Purpose <p>This paper explores how institutions meant to help victims exacerbate the physical, psychological, and emotional harms of family violence that result from broken or enduring family bonds. It focuses on the justice system that oversees various legal aspects (e.g., prosecuting abuse, issuing orders of protection, and deciding divorce and child custody/support) and administers programs designed to help victims (e.g., victim advocates, victim services, and restitution).</p> Method <p>We draw on 27 interviews with victims of family violence (e.g., intimate partner violence, child and sexual abuse, and homicide). Interviews were in person and on Zoom. Grounded theory is used to analyze the data.</p> Results <p>We show how social inequalities (e.g., race, gender, class, legal status) shape the harms that these victims experience and how institutions exacerbate those harms not just for the victim on record but the entire family. Those institutional shortcomings manifest in work practices related to classification, timing, case processing, and multi-institutional complexities.</p> Conclusion <p>This paper adds to the existing literature on family violence by looking at multiple types of harm that shape victims’ experiences while addressing a gap in knowledge of how the justice system exacerbates those harms through its work practices. The broader implications for inequality abound as more marginalized victims have fewer resources to advocate for services in the justice system, which leaves them more vulnerable after the court processes their cases.</p>