Preeya Panwalker

Smiling brightly, Judge Dimple Malhotra begins her presentation. During Flex, Ms. Malhotra shared her input on her career, journey and advocacy to students. “I hope [students] got a little bit more information about following their passion,” Ms. Malhotra said. “[Alongside] if they’re interested in law and want to help people, how they can do that, and the different ways to do so.”

Not all heroes wear capes, and Judge Dimple Malhotra serves as a leading example of that, fighting domestic violence and protecting Austin in and out of court. Rapt with attention, students gathered on Friday, Nov. 15, during Flex to hear her weave together her story of becoming a judge and serving the Austin community. While attendees expected to hear Ms. Malhotra speak about her path to a legal career, she instead left them with a powerful message on domestic violence advocacy.

Ms. Malhotra recounted her story of becoming a judge for Travis County Court at Law No. 4, a criminal misdemeanor court, where she works with cases related to domestic violence, having held over 25 years of experience within this field of work. Holding the groundbreaking title as the first Travis County judge of South Asian descent, Ms. Malhotra’s efforts to break generational abuse, raise awareness towards domestic violence, and create a butterfly effect of kindness and compassion brought her to the seminar with the hope to inspire students.

 “When I was younger, I could have never imagined [becoming a judge], and so I never really thought about it,” Ms. Malhotra said. “When I thought about judges, I just thought about old people who were grumpy, and they sat in a big chair and were not nice and scary and all that. I didn’t imagine that someone who looked like me would ever be in a position like that.”

“I knew early on that I was interested in law, and I also knew early on that I wanted to help people and find a way to help people,” Ms. Malhotra said. “When I was in law school, I had the opportunity to do a child abuse clinic, so I was able to represent kids who had been abused or neglected. That’s when I really realized [that] this is what I really want to do.”

Her catalyst for raising domestic violence awareness started during her time at a children’s clinic for victims of domestic violence. Ms. Malhotra’s work at the clinic exposed her to the reality of victims of violence, sparking her desire to help women and children. After graduating law school from the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), she worked for the California-based nonprofit Support Network For Battered Women, where she solidified her choice of serving the underserved.

“[At the nonprofit,] I was the first point of contact when someone reported an incident of domestic violence [right after] the police had just left,” Ms. Malhotra said.” [I was] that person someone needed to talk to, someone to give them resources, [and] someone to explain what the next steps could be for them.”

Studies show around 48% of South Asians have faced physical abuse, while 38% of South Asians have experienced verbal abuse. Witnessing such cases firsthand, both as a child and through her career, Ms. Malhotra views domestic violence as learned behavior. She believes that domestic violence doesn’t just affect the adult victim — it can psychologically damage children and contribute to a cycle of abuse.

“[Domestic violence] is an epidemic,” Ms. Malhotra said. “It impacts not only the victim in the relationship, but [also] the children. If children are witnessing domestic violence, it becomes a cycle, and it really harms the fabric of our society and creates danger for everyone.”

To combat the growing epidemic of domestic abuse, Ms. Malhotra provides aid to the Austin community by prioritizing changing the culture of the court, proposing bills that benefit all demographics and creating drives for youth. In court, she was integral to passing Senate Bill (SB) 9, which mandated all schools provide education about teen relationship violence. Connecting with the community, she also hosted a stuffed animal drive to provide comfort to children in the courtroom, delivering them with a softer memory of domestic violence cases.

However, Ms. Malhotra doesn’t stand alone in her pursuit to fight domestic violence. With strong networks of like-minded advocates, there has been a growing increase in domestic violence awareness. Organizations like The SAFE Alliance and Asian Family Support Services of Austin support victims by providing legal services, and national hotlines remain open 24/7 to provide assistance to those in need.

“1994 was a game changer as Joe Biden enacted the Violence Against Women Act,” Ms. Malhotra said. “It created funding for shelters, nonprofits, and assistance for victims. I think one of the reasons we see more cases [of domestic abuse] is because there’s more awareness.”

Ms. Malhotra seeks to continue her advocacy through leading community drives and enacting bills. As a pillar of representation and advocacy in the judicial system, she continues to serve as a role model to young girls, aspiring lawyers, and like-minded advocates.

“I hope [students] get a little bit more information about following their passion, [alongside] if they’re interested in law and want to help people, how they can do that, and the different ways to do so,” Ms. Malhotra said. “If they do want to eventually aspire to become a judge, [understand] that’s not an unreachable goal. Anyone can do that as well — they just have to follow their passion.”