Striving toward Justice

With funding from the US Office on Violence Against Women, the Urban Institute conducted a mixed-methods, multisite study on the perceptions of justice, accountability, safety, and healing held by diverse survivors of domestic violence. The project team interviewed 54 survivors (37 of whom also completed a survey) and 42 practitioners. We aimed to understand how historically underserved survivors (specifically, survivors from immigrant, rural, LGBTQ+, and Native American communities) define justice, accountability, and safety; how they describe their needs, experiences, and preferences; and what strengths and challenges they associate with traditional and alternative approaches to justice.