Domestic Violence Advocacy Programs Developing and Fostering Collaborative Relationships with Legal System Personnel

This forum discusses steps that domestic violence advocates can take to develop and foster collaborative relationships with legal system personnel, which can enhance the experience of a victim of domestic violence when navigating the legal system.


1) Why is it important for domestic violence advocates to develop and foster collaborative relationships with legal system personnel?

Collaboration occurs when two or more organizations work together to achieve an agreed upon goal that each entity cannot achieve alone. Because victims of domestic violence have contact with various systems (law enforcement, health care, and other public services), collaboration between domestic violence advocacy programs and the various systems is critical to improving access to services. These collaborations increase the reach of domestic violence advocacy programs into the community and improve the response to victims of domestic violence. This forum focuses on relationship building and collaboration between domestic violence advocacy programs and legal system personnel.

The strength behind collaboration between domestic violence advocacy programs and legal system personnel is that each entity can share unique perspectives on their experience and expertise regarding victim safety and offender accountability. Because the legal system can be a cumbersome and overwhelming process to navigate, domestic violence advocates should be available to victims of domestic violence at any point to provide information and education about the dynamics of domestic violence, the services available, and their options within or outside of the legal system. Many victims of domestic violence have safety needs that are outside the scope of what the legal system personnel is charged with offering and capable of providing. For example, it is a police officer’s responsibility to respond to emergency calls, identify if a crime has been committed, and then take appropriate action. However, it is likely that same officer would not address the long-term relocation needs of the victim. In turn, a domestic violence advocacy program’s relationship with the legal system can increase the program’s ability to assist victims in navigating the legal system.

2) General considerations when developing and fostering relationships with law enforcement.

First, domestic violence advocacy programs must review current practices in the communities they serve. Are there domestic violence service providers already collaborating with this branch of the legal system? If so, that would be the entity with whom to begin collaborating with.

Whether this is a first approach to developing and fostering relationships with legal system personnel or improving a relationship that is already established, it is important to identify the goals of the relationship. Some possible goals are:
• increase victim safety and hold offenders accountable;
• increase referrals from legal system personnel to domestic violence advocacy program(s);
• improve the sharing of public information (such as police reports or court case status);
• improve or open the lines of communication between domestic violence advocacy programs and law enforcement personnel to improve the legal system response;
• create collaborative services with agencies within the legal system (such as allowing domestic violence advocates to be in the police department or court room to provide direct services to victims who walk in to receive assistance);
• provide training to legal system personnel about the dynamics of domestic violence and the service available.

When initiating or reestablishing a relationship with legal system personnel, domestic violence programs should convey how the collaboration can make the job of legal system personnel easier. Advocates can:
• address the multitude of the victim’s needs;
• educate the victim about the system process. A victim who understands her options may be “easier to deal with” in the eyes of law enforcement;
• link the victim to emergency and long term services, which may increase the cooperation of the victim with the system;
• liaise between the victim and the various systems.

3) Victim Self Determination and Confidentiality

A domestic violence program’s confidentiality guidelines must be adhered to throughout the collaboration. Not only is that ethically important but, in most cases, it is the law. Confidentiality applies differently to nonprofit advocates versus the legal system. For example, confidentiality is a global condition for all domestic violence programs funded by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Domestic violence programs should clearly state their confidentiality guidelines at the beginning of the collaboration building to thwart any inappropriate expectations of the information that the domestic violence program can provide to the legal system personnel regarding victims.

Also critical is that a victim’s right to self-determination must never be forgotten during collaboration. While the legal system and advocates share the goal of victim safety and offender accountability, achievement of this goal can differ. Legal system personnel who refer a victim to an advocate may do so with the hope that the advocate will “convince” the victim that safety will only be achieved through cooperation with the legal system. That is not the role of an advocate and would be imposing on the victim’s right to self-determination.

4) Preparation work essential to the success of any collaboration

• Know your laws
o Identify an expert in the area who can train the advocacy staff as to the parameters of the law.

• Know the institutional hierarchy
o Who is the correct point person to initiate this collaboration?

o Does the legal entity have defined departments that address domestic violence or are the services provided to victims of domestic violence lumped together with all crime victims?

• Review the current literature about successful collaboration building, for example: