The National Institute on the Prosecution of Domestic Violence (NIPDV) is a three-day virtual course designed to challenge participants to reevaluate their approach to prosecuting domestic violence. The curriculum is grounded in evidence-based prosecution, equipping prosecutors with the skills and strategies to hold offenders accountable regardless of whether victims are able to testify at trial. In addition to practical case evaluation and litigation skills, NIPDV focuses on risk assessment, coordinated community responses, trauma-informed interviewing, strangulation, intimate partner sexual assault, co-occurring crimes, witness intimidation and forfeiture by wrongdoing, presentation of evidence at trial, expert testimony, cultural humility and culturally specific considerations, confronting racial bias, jury selection and ethical considerations.

Through a combination of hypothetical case scenarios, participant exercises, small group discussions, interactive lectures, and faculty demonstrations, participants will re-examine their own beliefs about domestic violence and refine their prosecution practices. The highly interactive format enables prosecutors from different jurisdictions, with varied levels of experience, to learn from one another and engage in "real-life" scenarios that are readily transferable to their everyday work. At the end of the Institute, participants will be better equipped to hold offenders of domestic violence criminally accountable while centering victims' needs and voices throughout the process.