates suggest that 

protective orders save the state $85 million for a one-year period, which is likely a conservative 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

150

estimate of savings. Also, the impact of an intervention on quality of life has major implications 

for future avoided costs to society (i.e., beyond a one-year period of time).

The total number of DVOs was partitioned into the same proportions for violation groups based 

on the sample data (50% with no DVO violations, about 25% with DVO violations but no stalking, 

and about 25% with DVO violations plus stalking). Including the quality of life index both for 

those with no DVO violations and those with DVO violations but no stalking saved the state close 

to $55 million and almost $27 million, respectively, in a one year period. Even the group that 

experienced DVO violations plus stalking saved the state close to $4 million. 

Protective orders are, at a minimum, a cost-neutral safety intervention. When the quality of 

life index is excluded from the cost analysis the savings are minuscule, suggesting that safety for 

partner violence victims is achieved at very little cost. At the most conservative reading of the 

cost estimates, the net cost outcome is a very slight increase after the protective order issuance. 

For the 6 months before the order, the average per case cost was $4,051 and for the 6 months 

after the order it was $4,276, a 5.5% increase, which is negligible. This finding is of great 

importance to policy development because many social and justice interventions may be costly 

with little net gain to society but are often provided because they are seen as necessary or 

morally justifiable. Thus, when the quality of life index is excluded from the cost analysis, study 

results show that victim safety is positively impacted at very little cost except in cases with 

stalking. 

Generalizing from this study’s findings to the state’s protective order cases, stalkers with 

protective orders against them cost the state $9 million in a one-year period when quality of life 

is removed from the equation. It is worth noting that this estimate only includes protective 

order cases in which stalking was present – including other stalking cases that received a 

protective order before 2007 or stalking cases without protective orders would likely engender 

far greater total costs to the state. 

This substudy has a number of limitations. The estimates of costs were primarily based on self-reported 

measures of service utilization and may represent over-estimates or under-estimates. It is also 

sometimes difficult for women to attribute services or losses specifically to the violence and abuse. 

Although every attempt was made by interviewers to help women make those attributions, it is difficult 

to know whether some costs related to the abuse were forgotten while others that were reported as 

related to the abuse may have been incurred regardless of the abuse, such as a preventive doctor visit. 

Clearly, enforcement of the protective order is a critical piece of protective order intervention—it is 

assumed that with a protective order comes a stronger response from the criminal justice system to 

ongoing partner violence and abuse. However, data about the enforcement of protective orders are

very difficult to obtain, given that women often do not know the legal outcomes, such as specific 

charges and convictions after they have reported incidents to the police. Also, the official data may or 

may not reflect domestic violence-related charges. As noted in substudy 2, there were few specific 

charges related to protective order violations in the whole sample (n=25), but that does not mean that 

police were not called or that no action was taken to arrest and charge the PO partner. In fact, it is likely 

that more PO partners were charged because of a domestic violence-related call, but the specific 

charges may vary greatly. Thus, this substudy used all charges and convictions as part of the cost 

estimates 6 months before and 6 months after the DVO was issued. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

151

It is also challenging to attach an accurate and fair cost to each service, and the cost sources used may 

have under- or over-estimated specific costs. In particular, the cost of an arrest/charge and conviction is 

extremely problematic. After a lengthy literature review and speaking to several nationally recognized 

economists cost sources for charges and convictions were used from Aos et al. (2006). 

Jail time was another problematic cost to determine. Because data were unable to be obtained from 

one local jail, victim reports of jail time were used. It is likely that victims may not always know if an 

offender spent a few hours or maybe even a few days in jail; however, it is likely that they knew if the 

offender spent a longer time in jail. Further, when victim reports of PO partner jail time were compared 

to official records for the jails that did provide information, the estimates were very close and unlikely to 

have significantly changed the cost estimates. For example, using only those areas where official jail 

data were obtained, victim reports indicated at baseline that 42% of PO partners spent any nights in jail 

during the 6 month period before the DVO was issued, while data from official records indicated 44% 

spent any time in jail. Victims reported that, on average, PO partners were in jail 14 days before the PO 

was issued versus the official jail data of an average of 19 days. Similar trends were found for jail time 

after the DVO was issued, with 41% of victims reporting that the PO partner had spent any time in jail 

for an average of 54 days. Official data indicated 38% of PO partners spent any time in jail for an average 

of 56 days. 

Also, the estimate of the PO intervention may have been underestimated although the overall costs of 

the PO intervention were very similar across the two separate cost estimates that were made over a 

period of several years. Thus, it is likely that there would be very little variation if another estimate were 

done. However, the costs were developed based on mileage and salaries from the urban area. The rural 

area may incur larger mileage costs due to longer travel times, but salaries may have been lower for 

some of the key personnel. Further, including enforcement as part of the PO intervention may have 

been important. However, linking charges and convictions specifically related to the PO was difficult as 

noted above. Further, police and justice system costs were incurred before the DVO was issued and may 

have been incurred in the absence of a DVO. So, the police and justice system costs were included both 

before and after the DVO was issued rather than as a part of the PO intervention. 

Another limitation is related to the estimate and value of the quality of life index. Quantifying the 

impact of abuse and violence on quality of life is very difficult to do, especially at the individual level. 

