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The Abuse to Prison Pipeline
Women’s prison populations are teeming with survivors.
Men serve less time for killing a woman. The average prison sentence for men who kill their female partners is 2 to 6 years (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). The average sentence for women who kill their male partners is 15 years, despite the fact that, as stated by NCADV’s findings, most women kill their abusive partners in self-defense.
Within the two weeks that victims try to leave their violent relationships, they are 70 times more likely to get killed by their abusers, according to the Domestic Violence Intervention Program.
One third of homicide victims with temporary protective orders were murdered within the first month of filing the order, according to a 10-city study.
COVID-19 is magnifying the dangers of staying at home with an abuser or having to share custody of a child with a violent ex — circumstances that existed well before the pandemic because of how our society and legal system responds.
THERE’S HOPE
Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA)
The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act is a New York State law that allows judges to assess whether domestic abuse was a "significant contributing factor" to the alleged crime.
For example, if a survivor commits a crime because:
a violent partner or family member abuses them, a judge can consider that a “significant contributing factor.”
their abuser or family member coerces them (threatens their life or safety, etc.), a judge can consider that a “significant contributing factor.”
This allows judges to implement shorter sentences and, in some cases, alternative-to-incarceration (ATI) programs.
Kim Dadou Brown is a domestic violence survivor who shot and killed her boyfriend when he attempted to strangle her to death in 1991. The price of fighting for her life cost 17 years behind bars. Even before her 2008 release, Kim has been a driving force in advocating for the passage of the DVSJA.
The law also permits currently incarcerated survivors, who meet the criteria, to apply for re-sentencing or earlier release.
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