Intimate Partner Violators

Q1.

The purpose of week 7’s forum is to discuss how courts deal with impact Intimate Partner Violators (IPV) and the impact it has, whether it deters further domestic violence or if prosecution has any effect at all. While earning an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice, there was one term mentioned repeatedly when it came to offenders; “Revolving Door”, according to Cambridge dictionary “If you say that a situation is a revolving door, you mean that people or other things are continuously coming and going, rather than staying somewhere” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2019). The same is true of IPV violators, once they receive a sentence that is not serious enough to deter the behavior, the perpetrators go back to committing the same acts. Of course, the severity of the sentence or punishment depends greatly on a couple of factors; “witness testimony, police officers documentation of past events and witness testimony” (Gosselin, 2010). Of course, to protect victims there are victim advocates that provide victims information on their legal rights and in more serious situations victims are protected at undisclosed locations to prevent the violator from coercing the victim from making convicting statements (Gosselin, 2010). Additionally, during the protection period of victims, they also receive counseling and education on abuse in order to help victims connect the dots on their situation and why it is important to separate themselves and in some cases, their children from such an environment.

One case in particular, that supports protecting victims of violence is “Giles vs. California” (2008). In summary, Dwayne Giles was on trial for murdering his girlfriend, he claimed self-defense and because the girlfriend was unavailable to give in court testimony, Giles was found not guilty and acquitted.  Whether Giles was guilty or not he was still acquitted because of the lack of security on a victim until the trial.Which brings up the DOORS famework defined as “the potential for physical and psychological harm to self and other family members and includes developmental harm to infants and children.” (McIntosh, 2011).  Abusive spouses at times do not even have to be present to make threats on victims, they can manipulate others around the victim, such as mutual friends or family (worse case scenario, the kids) to continue the psychological abuse, making it harder for the victim to testify in court.

The children involved in domestic violence cases even have a tough time testifying in court even if they witnessed the violence, because they still love their parents and as Kitzmann, Gaylord, Holt, & Kenny, 2003; Medina, Margolin, & Wilcox, 2000 stated “child witnesses of domestic violence have significantly worse…neuro-cognitive outcomes than do nonwitnesses” (Kitzmann, Gaylord, Holt, & Kenny, 2003; Medina, Margolin, & Wilcox, 2000). How can children be expected to make decisions between parents when they are suffering mental instability themselves? With so many advantages on the side of the perpetrator no wonder abusers? How can IPV be deterred or prevent repeat offenders from committing the same atrocities? Stricter enforcement and punishment have to be taken, as well as taking away the advantages offenders have over victims. Until then, the same offenses will continue to happen like a revolving door.

References:

Cambridge Dictionary (2019) https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/revolving-door

Gosselin, D. K. (2010). Heavy hands: An introduction to the crimes of family violence. 5th ed., Person College Division

Giles vs. California (n.d.). Oyez (2008). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/554/353

McIntosh, Jennifer E; Wells, Yvonne; Lee, Jamie. Psychological Assessment Vol. 28, Iss. 11,  (Nov 2016): 1516-1522. DOI:10.1037/pas0000277

Q2.

Hello Everyone,

I had always thought that when it came to abduction of children, even children abducted by their parents, that law enforcement and states did their jobs and got the children back safely, and believed the other parent if their child was abducted by their spouse. I found out with the reading this week that it is not necessarily true that these parents are always supported and listened to. Many law enforcement and the judicial court system are still believing that parental child abduction is a private matter between the parents and other family members to deal with. Many abusive parents that abduct their children are also not punished by the law despite having laws in place to protect children from abuse. (Stoever, 2017) A majority of child abductions usually involve a parent taking their child. There are 350,000 children abducted by a parent each year. (Stoever, 2017) This is a very large amount of abductions especially seeing that many law enforcement and the judicial court system seem to turn a blind eye to the importance of the children’s safety.

It seems that many parental child abductions have some sort of abuse within the family tied to it. From reading the weekly readings, I discovered that many children were abducted as a way to punish the other parent that was left behind, and as a result the children would suffer at the hands of the parent who abducted them, as well as the parent who was left behind worrying if their children were safe and unharmed. (Stroever, 2017) Many of the children that are abducted by an abusive parent, often suffer from various trauma at the hands of the other parent. This trauma can vary from the children being abused themselves, to having emotional, or mental trauma to work through.

