250 words agree or disagrees to each question  Q1. The purpose of week 7’s forum is to discuss how courts deal with impact Intimate Partner Violators (IPV) and the impact it has, whether it deters further domestic violence or if prosecution has any effect at all. While earning an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice, there was one term mentioned repeatedly when it came to offenders; “Revolving Door”, according to Cambridge dictionary “If you say that a situation is a revolving door, you mean that people or other things are continuously coming and going, rather than staying somewhere” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2019). The same is true of IPV violators, once they receive a sentence that is not serious enough to deter the behavior, the perpetrators go back to committing the same acts. Of course, the severity of the sentence or punishment depends greatly on a couple of factors; “witness testimony, police officers documentation of past events and witness testimony” (Gosselin, 2010). Of course, to protect victims there are victim advocates that provide victims information on their legal rights and in more serious situations victims are protected at undisclosed locations to prevent the violator from coercing the victim from making convicting statements (Gosselin, 2010). Additionally, during the protection period of victims, they also receive counseling and education on abuse in order to help victims connect the dots on their situation and why it is important to separate themselves and in some cases, their children from such an environment.  One case in particular, that supports protecting victims of violence is “Giles vs. California” (2008). In summary, Dwayne Giles was on trial for murdering his girlfriend, he claimed self-defense and because the girlfriend was unavailable to give in court testimony, Giles was found not guilty and acquitted.  Whether Giles was guilty or not he was still acquitted because of the lack of security on a victim until the trial.Which brings up the DOORS famework defined as “the potential for physical and psychological harm to self and other family members and includes developmental harm to infants and children.” (McIntosh, 2011).  Abusive spouses at times do not even have to be present to make threats on victims, they can manipulate others around the victim, such as mutual friends or family (worse case scenario, the kids) to continue the psychological abuse, making it harder for the victim to testify in court.  The children involved in domestic violence cases even have a tough time testifying in court even if they witnessed the violence, because they still love their parents and as Kitzmann, Gaylord, Holt, & Kenny, 2003; Medina, Margolin, & Wilcox, 2000 stated “child witnesses of domestic violence have significantly worse…neuro-cognitive outcomes than do nonwitnesses” (Kitzmann, Gaylord, Holt, & Kenny, 2003; Medina, Margolin, & Wilcox, 2000). How can children be expected to make decisions between parents when they are .

1. 250 words agree or disagrees to each question
Q1.
The purpose of week 7’s forum is to discuss how courts deal
with impact Intimate Partner Violators (IPV) and the impact it
has, whether it deters further domestic violence or if
prosecution has any effect at all. While earning an Associates
Degree in Criminal Justice, there was one term mentioned
repeatedly when it came to offenders; “Revolving Door”,
according to Cambridge dictionary “If you say that a situation is
a revolving door, you mean that people or other things are
continuously coming and going, rather than staying somewhere”
(Cambridge Dictionary, 2019). The same is true of IPV
violators, once they receive a sentence that is not serious
enough to deter the behavior, the perpetrators go back to
committing the same acts. Of course, the severity of the
sentence or punishment depends greatly on a couple of factors;
“witness testimony, police officers documentation of past
events and witness testimony” (Gosselin, 2010). Of course, to
protect victims there are victim advocates that provide victims
information on their legal rights and in more serious situations
victims are protected at undisclosed locations to prevent the
violator from coercing the victim from making convicting
statements (Gosselin, 2010). Additionally, during the protection
period of victims, they also receive counseling and education on
abuse in order to help victims connect the dots on their situation
and why it is important to separate themselves and in some
cases, their children from such an environment.
One case in particular, that supports protecting victims of
violence is “Giles vs. California” (2008). In summary, Dwayne
Giles was on trial for murdering his girlfriend, he claimed self-
defense and because the girlfriend was unavailable to give in

