Domestic violence applications: An empirical study of one court

Abstract

Over the last four years the authors have been engaged in a research project which seeks to identify the nature and characteristics of cases involving allegations of domestic violence. The authors were granted access to case files and to the hearings of a typical Midlands county court. This article is intended to communicate the first findings of this research study. The research identifies the number and type of applications, the nature of the violence, the circumstances of both applicants and respondents, and the remedies obtained. As such this article is a preliminary overview of a six-month study within the court.

Key Words:

• domestic violence
• empirical courts
• victims
• injunctions
• exclusion
• ouster undertakings

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Geoffrey Jones

Circuit Judge

Elham Kashefi

Research Assistant