Domestic Violence

We help courts and communities respond creatively and effectively to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.

Watch our video to learn how courts in Rockford, Ill., respond to domestic violence.

Combining lessons learned at the local level with the latest research, our experts provide community-led, data-driven support to jurisdictions across the country looking to enhance their responses to domestic violence. With support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, our experts offer training and hands-on assistance that rejects any one-size-fits-all frameworks. Our work focuses on victim safety and covers civil and criminal justice system responses to domestic violence from initial needs assessments to implementation, evaluation, and ongoing training.

We provide free individualized training and support to courts and communities on a range of topics:

informed-decision making
holistic victim services
offender accountability and engagement
reducing bias and increasing access
engaging the court
learning-based training and practical application

To hear more from us, join our email list. We’ll let you know when we have an upcoming training, webinar, or new resource.

Judge H. Lee Chitwood and Court Coordinator Jaime Clemmer discuss the innovative strategies they use for domestic violence cases in their rural Virginia county.

Initiatives

Access to Justice in Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Cases

Improving access to the courts for victims of domestic violence and those accused of harm enhances safety and accountability and ensures a more just and effective system.
Abusive Partner Accountability and Engagement

We use research and the experience of practitioners to help communities create new pathways for abusive partners to develop responsibility, healing, and ho
Domestic Violence Court

A pioneer in the creation of specialized domestic violence courts, the Center works to rethink and improve court responses to intimate partner violence.
Domestic Violence Mentor Courts

These specialized courts serve as resources for courts across the country by facilitating peer-to-peer learning and providing examples of effective practices.
Domestic Violence Training for Your Community

We train courts and communities by developing domestic violence workshops that target your specific needs and provide concrete tools to improve daily practice.
Enhancing Family Court Responses to Domestic Violence

We help courts grapple with the issues surrounding child custody and visitation for families experiencing domestic violence.
Judicial Engagement Network

Engaging judges and fostering judicial leadership is key to enhancing system-wide responses to domestic violence and sexual assault.
Justice for Families

Justice for Families supports communities in developing and implementing projects to address domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.

Publications & Digital Media

Publication
Compliance Monitoring in Domestic Violence Cases: A Guide for Courts

by Brittany Davis

Across the country, courts utilize compliance calendars in both civil and criminal domestic violence proceedings to ensure that defendants and respondents adhere to court-ordered conditions, including no new arrests, abusive partner intervention or other program mandates, supervised visitation or safe exchange, parenting plans, and child support. This guide outlines best practices to help courts develop or enhance compliance calendars.

Domestic Violence, Justice-Involved Women
Audio
Centering Survivor Voices in Abusive Partner Intervention

Juan Carlos Areán of Futures Without Violence leads a discussion on the importance of centering survivor voices in abusive partner intervention work both at the community-based and system level. They offer strategies to safely center survivor voices and experiences in the work, such as hosting multi-disciplinary case staffings, offering surrogate victim impact sessions, and including survivors in the curricula review and staff training processes.

Domestic Violence
Audio
Specialized Responses to Domestic Violence in Tribal Courts: A Conversation with Kelly Stoner

Specialized domestic violence courts have shown promise in keeping victims safe, supporting offenders in changing their behavior, and repairing harm to individuals and communities. Some tribal communities have implemented these specialized courts and dockets to address the high rates of violence that Native women experience, oftentimes by non-Native perpetrators.

Domestic Violence, Tribal Justice

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