The Victim-Informed Prosecution Project: A Quasi-Experimental Test of a Collaborative Model for Cases of Intimate Partner Violence

Authors

Laurie S. Kohn, George Washington University Law SchoolFollow
Laura Bennett Cattaneo
Lisa A. Goodman
Deborah Epstein
Holly A. Zanville

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Status

Accepted

Abstract

This Article describes the Victim-Informed Prosecution Project (VIP), a program that, over its 6-year tenure, aimed to amplify the voice of the victim in the handling of interpersonal violence (IPV) prosecutions in Washington, D.C. The Article discusses the rationale for and design and implementation of VIP and then explores whether it increased the victim’s sense of influence over the justice system response. While some VIP services, including legal advocacy and civil protection order representation, were associated with increased perceived victim voice, the program as a whole reflected more limited levels of perceived victim voice in the area of criminal prosecution. When criminal cases were prosecuted as felonies, only then did victims report a sense of influence over the prosecution. The Article makes specific recommendations for applying the VIP model in other contexts and jurisdictions

GW Paper Series

GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2012-132, GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2012-132

SSRN Link

http://ssrn.com/abstract=2182770

Recommended Citation

Lauren Bennett Cattaneo, Lisa A. Goodman, Deborah Epstein, Laurie S. Kohn & Holly A. Zanville, The Victim-Informed Prosecution Project: A Quasi-Experimental Test of a Collaborative Model for Cases of Intimate Partner Violence, 15 VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 1227 (2009).