Advocates who are employed by the prosecutor’s office or law enforcement, as well as prosecutors themselves, have the opportunity to help victims as cases move forward. The way in which you approach these women and teens and the information you provide can have a profound effect on them and their children. Understanding the needs of survivors can actually make it easier to do your work.

System-based advocates and criminal legal prosecutors developed these strategies to help you:

• Identify the full range of coercive behaviors used by perpetrators
• Provide appropriate help and information to survivors who have experienced coercive behavior that does not rise to the legal definition of a crime
• Establish better rapport with pregnant and parenting women and teens
• Feel comfortable in making referrals to community partners

You may wish to start with the Overview for this Toolkit, and then move on to this section, which offers specially designed resources for system-based advocates and criminal legal prosecutors.

• Introduction to this Section 
  
• Training for Prosecutors and System-Based Advocates
• Inform and Refer for Criminal Legal Prosecutors
• Inform and Refer for System-Based Advocates

Pregnant Survivors Practice Guidelines – Prosecutors & System Advocates (pdf)