Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Representing Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence 319
When the abuser has isolated the victim by withholding her name from any
official documents, it may be difficult to prove a shared residence. In that case, it
may be necessary to compile documentation of a more personal nature, such as
love letters, photographs of the couple’s wedding (if celebrated with witnesses
present), affidavits from family, friends, or neighbors. Ironically, police reports
and hospital records resulting from incidents of abuse can support a finding of
good faith marriage, particularly when they show the couple living together.
A final warning about good faith marriage: ample documentation still may not
be sufficient to overcome such factors as multiple previous marriages by either
party, a wide gap in age between husband and wife, or racial, linguistic, or ethnic
differences. If red flags exist, the client must be prepared to explain them.
Documenting Abuse
Abuse of a victim may be either battery or extreme cruelty. 33 As with the
element of good faith marriage, many kinds of evidence support a finding of
abuse. If law enforcement was ever involved, the client should obtain copies of
all police reports, protective orders, and records of criminal proceedings.
Likewise, photographs and hospital or other medical records indicating signs of
physical abuse should be submitted. Documentation showing stays at domestic
violence shelters, family court records that include claims of abuse, and reports
from psychologists or social workers are also useful records.
If the victim has been too intimidated to contact the authorities or the abuser
has inflicted psychological abuse and she has not received psychological
counseling, an alternative approach may be required. For example, affidavits of
neighbors may attest that they heard arguments, that the victim was bruised, that
she was never observed leaving the house without her abuser, that their children
were never permitted to play together, or that the victim never spoke to them or
even looked at them when passing them on the street. Friends or relatives could
submit affidavits saying that they were not permitted to telephone or visit, that
the victim seemed nervous or fearful when asked about her spouse, or that she
would unexpectedly fail to appear at social events. In some cases, former
spouses or girlfriends of the abuser may even be willing to submit affidavits
testifying to abuse suffered by them.
Perhaps the most important document the victim can provide is a cohesive
account of the abuse suffered. Nearly all VAWA applications require a “personal
statement” that recounts the victim’s experiences in her own words, not in
legalese. The less “hard” evidence available to support her claim, the more
important her statement will be. While it may take a number of interviews to