Vol 2, No. 4 - Winter 2003

Inside This Issue:

Below

• Note from the Editor
• Dating Bill of Rights
• What's New at the Center?
• We Want Your Feedback!

Right

• Dating Violence in Adolescence
• The Legal Void of Adolescent Domestic Violence
• Establishing a Juvenile Domestic/Family Violence Court: An Interview with Judge Eugene Hyman
• Resource Corner 

Please Answer Our Survey Below!

Note from the Editor

     This newsletter is the product of the Family Violence Community of Practice-a collaborative team of researchers, educators, and information specialists with the mission of improving the justice system's response to violence within the family.  We are pleased to introduce the latest issue of The Family Violence Forum.  In this issue, we highlight the problem of juvenile dating violence and feature court-based intervention programs.
     On a personal note, the Community of Practice will miss the camaraderie of Lynn Levey, who recently departed the National Center for State Courts.  We wish Lynn all the best in her new career in upstate New York.
 
-Brenda K. Uekert
 

Dating Bill of Rights

I have the right

To trust myself and my instincts

To ask for a date

To refuse a date

To suggest activities

To refuse any activities, even if my partner is excited about them

To express my opinions and have them respected

To be respected as a person

To disagree

To make mistakes

To change my mind

To have a partner who is faithful

To have my limits respected

To tell my partner I want affection

To be listened to

To be cared about

To refuse sex with anyone, anytime

To not be hit, slapped or shoved

To not be humiliated in public or private

To break up with someone who hurts me, even if they love me

To ask for help if I need it

Excerpted from ALERT, vol. 2, no. 1 (April 2001), a newsletter produced by the King County Women's Advisory Board-Seattle, Washington

What's New at NCSC?

     In addition to the project on juvenile family and domestic violence, National Center staff will begin work on two new grants.

• Project Passport (NCSC Contact: Denise Dancy, ddancy@ncsc.dni.us)
 Project Passport aims to improve interstate recognition and enforcement of protection orders through the adoption of a recognizable cover sheet with common data elements. This project originated in Kentucky, spearheaded by Chief Justice Joseph Lambert and Governor Paul Patton. The project's key component was collaboration between Kentucky and its border states to adopt a recognizable cover page for their orders of protection. The National Center will expand Project Passport to several other regions of the country, with the ultimate goal of creating a nationally recognizable cover sheet. By literally getting the states to adopt common data elements and recognizable cover sheets, victims of domestic violence and their children will be better protected when they cross state lines. (Funded by the Office on Violence Against Women)
 
• Serving Limited English Proficient (LEP) Battered Women: A National Survey of the Courts' Capacity to Provide Protection Orders. (Principal Investigator: Brenda Uekert, buekert@ncsc.dni.us)
This project, guided by an impressive advisory group of judges, court managers, language experts, and representatives of community-based organizations, tackles a pressing issue in the justice system: the ability to provide services and justice in an equitable manner. The project will be the first of its kind to collect national-level data on the ability of LEP battered women to obtain protection orders and will document promising practices that can be replicated to improve services to the LEP community. (Funded by the National Institute of Justice)

We want your Feedback!

     The Family Violence Community of Practice would like to hear from you.  Do you have any suggestions for topics we should cover in the newsletter?  Just drop us a note so that we can better address the needs of the court community and those who serve families affected by domestic and family violence.  Contact: Madelynn Herman (mherman@ncsc.dni.us).

Dating Violence in Adolescence
By Denise O. Dancy

     Dating violence among teenagers is considered a hidden epidemic. It has many of the "all too familiar" markers of family and domestic violence (i.e., issues of power and control over another, behaviors ranging from verbal put-downs, intimidation and isolation to physical acts of abuse, etc), but with fewer remedies and redress. Yet, according to some research, it is more prevalent than violence in adult relationships. Despite that, many states' domestic violence definitions and laws still exclude minors-both as the perpetrators and those suffering the abuse.  And, because it often occurs in an age group where peer acceptance is highly valued, it goes unreported, unseen or discounted more frequently. 

     Statistics indicate both the extent of dating violence among teens and the impact. 

