domestic violence

Nebula: A Community Centered Approach To Domestic Violence

October 14, 2024 Malikia Johnson, Grassroots Economic Organizing. Create! Community, domestic violence, Police, Tenant organizing

Nebula describes itself as a group that supports “survivors of battering, SA, IPV and DV with community & physical resources in crisis and in their empowerment”. They also “ assist neighbors and mutual aid groups learning how to build liberatory practices in their groups.” Two of the core members came together in the context of tenant organizing. They realized a connection between tenant organizing and domestic violence support. They noticed that often organizers involved in tenants’ rights ended up being involved in domestic violence support because homes are often the center of the violence.

Ruling On Homelessness Raises Risks For Domestic Violence Survivors

July 1, 2024 Jennifer Gerson, Scheer Post. Educate! domestic violence, Homelessness, Housing, Human Rights, SCOTUS, Supreme Court

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson, to uphold a law enacted by a small Oregon town that bars those experiencing homelessness from using blankets, pillows and cardboard boxes while sleeping outdoors within city limits. Those who are found doing so can impose fines for camping in public on first-time offenders and up to 30 days of jail time for repeat offenders. It’s a case that has major implications for survivors of domestic violence, experts say. Lawyers for the plaintiffs in this case have argued that barring camping on public property effectively criminalizes people for being unhoused.

Violence Against Women And Girls: The Shadow Pandemic

April 9, 2020 By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women. Educate! COVID-19, domestic violence, Violence against Women, Women's Rights

Confinement is fostering the tension and strain created by security, health, and money worries. And it is increasing isolation for women with violent partners, separating them from the people and resources that can best help them. It’s a perfect storm for controlling, violent behaviour behind closed doors. And in parallel, as health systems are stretching to breaking point, domestic violence shelters are also reaching capacity, a service deficit made worse when centres are repurposed for additional COVID-response. Even before COVID-19 existed, domestic violence was already one of the greatest human rights violations. In the previous 12 months, 243 million women and girls (aged 15-49) across the world have been subjected to sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner.

#FreeMarissa: One Year Milestone!

January 28, 2016 Staff, www.freemarissanow.or Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, domestic violence, Political Prisoner, Sexual Violence

By Staff of Free Marrissa Now - Together, members of Stand With Nan-Hui, Love & Protect, California Coalition of Women Prisoners, and the Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign recognized that the criminalization and punishment of survivors of gender violence is a widespread problem embedded in systems of domestic & sexual violence, prosecution, incarceration, and policing. We organized several twitter discussions to keep the spotlight on these issues and helped advocate for the immediate release of many other survivors such as Tondalo Hall, Cierra Finkley, Naomi Freeman, Rosa Martinez, Eisha Love, Rajeshree Roy, and Kelly Ann Savage.

Changing Domestic Violence Culture One Quilt Square At A Time

January 26, 2015 Victoria Law, www.wagingnonviolence.org Educate! Art, domestic violence, Florida

Two hundred years ago, quilts were an integral part of the Underground Railroad. Abolitionists sewed patterns into the squares of their quilts. They then hung the quilts in their yards, ostensibly to air them out. Runaway slaves could use the squares to identify friendly people, possible guides, preparations and directions towards freedom. This Tuesday, January 27, quilt squares will once again serve as a beacon towards freedom. In Jacksonville, Fla., the lawn outside the Duval County Courthouse will beblanketed with quilt squares. The reason: to bring attention to and protest the continued prosecution of Marissa Alexander, a black woman, mother of three and domestic violence survivor. Collected by the Monument Quilt, an ongoing project that crowd-sources stories of domestic and sexual violence, each of the 350 four-foot by four-foot squares contains a message about domestic violence or sexual assault.

