Protection Orders for Battered Women in Israel

Dalit Yassour-Borochowitz

doi:10.3390/laws5030032

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to describe and re-consider the findings obtained from analysis of 260 protection orders that were granted in cases of violence by men against their partners. The Prevention of Domestic Violence Law was enacted in Israel in 1991. The data collection for the study took place 10 years later, after the 1996 amendment was enacted. In this article I revisit the data, the only empirical data on protection orders in Israel, and examine both the process of obtaining protection orders and several attendant issues that are relevant to the procedure, such as the remedies the law offers and the use (or lack of it) judges make of them. The study compares the first ex parte hearings and the second hearings, and the discussion and summary sections provide an insight into the problems emerging from the description of the situation in Israel in light of the current knowledge existing in the world today.

Highlights

Over the past three decades, intimate violence against women has been extensively researched, but the majority of studies have not focused on the role and response of the legal system in the context of its rulings and considerations
The Prevention of Domestic Violence Law [5] defines domestic violence as use of violence against a family member, committing a sexual offense, or unlawfully detaining him/her; there is a reasonable basis to believe that the accused poses a substantial physical threat to his/her family; the accused has committed sustained mental abuse against a family member, or behaved in a manner that does not allow a family member to live his/her life in a reasonable and proper manner
I chose to focus on this specific kind of relationship for two reasons: (1) According to Knesset reports, it is by far the most common type of domestic violence [6]; and (2) it is my personal view that intimate violence against women is a symptom of women’s overall status in society

Summary

Introduction

Over the past three decades, intimate violence against women has been extensively researched, but the majority of studies have not focused on the role and response of the legal system in the context of its rulings and considerations. This applies to existing research on the subject throughout the world in general [1,2,3], and even more so to Israel due to the paucity of existing research on the subject [4].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion