On June 9, 2004, Lundy Bancroft, author and family issues specialist, was a guest speaker at the Annual Legal Training for the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Within Mr. Bancroft's varied background, he has also been a member of the steering committee of the Battered Mothers' Testimony Project (BMTP), a project designed to document and address the injustices inflicted on battered mothers and their children during family court child custody and visitation litigation.

The BMTP was begun in 1999 by the Women's Rights Network (WRN), a group that recently joined the Wellesley Centers for Women. In approaching its projects, the WRN uses the human rights framework as a strategy for ending violence against women. The WRN believes the BMTP is the first human rights initiative to address child custody and domestic violence issues. The following links provide more information on these important projects and organizations.

When courts fail to protect battered women and children, as illustrated in the BMTP, advocacy is needed to influence, educate, and change court culture. Court watch is one strategy for advocacy of child custody and domestic violence issues within the family court system. These volunteer-based programs are developing across the country to make a difference in the family court system for battered women and children. The link below details one such court watch program.