• Young women between the ages of 16 and 24 have experienced the highest rates of violence by their current or former boyfriends
• 67% of sexual assaults reported by adolescent and college-aged women are date rapes
• Thirty-eight (38%) of all date rape victims are young women between the ages of 15 and 24
• Over one-fourth of 9th-12th grade girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse, or date-forced sex
• Over 70% of pregnant teens or teen parents are beaten by their boyfriends; this group is at greatest risk in their relationships
• More than three-fourths (78%) of all perpetrators start abusing or have been in a relationship where they abused before they are 20 years of age

     A leading indicator for becoming a perpetrator of dating violence is witnessing interparental abuse (especially where the mother was abused by the father/partner) or having suffered child abuse. Other warning signs for the potential for violence in dating includes substance use/abuse, possessiveness or jealous behavior, strict, traditional beliefs about the male-female role in relationships, preferring younger partners, a history of harassment or threats to past or current partners, marked changes in personality or mood, and suicide threats or attempts over the course of the relationship.
     Young women involved in a violent relationship tend to suffer from long-term health effects-both physical and emotional. Physical and sexual dating violence against adolescent girls is associated with higher risk for substance abuse, unhealthy weight control behaviors, high-risk sexual behaviors, pregnancy and suicidality. 
     Societal efforts-both as individuals and institutions-to shield our youth from the realities of the adult world can, in some instances, actually engender more vulnerability and less accountability.  Greater awareness and attitudinal shifts by family and friends, academic institutions, lawmakers and the judiciary are needed to ensure that violence and abuse does not move beyond the passage of adolescence. 

The Legal Void of Adolescent Domestic Violence
By Brenda K. Uekert

     Traditionally, juvenile courts and state laws have ignored the prevalence of adolescent domestic and family violence and the special problems it presents. Domestic violence laws vary considerably from state to state. Even within a state's penal, family, health, and civil codes, the definition of domestic violence can vary. 
     Two common restrictions frequently result in the practical exclusion of adolescents from the protection of domestic violence statutes.  First, many states have marriage, cohabitation, or parental requirements-21 states do not include dating violence in their definitions of domestic violence. Second, some states have age restrictions in their domestic violence legislation that exclude minors. Even teens who are co-parents or who were or are cohabitants are denied relief in twelve states because these statues specifically require majority status or emancipation. For example, until recently, California penal code defined domestic violence as:

abuse committed against an adult or a fully emancipated minor who is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or person with whom the suspect has had a child or is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship (C.R.S §13700 (b)).  

     In September 2002, the California governor approved Assembly Bill 2826. The Bill expanded the penal code so that "domestic violence" now includes "abuse against any minor who is involved in one of those relationships or who previously had one of those relationships with the suspect."
     The exclusion of minors from domestic violence laws in many states carries over to protection orders. Only seventeen states provide a mechanism for minor victims of dating violence to apply for protective orders, and some of those states require the involvement of an adult. The current state of affairs led one commentator to conclude:

The failure to incorporate adolescents into domestic violence policies engenders a brutal social reality: adolescents are left without legal recourse and without mandated or otherwise available services.  In essence, therefore, adolescent battering remains invisible.1 

1  R. J. R. Levesque, 1997. "Dating Violence, Adolescents, and the Law," Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, 4, page 357.

Establishing a Juvenile Domestic/Family Violence Court: An Interview with Judge Eugene Hyman
By Lynn Levey

NCSC's Lynn Levey interviewed Eugene M. Hyman, Judge of the Superior Court of California for the County of Santa Clara. In 1999, Judge Hyman started the Juvenile Delinquency Domestic and Family Violence Court.

LL: What kinds of resources do you need to make this work?
EH: We need cooperation from a number of agencies, including court administration, probation, district attorneys, public defenders, mental health, batterer's programs, police, Juvenile Ranch and Rehabilitation Facility, and Legal Advocates for Children and Youth (LACY).

LL: What are the program's particular strengths?
EH: One judge so there is consistency and that the judge is well trained. This would be true of all of the collaborative members. Protocols that help transition when people change assignments. The Court is not personality driven, but rather policy driven.

