Following Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, we’re featuring a profile of Staff Attorney Gaurav Bali, who has provided immense support to survivors of domestic violence. Bali has been a Domestic Violence Staff Attorney at the Justice and Diversity Center since October 2019. At the core of his work, he helps survivors navigate the complex family court system, obtain restraining orders, and he provides full-scope representation in divorce cases. His clients often struggle with a mix of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and the pandemic has only aggravated the problems that survivors face daily. The prevalence of domestic violence has increased since March 2020, disproportionately affecting minority communities. Bali, however, remains hopeful. “At my level, the impact of the JDC’s work gives my clients and their families immediate peace in their daily life, one family at a time. We are helping a generation of young children avoid this infinite loop of violence witnessed in their own home by taking out the root of the problem, abusers.”
JDC provides an element of relief for survivors, especially after extreme incidents of domestic violence. After Bali’s clients have physically separated from their abusers, they file for relief in Family Court, securing restraining orders, parentage judgments, child visitation, and custody and support orders. Family Court is merely a stopgap until a survivor can achieve full financial independence. Removing a client from a toxic relationship and getting support orders is the best start for their recovery.
Hearing from past clients is the driving factor that fuels Bali to continue helping survivors of domestic violence. Attorneys like Bali are taking important steps in the field to help survivors regain their voice and confidence in society. “It is difficult, if not impossible, to truly grasp a survivor’s magnitude of trauma and their need for and importance of longer-term support systems… Continue to hope, and to right the wrongs on every level, our collective effort to make change is the most important building block to reach the end goal of equality on all levels,” said Bali. To learn more about how to take action and bring attention to the issue of domestic violence, visit the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.