Some studies have used “willingness-to-pay” methodologies and others have used jury awards (Cohen, 

2001) to estimate pain and suffering from crime. The quality of life estimate used in this study seemed 

to be the most reasonable way to estimate the impact on victim quality of life, especially on an 

individual basis. It is important to remember that individual victims react differently such that one 

woman may experience significant anxiety and stress while another woman in seemingly the same 

situation may not experience as much anxiety and stress. These individual differences are accounted for 

with the methodology used in this substudy, although it is not without limitations. The second step in 

the process, assigning a value to the quality of life index could also be considered a limitation of the 

study. The cost of a mental health visit was used which was basically about $100 per day of distress from 

the abuse. It is difficult to know whether this is a fair or accurate estimate of the impact on a woman’s 

quality of life due to constant abuse, harassment, and violence. On the other hand, some of the women 

in the study may have taken medication to relieve stress, depression, and/or anxiety and their days of 

stress were reduced due to the medication, yet medication used to reduce distress from the abuse was 

not accounted for with the quality of life index used in this study. Even within the limitations, by 

focusing on economic costs and including a quality of life index, this study builds a foundation toward 

better quantification of harms experienced by partner violence victims. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
SUBSTUDY 3 

152

As mentioned previously, results of the extrapolation from the sample to the Kentucky population of 

victims with DVOs should be interpreted with caution. This estimate was only for those who were issued 

a DVO in a one year period and does not consider savings or reduced costs for a longer follow-up period 

or for those who had POs issued previously but that were in effect during that year. It was also assumed 

that the costs and savings over a 6 month period before the DVO and a 6 month period after the DVO 

were stable for 12 months before and after the DVO. Although it is likely that the costs 6 months before 

the DVO do not differ greatly for a 12 month period, the reduction in costs would be expected to decline 

in the second 6 month period for the year after the DVO was issued. Thus, the extrapolation results are 

likely an underestimate of the actual cost savings to the state. 

In conclusion, findings from substudy 2 suggest that stalking plays an important role in protective order 

violations, ongoing fear, and perceived protective order effectiveness. Consistent with those findings, 

the two stories introduced at the beginning of this section illustrate the devastating impact that stalking 

can have on a victim’s life as well as two very disparate outcomes of a protective order intervention. 

Lauren experienced ongoing harassment for years even after she had separated from Mike. The few 

examples of abuse she experienced in the relationship are only a short glimpse into the terror she lived 

through during her relationship with him. It is likely the abuse she suffered was continually present in his 

ongoing stalking and harassment of her even years after they had separated. When she finally got the 

courage to face him and the court system, she did find relief and could move on with her life and her 

future. The removal of daily stalking and harassment cannot truly be quantified. Her story underscores 

the critical role that civil protective orders play in protecting women and helping them to live lives free 

of violence and harassment. On the other hand, Sarah was not so lucky. Eric did not seem deterred by 

the protective order in any way, and probably for good reason, as there were no consequences for 

violating the order. Not only did Sarah have to suffer ongoing stalking, harassment, and property 

damage because of Eric, she also had to suffer from the frustration of not being able to get any help 

from the criminal justice system. It is very likely that Sarah’s level of distress from the abuse was 

heightened by the inaction of the criminal justice system. And, it is cases like Sarah’s, where 

perpetrators continue to cost the state money because of their continued stalking and harassment of 

victims even after a court intervention. Stories like Sarah’s also show just how devastating partner 

violence can be on one’s quality of life. The next section focuses on implications for practice and policy 

from the stories of women presented in this report as well as from the results of all three substudies. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

153

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

Figure Of The Complete Kentucky Civil Protective Order Study Components 

Implications and

Conclusions

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

154

The purpose of this comprehensive study was to better understand the civil protective order process, 

effectiveness, and enforcement from multiple perspectives. Outcomes were examined for a selected 

urban area and a selected rural area within one state to better understand jurisdictional and community 

context differences. One state was selected in order to have uniform statutory and regulatory 

frameworks for community implementation. 

This study had the advantage of building on prior research which informed the selection of measures 

and investigative methods and also identified areas of substantial gaps in knowledge. To date, this study 

is one of the most comprehensive studies of civil protective orders in the U.S. and the results provide 

information that could profoundly shape practice, policies, and future research. This study attempted to 

address three main questions: (1) Rural versus urban similarities and differences: Do community 

contextual factors matter? (2) Civil protective orders: Justice or just a piece of paper? (3) Costs of 

protective orders versus partner violence: Is it really worth it? Three substudies were designed to 

address the three questions. Findings from across all three substudies have been presented and form 

the basis for the implications and recommendations for policy, practice, and future research. 

IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

1. Increase access to protective orders by identifying and reducing barriers. This study shows 

that, for most women, protective orders reduce violence and save the state millions of dollars of 

avoided costs. However, results of this study also show that there are significant and 

unrecognized barriers for women in accessing protective orders. For example, bureaucratic red 

tape barriers can prevent, or certainly impede, victims from being able to obtain protection for 

which they are eligible under the statute. Further, there was limited key informant awareness of 

many of the factors women must overcome in asking for help from the court to address this 

very personal issue. There especially seemed to be a lack of recognition of how embarrassing, 

fear provoking, disheartening, and frustrating the process can be for victims. 

