Mandating Support for Survivors

This article was written by Shanta Trivedi and published in the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law.

“This Article explores the impact of mandated reporting on survivors of violence and their children. It details the history of mandated reporting laws to demonstrate why these laws should not apply to situations involving intimate partner violence (IPV). It examines the pernicious effects of mandated reporting on survivors, including but not limited to the removal of their children for “failing to protect” them from the very violence that they are experiencing. Further, it analyzes how rather than helping, removing children from their protective parents causes even greater harm. Finally, this Article explains why mandated reporting is counterproductive in the context of IPV and recommends “mandated supporting” an approach developed and championed by experts with lived experience in the family policing system.”