No longer a civil matter? The design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales

Bates, Lis and Hester, Marianne (2020). No longer a civil matter? The design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 42(2) pp. 133–153.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2020.1751943

Abstract

This paper assesses the design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales. It draws on data from 400 police domestic violence incidents and 65 interviews with victims/survivors, as well as new analysis of government justice data from England and Wales, to address a gap in literature on protection orders.

The paper identifies an increasing civil-criminal ‘hybridisation’ of protection orders in England and Wales, and argues that a dual regime has developed, with orders issued by police and/or in criminal proceedings increasingly privileged (and enforced) over victim-led civil orders. Whilst protection orders are being used – as intended – flexibly to protect domestic violence victims, the way they are applied in practice risks downgrading domestic violence in criminal justice terms.

The conclusions are especially timely in light of current Government proposals to rationalise protection orders by introducing a single overarching Domestic Abuse Protection Order in England and Wales.

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About

  • Item ORO ID
  • 68001
  • Item Type
  • Journal Item
  • ISSN
  • 0964-9069
  • Project Funding Details
  • Funded Project NameProject IDFunding Body
    Not SetES/M010090/1ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)
  • Keywords
  • protection orders; non-molestation orders; restraining orders; domestic violence protection orders; civil justice; injunction; Domestic Abuse Bill; Domestic Abuse Protection Orders
  • Academic Unit or School
  • Faculty of Business and Law (FBL)
  • Research Group
  • Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL)
  • Copyright Holders
  • © 2020 Lis Bates, © 2020 Marianne Hester
  • Depositing User
  • Lis Bates
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)

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