Recommendation 1A: Local key community representatives need to understand the

barriers victims encounter in their specific jurisdictions in the process of trying to obtain 

protective orders. Creating a mechanism for the justice system as well as other key 

community professionals to obtain feedback from victims who have and have not 

obtained a civil protective order for partner abuse and violence is one way to address 

barriers. Future research is needed to better understand why some women succeed in 

obtaining protective orders in spite of the barriers while other women are discouraged. 

Recommendation 1B: Providing victims with more information about the process and 

more help with obtaining civil protective orders is critical to addressing barriers. 

Obviously, court personnel cannot tell victims what to say, but they can help victims in a 

variety of ways, such as ensuring all parts of the form are filled out correctly, asking 

victims if the incident or reasons for the petition are fully explained, and providing 

victims with information about the statute and the overall process. 

Recommendation 1C: Identifying the salient barriers to obtaining protective orders and 

training personnel from key agencies to reduce or eliminate them is essential. This 

assessment of barriers and training must be ongoing as barriers can change over time 

and the impact of training can diminish over time. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

155

Victims seeking protective orders first encounter several individuals, or gatekeepers, to file 

petitions and obtain a hearing. These gatekeepers are often court clerks but may also include 

police or sheriff officers and judges who must sign the petitions. Every partner violence victim 

who meets the statutory eligibility should at least be given the right to a protective order 

hearing. However, it appears that some women, even when they meet the statutory eligibility 

criteria, are being discouraged from seeking a protective order (or even outright denied the 

opportunity) by gatekeepers even before they get to the hearing. Other serious problems 

included limited access to civil protective orders for disabled or injured victims who cannot 

easily access the courthouse and for victims with language barriers. 

Recommendation 1D: Court personnel, clerks, and judges need continuing education or 

training in protective order statutes and regulations to increase compliance in practice. 

This should also be required as a part of orientation for new court personnel. 

Recommendation 1E: The state-level corollary administrative agencies, which oversee 

court procedures, should put in place a complaint process whereby victims could give 

information about refusals to process petitions and other barriers to accessing 

protective orders. Further, a tracking system should be implemented to provide more 

information about who requests a petition, the outcome of the request, and the reason 

for the denial of a petition at any level. This information should be tracked to 

understand better who is and is not being served by the civil protective order process. 

Such a tracking system could identify specific jurisdictions within which an atypical 

pattern of denials was emerging and interventions could therefore be developed to 

address these anomalies.

2. Address gaps in victim safety and offender accountability in the protective order process. 

Once an EPO has been filed, several gaps in victim safety were identified by this study, including 

(a) the time between the filing of an EPO and the DVO hearing; (b) when attempts to enforce 

the order by the victim fail; and (c) when victims have dropped previous orders. 

Victims indicated that the time between filing for an EPO and obtaining a DVO was one of 

confusion and frustration. Some women indicated they did not know the full scope of an EPO 

violation or how to report EPO violations, such as whether they should call the police or wait 

until the DVO hearing to report the violation. Some women did not know when the order had 

been served, meaning that they were unsure whether certain contacts with the PO partners 

were violations. Further, some women were especially frustrated that the EPO was violated with 

no consequences. All of this suggests a significant gap in victim safety during this time period 

which may be one of great risk because this is when the perpetrator discovers she has filed for a 

PO. Key informants seemed to have minimal recognition of the particular risks that are inherent 

during this time period which likely contributes to increasing even further the risk to victim 

safety. 

Recommendation 2A: One way to address the gap in victim safety between filing the 

EPO and the DVO hearing would be to offer follow-up or advocacy services to victims 

during this period which may also encourage more women to follow through with the 

PO process. The majority of victims who obtain EPOs in Kentucky do not receive 

advocacy services or law enforcement follow-up prior to (or even sometimes after) the 

domestic violence order court hearing approximately two weeks later (or perhaps much 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

156

later if non-service is a problem) unless a violation is reported (and in some cases not 

even then). In other words, there is often no proactive support for victims who obtain 

protective orders sometimes leaving the perpetrator as the person with the greatest 

access to the victim whether or not there is a “no contact” provision. The findings from 

key informants and victims suggest a need for more proactive support of victims with 

protective orders early in the process. It is possible that the offer, but not the 

imposition, of advocacy or law enforcement follow-up services to victims when they 

obtain EPOs and DVOs may increase victim safety and offender accountability. 

Recommendation 2B: Another interim step in addressing the problem of not having 

information available about the status of the order would be to provide a notification 

service like the Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) PO notification 

services. This service has recently been implemented in Kentucky and several other 

states (http://www.appriss.com/VPO.html). Victims can access information about their 

protective orders, such as terms, conditions, and expiration dates, through a free 

telephone service. Victims can also register to be notified when their protective order is 

served, when court hearings are held, about any filed amendments, and when the order 

is about to expire. This service has an operator available 24 hours a day to register 

victims, answer questions, and provide information about local victim services. 

For half of the victims in this sample, all it took was the issuance of the protective order to stop 

the violence. The other half experienced protective order violations. Protective orders are just 

pieces of paper in the absence of assertive enforcement. This study suggests that protective 

order enforcement has room for improvement. Specifically, consistent with many women’s 

fears that nothing would be done if they did make a violation report, results of this study show 

that in those cases with reported violations few perpetrators were arrested and even fewer had 

official charges that were noted in their court records. This trend was even greater for cases 

from the rural area. 

