An Interdisciplinary Approach to Domestic Violence in the Legal System: The Importance of Victim Advocates

Domestic violence is an aspect of the legal system where there typically is a lack of communication among the institutions involved. Therefore, the benefit of an interdisciplinary approach to domestic violence in the legal system is assessed by emphasizing the importance of the presence of victim advocates in the courtroom. In this dissertation, the issue will be evaluated through a feminist point of view— with the belief that domestic violence is a gendered phenomenon in which the majority of the perpetrators are male and the victims are female. In order to research this, several judges, lawyers, and victim advocates who typically handle domestic violence cases were interviewed on their attitudes regarding the current status of domestic violence cases and the aspects they believe need improvement in the future. The participants’ opinions on the role of victim advocates in the courtroom will also be included. Hopefully with this research available, victim advocates can receive the recognition they deserve and societal awareness could be achieved with the focus on an ideal legal approach that puts the victims’ needs before all else