Over 75% of children end up being abducted by a parent to some location overseas and many of them are never recovered and brought back to their home. (Stroever, 2017) Law enforcement and the judicial court systems often do not take it seriously when a child is taken by another parent, because the child or children would be with the opposite parent. This thinking could lead to a lot of problems for a child who could be potentially in extreme danger.

The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act is a federal law that was put in place to prevent the kidnapping of children by parents, especially if they were to be moved across state lines. (LaMance, 2019) With this Act in place, it makes it possible for the courts to set stipulations in place that can determine the home state of the child, and make the court take over the jurisdiction of that child’s case. (LaMance, 2019) I think that having the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act in effect can help children that could potentially be crossing state lines in a kidnapping attempt. I think with this in place, law enforcement may be more able and willing to respond to the situation, especially if there is a custody arrangement in place stating the child is to reside with the opposite parent or the other parent is dangerous.

Stoever, J. K. (2017). PARENTAL ABDUCTION AND THE STATE INTERVENTION PARADOX. Washington Law Review, 92(2), 861-936. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/1921686775?accountid=8289

LaMance, K. (2019). Understanding Parental Kidnapping. Retrieved 17 October 2019, from https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/parental-kidnapping-lawyers.html

Q3.

We all see it on the TV or the buzz on our phones from an Amber alert or even while driving on the highway. Family violence and parental child abductions are no easy thing to talk about and put’s the family in a different dynamic. No one wants to see or think of his or her family in a violent situation. In the ensuing paragraphs we will discuss what is family violence and parental child abductions, the way the court and law enforcement deals with it and the Parental Kidnapping Prevention act. With our guide in place lets begin with what exactly is family violence and parental child abductions.

Family violence can be described as any acts of violence against a family member. (betterhealth.vic.gov) Family violence can be seen as physical hitting or gun related violence, emotional, sexual or mental. (betterhealth.vic.gov) Family violence is not something just seen in the U.S. but the whole world. According to Mcintosh and Wells, children who see family violence between parents are more susceptible to pyscho-social and neurological issues than those who have been physically abused(mcintosh Wells. Et al) In Western 50-60% of the cases seen in family court have related issues to family violence(mcintosh, well et al) Parental abductions occur when one parent illegally takes there child against a standing court order of custody(legalmatch.com) In some cases the parental abduction case may have reasoning for why a parent would kidnap their child. Escaping domestic violence or if they have lawful custody could be reasonable defenses as to why the kidnapping happened. (legalmatch.com) Parentally abducted children often experience, physical, psychological, abuse and trauma according to stoever & the Washington Review (Stoever et .al) Over 75% of children that are taken by their parents internationally never make it back to the states. (stoever et. Al)

As we continue to look at the effects that parental abductions hurt not only the child but the parents as well. How does the court or law enforcement react? To some extent law enforcement and the state can only do so much in some of these cases. In other the state or law enforcement did nothing at all to help the situation or made it worse off in the end. According to Stoever and the Washington Review the bottom line is the state is in an odd position trying to reach into a home and tell the parents what to do in the situation. (stoever et. Al) Historically the state did not want to intervene even in cases where the individual sought help which involved battered victims and other such situations.(stoever et al) On the law enforcement the idea that a child is ok as long as they are with one of the parents is highly miscalculated and miss stated. As many as 350,000 children are victims of parental abductions each year (stoever et.al) Parental abductions are rarely handled criminally and again are considered a family matter to the state. The media portrays child abductors more as serial killers or pedophiles but their parents abduct more children than any other criminal.

The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act is a federal law that was put into play that is meant to discourage from parents abducting children from going across state lines. The act sets guidelines for the court to determine the home state of the child. The Act also warrants the court to look at whether a child has significant connection to a state, if it is an emergency situation, and where the best location for the case to be heard.

Department of Health & Human Services. (2017, January 23). What is family violence. Retrieved from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/What-is-family-violence.

Mcintosh, J. E., Wells, Y., & Lee, J. (2016). Development and validation of the Family Law DOORS. Psychological Assessment, 28(11), 1516–1522. doi: 10.1037/pas0000277

Stoever,Washington Review(2017) PARENTAL ABDUCTION AND THE STATE INTERVENTION PARADOX  861-936.

LaMance, K. (2018, July 23). Understanding Parental Kidnapping. Retrieved from https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/parental-kidnapping-lawyers.html.