Report: To Reduce Domestic Violence, Give Women Free Lawyers Already
LatestA new report from the Institute for Policy Integrity, a nonpartisan think tank at the NYU School of Law, constructs a compelling economic argument for providing civil legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence.
Citing, among many others, a 2010 CDC study that estimated that 1 in 4 U.S. women will become victims of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, the report emphasizes the ripple effect this violence has not only on the women and families directly affected, but also on society at large. Domestic violence costs the U.S. an estimated $9.05 billion annually, and providing low-income victims with legal representation would result in savings associated with “medical and mental health care costs, criminal justice system costs, and the tangible and intangible benefits associated with lessening children’s exposure to violence.”
Denise Grab, senior attorney at the Institute for Policy Integrity and co-author of the report, told The Huffington Post: “Not only are there rights- and moral-based reasons for support for domestic violence survivors, there are many economic reasons too. When we invest in education or infrastructure, no one sees a problem because the benefits of doing so clearly justify the cost. This may be the case for when we invest in services to support domestic violence survivors as well.”