KEY WORDS: domestic violence; mandatory reporting laws; violent offenders; legislation. Mandatory child abuse and mandatory elder abuse laws that require.
Journal of Family Violence, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1997
Domestic Violence Victims Support Mandatory Reporting: For Others Martha L. Coulter,1,* and Ronald A. Chez2
Five states now have mandatory reporting laws when a victim of domestic violence is identified in a clinical setting, and many other states are considering such legislation. Advocates for battered women have frequently warned that abused women may not wish mandatory reporting laws. Published data derived from the opinions, wishes, and beliefs of women victims of domestic violence have been noticeably lacking. This study presents a preliminary study of 45 abused women. Results indicate that women victims overwhelmingly support mandatory reporting laws. In an apparent paradox, however, they were much less certain that mandatory reporting would have been helpful to them in their specific case. KEY WORDS: domestic violence; mandatory reporting laws; violent offenders; legislation.
Mandatory child abuse and mandatory elder abuse laws that require the health provider to report to law enforcement and/or social service agencies are present throughout the United States. These statutes are forged on the knowledge that the child and the incompetent adult cannot protect themselves and that the state has a responsibility to intervene to ensure the individuals safety. Five states now have similar mandatory reporting laws when a victim of domestic violence is identified in a clinical setting (Hyman et al., 1995). Arguments for and against application of such laws to adult victims of abuse have been cited. They are concerned particularly with the conflicts that arise between the clinician's ethical responsibility to 1 Department
of Community and Family Health, University of South Florida College of Public Health, Tampa, Florida 33612. 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida 33612. *To whom correspondence should be addressed.
349 0885-7482/97/0900-0349$12.50/0 C 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation
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respond to the needs of the patient or client, removing a competent adult's autonomy and capacity for decision making, and the inability to protect the patient from reprisal during the prolonged response time of the agencies and services involved (Hyman et al, 1995; Hyman and Chez, 1997). Advocates for abused women have frequently warned that women may not wish mandatory reporting for a variety of reasons, including fears for their safety or other concerns about breaches of confidentiality. However, many times policies are made on behalf of victims by victim advocates without research to confirm such hypotheses. Noticeably lacking have been the voices of the victims. Virtually no attempt has been made to ascertain the actual opinions of victims in this important policy debate. Also, if views of victims and victim advocates are different, no research exists to explain the differences. We have been unable to find published data derived from the opinions, wishes, and beliefs of women victims of domestic violence on this issue. This study was designed to do so.
METHOD The study was conducted between February and May 1995 at a community outreach program for battered women in a moderate sized urban Florida city. The sample size was 45. The sample was drawn from women who either were currently participating in the support group or had just completed the support group program. Each of the women filled out the self administered questionnaire. Women were recruited either while participating in support groups (35) or by mail if they had completed their program participation (10). All women (35) who were currently in support groups agreed to participate. Program staff randomly selected files of 33 women who had completed the support group program. Women currently in the groups filled out the questionnaire while an interviewer was present to answer any questions. Those who filled out the questionnaire by mail were contacted by phone first by a member of the women's program to assure that safety of the victim was not compromised and that she wished to participate in the survey. Of 33 potential recruits, 18 were selected to be contacted by telephone, based on availability of information about their whereabouts and the safety of attempted contact. Eleven women were able to be contacted and of these, ten returned the questionnaire. One woman did not participate because she felt her English was not good enough to respond. All questionnaires which were begun were completed. The final sample was 45 women, 35 who were currently participating in support groups, and ten who had recently completed support group participation.
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Following introductory questions the victims were reminded that there is a law in Florida that requires a doctor or nurse who suspects child abuse to report it to the local social service agency and that a similar law about elder abuse also exists. The purpose of the survey was our interest in finding out how they feel about laws that require similar reporting by a nurse or doctor of mistreatment of women. The self administered questionnaire covered issues related to the type of abuse that they suffered, to whom they told about the abuse, how that person reacted to the information, whether required reporting of the abuse would help them (and how) or hurt them (and how) and whether it would help others who were in situations like theirs. All responses were in yes/no format.
RESULTS
Ninety-six percent of the women had a high school degree or more education and 40% had a household income over $30,000. The median age was 41, and 58% had at least one child. Approximately 80% of victims and offenders were White. Ninety two percent of the offenders were male; the median age was 43. Offenders had slightly less education than victims, with seventeen percent having less than a high school degree. Sixty nine percent were married to the victim (three fourths for seven years or longer), but only 42% were currently living together. Forty nine percent of the subjects reported that the police had been called because the offender was hurting them, and forty-nine percent reported that the police had never been called. Twenty-nine percent reported that the offender had been arrested for what he or she did. Forty percent reported that he or she had to make a court appearance, and 44% reported that the offender had been served with a restraining order. Twenty-two percent of the offenders had been prosecuted. Seventy-eight percent of the women informed either a family member or a friend first about being mistreated. Only 2% reported telling a medical doctor. The remaining 20% told a variety of other persons first. Respondents were asked a number of questions regarding the responses of the person they told first. Respondents could give more than one answer. Seventy five percent of respondents reported that the person that they told first about the mistreatment was helpful. Fifty-one percent reported that the person was supportive. Twenty-four percent wanted to protect the victim. Twenty percent reported that their confidante was angry with the offender, but 33% reported that the confidante had a negative reaction to the victim (disbelief, anger, or did not seem to care).
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Coulter and Chez Table I. "How do you think reporting the violence would help you?"
It would not help me It would stop the violence for a while It would stop the violence for good It would teach my partner how serious abuse is I would know the abuse is not my fault It would make it easier to leave It would make my partner get help It would send my partner to jail It would make me feel safer My child(ren) would be safe My child(ren) would be happier Other Total
Number
Percent
3 15 2 24 18 15 20
7% 33% 4% 53% 40% 33% 44% 11% 42% 22% 36% 13%
5 19 10 16 6 153
Eighty percent of the women stated that health professionals should have to report cases of spouse or partner abuse or violence. Five percent said that they should not and 17% didn't know, had no opinion, or did not answer the question. Medical doctors were identified by 82% of the respondents as the person who should be required to report the incidents. Only 38% of the respondents said that a medical doctor or health provider had ever asked them if they had been mistreated and an additional 25% said that they wished that they had. About half of the women said that they would have gone to a doctor or health care worker about being mistreated if they knew that they had to report what happened, while 9% said no, and 40% did not know, were not sure, or did not answer. Those who said that they would go to a doctor if they knew that he or she would have to report it were significantly more likely to be the respondents who felt that it should be reported (51% of sample, Yates Corrected analysis, p
