last updated February 1, 2006
Some communities and governments themselves articulate policies regarding their response to domestic violence. For example, the United Kingdom's Home Office, the division of the government that deals with internal affairs, has created the Government Policy Around Domestic Violence. In this document, the government set forth the definition of domestic violence on which it was basing its response and discussed the government's efforts to combat domestic violence, including its efforts to increase inter-agency cooperation, raise public awareness, improve the response of the law enforcement system, gather statistics on domestic violence, provide safe temporary housing, and address perpetrators' behavior. The Compendium: Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, published by the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy in March 1999, offers an overview of the policies and procedures relating to violence against women that have been adopted in many jurisdictions throughout the world. Although the report focuses on policies and protocols developed in the field of criminal justice, it includes discussion of victim protection and violence prevention protocols, including protocols relating to offender treatment programs, health care provision, and the provision of temporary housing and counseling.
The Model Domestic Violence Policy for Counties, published by the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence in January 1998, is a tool designed to assist New York State localities in "evaluating current policies and practices, identifying existing gaps, and setting goals for future action." The model policy includes a definition of domestic violence and guiding principles that should underlie all efforts to combat domestic violence. The model policy emphasizes that all policies, procedures and programs should be evaluated in light of three overriding goals: victim safety and self-determination, abuser accountability, systems' responsibility, and promotion of a coordinated response grounded in a zero tolerance approach. The model policy provides specific guidance for the following systems: employers; criminal justice, legal and judicial; health care; substance abuse treatment; child welfare; mental health; and primary, secondary and post-secondary education.
Policy Blueprint on Domestic Violence and Poverty, by Jill Davies, discusses the relationship between domestic violence and poverty, both how poverty can undermine women's ability to protect themselves from violence and how domestic violence contributes to poverty. The article then offers principles and implementation strategies for creating domestic violence protocols and policies that more effectively address these issues. | 