LL: If a judge or court administrator is interested in beginning such an initiative, what are five things they need to consider in preparation?
EH:
1. You must have a judge who is willing to start such a court, no one else can command others to attend a meeting and move from there.
2. You must have probation on board as you need standardization with them.
3. It is helpful to have the district attorneys and public defenders on board. District attorney involvement is especially important for consistency.
4. It is very helpful to have a numbers person. Statistical information is very important. Figure out what you want to capture and collect it. It will be necessary to prove what you have accomplished.
5. Victim services are essential. There should be at least one advocate/shelter involved in the program and it is helpful to have a youth advocate for protection and child custody orders.

LL: Do you think communities realize what a pervasive problem dating violence in younger people has become?
EH: In talking about this issue to judges throughout the state and nation, I know that this issue is not on the radar screen at all. Judges have told me that they maybe see one or two cases a year. I have two fulltime domestic violence probation officers carrying a combined 60 cases, plus about 45 cases that are dismissed from probation each year. I know that we aren't getting close to finding all the juvenile domestic violence that is out there. We need help from the schools. But getting schools interested is a tough sell. They don't want to believe that it is happening or they describe it as "just a push," "you know puppy love!"

LL: What leverage do you have as a juvenile judge that a criminal judge might not?
EH: I can remove children from the home and put them into placement. I can award child custody (I don't except on a temporary basis). Parents must pay for the services that are provided by probation and that sometimes forces them to take an interest in their children. I can also address school issues (requiring the child to attend school, etc.).

LL: What aspect of this work do you find the most satisfying?
EH: Helping to break the cycle of domestic violence. Keeping young children and victims safe, providing them services. Also, providing the juvenile batterer with services. When they return to court for reviews seeing improvement is satisfying.

LL: Challenging?
EH: Defense attorneys who don't realize how they can represent their clients, while at the same time promoting rehabilitation and family safety. Turnover of staff. Training when there aren't the funds and sometimes the interest. Procedures all need to be reviewed once a year and that is a difficult process obtaining the cooperation of all involved.

Resource Corner:
New Teen Dating Violence Resource Guide Now Available Online
By Madelynn Herman

     The newest addition to the seven other family violence resource guides in the NCSC CourTopics database is the Teen Dating Violence Resource Guide, now available online at:  http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Education/Kis_FamVioTeenGuide.pdf.  This resource guide provides a host of valuable information on teen dating violence as in regards to laws & legislation, program examples & materials, prevention programs, research & evaluation, teen perpetrators, statistics, and curriculum.  A few highlighted resources from this resource guide include: 

• Dating Violence Legislation.  National Center for Victims of Crime.  Provides an overview of the issue of dating violence, the definitions of dating, inconsistencies in the law, and protection of victims in same-sex relationships.  This website also provides links to state statutes, minor's protective orders, and statistics.

• Buel, Sarah M. Why Juvenile Courts Should Address Domestic Violence: Promising Practices to Improve Intervention Outcomes. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, vol. 53(1), Spring 2002.  This article discusses innovative family violence programs for juveniles in Santa Clara County, California; Travis County, Texas; and King County, Washington.

• The Teen Dating Violence Intervention and Prevention Program.  Massachusetts Department of Education.  A statewide program in Massachusetts. This program produced a comprehensive brochure that provides information on abuse and rape laws, and numerous checklists including a dangerousness assessment and a controlling behaviors checklist.

• Meyer, Heather and Nan Stein. Review of Teen Dating Violence Prevention.  Compiled by the Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, 2000.  National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center Website.  Provides 3 charts: the first one provides a brief overview of 8 programs, the second discusses the key issues/shortcomings that they have identified in the curricula/programs addressing teen dating violence and the third chart identifies the areas where programs reported significant outcomes as a result of the curriculum intervention.  Recommendations are also provided.

     Other topic-specific family violence resource guides available online include: Elder Abuse Resource Guide, Domestic Violence in the Workplace Resource Guide, Domestic Violence in the Military, Firearms and Domestic Violence, Victims Resource Guide, Family Violence Resource Guide, and the Best or Promising Practices for Family Violence Reference List.  To request information or technical assistance from NCSC's Knowledge and Information Services or the NCSC Family Violence Community of Practice, see our online request form or call 800-616-6164.   

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