Learn how to increase safety for domestic violence victims

This protocol is for use by Faith Leaders to whom a victim of domestic violence reveals abuse.  It allows the Faith Leader to quickly assess the dangerousness of the victim's situation and immediately put the victim in touch with professional domestic violence assistance if the danger is high.  The Protocol involves the administration of an eleven-question screening tool and the following of a specific procedure for contacting the domestic violence hotline.  The Protocol is research-based, has been successfully field-tested, and is currently being effectively used by law enforcement in Montgomery County as well as all the other counties in Maryland.

The Interfaith Community Against Domestic Violence has partnered with the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) to create the National Model Training Procedure for Faith Leaders to learn and implement the LAP, which is based on the work of Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell at the Johns Hopkins University.

Guiding Lights is an outreach program of the Interfaith Community Against Domestic Violence (IFCADV).  The goal is to create a networking group of liaisons between the IFCADV and individual congregations.

 Every faith community is invited to designate one person to be a Guiding Light—a domestic violence resource contact in that congregation--for one year.