Advocate Initiated Response – A Pro-active Best Practice in Community Response to Domestic Violence
Responders to domestic violence now understand that the involvement of community-based advocates at the time of a domestic violence incident can be crucial in reducing future violence and lessening barriers to cooperation with the criminal justice system while increasing the victim’s overall coping and sense of well-being. This workshop offers an alternative to the standard practice of passive referral to the community-based advocacy program by encouraging the use of Advocate Initiated Response (AIR). A best practice in domestic violence response, AIR is a pro-active policy that supports immediate contact between the advocacy program and the victim which is actively facilitated by law enforcement and/or their victim assistance at the time of an incident.