2018 2018: Professor Drew Quoted on Judges’ Challenges in Identifying Domestic Violence

Professor Drew was quoted in a MassLive article about family court judges’ responses when mothers raise abuse allegations against fathers. Drew recommended specialized training to help judges identify symptoms of domestic abuse.

Professor Drew was quoted in a MassLive article about family court judges’ responses when mothers raise abuse allegations against fathers. The article describes how courts and other institutional players often criticize the mother and punish her through a change in custody.

Drew discussed how judges can overlook signs of abuse in victims of domestic violence and how those signs are often misinterpreted as signaling negligence or dishonesty. As Professor Drew explained, "The party who is the abuser comes into court, is well-organized, dressed decently and presents him or herself very well. Then you have a person claiming to have been abused come into court. She may be disorganized because of trauma, she may not have had time to look her best, she may present (testimony) in a nonlinear fashion." 

Professor Drew explained that judges should become familiar with cases involving domestic violence to better recognize symptoms of emotional abuse, financial abuse or threats of violence. "I think once judges understand that impact of trauma and understand the dynamics of abuse and how abuse manipulates every part of a person's life, it become much easier to sort out who's been abused and who's the abuser.” Professor Drew also recommended specialized training on identifying trauma in victims of domestic abuse.

To read more, please visit: https://www.masslive.com/expo/news/erry-2018/07/1d8d81b44f6371/domestic-violence-victims-stru.html