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Intimate Partner Violence and Family Law: Focus on Separating and Divorcing Parents

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Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan

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Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most commonly cited reasons for seeking divorce or separation, and over 50% of parents entering family mediation to settle child-related issues report physical violence in their relationship. Thus, processes required or encouraged by family courts provide a possible venue to reach, and offer help at a crucial transition time to, families who have experienced IPV. Such processes would ideally help protect parents and their children from ongoing IPV and negative consequences of IPV. We discuss two processes with IPV-relevant research: family mediation and child custody evaluations. In most jurisdictions, separating parents are referred to mediation before having their case heard in court. Researchers have demonstrated the need for mediators to systematically screen for IPV and have documented subtypes of IPV among separating parents; an ongoing study examines the effects of shuttle and videoconferencing mediation versus traditional litigation for parents with high levels of IPV. In cases where parents are unable to reach agreement, the court may order a child custody evaluation. Researchers have explored how custody evaluators incorporate information about IPV into their recommendations and have made suggestions for how to handle such cases. We then briefly introduce some family law processes (e.g., arbitration, parenting coordination, parent education) for which there is little or no IPV-related research available. A case example illustrates consideration of relevant IPV issues in family mediation. We discuss policy implications, focusing on the importance of evidence-based practice in family law.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Claire S. Tomlinson, Lily J. Jiang & Amy Holtzworth-Munroe

Authors
  1. Claire S. Tomlinson
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  2. Lily J. Jiang
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  3. Amy Holtzworth-Munroe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy Holtzworth-Munroe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma, San Diego, CA, USA

    Robert Geffner

  2. Department of Psychology College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Jacquelyn W. White

  3. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    L. Kevin Hamberger

  4. Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    Alan Rosenbaum

  5. Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Viola Vaughan-Eden

  6. Education and Research, Zero Abuse Project, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Victor I. Vieth

Section Editor information

  1. Consultant, Alexandria, VA, USA

    Glenna Tinney

  2. College of Arts and Sciences - Society, Culture, and Language, University of South Florida - St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

    Shelly M. Wagers

  3. Department of Psychology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA

    Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling

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© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Tomlinson, C.S., Jiang, L.J., Holtzworth-Munroe, A. (2022). Intimate Partner Violence and Family Law: Focus on Separating and Divorcing Parents. In: Geffner, R., White, J.W., Hamberger, L.K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughan-Eden, V., Vieth, V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89999-2_144

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