Spousal Immunity and Marital Privilege

This compilation focuses on criminal statutes on spousal immunity and privilege across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, Military and federal jurisdictions. This resource also looks at those statutes that recognize an exception to spousal immunity and privilege in crimes of intimate partner and domestic violence.

Domestic Violence Reporting

This document provides a summary of state laws relevant to the mandatory reporting of domestic violence or abuse by medical professionals to law enforcement when the victim is a competent adult. The resource is organized into four categories: laws that specifically require injuries caused by domestic violence or abuse to be reported; laws that require injuries caused by non-accidental or intentional conduct to be reported; laws that require injuries caused by criminal conduct to be reported; reporting requirements relating to other crimes or injuries that may impact victims of domestic violence or abuse.

Model Policy for Prosecutors and Judges on Imposing, Modifying and Lifting Criminal No Contact Orders

The goals of the criminal justice system in a domestic violence case are to seek justice, protect the victim and the community, hold the offender accountable, prevent and deter future crime, and rehabilitate the abuser. Criminal no-contact orders are an effective tool to help protect victims of domestic violence during the pendency of criminal prosecution. This resource outlines what a no-contact order is, how it is obtained, and the complexities around whether to impose or maintain them when taking the victim’s wishes and safety into account. The authors discuss how to implement processes to gather timely and accurate information about risk and lethality, a particular victim’s wishes and motivations, and possible negative consequences in order to best determine when to impose or maintain a no contact order in the face of a victim’s opposition.

Model Policy for Prosecutors and Judges on Imposing, Modifying and Lifting Criminal No Contact Orders

In God’s Shadow: Unveiling the Hidden World of Domestic Violence Victims in Religious Communities

Domestic violence has been elevated to a global epidemic in recent years. Domestic violence victims of closely knit and observant religious communities face a distinct set of barriers, which affects their ability and willingness to report and to cooperate with law enforcement, as well as their ability to escape the abuse. This article provides a unique window into the hidden world of domestic violence victims in communities of faith and tackles some of the complexities associated with this sensitive issue.