It is interesting that the majority of victims, regardless of area, indicated they believed the 

protective order was not violated because the perpetrator was afraid of legal repercussions, 

especially of going to or back to jail. This underscores the importance of the criminal justice 

system response to protective order violations; if protective orders are violated without 

consequences this fear would be eliminated. Evidence of weak enforcement can be gleaned 

from the official court data as described above and from key informant respondents who 

indicated only one-third (rural) to one half (urban) of offenders are likely to be arrested in 

response to a PO violation. Even more concerning, it is possible that when an offender violates 

the order without any sanctions, there is increased risk of ongoing and more severe violence 

toward the victim. If offenders learn there are no consequences to violations but victims take 

the risk of reporting violations, offenders may retaliate. Thus, reported violations with no 

consequences likely further increases risk to victims. 

There are especially problems with enforcement when offenders flee the scene upon knowledge 

that a victim or someone else has reported a violation. If law enforcement does not make an 

assertive attempt to arrest the violator, victims may be at increased risk of further harm. The 

lack of prompt and aggressive enforcement can mean that an offender may perceive that he can 

evade consequences. It also may result in a desire for retribution, thus increasing danger to the 

victim. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

157

Another problematic area in protective order enforcement is the high potential for law 

enforcement to arrest victims or make dual arrests when they cannot easily determine the 

primary or predominant aggressor. Situations in which determining the primary aggressor is 

difficult and may be exacerbated by negative stereotypes and biases about partner violence, 

perceptions of low victim credibility (e.g., victim presentation and characteristics such as 

substance use and mental health problems) and the perceived high level of proof needed to 

enforce the order (e.g., officer must witness the violation). If officers know both the right 

questions to ask and investigative techniques that can determine the primary aggressor, 

perhaps there would be fewer dual arrests or inaction on the part of police officers. Again, this 

situation creates a gap in victim safety for several reasons—the victim will quickly learn that 

calling the police is ineffective in helping her and may even be harmful if she is arrested, and the 

offender will learn that his version of the story is always just as, if not more, credible as her 

version, both of which likely ensure that the violence and abuse will continue. 

Recommendation 2C: There is a serious need for training law enforcement about the 

increased risk in safety for victims who have attempted or failed to have their orders 

enforced. The lack of a strong criminal justice response to a violation reinforces the 

offender’s ability to continue controlling the situation and the victim’s perception that 

she is “on her own” and the justice system will not help her. This means that law 

enforcement will likely be dealing with the offender again in the future, increasing costs 

to the justice system. Failure to enforce the order also includes situations where the 

offender flees the scene and police do not attempt to locate the offender. In cases in 

which the offender has fled the scene, it may be that much less investigative time would 

be needed to apprehend the offender than is initially thought and that, over time, the 

initial investigation time that results in an arrest of the offender would save time in 

dealing with the offender in the future. 

Also, training law enforcement personnel on why women do not report every violation 

may also be important. This may be more of a rational and logical decision-making 

process for victims than key system personnel recognize. Between one-third and twothirds of key informants indicated that victims “allowing” contact with the perpetrator 

or not reporting violations is a big problem with protective orders or is a barrier to 

enforcing protective orders. This may very well be the case, but many responses 

classified into this theme were victim-blaming rather than acknowledging that women 

may not report violations because of their history of non-response from the criminal 

justice system or for other legitimate reasons. This should also help to sensitize police 

and judges to the idea that when women do report violations, they need to pay closer 

attention to her safety risk and to carefully investigate the situation given it is not likely 

the only violation she has experienced. 

Recommendation 2D: Training law enforcement to efficiently and effectively assess for 

the primary aggressor would reduce erroneous and harmful responses to partner 

violence. Further, thorough law enforcement assessments and investigations in these 

cases could be helpful in building stronger cases, which helps prosecutors hold 

offenders accountable. 

Another gap in victim safety in obtaining a protective order is the bias against women who have 

dropped previous orders. There was an indication in this study that it may be more difficult for 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

158

women to obtain an EPO and a DVO if they have previously dropped an order. This is particularly 

concerning given that women drop or do not follow through with orders for a variety of reasons 

including threats and fear of personal and family safety, hope that things will change, and the 

fact that separation is a process rather than a sudden event (Logan, Walker, Jordan, & Campbell, 

2004c). 

Obtaining a civil protective order is not predicated on the requirement that women leave the 

abusive relationship, yet there seems to be an assumption that women have to leave if they 

have a protective order. This was especially evident in key informant responses to questions 

about problems with protective orders and barriers to enforcement with a large proportion of 

respondents indicating women allow contact, initiate contact, or don’t report every violation. 

Not only does the state statute allow women to have protective orders and maintain contact 

(No Violent Contact orders), but the assumption that all women are able to discontinue all 

contact with their violent partner who also may be the father of their children is, in some cases, 

very difficult to do. Another indicator that there is an assumption that women with protective 

orders must separate from their violent partner is the high number of No Contact orders given 

in the rural area (90.6%) especially compared to the urban area (58.5%). Giving a No Contact 

order to women who continue in the relationship or who need to communicate with the violent 

partner may send a message that they cannot have a PO and continue a relationship with the 

violent partner leading some women to drop the order. Recently there has been a focus on the 

importance of recognizing that women may continue a relationship with the violent partner but 

that does not diminish the importance of safety planning or providing court protection from 

violence (Goldfarb, 2008; Davies, 2008; 2009). 

