Articles

On the Murder of George Floyd

The brutal murder of George Floyd was senseless and horrific, shocking the conscience of anyone who views the video. Our hearts are with his loved ones and with all people who know and fear brutality from those who take an oath to serve and protect. To our country’s great shame,…

COVID-19, Coercive Control, and Shared Parenting

In situations involving a coercive controlling parent, shared legal custody can be a pathway for an abusive parent to exercise power over the victim-parent and child. During this pandemic, decisions about a child's education, healthcare, and at-home life are even more critical, and the opportunities for abusers to manipulate and…

#Children and Teens #Coercive Control #Covid 19

Centering Intimate Partner Violence: Miami-Dade’s COVID-19 Response

In the first week of April, BWJP staff sat in on a Zoom call with over 75 people in Miami-Dade County working together in responding to intimate partner violence during the current public health crisis. Professionals on the call included judges, court staff, domestic violence shelter advocates, people working with…

#Covid 19

BWJP Seeks New Executive Director

The Battered Women’s Justice Project seeks a strong, creative, seasoned leader who is oriented toward social justice, committed to ending gender-based violence, and has deep respect for advocacy and diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Find the full position description and application instructions in this document.

#BWJP Announcements

Coercive Control during COVID-19: New Tactics

As COVID-19 spreads across the globe and into our homes, domestic abusers are finding new ways to exercise coercive control. This short video describes how abusers can exploit social distancing and shelter-in-place policies to achieve power and control over household members. You can download a PDF file of the COVID-19…

#Coercive Control #Covid 19

Intimate Partner Violence in a COVID-19 World

As we all strive to minimize the loss of life caused by COVID-19's spread around the globe, those of us in the intimate partner violence sphere are preparing for an increase in domestic violence, as well as an increase in the lethality of domestic violence amid the spike in firearm…

#Coercive Control #Covid 19

Introduction to the SAFeR Approach

Every domestic violence case is unique, and a one-size-fits-all approach often does victims/survivors a disservice. In the fourth and final video in our series, Loretta Frederick, Senior Legal Policy Advisor at BWJP, introduces the SAFeR Approach, a tool for identifying, assessing, and responding to domestic violence in child custody cases. BWJP…

#Children and Teens #SAFeR

Trauma-Informed Advocacy, Part II: Restoring Trust

The third video in our series--the second focusing on trauma-informed advocacy--is now available! Listen to Sarah Super, Training & Curriculum Specialist with BWJP, explain the importance of helping victims/survivors restore their trust in her second video.

Trauma-Informed Advocacy, Part I: Rebuilding Agency

The second video in our series, focusing on trauma-informed advocacy, is now live. Listen to Sarah Super, Training & Curriculum Specialist with BWJP, explain the basics of how to support survivors/victims to rebuild their own agency in the first of two videos on the topic.

Domestic Violence Is Not “High Conflict”

The phrase “high conflict” pervades the family court system. Interactions between parties are “high conflict;” separations may be “high conflict;” even parenting practices are labeled “high conflict.” Given how often the term is used in the family court system, it is surprising how little consensus there is about the term…