Assessing Intimate Partner Violence Court Proceedings: A Study to Explore and Understand Women Victim-Survivors' Experiences in Specialist Domestic Vi

本研究项目涉及听取妇女亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）的受害者-幸存者对西米德兰兹郡家庭暴力专家法庭（SDVC）的看法。它的目的是让受害者幸存者进入一个关注性别不平等和权力不平衡的法庭，这些都是IPV的基础。它将通过使用受害者-幸存者的视角来分析SDVC，并通过回答以下问题来弥补文献空白，从而对文献做出原创性贡献：1)受害者-幸存者如何描述他们在SDVC过程中的经历？他们对法院人员的看法是什么？他们感觉得到了多少支持？2)法院工作人员对IPV动态和法院可获得的受害者支持的理解是什么？引入强制管制罪行对态度有何影响？3)在必要的程度上，如何以受害者-幸存者感觉得到支持来衡量法庭程序的改善？该项目关注男性在异性恋关系中的IPV行为，采用女权主义的观点，将IPV理解为根植于父权关系的概念。为了对这一罪行作出有意义的反应，IPV的性别不对称必须成为寻求理解和打击这种行为的法律程序的中心焦点。法院在处理IPV作为一种性别犯罪方面负有主要责任，政策制定者认识到受害者必须相信司法系统是公平、公正的，并且了解IPV的动态。专门法庭的存在表明，各国政府试图解决主流司法程序的不足之处，寻求提高专职人员的专业知识水平，并雇用独立的家庭暴力顾问，重点关注受害者的情感需求。然而，财政紧缩和资源减少影响了训练有素的工作人员的质量，并对欠发达国家的生存构成挑战。《2020年家庭虐待法案》对IPV的法定定义承认，IPV不仅包括身体上的虐待，还包括情感上的、强制性的或控制性的虐待。在处理IPV案件时，必须清楚了解强制控制的重要性；然而，司法部门需要提高对这一复杂领域的理解。妇女援助组织呼吁进一步研究，探讨法庭对IPV和强制控制的理解，报告法庭对受害者-幸存者的性别歧视态度。虽然SDVCs旨在提高受害者的支持和满意度，但没有研究专门调查SDVCs如何理解强制控制及其对受害者-幸存者经历的影响-本研究将填补这一空白。我将通过实地考察来观察SDVC过程，并通过问卷调查和对受害者-幸存者和法院人员的访谈来对我的观察进行三角测量，创建SDVC审判的人种志。数据分析将突出女性主义话语的共同和突出的经验。开放式问卷将确定最近经历过西米德兰兹sddvcs的女性受害者幸存者的经历，解决研究问题1和3。该地区被选择为访问，公认的剥夺（获得支持的额外障碍）和伍尔弗汉普顿的SDVC历史（最早在英格兰建立的一个）。问卷参与者将被邀请通过半结构化访谈更深入地讨论新发现。虽然探索受害者-幸存者的观点是核心，但采访SDVC法庭工作人员（包括法律和社区支持工作人员）也很重要，因为他们与法庭程序密切相关。他们对IPV的理解将有助于将受害者-幸存者的观点置于背景中，并回答研究问题2和3，为改进政策和实践的更有效战略增加证据基础。

This research project is concerned with hearing the perspectives of women victim-survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) regarding Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVC) in the West Midlands. Its aim is for victim-survivors to enter a court that is attentive to gender inequalities and power imbalances that underlie IPV. It will make an original contribution to the literature by analysing SDVCs using victim-survivors' perspectives and bridge the literature gap by answering the following questions: 1) How do victim-survivors characterise their experiences of the SDVC process? What are their perceptions of court personnel? How supported did they feel? 2) What are court personnel's understandings of IPV dynamics and court availability of victim support? How has the introduction of the coercive control offence impacted on attitudes? 3) To the extent needed, how best can improvement in court proceedings be achieved as measured by victim-survivors feeling supported? This project focuses on IPV perpetration by men in heterosexual relationships, employing a feminist understanding of IPV as a concept rooted in patriarchal power relations. To respond meaningfully to the crime, the gender asymmetry of IPV must form a central focus of legal processes that seek to understand and combat such behaviour. Courts have a major responsibility in tackling IPV as a gendered offence, with policymakers recognising that victims must have confidence that the justice system is fair, impartial and understands IPV dynamics. The existence of Specialist Courts indicates an attempt by governments to address the inadequacies of mainstream justice processes, seeking an improved level of expertise among dedicated practitioners and employing Independent Domestic Violence Advisers to focus on the victim's emotional needs. Yet, austerity and dwindling resources affect the quality of trained staff and challenge SDVC survival. The statutory definition of IPV in the Domestic Abuse Bill 2020 recognises that IPV encompasses not only physical but also emotional, coercive or controlling abuse. A clear understanding of the importance of coercive control is essential when approaching IPV cases; however, the judiciary requires improved understanding of this complex field. Women's Aid calls for further research to explore courtunderstandings of IPV and coercive control, reporting gender-discriminatory attitudes towards victim-survivors within the courtroom. Whilst SDVCs were designed to improve victim support and satisfaction, no research has specifically investigated how SDVCs understand coercive control and their impact on the experiences of victim-survivors - a gap that this research will fill. Methods I will observe the SDVC process through site visits and triangulate my observations with questionnaires and interviews with victim-survivors and court personnel, creating an ethnography of SDVC trials. Data analysis will highlight common and salient experiences in light of feminist discourses. The open-ended questionnaire will determine the experiences of women victim-survivors who have recent experience of West Midlands SDVCs, addressing Research Questions 1 and 3. This region is chosen for access, recognised deprivation (additional barriers to accessing support) and Wolverhampton's SDVC history (one of the first to be established in England). Questionnaire participants will be invited to discuss emerging findings in greater depth through semi-structured interviews. Whilst exploring victim-survivors' perspectives is central, it is also important to interview SDVC court personnel (both legal and community-based support workers) because they are so closely allied to the court process. Their understandings of IPV will help contextualise victim-survivors' views and answer Research Questions 2 and 3, adding to the evidence base for more effective strategies to improve policy and practice.