Thus, those who drop orders may need the support of the court even more than other women 

and may be at higher risk for violence and ongoing abuse. Protective orders are essential for 

victim safety but also for the safety of the children in the home. Disallowing women from 

obtaining protective orders when they qualify, solely because they have dropped orders in the 

past, is problematic. Further it does not appear that many women are dropping orders. For 

example, only a small proportion of women in the current study dropped the order by the 6 

month follow-up (4%) and, in a larger study of victims from the same target counties, only 9% 

had dropped the order over the course of the 12 month follow-up (Logan & Walker, 2009a). Yet, 

it is these cases that justice system personnel seem to remember the most, in part, because 

they repeatedly see these cases. Victims who have successfully received help from the system 

do not come back. This creates a situation that severely slants one’s perspective unless a larger 

view is taken. 

Recommendation 2E: It is important to provide justice system and victim service 

personnel with the bigger picture of protective order outcomes and effectiveness.

Victims who benefit from the protective orders do not come back through the system 

(they have received the help they need), which gives service providers and the justice 

system a biased picture of what is really happening with protective orders. Most women 

benefit from the orders and do not drop them. However, it appears there are women 

who do drop orders for a variety of reasons and then need to come back to the court for 

help. Training should include information on the dynamics of separating from a violent 

partner and how victims cope with violence and fear during this especially dangerous 

time, as well as the importance of recognizing that sometimes women ask for protection 

but do not always leave the violent relationship or stop communication. Thus, training 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

159

justice system personnel on the number of women who drop orders using actual data 

and reasons some women might drop their orders in addition to the potentially 

increased risk to this subgroup of women is crucial to increasing victim safety. 

3. Improve protective order enforcement by examining decision points in the enforcement 

process. Protective orders clearly do have an impact on subsequent violence. However, study 

results suggest that protective order enforcement could be improved. Considering specific 

factors associated with enforcement of protective order violations and factors associated with 

ignoring violations would provide a map to target training for each critical agency that plays a 

role in partner violence protection. 

Recommendation 3A: Create a proactive system where the assessment of agency and 

victim feedback is regularly considered in the protective order enforcement process for 

cases with positive outcomes as well as for cases with negative outcomes. This feedback 

would need to be collected within several different agencies directly involved in the 

protective order process in addition to agencies indirectly involved with the protective 

order process but who serve partner violence victims. Victim feedback about both 

positive and negative experiences of protective order enforcement is also necessary to 

do a full assessment of the process. 

Recommendation 3B: Closely related, it is important to create a system whereby victims 

can express their concerns and complaints about the protective order enforcement 

response without retaliation from agencies. Each agency should have an easily 

accessible and visible procedure for victims to register concerns or complaints. 

Currently, few outlets exist for victims to express concern about the handling of their 

cases or concern for their future safety after a failed response. Once a victim has 

received a protective order through the court hearing process, violations of the order 

must be taken very seriously or the risk to victim safety could be increased. 

Recommendation 3C: Another way to improve protective order enforcement is for 

communities to examine each step in the process, including the police and prosecutors 

responses as well as the judge/jury conviction process. Considering specific factors 

associated with enforcement of protective order violations and factors associated with 

ignoring violations would provide a map to target areas needed for improvement, 

obstacles that could be removed, and training that is needed for each agency central to 

addressing partner violence. A similar system called The Network for the Improvement 

of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) “walk through approach” (https://www.niatx.net) has 

been used to improve substance abuse treatment and a variety of health services. This 

process uses key informants from service agencies as mock victims literally “walking 

through” the whole process. Naturally, this method involves some fake conditions, but it 

gives decision-makers a view of services that is otherwise obscured. Examining factors 

associated with decision-making is critical within each of these steps. For example, 

clearly articulating community and departmental priorities, rewards or payoffs for 

various decisions and actions, the implicit and explicit influence of trust and cooperation 

in social contexts (i.e., addressing politics), and addressing stereotypes, traditional 

gender role biases, victim blaming attitudes, and other barriers will provide a deeper 

contextual view of the process. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

160

Recommendation 3D: System accountability can also be increased through monitoring 

secondary data that provide information such as charges, convictions, service rates, and 

number of EPOs and DVOs. This information should be made public through an annual 

statewide report that includes information for each jurisdiction as well as for the state 

at large. Tracking this information over time may be especially helpful in monitoring 

progress. 

4. Respond to partner stalking more effectively. Results from this study show a significant 

association of stalking and protective order violations; yet, the justice system and victim service 

representatives largely do not seem to acknowledge or appreciate the danger associated with 

stalking or the toll it takes on victims. Stalking was rarely mentioned by key informants, and 

more stalking victims than victims who experienced violations but no stalking, indicated they did 

not report violations because there was no point or no proof. Further, there were few stalking 

charges in the 6 month follow-up period despite the fact that a significant proportion of victims 

experienced stalking and those victims experienced more violations. In fact, for the rural 

women, those who were stalked were less likely to see any domestic violence-related charges 

than those with DVO violations but no stalking. Partner stalking costs the state around $9 million 

per year primarily for health services and justice system costs when quality of life costs are 

excluded from the analysis.

