The attorney may need to encourage the client to ask questions during appointments and to write down any questions or concerns that arise between appointments. Often a battered woman will exhibit a sense of helplessness in the face of legal decision-making, a helplessness that she has learned as a result of her history of abuse. This may come across as an inability to make choices and stick with them, or as an extreme dependence on the lawyer and other helping professionals to take on the responsibility for running her life. The lawyer s role is to create legal options for the client, not to make her decisions for her. It is a critical process for the battered client to learn that she can and does have control over what happens to her.
Many perpetrators completely control the couple s finances.
The battered woman may be largely unaware of the financial status of the abuser and may have little or no access to money of her own. Control of the purse strings is one of the many ways a batterer assures himself that his partner will not be able to leave. As a result, the client may not have the money necessary to pursue certain legal options. In addition, the client can be encouraged to explore her own financial options, such as bank or family loans, public benefits for which she may be eligible, or new employment opportunities. If the client has incurred medical expenses as a result of the battering or needs assistance in paying for mental health counseling, an application for funds to assist with these costs can be submitted to the Victim Compensation Board in the local judicial district.