Speaking Volumes: The Failure of American Courts to Address the Underlying Themes of Silence and Patriarchy Within the Civil Order of Protection Process in Davenport, Iowa

Domestic abuse is a pervasive issue within the United States. Approximately three women will be murdered by an intimate partner every day and around half of all women will experience psychological abuse by an intimate partner in their lifetime. As such, it is important to have legal avenues that survivors can pursue in order to ensure safety for themselves and their children. There are many obstacles to obtaining a civil order of protection despite it being the most common legal option survivors choose to pursue. Survivors must take on the burden of proof and hire their own attorney if they want legal representation, which places an immense amount of stress upon economically disadvantaged survivors. The American legal system places an unfair burden of responsibility upon domestic abuse legal advocates, while simultaneously concentrating its power around male ideals and wants. This paper will utilize the theories of bureaucratic representation along with feminist legal commentary to argue for an increase in funding towards free legal aid organizations as well as strict boundaries between the responsibilities of domestic abuse legal advocates and attorneys.