Timelines, Types of Abuse, Evidence, Witnesses, Aid, & Technology
Despite the growing awareness of domestic abuse and the social recognition for abuse victims, this support is harder to gain through court systems and legal routes. In the aftermath of an abusive relationship, the risk of harassment and further abuse from the abuser can remain high especially because they already gained access to the victim’s network and information. In addition to physical assault, verbal abuse and psychological damage can also pose a large risk to the victim’s ability to recover their life after the relationship.
This guide addresses how a person can look out for possible risks during and after an abusive relationship as well as to create a court case that can be both defensible and convincing. This process begins with creating a clear timeline for documenting the events and impact of abuse, and emphasizes being mindful of how technology can be used for help.
Keep in mind that any legal advice or legislative knowledge in the guide is very broad, and it can be helpful to look up laws specific to your state or general region.
Timeline
- What is a Timeline
- Stages of the Timeline
- Introduction
- Common Types of Abusive Relationships
- Cycles in an Abusive Relationship
- Coercive Control
- Coercive Control Through Technology Abuse
- Network Abuse and Isolation
- Making Progress
- Gathering Evidence
- Maintaining Networks
- Technological Security
- Legal Measures
- Why It’s Important To Get Help
- What Is Community Aid
- Aid Organizations in the United States
- International Aid Organizations
- Legal Assistance for Victim Protection
- Purposes for Domestic Violence Court Cases
- Criminal Lawsuit Structure
- Civil Lawsuit Structure
- Discovery
- Character Witnesses
- Court Statements
- Evidence
- Using Data Science in Legal Cases
- Useful Databases
- What is Data Analysis
- Machine Learning
- Data Analysis
- Types of Data Gathering Processes
- Types of Machine Learning Biases
- Considering the Role of Artificial Intelligence
- General Process
- Data Analysis
- Types of Data Analysis Processes
Being able to identify domestic abuse is being able to create a timeline identifying how abuse has affected the victim’s trajectory. To start a legal case for domestic abuse, the victim needs to have a clear account of how involvement with an abuser has shifted the victim’s social network, the decisions they make, and their attitude towards the world.
The timeline is the collection of injuries, witnesses, communication, and documents that create the complete narrative of how the abusive relationship has affected the victim’s life. Prior to the relationship, people and evidence can prove the victim’s character and their values. During the relationship, documents and messages can prove the destructive influence that the abuser has had on the victim’s life. After the relationship, any communication and witnesses can prove the continued threat and impact that the abuser still has on the victim.
Prior to the abusive relationship, the victim can illustrate their character through character witnesses. There may be school friends, acquaintances that have since lost touch, and family members. Character witnesses like these can testify on the victim’s personality, any good deeds they have done, and their general reputation. When there is a longer span of time for the mutual relationship, there’s also more credibility given to their testimony and knowledge of you.
During the abusive relationship, the victim could be introduced to new people, actively seeking out specific people, or reducing their contact with their older acquaintances. While the very basis of domestic abuse is to cause harm within a very intimate relationship, being able to log and label the corresponding times of when ‘outsiders’ were present can be incredibly helpful for verifying the context surrounding a particular dispute. When this is compared with any testimony from prior to the relationship, witnesses can prove that a victim has shifted their personality or actions in a way that they wouldn't have acted by themselves.
In the aftermath of an abusive relationship, it remains important to maintain a timeline of various relationships because of the possibility of continued abuse. If the abuser continues to harass the victim, any records of this harassment would have to be documented through close witnesses and preserved electronic evidence. Besides providing screenshots or documents, close friends and family members can give better details about the emotional impact and the destabilizing effect that harassment created in the victim’s life.
Throughout this entire timeline, the abusive relationship stands at the center while each relationship and event can be considered as ripple effects. Besides a general summary of any assault and harassment, the most important point is to link various testimonies and all documented evidence to significant points of abuse and harassment. By structuring a timeline with many details, abuse in an intimate relationship can still be validated and proven.
Domestic abuse is a pattern of abusive behavior within a relationship where one person gains and maintains power and control over another person. Domestic abuse can happen to people of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. It affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and educational levels. Domestic abuse affects people in a range of relationships, from dating to being married. Victims of abuse can include children, relatives, and household members.
//Full Guide in PDF Form In Documents Uploaded//
https://github.com/RescueSocialTech/Guide_Cases_Domestic_Abuse/blob/main/Guide%20to%20Successful%20Cases%20for%20Domestic%20Abuse%20Victims%20-%20Final%20Guide.pdf
EXAMPLE CHAPTERS:
The discovery is an exchange of information between both sides of the court case. The preventative measures taken by the victim over the course of their relationship, and even afterwards, are the most significant groundwork to building up the evidence for the legal case.
Character witnesses and character evidence are used to highlight a person’s good traits or negative traits... Depending on whether the witness or source is considered trustworthy, their statements can further legitimize the person’s statements...
Acknowledging the existence of network abuse also means that the victim must use their efforts to counteract any attempts at isolating themself from opportunities to seek help. Even when the victim is unable to find a way to leave the abusive relationship by themselves, having family and close friends who can comprehend the situation and regularly receive updates creates some security for the victim to fall back upon.
Whether it’s through text or other forms of regular communication, the victim can create a communication channel through which any interference by the abuser would seem abnormal. When an abuser attempts to impersonate the victim or give reasons for their absence in the public, the best way to see past any possible deception is to understand the victim’s regular schedule. When there is a habit - such as texting a friend - which the victim abruptly stops, this signals abnormality rather than a falling out amongst two people.
A University Student helped create a Guide mainly for legal cases and the different layers of understanding abuse, creating successful cases, witnesses, data analysis, correlations, and more. They did this mostly independly upon studying terms and situations.
We focused on created a Guide for Cases (including legal, civil and criminal).
It's 56 pages. "Exhibits" could also be described, but the guide is great for giving out to victims, their assistants, paralegals, investigators, and to law firms themselves.
- Help on the Case Examples were assisted by Signature Peace of Mind https://signaturepeaceofmind.com/about-us, who has volunteered with Safe Escape: https://safeescape.org/about-us