When Help Ends at the Courthouse Door

Without civil legal aid, a survivor of domestic violence can do everything right and still lose ground in court.

“Lisa” is a working mom in rural Northeastern Wisconsin. One night her husband strangled her in front of their young son. She called 911. Deputies responded quickly, he was arrested, and a Rainbow House advocate met with her that same night to build a safety plan.

Over the next few weeks, our advocate helped Lisa file for a restraining order, covered the filing fee, and prepared her for the injunction hearing. The order was granted. Lisa kept working, kept her son in school, and started counseling.

Then her husband hired an attorney and filed for custody. Lisa had no lawyer. Her application for civil legal aid was waiting in line with many others. She filled out divorce papers on her own, but they stalled when he refused to sign. An advocate can sit beside a survivor in court, but cannot argue her case.

Lisa’s story is common. Last year alone, Rainbow House advocates helped survivors with 113 legal matters, including 44 survivors who had to file for divorce on their own because they could not get or afford a lawyer. Over the past ten years, more than 500 survivors we served have divorced without legal representation. Wisconsin is in the minority of states that provide no general state funding for civil legal aid, and the need far outstrips what legal aid programs can provide.

When survivors can get a lawyer, families stay safer, children stay stable, and law enforcement’s work holds up.

This is a composite story based on real Rainbow House cases. Names and details have been changed to protect survivors’ safety.