Gender and Family Justice

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 Gender and Family Justice team provides 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.

DV RISC Clearinghouse

To support a coordinated response to domestic violence homicide prevention and reduction, the Domestic Violence Resource for Increasing Safety and Connection (DV RISC), created with the support of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), is a national resource center featuring a wide variety of resources on risk and lethality assessments, multi-disciplinary community readiness tools, and training and technical assistance for communities working to identify and implement effective strategies.

Visit DVRISC.org

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 hope for themselves, their families, and the
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 thousands of professionals each year on improving their approach to domestic violence, sexual abuse, dating violence, and stalking.
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

The Justice for Families program supports communities that are improving how the justice system approaches families experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.

Publications & Digital Media

Video
The Tucson City Domestic Violence Court - Information and Videos

The Tucson City Domestic Violence Court is a high-volume criminal misdemeanor court. The Court specifically provides services and safety for Deaf victims of domestic violence through their partnership with Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse and the Community Outreach Program for the Deaf.

Aiding Survivors, Gender and Family Justice, Strengthening Families
Video
The Tulsa County Domestic Violence Court - Videos

The Tulsa County Domestic Violence Court in Oklahoma is a criminal court model that handles misdemeanor and felony domestic violence cases and coordinates with family court in an urban setting. Learn from the court and stakeholder team about this specialized domestic violence court and how it tackles offender accountability, working collaboratively, and victim safety.

Aiding Survivors, Addressing Racial Disparities, Gender and Family Justice, Strengthening Families
Audio
Prioritizing Self-Reflection: Using Self-Reflection to Create Models of Accountability

Juan Carlos Areán from Futures Without Violence speaks with Jojopahmaria Nsoroma, the owner and steward of Higher Expectations Consulting Collaborative, and James Encinas, Spanish program facilitator and trainer at the Family Peace Initiative, about the importance of self-reflection in facilitating abusive partner intervention programs. The group explores the ways in which engaging in ongoing self-reflection is an essential part of a facilitator's work in order to create a model of accountability for facilitators and participants alike.

Gender and Family Justice, Reducing Trauma, Reducing Violence

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News

Empowering Child Witnesses and Victims – Part II

With a series of interactive graphic novels, we help guide and support children navigating the legal system as victims and witnesses. An additional set of guides we worked to create ensure that practitioners have what they need to do the same.
Empowering Child Witnesses and Victims – Part I

Well over 100,000 children have to interact with the legal system each year in the United States, as victims or witnesses to crime. A series of graphic novels we helped to create use storytelling and illustration to empower children through the process.
Changemakers in Action: Meet Sarah Reckess

What started as part-time legal work as a brand new mom over 12 years ago has transformed into the role of program director for Sarah Reckess, who is leading and growing the Upstate New York office of the Center for Court Innovation. Based in Syracuse, Sarah’s team works within the court system and alongside communities throughout the Upstate New York region, from cities like Buffalo to rural communities east of Syracuse.

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We work with reformers around the world.

Do you need help solving a problem, launching a new initiative or improving an old one?

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