Over the past three and a half years, I've had an eye-opening opportunity of watching a close friend of mine, who is a victim of domestic violence, go through the court system. As a result, I have learned that something you would think would be simple (namely, that the courts should not reward battering) is actually not very simple at all, and actually gets turned on its head (usually, the victim is the one who does not fare well in court.)

The system simply doesn't get domestic violence. Whether it's the courts, the police, the prosecutors, the schools, the doctors. Whether it's at the county, state or national level. We don't get it. We have a ton of work to do.

This is a completely awful concept to me, and one I devote a great deal of time to. As a result, here are some of my thoughts. Below are some resources to learn more about domestic volence:

WMTtB Domestic Violence Related Posts

Move Along, Nothing to See Here (other than a police department failing to get domestic violence...again..) (3/22/06): I am so unreasonable sometimes. I want law enforcement to enforce the law.

If A Duck Is Your Control Group, Don't Be Surprised When It Tests High For Being A Duck (And Please Don't Call It A Psychopath) (3/5/06): How the MMPI reads battered women in custody evaluations.

Divorce Lawyer Pride (1/31/06): I am what I am

So Let Me Get This Straight (1/19/06): On Britain's "Superdads"

BMCC '06: Appealing (1/11/06), The Lawyers (1/11/06), Courageous Kids (1/11/06), Little Bits (1/7/06): My thoughts and observations on the 2006 Battered Mothers' Custody Conference, which I attended in Albany, NY. I met a number of devoted practitioners and amazing mothers, who were talking about the important issue of a society that gives custody of children to batterers.

The Theory and Practice of Kum Buh Yah (12/22/05): My thoughts on PBS' excellent, and much-maligned, documentary "Breaking the Silence."

Why I've Been Awake Since 3:15 (12/14/05): A brief take on a horrid custody battle.

Can We All Be Clear? Keeping Children In A Cage Is Abusive. Not "Weird" (12/7/05): Yes, I actually had to write a post with this title.

In Which Our Blogger, Having Complained Loudly About the Judicial Systme Not Getting Domestic Violence, Proposes A Solution (12/3/2005): Title speaks for itself. This would help clean up the system, IMHO

I'm Glad We're Giving Terrorism Suspects A Hearing. Now, Could We Extend The Same Courtesy to Ten Year Olds? (11/22/2005): Again, I actually had to write a post with this title.

Security (11/21/2005): In which I praise some police departments, and pillory others.

Mission Statement & A PS to the Mission Statement (11/1/2005)

Quote of the Night From Our Friends at the Father's Rights Movement (10/24/2005): You won't believe it. You truly won't believe it.

Potpourri (10/10/2005): A few thoughts on domestic violence, and whether or not the system gets it.

Hometown Proud (9/30/2005): In which a police chief refers to people who help victims of dmestic violence as "nosy witches." For a followup, see A Good Update (10/11/2005).

What I'll Be Doing Tomorrow (9/12/2005): A primer on a trip I was taking to court. For followup, click here.

In Which Seven Justices of the Supreme Court Put A Stamp of Approval On Systematically Ignoring Domestic Violence (6/30/2005): My take on the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales. Not surprisingly, they didn't get it right. Plus, more on Castle Rock.

One Reason People Hate Lawyers (6/20/2005): It actually turns into a few reasons.

Stunning (6/19/2005): Fun with statistics.

What I Learned at the Law School That Was More Important Than The Bar (5/24/2005): My impressions on seeing Lundy Bancroft, an expert on battering, speak.

Domestic Violence-related Links

Battered Mothers' Custody Conference: The website for this conference. Lots of useful links here.

CourageousKids.net: A website for court-abused children. I know there are some from my county. There are probably some from yours.

Ohio Domestic Violence Network

Ohio Domestic Violence Resources Center