Civil orders of protection (OPs) are the only victim-initiated legal intervention for intimate partner violence. The OP process is unique because victims write a narrative account of abuse to inform judges’ decision-making. Historically, feminist scholars have considered OPs as empowering to victims, as they can signal strength-based change and requesting needed relief. OPs also serve as an important tool for some mothers who need temporary protection related to child custody and visitation. Studies of OP narratives have found that content related to future risk is associated with securing an OP, including allegations of physical and severe violence, suggesting that OPs provide needed protection. At the same time, the OP process is disempowering for some women. The content and quality of survivors’ OP narratives vary greatly, and studies have found that well-written accounts are positively associated with securing OPs, uncovering the potential influence of judges’ implicit biases. This study used logistic regression to explore how violence risk and writing quality related to the receipt of emergency OPs in a sample of 90 petitions filed by women with minor children in a large Midwest County. As expected, violence severity was positively associated with securing an OP, controlling for the mention of other cases/orders and legal representation. However, the association was no longer significant when writing quality was considered; specifically, greater readability was associated with being granted an OP. Linear structure and appearance of narratives were not related to OP outcomes. Findings underscore the ongoing need to explore how the written narrative requirement of the OP process (dis)empowers survivors and the role implicit biases may play in judicial decision-making in civil OP proceedings.

中文翻译：

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暴力风险还是写作质量？从保护令叙述预测救济结果


民事保护令 (OP) 是唯一由受害者发起的针对亲密伴侣暴力的法律干预措施。 OP 过程很独特，因为受害者会写下虐待的叙述，以告知法官的决策。从历史上看，女权主义学者认为OP是对受害者的赋权，因为它们可以发出基于力量的变化并请求所需的救济。对于一些需要与儿童监护和探视有关的临时保护的母亲来说，OP 也是一个重要工具。对 OP 叙述的研究发现，与未来风险相关的内容与获得 OP 相关，包括身体暴力和严重暴力的指控，这表明 OP 提供了所需的保护。与此同时，OP 过程也剥夺了一些女性的权力。幸存者的 OP 叙述的内容和质量差异很大，研究发现，写得好的叙述与确保 OP 呈正相关，揭示了法官隐性偏见的潜在影响。本研究使用逻辑回归来探讨暴力风险和写作质量与中西部一个大县有未成年子女的妇女提交的 90 份请愿书样本中收到紧急 OP 的关系。正如预期的那样，暴力严重程度与获得 OP、控制其他案件/命令和法律代表的提及呈正相关。然而，当考虑到写作质量时，这种关联就不再显着了。具体来说，获得 OP 与更高的可读性相关。叙事的线性结构和外观与 OP 结果无关。 研究结果强调，目前需要探索 OP 程序的书面叙述要求如何（剥夺）幸存者的权力，以及隐性偏见在民事 OP 程序的司法决策中可能发挥的作用。