“On Thursdays I Feel Sad”: Interpersonal and Family Violence, an Inadequate Justice System, and the Impact of COVID-19 From the Perspective of Senior Lawyers

Abstract

Despite chronic, exposure to their clients’ trauma narratives of interpersonal and family violence, the mental health of domestic violence lawyers is poorly explored. Using semistructured interviews, data from senior domestic violence lawyers with greater than 5 years’ experience was analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Six subordinate themes emerged. Participants reflected on recurring waves of hopelessness and vulnerability to professional burnout that resulted from a systemic lack of psychological support for lawyers faced with repetitive exposure to family trauma. This precipitated a protective practice of “black” humor against cyclical trauma narratives but further placed them at risk of depersonalization, burnout, and secondary traumatic distress. COVID-19 suddenly brought risks in court services, but unexpectedly allowed time for self-reflection and self-reparation. Over time, these senior lawyers embraced a sense of authenticity acknowledging that through their clients they supported victims and families. Psychological self-care, mentoring, and supervision, as part of training and ongoing practice, emerged from the rich data as important recommendations for lawyers from students through to senior practitioners.