Safety is the overwhelming concern for a court faced with family violence. In this respect, intimate partner sexual abuse cases are domestic violence cases, and the same tools should be employed. The goal should be to address any unresolved issues that tend to pull the parties back into contact. Orders of protection, with provisions directing the abuser to stay away from the victim, should be clear, complete in their terms, and easily enforced by the victim. Incarceration should be an accepted option if ongoing compliance with judicial orders is unlikely.

Careful consideration of whether, when and how an abuser should have contact with a couple's children is imperative. Children also face increased risk of physical and mental abuse and lethality when intimate partner sexual abuse is added to the picture.

An order of protection directing an abuser to stay away from the victim is more effective if the court has addressed as many reasons as possible why the abuser might be drawn back to the victim. An expressed desire for contact with children is a common reason an abuser will give for violating an order of protection. If the court has provided the family with a mechanism for addressing the questions of child custody and visitation, and stressed that all issues relating to those matters must be handled through the court and not privately by the parties, then an important area of conflict has been taken off the table. Collaboration between domestic violence courts and supervised visitation services promotes victim and child safety. Enhancing Collaboration Between Domestic Violence Courts and Supervised Visitation Services: An Addendum to Creation a Domestic Violence Court by the Center for Court Innovation (2016) is a useful tool for promoting such collaboration.

Similarly, the need for child support may lead a to contact an abuser even when an order of protection is in place. Many jurisdictions allow the court to issue temporary orders of child support as part of an order of protection. This important tool can allow an abused parent to achieve some level of independence and safety until a child support petition can be heard.

Courtroom policies and procedures can also enhance victim safety. Abusers may attempt to intimidate or even harm victims in the courtroom or on the way to or from the courthouse. Judges may be able to ensure that victims are provided with a separate waiting area; they may also be able to offer to send an escort with the victim to her mode of transportation, or require the abuser to delay his departure to ensure that he does not follow or attack her. When available, metal detectors can be set up at courthouse entrances to screen for weapons. Court officers and personnel should be trained to remain especially alert for such disturbances and to intervene whenever indicated.

Rather than sweeping intimate partner sexual abuse under the general heading of domestic violence, a court will achieve more effective outcomes if it addresses the issue directly. This includes creating a courtroom atmosphere where victims feel comfortable raising these issues, and where the particular rehabilitative needs of a defendant are specifically addressed. When the defendant or respondent engages in intimate partner sexual abuse, it is unlikely that a traditional batterer intervention program will adequately address the issue. See Orders of Protection, Pretrial Release, and Disposition: Batterer Intervention Programs). Judges have a critical role to play in bringing intervention programs and sex offender treatment programs up to par in this area.