Home Domestic Violence Laws

Domestic Violence Laws

Do Victims of Domestic Violence Have Rights?

When
an individual is being subjected to domestic violence and abuse, their right to
a happy and healthy life is being stolen from them. An individual has the right
not to suffer from violence and brutality and to feel secure in their own home.
They have the right to maintain control over their body and their actions. Victims
rights include the right to live without constant fear and anxiety.

These
rights are theoretical and ideological, and even though all individuals should
experience these rights, not all individuals have the advantage of living
without stress and fear. However, an individual does posses legal victim rights
under federal legislation. In is essential for an individual to become aware of
and familiar with victims rights. Victim rights help to provide an individual
who has suffered from domestic violence and intimate partner abuse with
protection and security.

One of the most essential victims rights is the right to protection from a
physical threat. If an individual is being subjected to threats, stalking, and
harassment, and they have reason to believe that their physical well being is
at risk, then they can petition a court to receive a restraining order. Once
they have completed the process of filing for a protection order, then the
offender will be prohibited from contacting, threatening, and harassing the
victim, and the perpetrator will be required to remain a designated distance
away from the victim.

Federal victim rights legislation declare that protection
orders that are issued in one state are to be observed and enforced in other
states throughout the country. The legislation many only be enacted if the
offender was given notice of the court order and if they had the opportunity to
be heard and to defend themselves. In 1996, the Brady statement was amended and
now requires an individual who is obtaining a firearm to provide a statement
that they have never been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence crime.
However, it still does not require an individual to divulge whether or not they
have been subject to a restraining order.

Victims rights include the right to speak at their abusers bail hearing.
Individuals who have been subjected to domestic violence and intimate partner
abuse are permitted to attend the offender bail hearing and discuss the threat
that the perpetrator poses. Victim rights also permit the victim to be informed
about all of the judicial hearings and advances related to their case so that
they may attend these hearings if they choose to. Once the court proceedings
are complete, victims rights require that the victim be provided with access to
information regarding the offender’s conviction and penalty.

If the perpetrator
is required to serve jail time, then the victim is to be informed about the
amount of time that their abuser will spend in prison, and when the offender is
released from prison. Victim rights require the government to provide a victim
of domestic violence with protection from their abuser. The victim will also
have the right to receive restitution for the damage that their abuser has
caused.

This may include medical and dental bills for the physical injury that
the offender caused, as well as any damage that the perpetrator has caused to
the victim’s personal property. It is very important for victims of intimate
partner abuse to become familiar with their rights so that they can ensure that
they are receiving adequate protection, information, and compensation.

The Harm of Guns and Domestic Violence

Domestic violence against women is extremely detrimental to the health and the well being of the victim. Intimate partner abuse may not only cause the victim to sustain severe physical injury, but may also result in extensive psychological and emotional damage. Many individuals who subject their intimate partner to violence and brutality use weapons in order to inflict painful wounds and death.

One of the most common weapons that are used during incidents of domestic violence against women are firearms. About half of the females who are murdered with the use of a weapon are killed by a firearm. The large majority of these firearms are handguns. Most of these female homicides were committed by a male intimate partner. Studies indicate that in houses in which there are one or more guns, domestic violence against women is much more likely to occur.

Keeping a firearm in a home increases the chance that an individual will be killed due to gun violence. Researchers suggest that keeping a gun in the home may be a vital aspect of the intensification of nonfatal domestic violence against women to murder. The federal government acknowledged the correlation between firearm possession and domestic violence, and as a result established domestic violence laws which prohibit offenders from owning a gun.

The federal government has instated domestic violence laws which prohibit individuals who have had a restraining order or protection order filed against them from owning a gun. In many cases, victims of psychological abuse with petition a court for a restraining order against an individual who has threatened their safety or their well being. A protection order will ensure that the offender remains a specified distance away from the victim, and will forbid the perpetrator from harassing and threatening the victim. In many cases, the offender has threatened to inflict physical violence upon a victim and and poses a legitimate danger to the victim.

Domestic violence laws prohibit these perpetrators from possessing a firearm. In order for this law to be executed, the protective order must have been issued as the result of a court hearing, and the court must have concluded that the perpetrator is a threat to the physical health and well being of the victim. It is also a federal crime to transfer a gun to an individual who is subject to a restraining order.

Individuals who are issued firearms from government or law enforcement personal for use in police or military service are not subject to these restrictions while they are on duty. However, domestic violence laws will still prohibit these individuals from possessing a personal firearm or from retaining a gun while they are off duty. Beginning in 1996, federal domestic violence laws made it illegal for any individual who has been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence against women to possess a firearm.

This legislation is enacted even if the individual was convicted of domestic violence before the law was established. Individuals who have been convicted to misdemeanor domestic violence crimes may never obtain a gun, not even for police or military service. It is a federal crime to transfer a firearm to an individual who has be convicted of domestic violence against women. An offender who violates any of these domestic violence laws may be penalized with up to ten years in prison.

The Violence Against Women Act

Domestic violence against women is a very severe problem
throughout the United States. Throughout most of history, it has been the
responsibility of state governments to respond to cases of domestic violence,
as well as to punish offenders. Today, state governments are still the primary
enforcer of laws regarding violence against women.

However, recent federal
legislation has given the federal government the necessary mechanisms to
prosecute individuals who subject their intimate partner to domestic abuse. In
1994, the United States’ Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act as a
result of the increasing severity and frequency of intimate partner abuse.
Congress recognized the long lasting, detrimental effects of intimate partner
abuse and the necessity of abolishing this adverse behavior.

This new
legislation permitted the federal government to help combat violence against
women by establishing laws that are punishable by the federal government. Two
laws that provide the federal government with this authority are the Gun Control
Act and provisions against interstate travel to commit intimate partner abuse.
Because this legislation allows the federal government to prosecute offenders
who are responsible for violence against women, perpetrators may be bestowed
more severe penalties. The federal government now has jurisdiction to
investigate and punish cases of intimate partner abuse.

Additionally, the Violence Against Women Act allocated billions of dollars in
order to increase the effectiveness of response to cases of intimate partner
abuse, as well as to enhance investigative techniques. This legislation also
sought to advocate and to help ensure the prosecution of perpetrators. The Violence
Against Women Act designated financial funds to the establishment of a national
domestic violence hotline.

This national crisis hotline operates twenty four
hours a day, seven days a week in order to provide individuals with essential
information, support, and advice. It supplies victims of intimate partner abuse
with the encouragement and the counsel that they need in order to escape their
harmful environment. The Violence Against Women Act has also made changes in
immigration law and allows victims of domestic violence to petition for
permanent residency in the United States.

This helps to provide protection to
victims who are not citizens of this country and provides them with the freedom
that they need in order to begin a safe and healthy future for themselves and
their children. The Violence Against Women Act seeks to guarantee that all victims
of violence and brutality have access to improved services, despite their race,
ethnicity, or what language they speak. This Act allows individuals who are
responsible for violence against women to be penalized with fines, jail time,
restraining orders, and they may also be required to take part in counseling.

Statistics indicate that since the legislation was passed, the rate of women
who are experiencing domestic violence and who are being killed due to intimate
partner abuse has decreased notably. The increased awareness about domestic
violence has provided abused women with the courage and the strength that is
necessary to seek help and assistance for their detrimental situation. The Violence
Against Women Act is saving the lives of women throughout the country.