Suing the Abuser: Tort Remedies for Domestic Violence

Suing the Abuser: Tort Remedies for Domestic Violence

Filed under: Activism, Batterers, Call to action, Domestic Violence, Help for Victims of Domestic Violence, Violence against women — justice4mothers @ 5:49 pm

I came across this paper a couple years ago, stashed it, and just refound…it is an interesting concept….suing your abuser.  If the courts weren’t so bias against women, I’d say this should be seriously considered.  It is nice to wish though that the courts would be just and fair about anything…

Here is an excerpt:

The legal system’s response to domestic violence has improved somewhat in recent years. More abusers are arrested and more victims obtain orders of protection. Despite this progress, there is still a lot room for improvement. One legal remedy that surprisingly few victims avail themselves of is the civil tort suit. In the past, a legal doctrine known as interspousal immunity, combined with misguided perceptions of domestic violence as being a private matter, limited a woman’s ability to obtain compensation for abuse committed by a spouse. Perceptions about domestic violence are gradually changing and the interspousal immunity doctrine has been abolished in all but two states, providing today’s domestic violence victims with a range of potential tort causes of action. This article will discuss several of these causes of action and describe common defenses which must be overcome.

To download the article, please click here.