Jacqueline St. Joan

 Jacqueline St. Joan inspires others to expand their vision about social justice and listen carefully to the voices of women, many of whom have been marginalized and excluded based on racism, poverty, and gender violence. 

As an attorney, judge, law professor, child advocate, and writer, Jacqueline St. Joan has played a preeminent role in transforming Colorado’s legal landscape for women and their children suffering violence and abuse. As a Colorado resident for over fifty years, St. Joan began her mission for marginalized people as a young mother caring for two children while attending the University of Denver where she attained her law degree. Her first position was at the Colorado Attorney General’s office. An advocate for domestic violence victims, she established her law practice in the early 1980s.

Finding an inconsistency in law enforcement and judicial practices in 1981, St. Joan with two lawyers and a social worker launched the Colorado Coalition for Justice for Abused Women (CCJAW). With this organization, they started addressing the enforcement of domestic violence and the inefficiency of restraining orders.  

CCJAW became Project Safeguard (PSG) in 1984 and was one of the first U.S. domestic violence victim advocacy organizations to work with law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and courts to develop a more coordinated community response. PSG’s work resulted in policies to help combat domestic violence including police training, judicial education, trained victim advocates, mandatory arrests of perpetrators, and restricted bonds for offenders until a legal process for protective orders was in place. Many protective steps were put in place with Jacqueline as an advocate, and in 1994 she and other advocates pushed for the creation of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board. In 2017 this work was institutionalized at the Colorado Attorney General’s office and its mandate was renewed in 2022.

Jacqueline St. Joan was awarded with a Social Change Award from PSG in 1993 and 2000. Her honors also include being appointed to the Denver County Court in 1985, and becoming one of its first female judges. She is also an editor and writer. Her writings have appeared in law journals, and she has taught courses for Metropolitan State University and the University of Colorado. She received the Marth Lathrop “Trailblazers” Award, the Judicial Contribution Award, the Judicial Excellence Award, and the Women of Achievement Award. In 1997, she received the Sturm College of Law Alumni Professionalism Award for her dedication to women and social issues.

Jacqueline St. Joan is an award-winning poet and novelist. Two of her noteworthy books, My Sisters Made of Light and Shawl of Midnight, convey the struggles of women against violence, with the former being nominated for the Colorado Book Award. 

St. Joan was also a co-founder and writer for Big Mama Rag (BMR), a women’s news journal incorporated in the early 1970s. BMR promoted women’s rights and was established to educate on the women’s movement, including lesbian rights. National distribution and recognition as a grass-roots feminist publication, the Colorado History Museum included BMR and the work of its founders in a 2023 exhibit “Rainbows & Revolutions.”

Jacqueline St. Joan has spent her life promoting gender and racial justice. Her advocacy for women who have been subjected to domestic violence led to enforcement and judicial system changes ensuring the opportunity for fair treatment and safety. She understands how systems work and has been a catalyst for institutional change in Colorado and the nation.