2. court testimony, Giles was found not guilty and
acquitted. Whether Giles was guilty or not he was still
acquitted because of the lack of security on a victim until the
trial.Which brings up the DOORS famework defined as “the
potential for physical and psychological harm to self and other
family members and includes developmental harm to infants and
children.” (McIntosh, 2011). Abusive spouses at times do not
even have to be present to make threats on victims, they can
manipulate others around the victim, such as mutual friends or
family (worse case scenario, the kids) to continue the
psychological abuse, making it harder for the victim to testify
in court.
The children involved in domestic violence cases even have a
tough time testifying in court even if they witnessed the
violence, because they still love their parents and as Kitzmann,
Gaylord, Holt, & Kenny, 2003; Medina, Margolin, & Wilcox,
2000 stated “child witnesses of domestic violence have
significantly worse…neuro-cognitive outcomes than do
nonwitnesses” (Kitzmann, Gaylord, Holt, & Kenny, 2003;
Medina, Margolin, & Wilcox, 2000). How can children be
expected to make decisions between parents when they are
suffering mental instability themselves? With so many
advantages on the side of the perpetrator no wonder abusers?
How can IPV be deterred or prevent repeat offenders from
committing the same atrocities? Stricter enforcement and
punishment have to be taken, as well as taking away the
advantages offenders have over victims. Until then, the same
offenses will continue to happen like a revolving
door.
References:
Cambridge Dictionary (2019)
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/revolving
-door

3. Gosselin, D. K. (2010). Heavy hands: An introduction to the
crimes of family violence. 5th ed., Person College Division
Giles vs. California (n.d.). Oyez (2008). Retrieved from
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/554/353
McIntosh, Jennifer E; Wells, Yvonne; Lee, Jamie. Psychological
Assessment Vol. 28, Iss. 11, (Nov 2016): 1516-1522.
DOI:10.1037/pas0000277
Q2.
Hello Everyone,
I had always thought that when it came to abduction of children,
even children abducted by their parents, that law enforcement
and states did their jobs and got the children back safely, and
believed the other parent if their child was abducted by their
spouse. I found out with the reading this week that it is not
necessarily true that these parents are always supported and
listened to. Many law enforcement and the judicial court system
are still believing that parental child abduction is a private
matter between the parents and other family members to deal
with. Many abusive parents that abduct their children are also
not punished by the law despite having laws in place to protect
children from abuse. (Stoever, 2017) A majority of child
abductions usually involve a parent taking their child. There are
350,000 children abducted by a parent each year. (Stoever,
2017) This is a very large amount of abductions especially
seeing that many law enforcement and the judicial court system
seem to turn a blind eye to the importance of the children's
safety.

4. It seems that many parental child abductions have some sort of
abuse within the family tied to it. From reading the weekly
readings, I discovered that many children were abducted as a
way to punish the other parent that was left behind, and as a
result the children would suffer at the hands of the parent who
abducted them, as well as the parent who was left behind
worrying if their children were safe and unharmed. (Stroever,
2017) Many of the children that are abducted by an abusive
parent, often suffer from various trauma at the hands of the
other parent. This trauma can vary from the children being
abused themselves, to having emotional, or mental trauma to
work through.
Over 75% of children end up being abducted by a parent to
some location overseas and many of them are never recovered
and brought back to their home. (Stroever, 2017) Law
enforcement and the judicial court systems often do not take it
seriously when a child is taken by another parent, because the
child or children would be with the opposite parent. This
thinking could lead to a lot of problems for a child who could
be potentially in extreme danger.
The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act is a federal law that
was put in place to prevent the kidnapping of children by
parents, especially if they were to be moved across state lines.
(LaMance, 2019) With this Act in place, it makes it possible for
the courts to set stipulations in place that can determine the
home state of the child, and make the court take over the
jurisdiction of that child's case. (LaMance, 2019) I think that
having the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act in effect can
help children that could potentially be crossing state lines in a
kidnapping attempt. I think with this in place, law enforcement
may be more able and willing to respond to the situation,
especially if there is a custody arrangement in place stating the
child is to reside with the opposite parent or the other parent is
dangerous.

