Protection against Domestic Violence By Law Enforcement Agencies

Domestic violence is a term used to characterize a pattern of obvious and subtle hash and brash behaviors resulting into physical and psychological abuses between partners in any types of intimate relationships or other members in a household.  Domestic violence can be in a cumulative form of physical, emotional, verbal, economic and sexual abuse or any other type of control mechanism to coerce another individual perpetually. Consequences of domestic violence vary from anxiety, dismay, social disconnect, fragile mental state, tension, breakdown mental and unpredictable consequences such as illness, homicide or permanent disfigurement.

In 1994, the US Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act ("VAWA"). This Act, and the 1996 additions to the Act, recognizes that domestic violence is a national crime and that federal laws can help an overburdened state and local criminal justice system. Available practical information in the US federal domestic violence laws and penalties and the rights of federal victims can be found here: Federal Domestic Violence Laws http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/documents/federallaws.pdf

This includes:

How to report  domestic violence crime?

What are the federal crimes and penalties?

What qualifies as domestic violence misdemeanor?

What is a a protection order?

Who is an intimate partner?

Can concerns be heard in federal court?

What are Victim’s rights?

Where and how to find help?

Speakers include Chief Police Inspector Katarina Paulsson from Åmål Police in Sweden, and Police Investigator Karpla Karney from Pleebo Police in Liberia and NYPD representative from Domestic Violence Unit. We could sufficiently capture the framework for protection against domestic violence by spanning law enforcement policies across three continents, namely Africa, Europe, and America.