Supporting Battered Women Involved with the Court System

Abstract

In recent years, courts and battered women's advocates have collaborated to develop court-based advocacy programs to improve domestic violence victims' experiences within the justice system and to foster safety in their lives more generally. This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of an innovative variation of these legal advocacy programs in which law students work intensively with battered women to obtain protective orders. Compared to women who received standard court services, women working with law student advocates reported significantly less physical and psychological reabuse and marginally better emotional support after 6 weeks. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.