5. Stoever, J. K. (2017). PARENTAL ABDUCTION AND THE
STATE INTERVENTION PARADOX.
Washington Law Review, 92
(2), 861-936. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/1921686775?accountid=8289
LaMance, K. (2019). Understanding Parental Kidnapping.
Retrieved 17 October 2019, from
https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/parental-
kidnapping-lawyers.html
Q3.
We all see it on the TV or the buzz on our phones from an
Amber alert or even while driving on the highway. Family
violence and parental child abductions are no easy thing to talk
about and put’s the family in a different dynamic. No one wants
to see or think of his or her family in a violent situation. In the
ensuing paragraphs we will discuss what is family violence and
parental child abductions, the way the court and law
enforcement deals with it and the Parental Kidnapping
Prevention act. With our guide in place lets begin with what
exactly is family violence and parental child abductions.
Family violence can be described as any acts of violence against
a family member. (betterhealth.vic.gov) Family violence can be
seen as physical hitting or gun related violence, emotional,
sexual or mental. (betterhealth.vic.gov) Family violence is not
something just seen in the U.S. but the whole world. According
to Mcintosh and Wells, children who see family violence
between parents are more susceptible to pyscho-social and
neurological issues than those who have been physically
abused(mcintosh Wells. Et al) In Western 50-60% of the cases

6. seen in family court have related issues to family
violence(mcintosh, well et al) Parental abductions occur when
one parent illegally takes there child against a standing court
order of custody(legalmatch.com) In some cases the parental
abduction case may have reasoning for why a parent would
kidnap their child. Escaping domestic violence or if they have
lawful custody could be reasonable defenses as to why the
kidnapping happened. (legalmatch.com) Parentally abducted
children often experience, physical, psychological, abuse and
trauma according to stoever & the Washington Review (Stoever
et .al) Over 75% of children that are taken by their parents
internationally never make it back to the states. (stoever et. Al)
As we continue to look at the effects that parental abductions
hurt not only the child but the parents as well. How does the
court or law enforcement react? To some extent law
enforcement and the state can only do so much in some of these
cases. In other the state or law enforcement did nothing at all to
help the situation or made it worse off in the end. According to
Stoever and the Washington Review the bottom line is the state
is in an odd position trying to reach into a home and tell the
parents what to do in the situation. (stoever et. Al) Historically
the state did not want to intervene even in cases where the
individual sought help which involved battered victims and
other such situations.(stoever et al) On the law enforcement the
idea that a child is ok as long as they are with one of the parents
is highly miscalculated and miss stated. As many as 350,000
children are victims of parental abductions each year (stoever
et.al) Parental abductions are rarely handled criminally and
again are considered a family matter to the state. The media
portrays child abductors more as serial killers or pedophiles but
their parents abduct more children than any other criminal.
The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act is a federal law
that was put into play that is meant to discourage from parents
abducting children from going across state lines. The act sets

7. guidelines for the court to determine the home state of the child.
The Act also warrants the court to look at whether a child has
significant connection to a state, if it is an emergency situation,
and where the best location for the case to be heard.
Department of Health & Human Services. (2017, January 23).
What is family violence. Retrieved from
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/What-
is-family-violence.
Mcintosh, J. E., Wells, Y., & Lee, J. (2016). Development and
validation of the Family Law DOORS.
Psychological Assessment
,
28
(11), 1516–1522. doi: 10.1037/pas0000277
Stoever,Washington Review(2017) PARENTAL ABDUCTION
AND THE STATE INTERVENTION PARADOX 861-936
.
LaMance, K. (2018, July 23). Understanding Parental
Kidnapping. Retrieved from https://www.legalmatch.com/law-
library/article/parental-kidnapping-lawyers.html.