摘要：Objectives. We compared types and frequencies of intimate partner violence experienced by women before and after receipt of a 2-year protection order. Methods. Participants were 150 urban English- and Spanish-speaking Black, Hispanic, and White women who qualified for a 2-year protection order against an intimate partner. Results. One woman committed suicide 6 weeks into the study. The remaining 149 women completed all interviews. Results showed significant reductions in threats of assault, physical assault, stalking, and worksite harassment over time among all women, regardless of receipt or nonreceipt of a protection order. Conclusions. Abused women who apply and qualify for a 2-year protection order, irrespective of whether or not they are granted the order, report significantly lower levels of violence during the subsequent 18 months. Abused women use a variety of methods in seeking assistance to halt violence inflicted upon them, including court orders of protection. Such orders restrict the access of 1 person (e.g., a male abuser) to another person (e.g., an abused woman) for a specified time. (The synonym “restraining order” is used in some jurisdictions.) Protection orders, both temporary and permanent, represent public documentation that abuse has occurred, and if the order is violated, the assailant is subject to prosecution. A protection order offers the victim legal action when the victim does not want the abuser charged criminally or jailed for an offense. However, choice of this action does not preclude other civil or criminal action. Results of research on the effectiveness of protection orders are inconsistent. We identified 8 recent longitudinal studies that measured additional intimate partner violence committed against women after a protection order had been filed. Six of the studies reported positive results, 1– 6 meaning that the respondents felt the protection order helped to end or reduce the violence. The remaining 2 studies reported high reassault rates after filing of the protection order. 7, 8 In the case of most of these studies, low response rates, short follow-up periods, and lack of comparison groups do not allow generalizations to be made. In addition, we did not identify any studies that included non–English-speaking women or measures of worksite harassment. To test the effectiveness of protection orders, we entered into a partnership with a local district attorney’s office in a large urban city in an attempt to determine whether women who are granted a 2-year protection order experience lower levels of violence than women who apply and qualify for such an order but are not granted one.
