I think we can agree that physical abuse is bad. But absent that, at what point should we be concerned?

My mom explained that Jennifer had a habit in the following years of calling her when she got scared.
When Jennifer called that day and I answered, it had been nearly 20 years since she and my mother had first met. Over these years, Jennifer kept my mom’s home phone number and knew that she could call it when she was frightened or needed an answer.

On average, a survivor leaves her abuser seven times before she leaves for good. That means a victim returns to an abusive relationship six times. AVLF’s Family Law Program is taking aim at that statistic.

“My clients have all been wonderful, hardworking people who found themselves in untenable situations and had the courage to stand up and say ‘no more.’ These cases serve as powerful reminders of the resiliency of the human spirit.”

The statistics surrounding the overlap between housing problems and domestic violence are staggering: 39% of cities in the U.S. cited domestic violence as the primary cause of family homelessness.

Children who accompany their parents to the SFO can entertain themselves with a new kids’ kitchen, which includes kid-sized pots and pans and play food.

I add the original victim’s and batterer’s child or children. The batterer literally pounds cruel lessons home. The children learn them young, filing them in the backs of minds, to surface later. An impulse to beat or to let a batterer attack can lie in wait, until a threat, tantrum or argument triggers it.

Thanks to a grant from the AEC Trust and with support from TechBridge, starting July 24, the SFO will become completely digital. The advances in technology will better address our needs, the needs of our clients, and the needs of the court.

“We are literally changing the way the public understands healthy relationships and providing assistance with legal remedies to help people live their lives more safely and ending the cycle of violence.”

One of five recipients of a scholarship to attend the annual Family Law Institute, Safe and Stable Families Director Jamie Perez was singled out for her accomplishments as an attorney to receive the designation.

“I am trying to do better for myself first to make it better for them. It’s something I’m learning. At 43, I’m learning, and I’m going to keep on learning, both for my kids and myself.”

Imagine that you have just been berated, beaten, and bloodied by your partner. Maybe it’s the first time. Maybe it’s the 51st time. It happened in front of your three children. You once conveyed some of what has been happening to friends and family, but they looked at you like you had to be exaggerating.