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On the other side of silence: Affective lawyering for intimate abuse
... Relational lawyering recognizes that the counseling process requires good interpersonal skills and a sensitivity to the emotional needs both of clients and lawyers. A related approach is what Mills (1996) has called affective lawyering. Mills conducted a critical review of work by legal practice theorists and public interest lawyers like Alfleri (1991), Lopez (1992), and Crenshaw (1991), suggesting that in their attempts to deal with the problem of public interest lawyers working with clients of a different race, gender, class, sexual preference, and/or disability than themselves, lawyers miss the critical need of clients for an emotional response from their attorneys. ...
... To be effective at expressing empathy, attorneys must learn to project themselves into the feelings and situations of their clients, expressing the warmth and understanding that create a comfortable space within which clients can express their own emotions. Empathy involves an openness to suffering that is most pronounced in people who themselves have experienced suffering in matters of separation and attachment (Mills, 1996). The role of empathy has been questioned by some legal commentators (Delgado & Stefanic, 1992;Massaro, 1989), but it has emerged as an important emphasis in progressive lawyering. ...
... The role of empathy has been questioned by some legal commentators (Delgado & Stefanic, 1992;Massaro, 1989), but it has emerged as an important emphasis in progressive lawyering. Although lawyers who have experienced their own suffering may be better able to communicate empathy to their clients (Mills, 1996), the social science literature suggests that empathy can be taught (Carkhuff, 1969;Hoffman, 1981;Natale, 1972, p. 71). ...
An important reason why advance directive instruments are underused is that people faced with the need to think about the end of life, future mental health problems, or the need for nursing home admission experience psychological stress that produces denial and procrastination. This essay examines how lawyers who are counseling clients about advance directive instruments can deal with such client denial and resistance. It explains the psychological defense mechanism of denial and related forms of resistance and offers suggestions about techniques that lawyers can use for dealing with denial and resistance in counseling clients about advance directives. It suggests ways in which lawyers can develop their interpersonal skills, becoming more empathic and more sensitive to their clients' psychological needs.
... A institucionalização da defensoria pública no Brasil, diversa do desenho existente nos sistemas judicare e do advogado pago pelos cofres públicos (Cappelletti; Garth, 1988, p. 13), constituindo-se em inovação salutar no sistema judiciário(Suxberger; Amaral, 2016, p. 115), amplia o papel do órgão, para além do auxílio jurídico de carentes e grupos vulneráveis, para uma efetiva atuação em prol da defesa e implementação dos direitos humano. 10 A assistência jurídica sensibilizada, que, no meu entender, deve ser incentivada e efetivamente prestada pela defensoria pública quando envolta com grupos vulneráveis que guardam situações peculiares de vitimização por violências estruturais históricas, não se limita à atuação processual/judicial, perseguindo o empoderamento da mulher, conscientizando-a em direitos(Amaral, 2017, p. 328) e evitando atitudes recriminatórias, em um nível interpessoal(Mills, 1996(Mills, , p. 1228. ...
Resumo: Nesta comunicação oral, serão expostos os resultados da pesquisa de mestrado, em que busquei situar a violência sofrida pelas mulheres agredidas por seus companheiros e compreender como elas representavam socialmente os órgãos judiciais de enfrentamento à violência de gênero no Brasil: Judiciário, Ministério Público e Defensoria Pública. Nesta autoetnografia, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas, grupo focal, com técnicas de observação das rotinas e das atividades, com o objetivo de identificar suas representações sociais (Moscovici) e os discursos do sujeito coletivo (Lefevre e Lefevre). Juízes anestésicos, promotores desconhecidos e defensores ausentes emergiram dessas análises. A sala de audiências como campo excludente das pretensões das vítimas (Bourdieu), posicionando-as em uma areia movediça judicial. O fluxo estruturante das organizações jurídicas que frustra as expectativas das vítimas (Luhmann). A ausência de assistência jurídica da Defensoria Pública do DF, nos fóruns distanciados do centro de Brasília, é relevante e gera efeitos prejudiciais para a proteção de seus direitos. As práticas diminutivas da condição feminina tendem a permanecer, emergindo a necessidade de buscar-se uma atuação institucional mais sinestésica (Sánchez Rubio), com maior compreensão dos anseios e necessidades das mulheres, aproximando suas falas, pela intervenção e auxílio de defensores públicos com uma abordagem sensível e afetiva. Palavras-chave: Lei Maria da Penha (Lei n.º 11.340/2006), órgãos judiciais de enfrentamento à violência doméstica, representações sociais, discurso do sujeito coletivo. Introdução A ausência de cumprimentos, aparência de estranhamento ou de total ignorância. O ingresso em um local que, ao contrário do esperado, não lhe garante privacidade, cuidado ou importância. A ida ao Judiciário, antes de oferecer soluções, parece ser mais uma continuidade nas dificuldades em obter algo que possa, efetivamente, repercutir na dinâmica de violações sofridas por seu consorte. O cenário desolador, de aparente insensibilidade, é presente em diversos juizados de violência doméstica, em aparente contraposição aos anseios da lei de regência e da necessidade de um atendimento mais próximo, acolhedor, interdisciplinar e atento às mulheres agredidas. Ao lado do distanciamento, pela própria configuração da ritualística envolvendo "operadores" do Direito, suas articulações parecem ser dissonantes, quando confrontadas com os pleitos das mulheres vitimadas por seus consortes.
