My criminalization and incarceration has led me to a serious awakening of how corrupt and broken our justice system is.
The system incarcerates Black and brown people like me at a much higher rate than those who are white, and often hands us disproportionately longer punishments.
One in 4 women will experience domestic violence at the hands of a romantic or sexual partner, according to the CDC. Similarly, 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. lives with a disability.
Between these two statistics is an overlap so large it demands attention. Yet, there is little discussion or awareness that domestic violence and disability often intersect.
Relationship violence threatens not only students’ physical safety and emotional well-being, but also their academic prospects. Some campuses are finding solutions to help keep survivors in school.
Federal law requires schools and universities that receive government funding to prevent gender-based violence and harassment, and address the needs of survivors so they can continue their education. Survivors have the right to special accommodations such as extra time to complete their school work.
Domestic violence, the leading cause of homelessness among women and children, is increasing during the pandemic, but a way for survivors to get “housing first” is a bright light.
While people from all socioeconomic backgrounds experience domestic violence, low-income survivors and immigrant women are especially at risk of becoming homeless due to lack of resources.
A statewide research initiative called Reimagine Lab is deploying strategies from the product design world to identify the root causes of family violence and find new ways to prevent it.
In communities of color, too often the options we have to address violence rely on punishment, police and incarceration. For too many, these options cause additional cycles of trauma and harm, and are not survivor-centered.
Starting in January, a new California law will require all ID badges for students in seventh through 12th grades and in higher education institutions to carry the National Domestic Violence Hotline number, or that of a local domestic violence hotline. One in three teens in the United States is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, statistics show.
Advocates for restorative justice say there’s a need for alternative strategies to address domestic violence, especially in cases where survivors don’t want the police involved.