Protecting the rights of victims of domestic violence

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Abstract

Laws to protect victims of domestic violence are only effective when they are understood and enforced by the courts, law enforcement, attorneys, domestic violence counselors, and advocates. Attorneys with the Montana Legal Services Association AmeriCorps*VISTA Project provide legal representation for domestic violence victims to bring specific issues before the court and ensure their legal rights are protected. This paper by Laura Aguiniga and Lori Miller won third place in the 1998 Northwest National Service Symposium, hosted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL).

Issue

Growing momentum in the battered women's movement in the past two decades has successfully taken domestic violence from the family sphere and redefined it as a criminal problem. However, laws to protect victims are only effective when they are understood and enforced by the courts, law enforcement, attorneys, domestic violence counselors, and advocates. The role of the Montana Legal Services Association AmeriCorps*VISTA Project is to abolish the distinction between the written law and contemporary practice, which can ignore domestic violence as a private problem rather than a community concern.

Action

The first responsibility of AmeriCorps*VISTA attorneys and advocates is to listen. All requests for assistance from domestic violence victims are treated as priority, and it is essential that all victims feel they are being taken seriously.

The second responsibility is to involve others who will take victims seriously. Victims are routinely encouraged to consult with domestic violence or mental health counselors, to take advantage of local shelters, to file police incidents, and to ask the court for an Order of Protection. An Order of Protection can direct an accused abuser to stay away from the alleged victim and her children, and may also require the accused abuser to complete violence counseling or alcohol dependency treatment. In this manner, the community is made aware of the seriousness of what had previously been ignored or regarded as a private problem.

The third responsibility is to ensure that the court takes the victims seriously. The credibility of victims will be questioned continuously. Victims are required to justify their claims of abuse both in writing and verbally before the court. AmeriCorps*VISTA attorneys and advocates trained by the Montana Legal Services Association AmeriCorps*VISTA Project are available to help victims tell their stories in a legally relevant and convincing way.

AmeriCorps*VISTA attorneys are required to become experts in the substantive law on domestic violence. In a part of the country where most judges are not attorneys and legal resources are not always available, AmeriCorps*VISTA attorneys often provide representation for domestic violence victims to bring specific issues before the court. AmeriCorps*VISTA attorneys and advocates also solicit opinions from the County Attorney or State Attorney General to educate judges about the new domestic violence legislation and to assist judges in the interpretation of recent laws that protect victims of domestic violence.

AmeriCorps*VISTA attorneys use their presence at Order of Protection hearings to increase judicial awareness of both the substantive law and the psychological issues pertaining to victims of domestic abuse.

Context

The Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) is a private, statewide, not-for-profit corporation established in 1968. MLSA is not a federal or state agency. MLSA receives the majority of its funding from the national Legal Services Corporation, with additional support from the Montana Justice Foundation. MLSA also receives funding for limited assistance in domestic violence cases from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Citation

Aguiniga, Laura and Lori Miller. "Cowboy Justice: Domestic Violence in Rural Montana." Stories of Service: National Service in the Northwest. Portland, Oregon: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 1998.

Outcome

With AmeriCorps*VISTA presence, not only do courts grant more protections, the system itself becomes more responsive to the needs of victims. Increased judicial responsiveness to petitioner requests and an increase in the number of judicially ordered counseling sessions led to the creation of a new anger-management program in a rural area that previously had no access to such services.

AmeriCorps*VISTA members have shown how a closely knit rural community that is committed to assisting victims can insure that the courts are knowledgeable, responsive, and that they take domestic violence seriously.

Evidence

It appears that the number of final Orders of Protection granted in eastern Montana is directly linked to the presence of an advocate or attorney at the hearing. In five courts where an AmeriCorps*VISTA lawyer or an advocate was at the final hearing, almost 100 percent of the Orders of Protection were granted. In districts where 75 percent or fewer of the victims were accompanied by an AmeriCorps*VISTA lawyer or an advocate, the number of orders granted started to decrease.