At the Crossroads of Law and Social Science: Is Charging a Battered Mother with Failure to Protect Her Child an Acceptable Solution When Her Child Witnesses Domestic Violence
Abstract
This article examines whether the policy of removing witnessing children from their victimized mothers is acceptable from both a social science viewpoint and a constitutional law perspective. Part I reviews the foundations of this policy in case law and in various state statutes. This part also examines social science literature concerning the effects of witnessing domestic violence on children and highlights the results and flaws in this body of research. Part II discusses the conflict at the heart of this policy by considering the clashing interests and rights of the parties affected by this practice-the battered mother, the child, and the state. Part III argues that this practice must be carefully re-examined because its constitutionality is questionable. This part further asserts that, based on flawed and underdeveloped social science research, a state's uniform, indiscriminate policy of removing children from their battered mothers may not be necessary to further a compelling governmental interest. This Note concludes that the current policy of charging a mother with failure to protect in domestic violence cases should be re-examined in light of numerous, less burdensome alternatives to "across the board" removal. (Author)
Description
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Article
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Keywords
exposure to violence, child witness, domestic violence, failure to protect
Citation
Trepiccione, M. A. (2001). At the Crossroads of Law and Social Science: Is Charging a Battered Mother with Failure to Protect Her Child an Acceptable Solution When Her Child Witnesses Domestic Violence. Fordham Law Review, 69(4), 1487-1522