Does Eligibility for Protection Orders Prevent Repeat Abuseof Domestic Abuse Victims in Caribbean States?

摘要

The English-speaking Caribbean state of Barba-dos enacted protection orders legislation in 1992. The goalwas to protect household members from domestic abuseinflicted by those with whom they live. To understand theimpact of this policy, the study utilized a survival analysismodel to test the hypothesis that eligibility for protectionorders on Barbados contributed to a significantly lowerhazard of repeat abuse for women, compared to women onSt. Kitts where protection orders were not available. Datawere drawn from police reports that document incidents ofdomestic abuse reported on Barbados and St. Kitts wherehigh rates of domestic abuse persist. The study found only anegligible difference between the hazard of repeat abuse ofwomen on St. Kitts and women on Barbados.