Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108383

Katherine A. Vittes, MPH, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Violence Prevention Research Group, 650 C.E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, 310-825-1083, kavittes@ucla.edu and Susan B. Sorenson, PhD, School of Public Health, Community Health Sciences Dept, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951772, Violence Prevention Research Group, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772.

Background Domestic violence restraining orders, a widely available option for victims seeking to end the violence, have broad implications for injury prevention. Little is known, however, about factors that influence restraining order issuance. Because domestic violence homicides often involve a firearm and persons against whom a restraining order has been issued are prohibited from purchasing or possessing a gun, we examined whether firearms play a role in judicial decision-making regarding restraining order issuance.

Methods The Los Angeles County Superior Court restraining order clinic serves a large, diverse population. Used to determine firearm purchase eligibility, California maintains arguably the best statewide restraining order registry in the country. All applications filed at the LA clinic from May 2003 - January 2004 were linked with those in the statewide database to determine which were granted and entered into the statewide system.

Results Most (89.2%) of the 1700 applicants were granted a restraining order. The majority (90.5%) were women (usually seeking protection from a man), Hispanic (66.8%), and the mean age was 34 years. A substantial minority (43.0%) appeared in the statewide database more than once. Guns were mentioned by 14.8% of applicants. Few factors, including whether a gun was mentioned, were associated with whether a restraining order was issued.

Implications Most applications for a restraining order are granted. It appears that firearms are not associated with judicial decisions to issue a restraining order. The high proportion of repeat entries in the statewide database indicates that ongoing and different domestic violence interventions may be needed.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the characteristics of individuals for which a restraining order was granted.
• Describe firearm restrictions associated with restraining orders.
• Recognize the factors associated with judicial decisions to issue a restraining order.

Keywords: Domestic Violence,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.