Working With Battered Women in Jail: A Manual for Community-Based Battered Women's Advocates

“Women who are battered by their partners are everywhere - and that includes in your local jail. Unfortunately, in many communities, jailed women are quite invisible, even to battered women’s organizations. If you are not already doing so, we want you (and other community-based advocates) to work with jailed women. Since you are reading this manual, we assume you are interested in doing work with jailed battered women, or are already doing so ... Working with jailed women can be complicated and difficult. Since the women have open criminal charges or are serving sentences (and still may have open legal issues), the stakes are high. We hope this manual will encourage and guide you in thinking about ways of being thoughtful and strategic about how you approach your work with jailed battered women” (p. 1). Sections of this guide include: introduction; battered women in jail; before you begin-things to consider; defense-based advocacy; confidentiality; jail-based advocacy; overcoming barriers; advocacy fundamentals with battered women in jails; special considerations; individual advocacy; group advocacy; systems advocacy; and closing. Also included is “Advocacy Basics for Working With Battered Women Charged With Crimes.”