Domestic violence
Innovative court solutions to improve handling of domestic violence and other violence against women cases
Strategies to address domestic violence
Domestic violence and other violence against women crimes represent a significant portion of court caseloads. These issues also cross criminal, civil, and family courts. Court-related programs and innovations should center the survivor's/user's experience, emphasize community collaboration, and examine the court process from start to finish.
Growing capacity for survivor-centered support
NCSC is strengthening how probation, parole, and pretrial supervision agencies respond to domestic violence nationwide, with a focus on survivor safety.
Advancing successful service through modernization
Civil protection orders help keep petitioners safe and provide legal protections, but those protections take effect only after the respondent is served. Without service, orders cannot be enforced, and cases cannot proceed. Timely, reliable service is critical. State courts are exploring innovative technology and other approaches to modernize service to promote fairness, due process, and public safety.
Ensuring access for domestic violence survivors with portals
Civil protection order portals can make the process more accessible, timely, consistent, safe, and fair for survivors of violence. Through research, consultation, and collaboration with courts across the country, we have identified common implementation challenges and developed promising practices and technical requirements for civil protection order portals.
Using data to advance justice for survivors of domestic violence
Our research examines data capacity and quality in court case management for domestic violence and civil protection order cases. Drawing on data assessments, site visits, stakeholder interviews, and consultations with a survivor advisory board, we are developing an improved data structure to evaluate current practices and identify and pilot case management processes that support victim autonomy, offender accountability, system efficiency, procedural fairness, and restorative justice.