One Group Has A Higher Domestic Violence Rate Than Everyone Else

December 25, 2014 Marcie Blanco, www.mic.com Educate! domestic violence, police brutality, Women's Rights

In families of police officers, domestic violence is two-to-four times more likely than in the general population — from stalking and harassment to sexual assault and even homicide. As the National Center for Women and Policing notes, two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, in contrast to 10% of families in the general population. America's police domestic abuse problem was on full display in Monday's horrific murder of Valerie Morrow, who police say was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend, Stephen Rozniakowski, a Philadelphia-area police officer. Morrow, 40, had just been granted a protection from abuse order against Rozniakowski, who had been charged with 75 counts of stalking.

Marissa Alexander Accepts Plea Deal, Protests Continue

November 25, 2014 Alisa Bierria, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, domestic violence, Marissa Alexander

The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign supports Marissa Alexander’s self-determination to make the best choices she can while navigating the violent and impossible circumstances created by her abusive husband, Angela Corey, and Florida’s judicial system. “The plea deal is a relief in some ways, but this is far from a victory,” said Alisa Bierria, from the Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign. “The deal will help Marissa and her family avoid yet another very expensive and emotionally exhausting trial that could have led to the devastating ruling of spending the rest of her life in prison. Marissa’s children, family, and community need her to be free as soon as possible. However, the absurdity in Marissa’s case was always the fact that the courts punished and criminalized her for surviving domestic violence, for saving her own life.

Marissa Alexander Supporters Correct Misleading Media

October 24, 2014 Sumayya Fire and Aleta Alston-Toure', www.freemarissanow.org Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, domestic violence, Marissa Alexander

“We’re glad that Marissa’s name is still in the media,” said Sumayya Fire, member of Free Marissa Now, “but the headline should be ‘Survivor of Domestic Violence Saves Her Own Life, Still Threatened with Appalling 60 Year Sentence.’ Another helpful headline would be ‘85%-90% of People in Women’s Prisons Experience Sexual and Domestic Violence before Incarceration.’ Why aren’t we having a national discussion about the ways that survivors of violence, especially black women, are systematically criminalized? The media needs to be all over this trial because of the dangerous and historic precedent it will set for the right of all women to defend themselves from domestic violence and sexual assault. If the trial ends in a life sentence for a woman whose life was threatened and caused no injuries when defending herself, all women's right to self-defense will be weakened.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month – Free Marissa

October 9, 2014 Staff, www.freemarissanow.org Organize! Criminal Justice and Prisons, domestic violence, Racism

Supporters of Marissa Alexander emphasize that October is also the Month of Resistance to Mass Incarceration. They urge both anti-domestic violence and anti-mass incarceration activists to make the connections between the issues. Priya Rai, a staff member of domestic violence victims’ advocacy organization API Chaya, explained, “Instead of protecting women in our communities, particularly from domestic violence, women are subjected to unjust policies that result in more barriers to their safety and well-being, as well as that of their families. Women of color are more likely to be arrested or detained themselves for acts of self-defense that are interpreted from a viewpoint of stereotypes and seen as aggression. Therefore, it is vital that we call attention to the plight of Marissa Alexander as she awaits her new trial.

Stand With Marissa, July 25-August 1

July 24, 2014 Aleta Alston-Toure' and Alisa Bierria, www.freemarissanow.org Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, domestic violence, Women's Rights

Free Marissa Now and thousands of Marissa Alexander's supporters around the world are strongly disappointed that the Florida courts on July 18 denied Marissa a fair hearing to support her right to self-defense under Florida's Stand Your Ground laws. Yet again, Florida refuses to free this survivor of domestic violence and undermines women's right to self defense, though it failed to convict two white men for the murder of two innocent black teen boys. It appears that Florida courts place less value on a young black mother's fear in the midst of a life-threatening attack and more value on the anger and unsupported fear of two white men. Nine days after a premature birth, Marissa Alexander harmed no one when she fired a warning shot to stop another life-threatening attack by her estranged husband. She faces possibly sixty years in prison as a result of prosecution by the state of Florida.

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