Resource Library

Coordinated community responses (CCRs) to domestic violence have been successful over the past forty years in leveraging the criminal legal system to hold abusers accountable and send messages of help to survivors. Although some survivors have found safety, many others have, in fact, been negatively impacted by systemic intervention. In rural communities, such inequities can result when law enforcement is ill-equipped to meet the communication needs of Deaf survivors or when shelters are unprepared to meet the needs of survivors with mental illnesses. Rural CCRs need practical, concrete tools and strategies to identify and reduce systemic inequities so that ALL survivors in their communities experience increased safety, help, and support.

Understanding how to support survivor's privacy, privilege, and confidentiality rights is critical to support safety and choice. This webinar, presented by the Texas Council on Family Violence and the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, will provide an overview of both federal confidentiality laws and state statutes that offer protections to survivors, including the new privilege statute just passed for survivors of sexual assault. The presenters will also discuss exceptions to the law, and the important pieces of a properly executed a release of information to ensure survivors are informed and their privilege is protected.

The Rural Behavior Webinar Series provides resources and information on how to approach mental health in rural communities, and the obstacles that plague that demographic (2019).

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) provides a resource library for police response to violence against women, which includes tools, policies, and resources to assist law enforcement in responding effectively to human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic and sexual violence by police officers, stalking, strangulation, domestic violence, and other crimes of intimate partner violence (2019).

This research study focuses on a treatment program that may be useful for victims of IPV that have already left the dangerous environment (2012).

Amy Jones is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and the CEO of the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center- an organization that provides counseling, crisis intervention and advocacy for those whose lives have been affected by sexual violence. Our conversation today focuses on Rape Culture, a concept that first surfaced in the 1970s, notably in the publication of the work “Rape: The First Sourcebook for Women,” put forth by the New York Radical Feminists Collective in 1974, and then further explored in depth in the 1975 documentary Rape Culture. The term Rape Culture remains popular still, and recent films like Duma (doo-muh) have explored the impact of rape culture around the world. Today, Rape Culture is broadly defined as sexual violence being treated as the norm, wherein victims are blamed for their own sexual assaults. Over the past several decades the discussion of rape culture has endured and become more organized and may have finally found a collective, universal voice within the #MeToo movement which is becoming an effective catalyst for changing how we as a society think about rape and women’s rights (2020).

Research shows that abusers with a gun in the home are five times more likely to kill their partners than abusers who don’t have that same access to a gun, yet Federal law prohibits convicted domestic violence abusers, as well as those subject to certain protective orders, from possessing guns. Our guest today is United States Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. Sworn into office in November 2017, Ms. Nealy Cox is the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Northern District of Texas, which covers 100 counties, more than 96,000 square miles, and a population of approximately 8 million people. Appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she is responsible for bringing to justice anyone who violates federal law in her district and chairs the recently formed Domestic Violence Working Group. The working group, comprised of nine U.S. attorneys from across the country, including officials from Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, and California, shares best practices for prosecuting domestic abusers, gun crimes, and provides guidance on how to work with local law enforcement agencies and nonprofits with the ultimate goal of reducing incidences of domestic violence. Content warnings for this episode include: physical violence and abuse (2020).

With the advent of a COVID-19 pandemic, the gap between technology and humanity has narrowed further as we now find technology to be one of our few lifelines to the world outside of our own homes. We are quickly learning that, while technology can provide immediate access to lifesaving information and opportunities of all kinds, it can also confuse, confound, and concern. Today’s episode focuses on safely integrating technology into our lives as we simultaneously navigate the trauma of living through a pandemic. Our guests are Myra and Russell Strand, co-founders of Strand Squared, a training and consulting agency with the mission to “dramatically shift the cultural paradigm in order to improve society’s response to individuals who have experienced trauma, victimization, and other complex experiences." Myra Strand has been working with survivors of complex trauma with a special emphasis on professional health as it relates to organizational trauma for 30 years. She was previously a faculty member at Northern Arizona University and Coconino Community College where she taught issues of violence, sexuality, and applied intersectionality for over a decade. Russell Strand is a retired Senior Special Agent (SSA) in the United States Army Criminal Investigations Command as well as retired Chief of the U.S. Army Military Police Behavioral Sciences Education & Training Division and the founder and owner of Russell Strand Consulting, LLC. He was selected by the Secretary of Defense to serve on the Congressionally-mandated Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Committee as a member of the Comparative Systems Subcommittee (2020).