... However, breaking silence is not always the answer and a significant body of work suggests that holding it can be freeing. These are the angry and resistant silences that have been studied in critical legal work with communities of colour or asylum seekers and in situations of intimate abuse (Johnson, 2010;Mills, 1996;Montoya, 2000). In these settings, maintaining silence becomes a radical act that contests the interpretations of others and refuses to allow experiences to be contained by language or discourse that does not reflect the experiences of those it describes. ...
This article takes its title from an experience in a liminal moment after completing a PhD but not yet finding a comfortable academic home to offer reflections based on what to contemplate when making decisions after the PhD. It considers how to find spaces to work in which there is the possibility for congruency between what we do, what we believe in and the realities of needing to earn a living. These reflections and experiences are read through the theoretical lens of work on gendered silences and the relationships of our gendered selves to knowledge and research. The article interweaves narratives of early-career decisions, gendered and feminist experiences of cultural studies with the relationships between me and my research project.
... The police and prosecutors, then, need to find the golden path of making the women feel empowered, but at the same time not requiring their involvement if they wish to stay outside the process. Mills (1996) recommends a "flexible remedy menu and time line" in the criminal justice response to domestic violence. Such a response would empower battered women to decide on their own course of action in a way that "respected the uncertainty generated by conflicting loyalties" and allow them to move at their own pace through the criminal justice system (Mills 1996:267). ...
Battered immigrant women face tremendous barriers to using the U.S. criminal justice system to respond to the violence in their lives. These include various social, economic, cultural, and legal restrictions as well as hardships, which deter immigrant women from seeking relief. For those women who overcome these barriers and do access the system, there are additional problems to solve in order to obtain help. The multifaceted obstacles can create anti- therapeutic effects for these women, thereby reducing their current and future use of the system. Using a therapeutic jurisprudence framework, we propose a series of policy recommendations and interaction strategies for working with battered immigrant women in culturally appropriate, empowering ways. The recommendations call for changes to criminal justice system procedures and require collaborative working relationships among legal practitioners, the professionals, and advocates who work with immigrant women and populations. We argue that a therapeutic jurisprudence approach endorsed by all parties involved may enhance battered immigrant women's willingness to access the justice system, minimize the system's anti-therapeutic effects, and maximize its therapeutic impact on this vulnerable group.
... No todos los abogados del turno de oficio tienen la motivación para hacer esta tarea, por lo que quizás acaban realizando una tarea correcta desde la perspectiva del servicio jurídico, pero incompleta desde el punto de vista de la mujer (Ptacek,1999:178, citando a Davies et al.,1998. Como observa Mills (1996Mills ( :1228, quien acuña el concepto de ' servicio jurídico afectivo' , el objetivo del servicio jurídico debería ser dar poder (' empower' ) a la mujer, para lo cual es muy importante evitar actitudes de recriminación y ofrecer distintas opciones que la mujer pueda ir adoptando (Mills,1996(Mills, :1257(Mills, -1262. ...
p>This thesis is based on 28 in-depth focussed interviews with women survivors of domestic violence which explored their perceptions and experiences of legal responses to domestic violence. The interviews were conducted and analysed using the theoretical framework and methods of Grounded Theory and feminist perspectives.
The research examines women's different 'pathways' through 'domestic violence law', including the criminal, civil and family law systems. Recent legal reforms focus on responding to domestic violence as a crime, holding perpetrators accountable, changing their behaviour and protecting 'victims'. In focussing on these aspects of 'domestic violence law' we miss crucial aspects of the meaning of law in survivors' lives. For the women in this research legal responses were part of breaking the silence surrounding domestic violence, seeking 'connections' with others, establishing power in the violent relationship and creating a new life apart from the perpetrator. Women's experiences reveal that, generally, legal responses failed to recognise these needs or to respond to the complex emotional journeys of surviving domestic violence. Legal responses also tended to silence, exclude and disempower women.
