Welcome to Domestic Violence for English<>Spanish Court Interpreters

Please email [email protected], or text 775-351-3905, ONLY IF YOU DO NOT wish to receive the materials in the mail. Otherwise, they will automatically be sent to you. You may opt out if you prefer downloading or printing them.

This is an Instructor-led webinar specifically for interpreters. Practicing interpretation skills, while memorizing and using the terms correctly is crucial! It is important to understand the subject matter in order to interpret, but without knowing how specific terms and phrases in the source language translate into the target language, that knowledge is really useless.

This is the sixth course in the Expert Witness Series. It is specifically on expert witness testimony in cases of Domestic Violence.

This course holds significant importance to me. For nearly 20 years, I served as a Victim Advocate at the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, where the majority of my caseload involved Domestic Violence and sexual abuse cases. I supported hundreds of victims, many with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), as they navigated the Criminal Justice System. The pain, suffering, and resilience I witnessed profoundly impacted and changed me.

In all my years as a Victim Advocate, I hoped to see a decrease in cases. With the wealth of information available, better education, and increased awareness, shouldn't things improve, especially for women in our society? Unfortunately, the rise in alcohol and drug abuse, the objectification of women through social media, access to firearms, and persistent misogyny only led to larger caseloads each year. This has highlighted the growing need for well-trained professional interpreters to assist victims in the court process, making the process less victimizing.

Although this course is not centered on the victims and their stories, I hope it inspires others to advocate for changes to conditions such as patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism that contribute to the prevalence of domestic violence in our society. 

As mentioned, we will focus on the testimony of the experts. Some interpreters have asked me why I don't go over Waivers of Constitutional Rights in Domestic Violence cases, on misdemeanor Domestic Battery charges and penalties, and on interpreting during arraignment and sentencing hearings. I did think about it, but because my series is on Expert Witness Testimony, it really didn't make much sense. The law varies significantly from one State to the other, and I believe that Interpreting for defendants, victims and witnesses, is material for an entirely different course.

Disclaimer: While I invest a significant amount of work and time in researching and developing these courses, not just the content, but also the terminology, I am by no means an expert in ANY of the subjects I offer courses in. My only goal is to facilitate obtaining Continuing Education Credits through practical, language-specific courses.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions as you navigate this course.