Results of this study are buttressed by prior research suggesting that partner stalking is often a 

form or extension of partner violence and that relational history provides a context in which 

cues of implicit or explicit threat are more meaningful to the victim than they would be to 

someone without an understanding of the relationship history. This makes the stalking 

potentially very frightening and concerning to the victim while seeming benign to outsiders 

(Logan & Walker, 2009b; Logan, Cole, Shannon, & Walker, 2006a). The relationship history also 

gives stalkers a wider array of tactics to use against the victim, including intimate knowledge of 

victims and their lives. Perpetrators’ intimate knowledge of victims makes taking safety 

precautions even more challenging. Adding to the terror of being stalked by a prior violent 

partner is evidence that intimate partner stalkers are more likely to threaten their victims and to 

follow through on those threats. Partner stalkers show more disregard for court intervention 

than non-partner stalkers (Mohandie, Meloy, McGowan, & Williams, 2006). Another unique 

dimension of partner stalking is that it often begins or occurs while the relationship is intact and 

continues during periods of separation; however, stalking during periods of separation may be 

especially dangerous, especially when stalking persists after a protective order has been 

granted. Stalking victimization is associated with psychological distress, and some preliminary 

evidence suggests that stalking by a violent partner contributes uniquely to psychological 

distress (Logan & Walker, 2009b). 

Recommendation 4A: There is clear need for training on the unique implications of 

partner stalking for justice system interventions. While there has been inconsistent 

research on batterer typologies based on psychological characteristics and basic 

patterns of violence, the tactics used in stalking clearly define a heightened risk factor 

for harm to victims. This study suggests that assertive enforcement of protective orders 

in stalking cases could increase victim safety and offender accountability and reduce 

general costs to society. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

161

Recommendation 4B: Partner stalking must no longer be ignored in addressing partner 

violence and protective order effectiveness. Assessments for stalking should be done at 

every partner violence police call, EPO petition, and DVO hearing. Also, protections 

should be crafted to specifically address the stalking behavior as well as victim safety 

concerns. Targeted advocacy support and safety planning should be offered to each 

victim, but when stalking is involved a more targeted and creative safety plan may be 

warranted. Further, while many advocates and mental health professionals have 

received training on partner violence, it is unlikely that they have been sensitized to the 

additional risk posed by stalking within violent relationships. Advocates and mental 

health professionals should also receive training on stalking as part of client risk 

assessment. 

5. Acknowledge the significant harm and toll partner violence and stalking impose on victims. 

Among the many aspects of partner violence and protective orders examined by this study, one 

facet stood out as poorly addressed in the literature-- the quantification of the impact of partner 

violence and stalking on quality of life, such as pain and suffering for crime victims. It is clearly 

important to address direct and indirect tangible costs of the impact of abuse on victims and to 

society. But, given the results of victim interviews and the case studies, it becomes clear that the 

impact of partner violence and protective orders reach beyond direct and indirect costs. In fact, 

this study suggests the impact of partner violence and stalking, and specifically, the relief of 

distress provided by protective orders, is significant. While the metric used in this study to 

quantify harm or impact on quality of life may not be the best, it was an attempt to begin the 

process of quantifying harm for partner violence victims and to take a deeper look at the impact 

of protective orders. In other words, this study suggests that harm from partner violence and 

stalking need to be understood from a dual perspective—as derived financial costs to society 

resulting from partner violence and concurrently, as a way to appreciate the damage to human 

lives as a result of partner violence. 

Recommendation 5A: Future research on partner violence should move toward greater 

concentration on ways to measure the extent of social, personal, vocational, and 

parental care harm women experience rather than solely focusing on mental health or 

health symptoms. This has the added importance of shifting the focus of research away 

from women’s psychopathology and toward the actual harms caused by offenders. 

Recommendation 5B: Training of justice system personnel should focus on the 

significant harm and toll that partner violence and stalking take on victims and their 

children. It goes beyond simple physical injury and isolated incidents. This will take a 

paradigm shift for justice system officials who often focus on incident-based crimes. 

However, partner violence and stalking are part of a system of coercive control or a 

pattern of ongoing tactics designed to control victims. Physical violence is only a tool 

within the arsenal of coercive control (Logan & Walker, 2009b; Stark, 2007). Without a 

clear picture of what partner violence and stalking are really about, understanding 

cannot be increased. 

6. Recognize that different agencies may see different groups of victims which can interfere with 

incorporating community collaboration into the response to partner violence. It is essential 

that agencies and communities work together to address partner violence. Results from this 

study suggest that sometimes justice system and victim service agencies are at odds with each 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

162

others’ perceptions of the criminal justice response to partner violence. For example, study 

results indicate that the justice system respondents viewed their response to protective order 

violations much more positively than did victim service representatives. It may be that each of 

these agencies is seeing a different group of victims, with victim service personnel seeing 

women who are having more trouble with the justice system response (and not seeing the 

women in cases that were successfully resolved through the justice system) while justice system 

representatives are focusing on those cases in which action was taken rather than thinking of 

the cases in which violations were not addressed. 

Recommendation 6A: Given that different agencies are likely to have different 

perspectives on partner violence and perhaps are dealing with different types of cases, 

it may be important for communities to establish a way to communicate about these 

differences. This will help ensure that new procedures can evolve from discussion and 

shared perceptions can take on new meaning for the group as a whole. This is a 

continuing process and is far more likely to anchor change than training sessions alone. 

7. Target training of justice system and victim service personnel to increase understanding of 

partner violence, protective order effectiveness, perpetrator characteristics, and partner 

stalking within jurisdictional and community contexts. Study results clearly have implications 

for training in a variety of areas in addition to those already mentioned. Specific factors 

identified in this study are suggested to be incorporated into training for justice system and 

victim service personnel. 

