The movement to reform prisons is almost as old as prisons themselves. But what is the ultimate goal of reform of a system like the criminal justice system? On our New Thinking podcast, Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law explain why they think many of today's most popular reforms are extending, rather than countering, the justice system's harmful effects. Their new book is Prison By Any Other Name.
In 2018 and 2019, advocates, survivor leaders, community-based professionals working directly with criminalized Black women survivors, system players, national thought leaders, and Office on Violence Against Women grantees came together to discuss the needs of criminalized Black women survivors and determine effective strategies for working with and supporting them. This report synthesizes observations and reflections from roundtable participants and outlines important next steps to further enhance this work.
Black women are disproportionately represented in the justice system and face a host of barriers, including histories of domestic violence and sexual assault. This document will outline the specific needs of criminalized Black women and offer strategies for stakeholders working with them.
This guide outlines best practices to help courts develop or enhance compliance calendars. It provides examples from jurisdictions across the country who are implementing effective compliance calendars that increase defendant and respondent accountability and survivor safety and wellbeing.
Practitioners and systems often fail to incorporate a contextualized understanding of the ways in which sexual assault, revictimization, and criminalization impact Black women. This fact sheet provides trauma-informed and culturally-responsive strategies to help practitioners and system players improve current practices and meet the needs of criminalized Black women survivors of sexual assault.
Notwithstanding the prevalence of exposure to domestic violence, sexual assault and criminalization, Black women demonstrate collective perseverance and resilience. While many faith-based organizations and social service providers often provide links to services that meet survivors’ basic needs (e.g., food, clothing, and temporary shelter), they often fail to provide a complete continuum of care that supports Black women’s resilience. This fact sheet outlines ABCs of supporting Black women's resilience.
Practitioners and systems often fail to incorporate a contextualized understanding of the ways in which both intimate partner violence and criminalization disproportionately impact Black women. This fact sheet provides trauma-informed and culturally-responsive strategies to help practitioners and system players improve current practices and meet the needs of criminalized Black women survivors of intimate partner violence.
Acknowledging the role of faith, spirituality and/or religion is crucial to enhancing cultural responsiveness and understanding the diverse needs of many people. This fact sheet outlines how faith communities can better support criminalized Black women survivors in their own communities and suggests that broader community-based anti-violence efforts should incorporate faith-based organizations into their responses.
Over the past 20 years, a growing number of young girls—disproportionately Black girls—have been criminalized and subjected to criminal and juvenile legal involvement. Notably, these girls have often experienced numerous forms of trauma before their involvement in the system, including poverty, racism, sexism, heterocentrism and transphobia, child physical and sexual abuse, sexual assault, dating violence, and exploitation.
This webinar will highlight the innovative work of the EMERGE Academy, an educational reentry pilot program for young women residing in Alameda County, who have had prior contact with the criminal or juvenile legal system. Falilah Bilal, senior trainer of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, will share lessons learned from this pilot and offer intervention strategies for the field on responding more effectively to girls and young women reentering society.
