What We Do
Victim Liaison Project
Victim Liaison & Batterer Accountability Project is a pilot project of Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. GCADV in collaboration with local domestic violence programs and with support from Domestic Violence Task Forces and civil and criminal courts from various circuits started the Project in five pilot sites Blue Ridge, Statesboro, Augusta, Gwinnett and Canton. The Project created a new role for advocates, to liaison between Family Violence Intervention Program (FVIPs) who educate batterers, and the victims who might not be aware of the supportive services available to them.
The project aims to:
- provide support and services, through local shelters, to victims whose abusive partners are in Family Violence Intervention Programs.
- act as the liaison between FVIPs and the domestic violence program and provide feedback to FVIPs in holding batterers accountable.
- monitor the Court’s compliance with the statute and collect data that reflects that judges are, in fact, ordering batterers into FVIPs and not Anger Management or therapy, which have been found to increase the danger for the victim and her children.
- to participate in Domestic Violence Task Force and report Court Monitoring to the Task Force in order to identify gaps in responses to domestic violence victims and in monitoring batterer compliance with the court orders.
The Project has been able to reach out to victims who would not normally seek services. They have been contacted and supported, safety planning and other services have been provided. Moreover, as more communities across the state strengthen compliance mechanisms, fewer abusers will escape responsibility for their violence.
Our experience with the existing project indicates that compliance measures are strengthened with better coordination between shelter programs, FVIP providers, task forces and the courts and that better collaboration among Victim Liaisons improves victims safety initiatives.
The project has created a mechanism for participating judicial circuits to monitor court compliance by family violence offenders. The Project has initiated a community driven process to a) track and report batterer compliance to court officials, b) provide resources, and supportive services to victims, c) involve Task Forces in strengthening compliance, d) enabling Liaisons to work with victims of those ordered into FVIPs, to ensure that they are aware that Family Violence Intervention Programs are not a ‘cure’ for domestic violence.
In the first year of operation, the Project has been able to a) initiate compliance and accountability subcommittees in 2 task forces b) pilot a quadruplet form to track TPO respondents ordered to FVIPs c) develop relationships with FVIPs so that they have a better understanding of the role of Victim Liaisons and shelters in ensuring victim safety and access to resources.
For more information please contact us at info@gcadv.org