​How to Reach out to Victims of Violence Online: A Guide to Offering Legal Support

Being a victim of violence is truly a terrifying and lonely situation. Victims can feel very isolated and will feel like there is nobody who they can talk to and no way to set themselves free from the violence. Abusers often control their victims through fear so that they are too afraid to speak out and ask for help. Because of this, victims of violence are far more likely to search for help online than they are to reach out to someone they know because there is less chance of their abuser finding out. 

Seeking online help offers anonymity to victims who are afraid of further violence and repercussions. There are many ways in which the legal system can help victims of violence if they are just made aware of who to contact and what can be done to help them. This article will explain how to reach out to the victims in order to offer them the legal support they need to relieve them from a violent situation.

Build a Website that Can Easily Be Found by Victims

Every law firm needs a good website for potential clients to visit, and this is particularly important for law firms who are trying to reach out to victims of violence. One law firm that specializes in obtaining injunctions for victims of violence and abuse told us that domestic violence victims are far more likely to contact a law firm online than they are to call or to come in person to the law firm’s office. It is a much safer, more discreet way of seeking legal help and so the website must make the process as easy as possible for victims to find and use. The website should explain exactly what services the law firm or legal practitioner can provide and very importantly, must provide information about how the victim will be protected from their abuser if they begin legal proceedings. 

Offer a Range of Legal Services to Help Victims

Depending on the exact specialization of a law firm, there are a number of legal services that can help to protect victims of violence and deliver justice to the perpetrator. Domestic violence attorney or assault crime lawyer, for example, can help to obtain a restraining order or protective order to ban the perpetrator from any contact with the victim. Domestic violence attorneys also file domestic violence lawsuits to secure financial compensation for the physical, mental, and emotional abuse suffered by victims.

 They can support victims through divorce proceedings if the victim and perpetrator are married and make sure that the victim gets what they are entitled to. If there are children involved then domestic violence attorneys can ensure that children are protected and that custody is given to the parent who will provide the safest and most secure home for them.

Offer Your Services on Appropriate Forums and Through Charities

There are many forums online which offer support for the victims of violence and these will often be the first place that victims go looking for help. In order to reach out to victims, law firms and attorneys should regularly check these forums and offer legal assistance to anyone who has posted on the forum and needs help. While victims may be able to anonymously describe their situation on a forum, they may be too scared to reach out and seek legal protection from their abuser. Law firms, therefore, need to approach them first so that they can immediately know that there is a way to relieve themselves from the situation. It is very important to be discreet when getting in touch with victims of violence. 

Many abusers will check their victim’s messages in order to control them and keep them isolated from anybody trying to help. Make sure that a victim is not at risk of further violence as a result of the perpetrator seeing a message that has been sent to a victim. Advise the victim to delete all messages once they have been sent and received to keep them safe from detection. 

Building good relationships with charities and shelters that offer help to victims of abuse is another good way to reach out to victims and offer them legal representation. Most charities and shelters will have websites and social media pages so contact them and build a relationship. If an attorney or law firm has a proven track record of helping victims, then shelters and charities will refer clients and may allow the legal representatives to advertise their services on their website or social media pages.

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Offer Protection for Victims of Different Categories of Violence

There are various legal protections that victims can receive depending on where the violence has occurred, the specifics of the situation, and the kind of legal representation they hire. Injunctions are a speedy way to offer legal protection for a victim of violence. There are five main categories of an injunction that can be obtained, depending on the circumstances of the violence. They are domestic violence injunctions, repeat violence injunctions, dating violence injunctions, sexual violence junctions, and stalking injunctions.

 Injunction attorneys are specialized attorneys to help victims to apply for injunctions which will protect them from their abuser. A temporary injunction is often issued first of all, which keeps the victim safe from the perpetrator whilst awaiting a court hearing. At the court hearing, this can then become a permanent injunction which will provide indefinite protection for the victim, ensuring they are not at risk of future violence. In an injunction case, the legal term for the victim who is applying for the injunction is called the petitioner, and the legal term for the alleged perpetrator of the violence is called the respondent. 

It is very important to explain to petitioners the correct injunction for them to apply for. Injunctions are served to respondents by law enforcement who will explain the terms and confiscate any firearms or ammunition that the respondent has. The court will later contact the respondent to give them dates and details of further hearings. 

