annotated bibliography of new zealand research into family violence

orders made to the Christchurch Family Court in the 9-month period from 1 January 1997 to30 September 1997. This study was completed for the author’s LLM dissertation, from whichthis article has been written. The research had two main objectives. The first was to examinehow domestic violence impacted on the applicants and their children, including violencewitnessed by children. It also considered the severity of the abuse that was happening prior tothe application being lodged. The second objective was to look specifically at why someapplicants later requested to withdraw their application for a protection order, and to examinethe Court’s decisions in these cases. The author makes comparisons between applicants whowithdrew their applications and those that didn’t, looking at variables, such as the type ofrelationship, the nature and severity of the violence, whether children or pregnancy wasinvolved, and history of withdrawing applications for a protection order.The research findings show that in the majority of cases the applicants for protection orders:were women; had been in a defacto relationship and the relationship had lasted for more thanone year; had separated from their partner before applying for a protection order, but had beenvictims of domestic violence again after the separation; had children under the age of 17 yearsstill living at home; and had suffered from a variety of forms of abuse. In the majority ofcases, applications for protection orders were granted. Just under one-third of applicantsapplied to withdraw their protection orders. This was more likely to happen if an applicant’spartner gave notice that they were going to defend the application. A high majority of theseapplications were discharged by the Court.Pettit, M. T. (1999). Violence in relationships: The experience of alcohol dependent women.Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/13149.pubTopic Areas: Intimate partner abuse, Physical abuse, Psychological/emotional abuse,Women, Drug and alcohol abuse, Prevention/intervention/treatment, Demographics/statisticsAbstract: This dissertation describes a survey of the extent of violence and violence-relatedbehaviours experienced by women attending for alcohol and drug treatment. Eighty womenclients of the Community Alcohol & Drug Service, Christchurch (CADS) were interviewedwithin 2 weeks of agreeing to participate in the CADS Women’s Study, of which theViolence questionnaire was one section. The results indicate that the women experienced highlevels of many different types of violence. Individual violent behaviours or violence-relatedbehaviours had been experienced by as many as 90% of the women. Violence occurring onceor more a week was reported by 32.5% of the women, while violence at intervals rangingbetween one to three times a month and once or more a day was the experience of 65% of thewomen. They predominantly cited the personal attributes of their partners, rather than otherfactors, as the main reasons for the violence occurring. Despite just under half the womenneeding medical attention due to the severity of injuries received during violent altercations,only small numbers sought help through external agencies. Weapons, as a means of defence,were used by only 11 of the 76 women - most often the weapon being an easily accessible,household item. The women’s main reason for not seeking help was a belief that the violencewas their problem, with reduced trust in relationships being the main effect on their lives. Theauthor establishes the extent of the violence facing New Zealand women presenting foralcohol and drug treatment and discusses the implications of this. Directions for futureresearch are suggested.Source: Author’s abstractPipe, M.–E., & Seymour, F. (Eds.). (1998). Psychology and family law: A New Zealand perspective.Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press.146