How can the courts work better for survivors?
We want to improve civil and family court for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Your story will help us learn what is working and what can improve.
We want to hear from survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking who:
applied for a protection order (sometimes called restraining order), and/or
started or completed a parenting plan, and/or
started or completed a divorce
We also want to hear from survivors who did NOT use the courts. This will help us better understand barriers and gaps in services.
Share your story in a confidential interview or focus group and receive a $50 VISA gift card.
What is the Justice for Families Project?
Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, we are working with courts, victim-service providers, and legal aid to:
host a DVSAS advocate at the courthouse to help with protection orders
expand LAW Advocates’ free help for low-income survivors of domestic violence who need parenting plans
train court staff and others on how abuse works
make information easier to find and understand (like on court webpages, signs in the courthouse and printed materials)
We want to hear from people who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking to make sure we’re helping the community in the best way.
Who will I talk to?
First, someone from our team will contact you to see if this is a good fit.
The team member will schedule you for a small focus group with other survivors (by Zoom), or match you with an interviewer, whichever you like better. The people leading the group or interview will be from our team or someone we hire for this project. We will schedule a time that works for you.
Before sharing your story and feedback with other members of the team, we will take out any information that could show who you are. We will keep your information private. We will not share any identifying information with other members of our team, funders, or anyone else.
You decide what parts of your story and thoughts we can use. We will not share any of your story unless you say it's okay. If you agree to share your story, we may use quotes in reports (which are published online) or shared at meetings (which are open to the public). We will not share names or other identifying details. We may change or take out some information to make sure your information stays private and no one knows who you are.
Do you have questions before you decide to participate? You can call or email us: 360-312-5700 x1241 or ndonofrio@dvcommission.org.
What will happen?
Survivor stories are the center of our work. Your story will help our team decide what is most important in this project.
The Commission cannot help with your specific situation. We also cannot promise that all suggested changes will be made.
You can read more about this in our PDF document survivor input policies and procedures and our PDF document survivor input operational guidelines.
Learn more about support in our community:
This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-24-GG-00060-JFFX awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Justice.