Before reviewing the scant research that has evaluated advocacy-based interventions for women with abusive partners, this piece begins with a broad definition of advocacy itself. In reality, many advocacy efforts simultaneously involve assisting individuals and working to change systems. Systems-level advocacy efforts are generally targeted at the criminal justice system, the health care system, the welfare system, and other similar institutions. Activities identified by programs as individual-level advocacy have ranged from helping a woman safely move her belongings out of her residence to accompanying a woman through the court process.
Advocacy assumes that rights are enforceable by statutory, administrative, or judicial procedures.
Advocacy efforts are focused on institutional failures that produce or aggravate individual problems. Advocacy is inherently political. Advocacy is most effective when it is focused on specific issues. Advocacy is different from the provision of direct services. Given this definition, it would appear that some agencies might confuse advocacy with the provision of direct service.