What is it about?
Many cities have passed nuisance laws, which fine or evict people for calling 911 too often. My research documents the ways these laws harm battered women. I found that these laws can cause battered women to be evicted from their homes, which in turn can trigger a cascading series of negative consequences. I also found that they have a chilling effect on battered women's ability to call 911, which can increase the violence and put them at greater risk of harm.
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Why is it important?
There have been a handful of successful challenges to nuisance laws around the country, but most policymakers are unaware of the negative impact they have on battered women. By using extensive quotations from interviews with 27 battered women, my research shows the serious human toll that these laws inflict on domestic violence victims and their children.
Perspectives
Word needs to get out about the harm these laws inflict on battered women so that they will be changed or repealed. There has been hardly any empirical research about this topic to date, and my research is an attempt to fill this gap. I hope my findings will be used by the media to call attention to this injustice, and by advocates to challenge these laws in legislatures and the courts.
Dr. Gretchen W. Arnold
Saint Louis University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: From Victim to Offender: How Nuisance Property Laws Affect Battered Women, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, May 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0886260516647512.
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