Recommendation 7A: Misperceptions about the effectiveness of protective orders 

should be addressed. Protective orders are successful in reducing abuse and violence in 

most cases and they save millions of dollars in avoided costs to society. Further, women 

appreciate the orders and enjoy significant positive effects on their lives as evidenced by 

their reduced distress. This information needs to be widely distributed to justice system 

and victim service representatives. 

Recommendation 7B: Training must also emphasize the characteristics of partner 

violence perpetrators. Partner violence perpetrators with protective orders against 

them tend to have significant histories of criminal justice system involvement (mostly 

unrelated to partner violence crimes), with 75% having prior charges and 90% having 

been in jail. Thus, partner violence offenders are often engaged in a wide pattern of 

criminal conduct (Klein & Tobin, 2008). Several studies show that those charged with 

stalking also have a significant history of involvement in the criminal justice system 

(Klein, Salomon, Huntington, Dubois, & Lang, 2009; Logan, Nigoff, Jordan, & Walker, 

2002a). Partner violence and stalking are more than relationship problems or romance 

gone wrong; rather, these behaviors should be viewed as an extension of criminal 

behavior and as part of a campaign of terror over victims. 

Recommendation 7C: Both rural and urban respondents indicated that partner violence 

happens because of substance abuse. Although clearly the two are linked, it is important 

to address the specific dynamics and differences between the two issues. The high rate 

of substance abuse in the rural communities, combined with key informants’

perceptions of drug and alcohol-related crimes as the highest priority crimes in those 

communities, suggests a need for targeted criminal justice and victim service policies 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

163

and interventions to address the co-occurrence of domestic violence and substance 

abuse. When intimate partner violence occurs in the context of illegal drug and alcohol 

activity involving perpetrators and/or victims, police may be tempted to base their 

responses on the most tangible evidence, most likely the drugs or alcohol use or on the 

drug and alcohol-related criminal activity which they perceive as the “cause” of the 

partner violence. A misunderstanding regarding the relationship between substance use 

and partner violence can influence interventions to focus on the substance abuse while 

neglecting perpetrator accountability for the partner violence and the safety of partner 

violence victims. 

Recommendation 7D: The results of the key informant survey underscore the fact that 

myths about partner violence continue to persist, especially in the rural area. For 

example, over one in four rural criminal justice representatives indicated that partner 

violence happens because of relationship issues while two out of five criminal justice 

representatives suggested financial strain caused partner violence. A few urban 

respondents from both agencies also mentioned relationship issues and one in four 

rural victim service representatives indicated financial strain contributes to partner 

violence. Further, a number of key informants mentioned perpetrator anger and lack of 

emotion control or regulation is associated with partner violence. All of these factors 

may be associated with partner violence. But what is missing in naming these factors is 

the recognition that partner violence is a systematic and deliberate set of tactics 

designed to control another person, and that level of control erodes victims’ freedom 

(Logan & Walker, 2009b; Stark, 2006). Further, the perpetrator directly benefits from 

controlling his partner in numerous ways (Bancroft, 2002). Training community agency 

personnel who work with victims and perpetrators, especially justice system personnel, 

to better understand partner violence and stalking as coercive control may help to 

diminish the persistent beliefs in the myths about partner violence. 

Further, this study did not provide any evidence that victims seek protective orders for 

“revenge” or to “gain the upper hand” as many key informant respondents indicated. In 

fact, victim responses imply the opposite, that women are willing to continue to risk 

their safety to protect the PO partner. Protective orders were designed to address 

primary safety needs, but they were also designed to address a variety of other needs 

partner violence victims have including housing, child custody, and child support. Judges 

don’t always use all of these stipulations but they are there to meet victim needs. Of 

course, just like with any crime, there are some who try take advantage of the system; 

and, just like any crime, most crime victims are sincere in their needs. The negative 

perceptions of women who obtain protective orders must be addressed in ongoing 

trainings. 

Recommendation 7E: This study showed marked differences between jurisdictions, not 

only among the key community professionals representing the two different areas, but 

also in victim responses and outcomes. Although there are many similarities across 

jurisdictions, the key to connecting with key community agencies and truly helping 

victims may very well lie in the context that is unique to that jurisdiction. Some of these 

differences are simply a function of different community resources and barriers (such as 

geographic isolation and travel difficulties). However, other differences represent less 

assertive employment of safety protections for victims. These differences deserve closer 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

164

scrutiny at the community level to prevent a community from becoming a higher risk 

area for serious partner violence victimization. Although this study provides a 

foundation for identifying some unique factors, more research is needed to efficiently 

identify unique jurisdictional and community contextual factors. 

Recommendation 7F: Training events for criminal justice personnel may have impact 

over time; however, this study raises a question as to how deeply anchored some of 

these beliefs might be in a culture, particularly for the rural area of this study. As 

mentioned earlier in this report, the rural Appalachian culture places a high value on the 

privacy and integrity of family systems as well as having more conservative political and 

social views which may contribute to more victim blame and negative attitudes toward 

helping partner violence victims. It may be that a broader and multidimensional 

approach to training is needed to make inroads into traditional ideas about partner 

violence as a private family matter in which both parties share responsibility. 