This thesis argues that there are 'therapeutic possibilities' for legal responses that 'heal' and 'serve' survivors of domestic violence. It is argued that we need to develop an understanding of the role of emotion in legal responses and in experiences of domestic violence and that empathy should be valued as central to legal practice. The thesis also argues that law should develop opportunities for empowering women at an individual and collective level.</p
Sumário: 1 Introdução. 2 Aportes para uma atuação contra-hegemônica a partir de órgãos institucionalizados. 3 Situando a Defensoria Pública: a proteção de grupos vulneráveis no Brasil. 4 Missões, dilemas e desafios para a Defensoria Pública e as perplexidades da institucionalização: inovando ou renovando o campo jurídico? 5 Conclusões. Referências.
Resumo: O artigo aproxima a percepção dos direitos humanos, especialmente à vista da teoria crítica de Joaquin Herrera Flores, e a atuação da defensoria pública no Brasil, órgão protetor dos vulneráveis e metagarantia para o acesso à Justiça. Problematiza a defensoria pública a partir de uma proposta crítica de sua operacionalização em prol de direitos humanos, com atenção aos desafios e riscos dessa escolha política consagrada no Brasil. Em aparente contradição, a defensoria surge como antagonismo às hegemonias vigentes e se consolida no bojo da constitucionalização de garantias processuais e institucionais. Seu realce legislativo dirige-se às missões e aos desafios diante do cenário jurídico-político. Suas ações e opções se desenham para a escolha política e funcional do órgão, como adequação a pautas hegemônicas ou descolamento pela naturalização sistêmica de sua atuação em benefício dos socialmente excluídos. Metodologicamente, o artigo revisa a literatura específica sobre teoria crítica dos direitos humanos aplicada às instituições e promove abordagem jurídico-compreensiva da promoção de novos direitos pela defensoria pública.
Palavras chave: Defensoria Pública. Direitos Humanos. Processos de luta. Teoria crítica.
Abstract: This paper seeks to approach the perception of human rights, based on Joaquin Herrera Flores' critical theory, and the Public Defender's Office ("Defensoria Pública") in Brazil, as the state agency that protects the vulnerable and represent a guarantee for access to justice. It aims to situate the public defender's office from a critical proposal of its operationalization in favor of human rights, attentive to the challenges and risks of Brazil's choice. The (apparent) contradiction that inserts a public service institution guided to be a player to face hegemonies relies originally in
the Latin-American constitucionalism, which is defined by the progressive inclusion
of procedural guarantees in constitutional texts. It asserts the missions and
challenges in the juridical scenario and the options designed for the political and
functional choice of this specific state agency, such as adaptation to hegemonic
directives or distancing by the systemic naturalization of its performance in benefit
of social excluded. Methodologically, the paper reviews the specific literature on
human rights theory applied to institutions and promotes a legal-comprehensive
approach on new rights enforced by the public defender’s office.
On Friday 4 May, 1984, while watching the Prime Minister of Quebec speaking on television, a disaffected young corporal in the Canadian army formed the idea of massacring the government of Quebec. Denis Lortie subsequently described this initial impulse in terms of a desire to attack the National Assembly and eliminate the ruling arti québequois, a party which had ‘done harm to the French language’. He would thus ‘destroy something which wanted to destroy the French language’. In various other formulations, Lortie expressed a wish to save the language by killing the government: ‘I will do some harm so as to do some good.’1
This article considers the nature of silence in UK asylum cases involving lesbian and gay claimants, asking whether the ambiguous and textured quality of silence can be a productive site of resistance, or whether the effect of silence perpetuates the problematic conceptualization of the refugee as a subjugated actor whose voice is muted within a hearing. The article discusses silence in light of the formal provisions of the Refugee Convention and evidentiary necessities around proof of an objective/subjective fear of persecution, questioning the impact silence has on the rendering of testimony and whether it is detrimental to an asylum claim. The equivocal nature of silence imparts a vulnerability to interpretation, rendering it subject to the imposition of unsolicited meaning. Silence's indeterminacy, it is suggested, should give pause to the court to proceed in a manner that invokes caution around such inference.
This article presents a therapeutic jurisprudence approach to the prosecution of domestic violence–related felony trials. After demonstrating how the current trial process has antitherapeutic effects on victims, the article sets forth a series of recommendations for prosecutors in using a client-centered model during the trial process. These recommendations include the following: anticipating defenses in domestic violence cases, having positive pre-trial interactions with victims to empower them through the process, using pretrial motions to limit negative victim character evidence and introduce evidence about the defendant’s prior abuse, and the importance of allowing victims to contextualize the violence in their testimony during trial.
