If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, there is help available. Call 1-877-TO END DV. That’s 1-877-863-6338.
When Chicago attorney John C. Sciaccotta was installed as President of the Chicago Bar Association in June 2024, he identified domestic violence as a key area of focus for his bar year.
Sciaccotta, who along with his mother and younger brother are survivors of domestic violence, saw his role at the CBA as a platform to educate the legal community about the “horrors” he endured as a child and to inspire action in the legal community aimed at fighting the abusive behavior.
“We need to stop this in its tracks now because it is becoming worse,” Sciaccotta said. “People’s lives are at stake, children’s lives are at stake. And don’t think for a minute that children who go through this aren’t scarred for the rest of their lives.”
Cases of domestic violence have been growing in Illinois. The Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence reported a 110% increase in deaths caused by domestic violence in 2023 when 94 incidents of domestic violence led to 120 deaths.
A ‘child survivor of domestic violence’
Sciaccotta, a lifelong Chicagoan who is currently a Senior Member and Partner at Aronberg Goldgehn, recalls the pain of the domestic violence he endured as a child.
“My experience with domestic violence was very traumatic,” he said. “I observed not only myself but my brother and mother being physically assaulted.”
He remembers being thrown out of the house on Christmas Eve when he was in sixth or seventh grade and seeking the support of his maternal grandparents who, alongside his mother, raised Sciaccotta and his brother.
Sciaccotta said the “extreme cruelty” his family was under was both physical and mental. He emphasized the impact of verbal abuse, saying “It’s not just physical.”
As he has gotten older, it has been difficult for him to come to terms with what he experienced, especially the way his mother was treated.
“For many years, I think I didn’t deal very well with the fact that my brother and I were child survivors of domestic violence, or that our mother was a survivor of domestic violence,” he said.“It endures with you forever. You may be able to overlook or pacify it, but it’s still with you.”
When a mutual friend introduced him to Rebecca Darr, President and CEO of WINGS, Illinois’s largest domestic violence service provider, he began to confront his experience and see a role he could play in helping combat domestic violence for others.
‘Where are the men?’
Darr encouraged Sciaccotta to join the WINGS board of directors, something he was unsure about at first.
“I was very hesitant to get involved because I had experienced domestic violence,” he said, noting concerns that he would have to relive painful childhood memories.
However, he attended a board meeting at Darr’s invitation and was shocked when there was only one other man in the room.
“I asked Darr where all of the men were and she said, ‘I can’t get them, that’s why I need you,’” Sciaccotta remembered.
As a male survivor of domestic violence, he recognized the good that could come from speaking about the issue from a male’s perspective.
“While more women experience domestic violence, men experience it too,” he said. “However, they are often reticent to share their story I think, in part, because of the male persona.”
Sciaccotta believes that men have a difficult time admitting when they have a problem or that something is wrong.
“There’s a perception that this admission lessens the type of man you are,” he said.
However, Sciaccotta began to embrace WINGS as a platform to encourage men to seek support, share their stories, and “forcefully come together against the perpetrators of domestic violence.”
Raising the legal community’s awareness of domestic violence
Last October, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sciaccotta spearheaded the Chicago Bar Association’s inaugural Domestic Violence Summit.
The Summit, which was organized in collaboration with Darr and WINGS, brought together a diverse set of stakeholders – including leaders from many Illinois bar associations, law firms and other legal organizations, law enforcement, government, and social services agencies – to explore how the legal community can drive change and support survivors of domestic violence.
The Summit took a wide-ranging look at how domestic violence not only impacts survivors, but also our communities, legal system, and society as a whole, emphasizing that no one is immune from domestic violence.
Denise Brown, an activist against domestic violence and sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, and Mark Wynn, a former Nashville police lieutenant who made an award-winning film about his experiences with domestic violence, served as featured speakers.
More than 150 lawyers and judges attended the Summit, including Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court and leading government officials.
“I can’t tell you how many people who attended the Summit came up to me and, in confidence, told me that they were also survivors of domestic violence,” Sciaccotta said. “They said the Summit helped them recognize the traumatic and devastating experiences domestic violence had in their lives. This ability to help people was the most rewarding.”
Reviving the CBA’s Domestic Violence Committee
In his role as CBA President, Sciaccotta is also reviving the CBA’s Domestic Violence Committee with a mission to “articulate, educate, and hopefully eradicate the horrors of domestic violence,” he said.
He hopes this includes an annual event focused on domestic violence, as well as efforts to explore early intervention methods and improve domestic violence legislation.
“As lawyers, we must make sure that legislation and laws are the best they can be in this area,” he said.
From a lawyer’s standpoint, Sciaccotta emphasized the emotional and mental toll that domestic violence cases can have on lawyers and judges who are exposed to them regularly. He said the Domestic Violence Committee will prioritize the development or expansion of vicarious trauma support programs for lawyers and judges working in domestic violence.
Sciaccotta and Janet Wagner, Principal at Chuhak & Tecson, will serve as co-chairs of the Committee. They are actively seeking CBA members to participate. The first committee meeting is March 27 at 12:15 p.m.
For CBA members wishing to join the committee please register at: https://learn.chicagobar.org/products/domestic-violence-committee-32725
Sciaccotta’s ask of lawyers
When asked what his end goal is, Sciaccotta notes that his past is steering his future.
“The pain is still there. You can become more numb, but the pain is still there,” he said. “If I can prevent that from happening to someone else, that would be a success.”
He asks that lawyers consider becoming involved, whether formally or informally, in the effort to eradicate domestic violence. This may mean helping someone in trouble, joining WINGS or the CBA’s Domestic Violence Committee, or just being more aware of and sensitive about the issue.
“Our legal profession, the Chicago Bar Association, our mental health profession, our medical profession, our psychological profession, we all need to get behind this,” he said. “If you come across someone who is experiencing this horrible situation, let them know that help is available and to please reach out. You may save someone’s life.”
For more information about WINGS, visit wingsprogram.com.
For more information about the CBA’s Domestic Violence Committee, please email John Sciaccotta at JSciaccotta@agdglaw.com.
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Links to on-demand webcasts from CBA Domestic Violence Summit:
Chicago Bar Association Learning: The Path Forward for Domestic Violence Prevention (10/29/24)
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