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Abstract: 

This article describes a court case involving partner violence, where the judge chastised the woman for “provoking” the abuse against her, even though the abuse she suffered was so severe that she missed several weeks of work. In the weeks that followed, civil protection orders were issued against both parties. The Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Protect filed an amicus brief on behalf of the woman. They alleged that the court had had a history of ignoring domestic abuse and that the court’s treatment of the victim was re-victimizing her. The victim’s case was appealed and the decision was a clear rejection of victim blaming in domestic violence cases, an unambiguous statement that mutual protection orders should only be used in cases where both parties are at risk from each other, and that attorney’s fees awards facilitate the ability of victims to seek legal protection.

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Affiliations:  1: George Washington University Law School.