Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Waikato.

In this thesis, the author argues that a more comprehensive approach is needed to end violence against women in which multiple interventions are delivered in a consistent and coordinated manner with the twin objectives of enhancing the safety and autonomy of women and holding men accountable for the use of violence. Within the justice system, this can be achieved by legislative and administrative reforms which reduce the ability of decision makers to exercise discretion in woman-blaming and batterer-colluding ways, which ensure that there is a common set of priorities across agencies, which provide for the sharing of safety-relevant information between agencies and which include mechanisms for battered women's advocates to monitor institutional practices so that decision makers can, in effect, be held accountable to battered women. This study involved case studies of women who experienced difficulties with protection order enforcement; key informant interviews for an overview on the justice system's responses to battery; and lastly, document analysis of District, High, and Family Court decisions with respect to domestic violence.--AUTHOR'S ABSTRACT