Domestic Violence Expert Kelly Weisberg Wins Journalism Award
UC Law SF Professor Kelly Weisberg received the Hope Rising Journalism Award at the International Family Justice Center Conference earlier this month in recognition of her work as editor of the leading legal newsletter on domestic violence.
Professor Kelly Weisberg
鈥淚t鈥檚 not journalism in the sense of what most people think of as journalism,鈥 Weisberg said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more scholarship, very specialized scholarship.鈥
Weisberg assumed the helm of the national newsletter Domestic Violence Report in 2012, following the tenure of another noted expert in domestic violence, Joan Zorza, who founded the publication in 1995. Over the past nine years, she has continued the newsletter鈥檚 critical work, writing and editing articles on such topics such as stalking, separation abuse, firearms, violence in the tribal community, and the role of police.
The Hope Rising Award recognizes journalists of all backgrounds who have helped advance awareness and policy reform around domestic and sexual violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and human trafficking. Previous winners include Huffington Post鈥檚 Melissa聽Jeltsen聽in 2017 for聽her聽powerful聽writing on domestic violence in nearly two stories per week, Lara Logan of 60 Minutes in 2018 for the narrative of her harrowing experience of sexual assault while on assignment in Cairo during Arab Spring, and prize-winning author Rachel Louise Snyder in 2019 for her groundbreaking reporting on traumatic brain injury in domestic violence survivors and childhood exposure to domestic violence.
In recognizing Weisberg, the International Family Justice Center said her 鈥渃ommitment to journalistic excellence has played a transformative role in advancing criminal justice reform.鈥
On learning of the award, UC Law SF Academic Dean Morris Ratner said, 鈥淧rofessor Weisberg’s stewardship of the Domestic Violence Report reflects a lifetime of trailblazing and rigorous work, shining a scholarly and practical light on an issue that for many years received far too little attention.”
The award recognizes Weisberg鈥檚 entire body of work with the Domestic Violence Report. But, for Weisberg, there are definitely some special points of pride. Among them is the , which detailed how non-fatal strangulation is often a precursor to homicide.
鈥淢any domestic violence offenders and rapists do not strangle their partners to kill them; they strangle them to let them know they can kill them鈥攁ny time they wish,鈥 reads an oft-cited passage. 鈥淥nce victims know this truth, they live under the power and control of their abusers day in and day out.鈥
That special issue helped expose the myth of 鈥渁ttempted鈥 strangulation and proposed eliminating that adjective from the description of such crimes. It framed the case for making non-fatal strangulation a felony in hopes of preventing some homicides. And, in the end, it 鈥渃ontributed to law reform,鈥 Weisberg said. 鈥淣ow, in almost every state in the nation, non-fatal strangulation is a felony.鈥
鈥淚 am honored to have a colleague who has been so influential both in scholarship and activism to help those vulnerable to domestic violence,鈥 said UC Law SF Distinguished Professor Joan Williams, a prominent expert on gender issues related to the law.
During almost four decades on the faculty at UC Law SF, Weisberg has taught courses on domestic violence, family law, stalking, juvenile justice, children and the law, and wills and trusts.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to bring to teaching a tremendous amount of what I鈥檝e learned through the newsletter,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd through this work I鈥檝e had access to the leading voices in the country in domestic violence, so I鈥檝e brought those voices home to my students.鈥