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Do Judicial Responses to Restraining Order Requests Discriminate Against Male Victims of Domestic Violence?

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Abstract

Every state in the United States authorizes its courts to issue civil orders of protection for victims of domestic violence. Ideally, restraining orders should be available to all victims. However, consistent with the patriarchal paradigm, research suggests that judicial responses to domestic violence temporary restraining order (TRO) requests may be sex-differentiated. This paper reports on a study that explored equal protection issues in family law by evaluating gender and violence profiles of a random sample of 157 TRO petitions involving intimate partners, dating couples, and married persons in a California district court. The majority of cases involved allegations of low or moderate levels of violence perpetrated by male defendants against female plaintiffs. Although there were no systematic differences in level of violence as a function of plaintiff sex, judges were almost 13 times more likely to grant a TRO requested by a female plaintiff against her male intimate partner, than a TRO requested by a male plaintiff against his female partner. Further analyses revealed that this sex differentiation was limited to cases involving allegations of low-level violence.

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Notes

  1. We use the terms gender and sex interchangeably in this report to be consistent with past research examining paradigmatic treatment of domestic violence. As used in this context, gender refers only to the biological differences between men and woman and not the more complex connotations and constructs often associated with the term.

  2. We sampled from 2002 and 2003 TRO case files to maximize the pool of judges that were reviewing the TRO petitions (i.e., Family Court judicial officers frequently rotate to other assignments). Nine different judges reviewed and signed the TRO documents in the sampled case files.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Public Policy Research, 8984 Autumnwood Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826, USA

    Henry J. Muller

  2. University of British Columbia, BC Mental Health & Addiction Services, BC Children’s & Women’s Hospital, 4480 Oak Street, room E408, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Sarah L. Desmarais

  3. LCSW Private Practice, San Rafael, CA, USA

    John M. Hamel

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  1. Henry J. Muller
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  2. Sarah L. Desmarais
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  3. John M. Hamel
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Correspondence to Henry J. Muller.

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Muller, H.J., Desmarais, S.L. & Hamel, J.M. Do Judicial Responses to Restraining Order Requests Discriminate Against Male Victims of Domestic Violence?. J Fam Viol 24, 625–637 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9261-4

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