Educating Judges, Saving Lives
A courtroom can be a place where a victim of domestic violence gets the help she needs to put herself and her children on the path to safety and restoration – or it can be a frustrating, futile diversion where no justice is dispensed and a batterer gets yet another chance to victimize a spouse or intimate partner.
The FVPF's Judicial Education Project is a groundbreaking initiative that is giving judges the education, guidelines, materials and online resources they need to make sure that their courtrooms provide real help to victims of family violence. The project helps judges make the best possible decisions in support of women and children facing violence in their homes.
In partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Judicial Education Project's National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence (NJIDV) offers education seminars for judges from around the country, helping them develop or enhance their skills in handling a wide range of criminal and civil cases involving domestic violence. These hands-on interactive seminars offer information on the dynamics of domestic violence and related issues, as well as practical advice on how to handle all aspects of these complex cases fairly and effectively.
To date, nearly 1,000 judges from across the nation have participated in the NJIDV's three-day education workshops, returning to their communities with a vastly greater understanding of domestic violence, improved tools for handling the nuts and bolts legal issues, and a stronger sense of the roles they can play in and out of the courtroom to help victims achieve safety, obtain support, and realize autonomy.
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