Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

392 Stephanie Nilva and Kristine Herman
undocumented — particularly if he is also the father of her child — she may not
be interested in subjecting him to potential deportation. All of these conditions
play out in the context of a young victim who is likely to share a school or
community with her batterer. For example, if the abuser is a member of a gang,
his peers or his family may pose a threat to her if he receives punishment or
restriction of any kind.
Additionally, teen victims of domestic violence may use physical violence in
relationships and friendships themselves, potentially exposing a victim to
prosecution or cross-petitions in Family Court. While girls might appear to be as
physically violent as boys, it is girls who suffer a greater number of injuries,
more frequent injuries, greater severity of injuries, and are in greater fear of their
partners than boys are. 11 When a teen victim appears to be physically violent
herself, a deeper analysis of the other forms of power and control in the
relationship is warranted. 12 Careful examination of retaliatory filings and who is
the primary aggressor will be necessary.
The benefits to your client of participating in a criminal prosecution against
her batterer might include obtaining an order of protection and communicating a
message to the batterer that he cannot harm her without facing the consequences
of his abusive actions. For some victims, seeing their abusers put in jail tells
them that the abuse is taken seriously. It can be an advantage of the criminal
court process that the District Attorney’s Office, not the victim, is in charge of
the case and responsible for prosecuting the perpetrator. With the victim relieved
of the responsibility of filing the case or dropping it, she may be subjected to
less coercion and pressure by the perpetrator, family and friends, and she may
not have to face him unless she must testify.
Though a victim may benefit from not being the proactive party to a criminal
case, her lack of control over the process may create risk. If she is in danger or
would like the case to be dismissed and her wishes diverge from the prosecutor’s,
her request for a dismissal or a limited order of protection may be disregarded.
As a witness to the proceedings but not a party to the case, a victim who has
been subject to the control of her abuser may feel restricted or powerless.
Access to help may be limited by the failure of officials to recognize your
client as a victim of domestic violence in need of special help. Police in New York
City do not categorize dating relationships as family offenses and are not required
to issue domestic incident reports (DIRs). However, the police use a more
expansive definition than the Family Courts do, and issue DIRs for cohabitants.
Many adults simply trivialize the relationships of young people. In some
instances, you may have to advocate on behalf of your client with police officers