8. Focus future research on the remaining gaps in knowledge about the protective order process 

and outcomes. Although this study addressed many of the critical questions about the overall 

effectiveness and the strengths and weaknesses of the protective order process, three areas are 

suggested for the focus of future research.

Recommendation 8A: Although this study examined some aspects of protective order 

enforcement, important gaps in knowledge regarding protective order enforcement still 

exist, and these gaps have important policy implications. In other words, protective 

order enforcement continues to be a “black box.” Future research should link and 

measure enforcement that is clearly and directly associated with protective order 

violations. Knowing what happens in protective order enforcement and clarifying which 

actions are directly linked to the enforcement of the protective order versus other 

criminal charges are important. 

Recommendation 8B: More research is needed to identify problems with local and 

statewide data that track arrests, charges, and dispositions. There are always problems 

with any large data system, but the problems are not always identified and articulated, 

and without these measures the problem cannot be addressed. Further, without a full 

understanding of the limitations of statewide and local data, it is difficult to clearly 

interpret findings. Given advances in networked data systems, there is a clear need for 

improving court and law enforcement data systems and research could help identify 

ways to improve these systems as this information could be important in the tracking 

and analysis of progress and problems in addressing partner violence and for developing 

more effective policies. 

Recommendation 8C: This study went beyond the routine mental health and physical 

health measures of victim harm. By using a quality of life index, this study opened the 

door to a different way to quantify harm to victims. However, future research is needed 

to better quantify the harm of partner abuse, violence, and stalking so that a more 

accurate evaluation of justice system interventions can be done. The quantification of 

harm should include dimensions of daily living that are affected by violence and stalking 

such as impairment in the ability to work, to obtain education, to provide nurturing care 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

165

for children, to have free access to social contacts and other family members, and to 

experience freedom of movement within one’s community.

CONCLUSIONS 

This study started by asking three questions. The results suggest that jurisdictional and community 

context does not matter in terms of overall impact of protective orders on continuing abuse and 

violence. Half of the victims in this study, regardless of area, did not experience protective order 

violations and even for those who did experience violations significant reductions were noted in overall 

abuse, fear of future harm, distress due to the abuse, and costs. Also, stalking before the PO was 

obtained was significantly associated with PO violations regardless of area. Further, women, regardless 

of area seem to appreciate the protective order and felt it was effective. However, context does matter 

in victim experiences of the protective order process with rural women experiencing more barriers to 

obtaining protective orders, less relief from the fear and abuse over time, weaker enforcement, and 

higher quality of life and lower justice system costs. Thus, protective orders work best for those who are 

not stalked the 6 months before obtaining the protective order and for those who live in the urban area. 

Finally, the cost analysis suggests that the costs of civil protective orders are very low, especially when 

compared with the toll that partner violence exacts on victims. In essence, this study suggests that, at a 

minimum, increased safety had no additional cost to society; but when victims’ quality of life was 

considered, substantial savings accrue to society. Further, without justice system interventions, partner 

violence offenders are likely to continue a variety of criminal behaviors because partner violence is part 

of a pattern of criminal behavior rather than an anomaly. Thus, when civil protective order interventions 

are successful, substantial reductions in costs are expected to accrue over time as the abuse abates and 

victims get on with their lives. Implications from this study suggest numerous areas for improvements to 

increase access to the protective order process and enforcement. Would improvement of the protective 

order process cost more money? The answer is most likely “yes.” But study results suggest 

improvements would also provide significant cost savings to society. 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
REFERENCES 

166

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DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 

175

DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 

PUBLICATIONS 

Logan, T. & Walker, R. (2009). Civil protective order effectiveness: Justice or just a piece of 

paper? Accepted to Violence & Victims

Logan, T. & Walker, R. (2009). Toward a deeper understanding of the harms caused by partner 

stalking. Accepted to Violence & Victims.

Logan, T. & Cole, J. (2009). The Intersection of partner stalking and sexual abuse. Submitted to 

Violence Against Women.

Logan, T., Hoyt, W., & Walker, R. (2009). Costs of civil protective orders versus partner violence: 

Is it really worth it? In progress.

Logan, T., Walker, R., & Hoyt, W. (2009). Examining costs of protective order violations and 

stalking. In progress. 

Logan, T., Walker, R., & Hoyt, W. (2009). Rural and urban costs of partner violence and 

protective orders. In progress.

Logan, T. & Walker, R. (2009). Civil protective order enforcement for rural and urban 

jurisdictions: Does context matter? In progress. 

Logan, T. (2009) Rural and urban jurisdictional differences in access to civil protective orders. In 

progress.

Logan, T. (2009). Rural and urban women who obtain POs: Differences in violence experiences, 

fear, mental health, and health symptoms. In progress.

Hoyt, W. & Logan, T. (2009). Economic analysis of protective orders and their impact. In 

progress.

PRESENTATIONS 

Logan, T. (2009). Civil Protective Orders: Justice or Just a Piece of Paper and What About Costs? 

American Society of Criminology (November 4-7, 2009). 

Logan, T. (2008). Protective order effectiveness in rural and urban Kentucky: What can we do to 

build on the strengths offered by protective orders? Presented to the 10th Annual Ending Sexual Assault 

and Domestic Violence Conference (December 9-11, Lexington, KY). 

Logan, T. (2008). Protective order barriers and outcomes for rural and urban women. Presented 

to The National Institute of Justice Conference (July 21-23, Arlington, VA). 

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not 

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) 

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.