In Love or In Trouble: Examining Ways Court Professionals Can Better Respond to Victims of Adolescent Partner Violence

These authors explore adolescent partner violence and the responses to that violence from the legal system. They also identify some of the challenges in responding to adolescent partner violence and strategies professionals can consider when responding to victims and perpetrators of adolescent partner violence. In Part I, the authors examine the terminology, prevalence, and nature of adolescent partner violence. In Part II, they review the limited role the legal system currently plays in responding to adolescent partner violence and describe the innovative approaches of the Santa Clara County (California) Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court and the Brooklyn (New York) Youth Offender Domestic Violence Court, two of the country's first adolescent-oriented domestic violence courts. In Part III, the authors discuss the need for greater court involvement and suggest a larger role court professionals can play in responding to adolescent partner violence.