Many domestic violence survivors do not want to access criminal or civil legal responses to domestic violence. Part of providing survivor-centered legal advocacy is creating space for alternatives to the legal system and to support survivors in exploring what healing looks like for them.
This work has been led by BIPOC and queer and trans leaders in the movement to end violence for decades. Check out the resources below and reading list to get started!
Resources:
- Creative Interventions Toolkit– Creative Interventions is a space to re-envision community solutions to domestic, sexual and interpersonal violence. The toolkit is a practical guide to survivor-centered and survivor-led responses to violence based on decades of community-based work.
- TransformHarm.org– A resource hub created by Mariame Kaba for ending violence, with information on transformative justice, restorative justice and community accountability.
- INCITE!– a network of radical feminists of color organizing to end state, interpersonal and community violence.
- Building Accountable Communities– video series from Barnard Center for Research on Women discussing accountability and survivor-centered responses to violence with movement leaders.
- Pods and Pod Mapping worksheet from Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective- a resource for mapping who to call on when experiencing harm, causing harm and needing to be accountable
- The Four Parts of Accountability: How to Make a Good Apology– blog post by Mia Mingus breaking down a key element of accountability
Reading List:
- Beyond Survival, Ejeris Dixon (Editor); Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (Editor)
- Fumbling Towards Repair by Shira Hassan and Mariame Kaba
- The Revolution Starts at Home, Ching-In Chen (Editor); Jai Dulani (Editor); Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (Editor)
- Color of Violence: the INCITE! Anthology