The Center for Survivor Agency and Justice

An explanation of Survivor-Centered Advocacy
Our vision is to promote survivor-centered advocacy as a practice among attorneys and advocates for survivors of intimate partner violence.

Through years of working with attorneys and advocates, CSAJ staff observed that advocates and attorneys for survivors increasingly identified as “service providers” rather than advocates. Increased funding and resources targeted at domestic violence, have led to a professionalization and compartmentalization of survivors needs, thereby shifting the work from a movement of grassroots advocacy to an established social service sector. This shift to service delivery has impacted the way that advocates and attorneys approach their work. While service providers offer a particular service (a protection order, shelter, public benefits) and it is up to the “consumer” as to whether they want that service, advocates, begins with the individual, assessing and strategizing according to the needs presented by that particular person.

CSAJ aims to enhance an approach to advocacy that furthers the choices and self-determination of survivors, and to create changes in systems that respect and further survivor agency. Survivor-centered advocacy is comprehensive and individualized. It is a method to work with survivors to meet the full spectrum of their individual needs.

“It is essential that advocacy and other human service programs recognize the need for a comprehensive response to survivors’ needs…the variability in [survivor’s] focal needs punctuates the importance of emphasizing [survivor’s] active involvement in identifying their needs and how they wish to prioritize them. This requires flexibility in the service delivery response and a willingness to individualize services as directed by domestic violence survivors.” (Allen, Bybee, Sullivan; Battered Women’s Multitude of Needs; Violence Against Women Sept. 2004.)

Survivor-Centered Advocacy Skills
Over the past several years, CSAJ has spearheaded a Survivor Centered Advocacy national training curriculum to encourage attorneys and advocates to develop survivor-centered advocacy and lawyering skills. Skills that we seek to develop among attorneys and advocates include: comprehensive safety planning, understanding the context of intimate partner violence, survivor risk analysis and decisionmaking, effective survivor/attorney/advocate collaborations, implementation of survivor-centered advocacy including strategies and support, interviewing skills, including issue identification and strategizing, and advocacy with system players.

Economic Justice Advocacy
A critical component of comprehensive, survivor-centered advocacy, is economic justice. For the past eight years, CSAJ has offered training and tools related to Economic Justice Advocacy to lawyers and advocates across the nation. In 2007, CSAJ, along with other national partners, launched the Consumer Rights for Domestic Violence Survivors Initiative. The goal of the Initiative is to enhance consumer rights and economic justice for domestic violence survivors by building the capacity of and developing collaborative partnerships between domestic violence and consumer law attorneys. In the coming years, we will be offering technical assistance to advocates and lawyers who are receiving Recovery Act funds, through the Office on Violence Against Women.

Approach to our Work
The work of CSAJ is grounded in the self-defined needs of advocates and attorneys, and the survivors with whom they work. Some of the ways we practice this philosophy include:

Integrating survivor storytelling into newsletter and conference agendas
Including survivors, attorneys, and advocates in our training—as faculty presenters, panelists, and planners
Staying close to advocates and lawyers in the field, and using this information to guide our programming offerings and future materials
Soliciting input from the field in conceptualizing, creating, and refining our training agendas and materials

Join the Listserv. Browse our Resource Library. Make a Technical Assistance request.


	An explanation of Survivor-Centered Advocacy Our vision is to promote survivor-centered advocacy as a practice among attorneys and advocates for survivors of intimate partner violence. Through years of working with attorneys and advocates, CSAJ staff observed that advocates and attorneys for survivors increasingly identified as “service providers” rather than advocates. Increased funding and resources targeted at domestic violence, have led to a professionalization and compartmentalization of survivors needs, thereby shifting the work from a movement of grassroots advocacy to an established social service sector. This shift to service delivery has impacted the way that advocates and attorneys approach their work. While service providers offer a particular service (a protection order, shelter, public benefits) and it is up to the “consumer” as to whether they want that service, advocates, begins with the individual, assessing and strategizing according to the needs presented by that particular person. CSAJ aims to enhance an approach to advocacy that furthers the choices and self-determination of survivors, and to create changes in systems that respect and further survivor agency. Survivor-centered advocacy is comprehensive and individualized. It is a method to work with survivors to meet the full spectrum of their individual needs. “It is essential that advocacy and other human service programs recognize the need for a comprehensive response to survivors’ needs…the variability in [survivor’s] focal needs punctuates the importance of emphasizing [survivor’s] active involvement in identifying their needs and how they wish to prioritize them. This requires flexibility in the service delivery response and a willingness to individualize services as directed by domestic violence survivors.” (Allen, Bybee, Sullivan; Battered Women’s Multitude of Needs; Violence Against Women Sept. 2004.) *Survivor-Centered Advocacy Skills* Over the past several years, CSAJ has spearheaded a Survivor Centered Advocacy national training curriculum to encourage attorneys and advocates to develop survivor-centered advocacy and lawyering skills. Skills that we seek to develop among attorneys and advocates include: comprehensive safety planning, understanding the context of intimate partner violence, survivor risk analysis and decisionmaking, effective survivor/attorney/advocate collaborations, implementation of survivor-centered advocacy including strategies and support, interviewing skills, including issue identification and strategizing, and advocacy with system players. Economic Justice Advocacy A critical component of comprehensive, survivor-centered advocacy, is economic justice. For the past eight years, CSAJ has offered training and tools related to Economic Justice Advocacy to lawyers and advocates across the nation. In 2007, CSAJ, along with other national partners, launched the Consumer Rights for Domestic Violence Survivors Initiative. The goal of the Initiative is to enhance consumer rights and economic justice for domestic violence survivors by building the capacity of and developing collaborative partnerships between domestic violence and consumer law attorneys. In the coming years, we will be offering technical assistance to advocates and lawyers who are receiving Recovery Act funds, through the Office on Violence Against Women. Approach to our Work The work of CSAJ is grounded in the self-defined needs of advocates and attorneys, and the survivors with whom they work. Some of the ways we practice this philosophy include: Integrating survivor storytelling into newsletter and conference agendas Including survivors, attorneys, and advocates in our training—as faculty presenters, panelists, and planners Staying close to advocates and lawyers in the field, and using this information to guide our programming offerings and future materials Soliciting input from the field in conceptualizing, creating, and refining our training agendas and materials Join the Listserv. Browse our Resource Library. Make a Technical Assistance request.					February 13, 2012 The Ethics of Survivor Centered Lawyering, 2/13 2:30-3:40 ET [read more] Representing Survivors Experiencing Trauma and Other Mental Health Challenges: A Handbook for Attorneys [read more] Consumer Rights Screening Tool for Domestic Violence Advocates and Lawyers [read more] CRDVSI Holds Successful Tax Advocacy Webinar [read more] CSAJ Holds Successful Survivor Centered Advocacy Institute [read more] Domestic Violence Screening Tool for Consumer Lawyers [read more] Consumer Rights for Domestic Violence Survivors Initiative [read more] Support Our Work [read more] Legal and Advocacy Resource Library [read more]

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