Almost 40 percent of respondents involved in the latest Court User Survey said that they faced difficulties in going to the police or courts when coming to the courts for restraining orders and other family law outcomes when faced with family violence.
In a press statement from the Palau Supreme Court, the survey was conducted between 25 November 2019 and 31 January 2020 at the court building in Koror, and there were 65 survey respondents.
Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents were female. The press release stated that “this is because women initiate nearly 8 out of 10 applications for restraining orders, and 7 out of 10 family law cases.”
It said 40 percent of the 65 respondents said the most common difficulty in going to the police or court was delayed in police serving a restraining order. Other difficulties included a lack of knowledge and fear of stigma or physical attacks.
However, 98 percent of the respondents said that going to the police or court reported getting the results they wanted.
Eighty-nine respondents said those that reported to the police say were impressed by some particularly good services offered by the police or courts. “For example, one respondent noted a ‘feeling of being protected from the government,” it said.
The survey complemented the review of the Family Law and Family Protection Act. “Court decided to undertake the 2019/2020 court user survey. The survey aimed to improve access to the courts with a focus on family law matters and violence against women and children. “
The court user survey focuses on family law and domestic violence cases given the recognized relationship between the two, “it added.