Battlefords Domestic Violence Treatment Option (BDVTO) Court: Examining the Standpoint of Female Victims

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious and complex social issue with potentially fatal consequences. Beginning in the 1990s, specialized domestic violence courts gained prevalence throughout several jurisdictions in Canada as a mechanism to address victims’ needs (i.e. safety, support, participation and empowerment) while, largely by the use of therapeutic jurisprudential tenets, increasing offender accountability. The Battlefords Domestic Violence Treatment Option (BDVTO) began holding bi-weekly docket court on April 10, 2003. This study presents the lived experiences of three female survivors who volunteered to share their standpoint, regarding their involvement with the BDVTO Court. Through the survivors’ detailed first-hand testimonies, obtained through qualitative, semi-structured interviews, this study explores whether the BDVTO Court is achieving its stipulated goal of meeting victims’ needs. A feminist standpoint theory was utilized as the epistemological position throughout the study. Aiming to give voice to females at the margins, this theoretical position informs the manner in which the interviews were conducted, the data analyzed, the findings presented, and how the recommendations and implications for further research were established. In order to determine whether the Court (process) is able to fulfill victims' needs, the preliminary inquiry required establishing the survivors' precise needs as they expressed them. Although many of the survivors' assertions were consistent with the literature, particularly regarding the need for support, information, participation, and so forth, none of these needs were more vital than safety. Through the survivors' lived experiences, it was found that the BDVTO Court cannot in isolation bring about optimal safety for female victims. Consequently, it is advanced in the final chapter that, in order to meet female survivors' needs, a multi-pronged strategy must be employed to reduce the occurrence of spousal violence and, when it does occur, better protect victims. While addressing the shortcomings in the application of the law as well as transforming the prevailing community attitudes and beliefs, this strategy intends to strengthen the various components of the Court.