Wharton. Special thanks to Joan Meier for her pathbreaking work on counter-transference and for our colleagueship and nourishing collaborations over the years, including the rich synergy of our articles in this symposium, and to JoAstrid Glading for inspiring me with her friendship, and for reading and editing every draft and testing these ideas in her own work. other pioneers whose work made this Article possible. Finally, I want to acknowledge Rand Rosenblatt for his faith and deep engagement in my work, and for building with me a life of richness and passion in which work and play are balanced and grace and joy are abundant.
This article discusses the cultural challenge posed by the provision of legal assistance to victims of domestic violence from among cultural minority groups. Due to the special nature of these groups, this kind of legal assistance must take regard of the particular cultural world of each victim, of her 'otherness', and of her special needs that require creative solutions. The article describes the dilemmas faced by lawyers who assist victims of domestic violence, which are greatly amplified when the latter come from cultural minority groups. Against this complex background, the aim of the article is to structure an innovative effective model of 'culture-sensitive' cause lawyering, based in part on principles drawn from models prevalent in the therapeutic field. This proposed model is accompanied by examples illustrating the need to place emphasis - already in the framework of theoretical and clinical legal education - on the development of skills and competencies borrowed in part from the therapeutic professions. The exposure of future lawyers to this 'other' conception of lawyering and the discovery of the other inside us, already in the early stages of legal education, has the potential to transform the law into a more humane and accessible social tool for the client. This approach accords with the perception of the law as an agent of therapeutic value to its audiences - a view which draws upon Therapeutic Jurisprudence and which runs like a thread throughout the article.
The main question which motivates the inquiry undertaken in this book is: what should public prosecutors do when victims withdraw support for domestic violence prosecutions? The answer defended herein can be summarized as follows: within the realm of justified (permissible) action, prosecutors should respond effectively; which is to say that, ceteris paribus, domestic-violence prosecutors should respond as feminists. This claim is intended as a provocative formulation of the proposition that domestic violence prosecutors should act for reasons generated by the value of reconstituting their states (and communities) as less patriarchal. This book defends that claim in two steps: first, it sets out a general theory of prosecutorial practical reasoning and second, it considers the prosecution of domestic-violence offences in particular. Along the way, this book provides an original account of the nature of prosecutorial action, the values that can be realized through such action, and the relationship between these values and the practical reasoning of criminal prosecutors. Moreover, it provides analyses of two key concepts, domestic violence and patriarchy, and explains the relevance of the latter to a proper understanding of the former. The book then puts the preceding insights to work in answering the motivating question stated above, providing answers both in terms of what prosecutors would be justified in doing and what prosecutors should do in order to be effective. Chapter 9 applies this general framework in addressing the rights and duties of domestic violence victims to participate in criminal prosecutions. In the final chapter, the book examines and responds to some general objections that might be raised to the arguments herein, ultimately defending the role of the domestic-violence prosecutor-as-feminist.
This article critiques and expands upon the jurisprudence of law’s violence from feminist and lesbian/gay/queer perspectives.
The incorporation of gender and sexuality into the jurisprudence of law’s violence, via the social experiences of women and
gay men, highlights the masculine and heteronormative character of law’s violence, while bringing into view particular forms
of law’s violence, and forms of extra-legal but thoroughly legitimate heterosexual male violence, that have remained invisible
in previous accounts. A feminist analysis of violence also suggests that law’s regime of violence is neither totalising nor
inevitable, and that possibilities for resistance, if not avoidance, do exist.
Domestic violence is considered a major risk factor in pregnancy.
To assess the prevalence of different kinds of abuse (physical, psychological, sexual) of pregnant as compared to non-pregnant women, and to identify demographic risk factors for physical abuse that characterize the woman and her partner.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 270 women seeking gynecologic care at women health centers in northern Israel. Information was collected by means of a standardized questionnaire administered via phone, and addressing demographic data, interaction with the partner, and reporting of physical abuse. All information was obtained from the respondents (including information about her partner).
Four abuse scores were computed: severe physical attack, minor physical attack, psychological abuse, and sexual coercion. Psychological abuse was found to be the most prevalent (24%), followed by minor and severe physical attack (17% and 8.1%, respectively), and sexual coercion (5.6%). Physical attacks related to pregnancy (directed at the abdomen) occurred in 5.4% of the pregnant women. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of the different types of abuse between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Physical attack was associated with socioeconomic status, work status, and degree of religiosity.
Pregnant women were at a similar risk for abuse as non-pregnant women in all abuse categories. Predictors for abuse--socioeconomic status and religiosity--were reviewed primarily in a cultural context.
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