Editing Restraining order (section)

==Effectiveness==
Experts disagree on whether restraining orders are effective in preventing further harassment. A 2010 analysis published in the ''Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law'' reviewed 15 U.S. studies of restraining order effectiveness, and concluded that restraining orders "can serve a useful role in threat management".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Benitez|first1=Christopher T.|last2=McNiel|first2=Dale E.|last3=Binder|first3=Renée L.|date=2010-09-01|title=Do Protection Orders Protect?|url=http://jaapl.org/content/38/3/376|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online|language=en|volume=38|issue=3|pages=376–385|issn=1093-6793|pmid=20852224}}</ref> However, a 2002 analysis of 32 U.S. studies found that restraining orders are violated an average of 40 percent of the time and are perceived as being "followed by worse events" almost 21 percent of the time, and concluded that "evidence of [restraining orders'] relative efficacy is lacking", and that they may pose some degree of risk.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://tva.sagepub.com/content/3/4/261.abstract?ijkey=8744f16c12f1218e235152839c61fb3f35b72a14&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha|title=The Tactical Topography of Stalking Victimization and Management|journal=Trauma Violence Abuse|doi=10.1177/1524838002237330|date=October 2002|volume=3|number=4|pages=261–288|last1=Spitzberg|first1=Brian H.|s2cid=146721263|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Other studies have found that restraining orders offer little or no assurance against future interpersonal violence.<ref>Grau J, Fagan J, and Wexler S. Restraining orders for battered women: Issues of access and efficacy. Women and Politics, Vol. 4, 1984, pp. 13–28.</ref><ref>Harrell A and Smith B. Effects of restraining orders on domestic violence victims. In Buzawa C and Buzawa E (eds.): Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work? Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996. p. 229.</ref><ref>McFarlane J, Malecha A, Gist J et al. Protection orders and intimate partner violence: An 18-month study of 150 Black, Hispanic, and White women. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 94, No. 4, pp. 613–618.</ref>  A large America-wide telephone survey conducted in 1998 found that, of stalking victims who obtained a restraining order, only 30% of these orders kept the stalker away.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021|reason=Survey not named}}

Threat management experts are often suspicious of restraining orders, believing they may escalate or enrage stalkers. In his 1997 book ''The Gift of Fear'', American security specialist [[Gavin de Becker]] characterized restraining orders as "homework assignments police give to women to prove they're really committed to getting away from their pursuers," and said they "clearly serve police and prosecutors," but "they do not always serve victims". The [[Independent Women’s Forum]] decries them as "lulling women into a false sense of security," and in its Family Legal Guide, the [[American Bar Association]] warns “a court order might even add to the alleged offender's rage".<ref>{{cite book|title=American Bar Association Family Legal Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/americanbarassoc00amer_2|url-access=registration|isbn= 978-0375720772|publisher=Random House Reference|date=27 April 2004}}</ref>

''[[Castle Rock v. Gonzales]]'', {{ussc|545|748|2005}}, is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled, 7–2, that a town and its police department could not be sued under {{UnitedStatesCodeSub|42|1983}} for failing to enforce a restraining order, which had led to the murder of a woman's three children by her estranged husband.

Both parties must be informed of the restraining order for it to go into effect. Law enforcement may have trouble serving the order, making the petition unproductive. A study in the United States found that some counties had 91 percent of restraining orders non-served.<ref name="Springer Pub"/> A temporary order of restraint ("''ex parte''" order) is in effect for two weeks before a court settles the terms of the order, but it is still not in effect until the alleged abuser is served.{{Cn|date=November 2024}}