Kelsey McKay is a nationally recognized expert on strangulation who developed a critical protocol for strangulation and domestic violence response and treatment. A former prosecutor from Travis County Texas, McKay founded McKay Training & Consulting to collaborate with leaders in fields of law enforcement in order to strengthen how communities collaborate, investigate, treat and prosecute strangulation and intimate partner cases. Her protocol - The Asphyxiation Assessment - is transforming the role of first responders in cases of crimes against women. This episode tackles the subject of strangulation – what it is, what it is not, and best practices in the fields of response, investigation, and prosecution. Content warnings for this episode include: abuse, physical and sexual violence (2020).

It is well-documented that women in tribal communities experience a significantly higher rate of domestic violence and human trafficking throughout the United States. To confront that reality, tribal communities have established organizations dedicated to understanding and implementing the law to better protect women and prevent these criminal acts. Another approach to supporting and empowering tribal women is through advocacy organizations like the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition- a statewide tribal coalition and a national tribal technical assistance provider, providing support, advocacy, and activities that utilize traditional teaching and other cultural strengths to encourage healing, build resilience, and counter the normalization of violence against tribal women. Joining the conversation is Nicole Matthews. Nicole is Anishinabe from the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, and is the Executive Director for the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition, where she has been employed since 2002. MIWSAC is a statewide Tribal Coalition and a national Tribal Technical Assistance Provider (2020).

We talk today with Julie Owens, a victim advocate who survived the domestic violence of attempted murder. For three decades she has consulted and trained nationally and internationally for organizations, governments, and professionals. She created a domestic violence crisis team for ERs and a transitional shelter before directing DV trauma therapy research at the National Center for PTSD. Julie consults and trains independently for organizations including the Office for Victims of Crime, the National Human Trafficking Center, and Bank of America. Her focus is survivor-centered, trauma informed victim advocacy in secular and faith-based settings. Content warnings for this episode include abuse, physical and sexual violence (2020).

Our guest today is Mark Wynn, 21-year member of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department who served as Lieutenant to the Domestic Violence Division and as a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team for fifteen years. A trainer, advocate and specialist in the field of domestic violence for law enforcement, Mark Wynn is the recipient of no less that 121 commendations and 51 awards for his work, including the 1995 National Improvement of Justice Award and the 1998 Nashvillian of the Year Award. Content warnings for this episode include: physical violence and abuse (2020).

The first episode of the Podcast on Crimes Against Women features originally scheduled 2020 Conference Keynote Speaker Amy Herman, author, attorney, and art historian, whose ground-breaking work in the study of visual perception through art became a method of investigation for law enforcement and launched a movement she describes as The Art of Perception. The recent publication of her book “Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life” enables people to see what matters in order to better investigate crimes and criminal behavior resulting in better outcomes from investigation. In this episode, Herman reveals how examining works of art can sharpen observation, analysis, and communication skills by revealing our implicit biases. Content warnings for this episode include: violence, abuse (2020).

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 victim safety (2019).

This resource provides several videos of Catholic homilies, as well as survivor stories, geared towards spreading awareness about domestic violence (2019).

This article discusses obstacles to reporting sexual assault in rural areas and the need for more research concerning sexual assault in these communities (2009).

This article delves into the historical context of batterer stereotypes, and suggests limits to our understanding of IPV offenders (2015).

This document presents a case for the inclusion of teen dating violence prevention programs in middle and high schools (2013).

This U.K. study is based on a survey of 44 domestic violence services and 73 interviews with men who were in, or had completed, a program to explore possible positive outcomes for children (2013).

This article discusses the risks and concerns associated with non-fatal strangulation, as well as the legal responses to strangulation by the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

This article provides an overview of trauma as well as experiences of traumas specific to LGBTQ youth (2017).

This paper studies the problem of marital rape in a variety of countries, and examines how legal systems and political actors contribute to shaming and stigmatization in cases of rape (2016).

This article outlines a systems approach to the implementation of IPV screening and counseling, with a focus on integrated health and advocacy service delivery to support identification and interventions (2015).

This survey was designed to determine what causes victims to recant in non-fatal domestic assault by strangulation cases, and how criminal conviction can be secured in the context of strangulation without pressuring the victim to testify (2016).

This paper focuses on help-seeking barriers and factors impacting decisions to leave an abusive relationship among 15 immigrant African women. Barriers found in this study include a culture of gender inequality, acceptance of gender violence, concern for children, and self-blame (2009).

This article details the threats and barriers faced by battered immigrant women who are married to both U.S. citizens and immigrants. One of the most significant barriers discussed is the threat of deportation by the abuser (2000).

This paper raises the question of how to hold perpetrators accountable. Often times, the perception exists that victim reluctance is the problem in DV case outcomes. However, the authors seek to uncover who is in the best position to hold these batterers accountable (2005).

The authors uncover the literature on the epidemiology of nonfatal strangulation by an intimate partner (2014).