Nearly 40% of family lawyers face threats, especially in domestic violence cases
Nearly 40 percent of family law attorneys face threats, according to a survey by Investico in collaboration with RTL Nieuws and the Groene Amsterdammer. Threats are particularly common in cases involving domestic violence and intimate terrorism. Some family lawyers are accepting fewer cases for safety reasons, making it increasingly difficult for victims to find legal representation.
Family law attorneys assist clients in matters of divorce, alimony, and visitation arrangements, among other things. Investico sent a survey to 800 members of the family law attorneys’ association vFAS and 900 family lawyers who are not affiliated with vFAS, including many legal aid lawyers. 440 attorneys completed the survey. Nearly 80 percent of them are women.
A total of 165 attorneys reported being threatened online, verbally, or physically. For the vast majority (136), this happened in cases where their client was the victim of domestic violence, intimate terrorism, or coercive control. 29 attorneys were threatened in cases where their client was the alleged perpetrator of such violence.
The lawyers in the study cited various examples of threats. “Where do I begin? The opposing party shows up at my door, online threats, my car vandalized, the roof of my car slashed,” one wrote. Another was threatened with having their “kneecaps shot out.” Another had an explosive placed against their office door.
“The lawyer is viewed as an extension of the ex-partner,” Glenda Raap, a family law attorney and chairman of vFAS, told RTL Nieuws. “As soon as a violent or controlling partner realizes they are losing their grip on their ex-partner, they target the lawyer.” According to Raap, it is usually men who threaten their ex’s lawyer.
The broadcaster spoke to one family law attorney who faced such threats. Özge Öztürk was representing a woman staying in a women’s shelter. Her ex sued her because he was being denied access to the children. “He held me responsible for that,” Öztürk said. “I had recently given birth and was sitting on the couch at midnight with the baby monitor. That’s when the stalking began.”
Öztürk received threatening messages around the clock. “He was monitoring me on social media. ‘You’re going on vacation while I can’t see my children,’ he wrote,” she told RTL. “He threatened to ensure I would never see my own children again.”
Öztürk eventually went to the police, who held a warning conversation with the man. “That put a stop to it. But I felt genuinely unsafe. After one hearing, security guards walked me to my car.”
According to vFAS chair Raap, threats against family law attorneys are on the rise and are becoming increasingly severe. This has major consequences, she said. "Many lawyers simply don't want to do this anymore. Many women with families work in family law. You have responsibilities there, too. I hear from many lawyers that they are no longer taking on these kinds of cases at all."
And as a result, victims of domestic violence and intimate terrorism are having more trouble finding legal representation. “Ultimately, the problem falls on the victims. They have nowhere left to turn,” Raap said.
Sander Janssen, a board member of the Netherlands Bar Association, is not surprised by the media outlets’ findings. “When it comes to child visitation arrangements, intense emotions are involved. Those emotions are understandable, but they are expressed in a very wrong and dangerous way,” he told RTL.
According to Janssen, family law attorneys can sign up for resilience training, but that is not enough. “We need to do more than just offer occasional training sessions for lawyers who are personally interested.” Together with vFAS, the Bar is working on training modules to be incorporated into the professional education program. "It is actually disheartening that this is necessary, but it is the reality."