Page 8 - Delaware Lawyer - Spring 2023

FEATURE
Ava T. Carcirieri, Ph.D.
ADelaware FamilyJusticeCenter
Planning a coordinated
Victims of domestic violence have many hurdles to face when they
6 DELAWARE LAWYER SPRING 2023
make the decision to leave their relationships and seek assistance. One approach to hurdle in particular for women: they are at the greatest risk of being
domestic violence
murdered by their abusive partner when they have left the relationship.
This makes it all the more impor- tant for states to have a compre- hensive response system in place for victims who choose to leave abu- sive relationships, or to seek outside assistance to end the abuse. Victims must navigate the court system; they may have to give reports to police and prosecutors; they must navigate the child welfare system in some circum- stances. All this is on top of trying to find the time, energy and resources
to physically leave a relationship in a
way that maintains safety.
1
Family Justice Centers (FJCs) are
some states’ answers to these hurdles. The goal of an FJC is to provide a cen- tral location where all service providers and legal actors for victims of domestic violence reside. A domestic violence victim can go into an FJC and have access to all services they may need to obtain safety and resources; what is more important, they only have to