1. Domestic Violence Injunction

A domestic violence petition is the most commonly filed injunction in the US. There are up to three million reports made to police of domestic violence every year in the US, but experts fear the true number of incidents is likely to be closer to ten million. A huge amount of domestic violence goes unreported and reaching out online to victims of this kind of abuse is so important as they are so often too frightened to seek help. 

Domestic violence often escalates, and the consequences can be tragic if the victim is not rescued from the situation. Domestic violence is categorized as violence against a partner or child by a perpetrator living in the same home. Make sure that the petitioner can show that they have suffered previous violence, are currently a victim of continuous violence, or are at risk of future domestic violence. They need to be assured that if their injunction is confirmed, the respondent will be removed from the shared home and will be legally barred from contact with the petitioner or their family. They will also have to surrender their firearms to reduce the risk of deadly retribution.

​2. Repeat Violence Injunction

Repeat violence injunctions are court issued to protect abuse victims from sustaining further abuse at the hands of the same perpetrator. It is vitally important to reach out to these victims online as victims of repeat violence are most likely to be afraid of reporting their abuser for fear of more violence or being killed. 

Victims stuck in a situation of continuous violence will obtain immediate protection from an injunction, so it is so important that the right advice is given by the legal representatives of what the petitioner needs to do in order to keep themselves safe. For a repeat violence injunction, the petitioner must show that the respondent has committed violence upon them at least twice. The same restrictions will be placed on the respondent as with a domestic violence injunction.

3. Dating Violence Injunction

The third type of injunction that a victim can apply for is a dating violence injunction which is categorized as violence being done by one party in a romantic relationship to the other party. This relationship must be shown by the petitioner to be a serious relationship that took place within the last six months and was not a casual relationship or sexual arrangement. A dating violence injunction can be applied for by the victim of the violence or by their parents or guardian if the victim is not of legal age. The same protections will be given to the petitioner in the case of a dating violence injunction being issued. 

4. ​Sexual Violence Injunction

The fourth type of injunction that a victim can apply for is a sexual violence injunction. Sexual violence injunctions are issued to protect the victims of rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual molestation, sexual abuse of a child, and any other sexual-related abuse. It is absolutely vital to reach out to victims of sexual violence online because such a small proportion of incidents get reported and so perpetrators are free to repeat their crimes and victims never receive the protection or help they need. 

Reach out to victims on online support groups, on blogs and forums, and contact survivor charities and shelters. Sexual violence victims must receive continuous support as one stipulation of sexual violence being issued is that victims continue to cooperate with law enforcement and do not retract or significantly change their testimony. Unfortunately, this often happens because victims are afraid of their attacker or feel ashamed of what happened and so lose their courage. 

Legal representatives must reassure petitioners of continued support and protection if they are to be able to get through what is a very emotionally difficult situation. The petitioner must be the victim or parents of the victim of sexual violence at the hands of the respondent. That respondent may or may not have already served a prison sentence for the sexual violence or may currently be serving a prison sentence for it.

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5. Stalking Injunction

Stalking injunctions offer protection to victims of stalking or cyberstalking that is being done either by someone they know or a stranger. Stalking injunctions are being issued in increasing numbers, especially as social media use has become more and more popular. Most stalkers are ex-partners who were often the perpetrators of domestic violence during the relationship and are still obsessed with their ex-partner. 

​It is extremely important that the petitioner gets protection as these situations can very quickly lead to a serious attack if the perpetrator is not stopped. Cyberstalking tends to be perpetrated by strangers but can be equally terrifying for victims and can often progress into real-world stalking if the cyberstalker is able to find out where their victim lives, works, or go to school. 

​A stalking injunction petitioner needs to have experienced at least two incidents of stalking or cyberstalking. If the victim is underage, then their parents or guardian can apply for the injunction.

Respondents will have guns and ammunition confiscated to help keep the petitioner safe will be barred from all contact, including online contact. In many cases, stalkers have underlying psychological or mental illnesses and so may be ordered by the court to seek treatment or to be institutionalized in order to protect the victim and other members of society.

Reach Out Now

Abusive situations and incidents of violence often leave victims feeling isolated and helpless. Abusers will often have a lot of control over their victims whether it be physical pressure or mental or emotional entrapment. It is so important to reach out to victims of violence online in order to offer them legal support as victims are far more likely to feel safe discussing the situation online than taking the terrifying step of walking into an attorney’s office.

​Legal firms should make sure that they discretely and sensitively reach out to victims to make sure they are not putting them at risk of further violence. Use websites, social media, and support groups and charities to meet victims and offer them the help that they need to protect themselves and bring justice to their attackers.