In Minsk, A Hidden Refuge for Battered Women

A free mobile app, Safe House, gives victims of domestic abuse a simple and quick way to call for help and find needed resources in four states. Putting local crisis helplines, shelters, and other local resources in one place saves time when an abuse victim is racing to get to safety. The app, downloaded more than 3,000 times since its launch less than two years ago, currently covers resources in Maine, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Its developer plans to expand to more states.

Lethality assessments have proven effective at avoiding domestic violence homicides and such a tool might have saved a Vermont woman who was murdered. The 11 questions help victims understand the danger they are in and also help law enforcement connect them with services. But officers in many counties in Vermont are either not using the tool or not doing it systematically even though an advocacy organization has pushed for its implementation and even when police chiefs embrace its use.

In St. Paul, one of Minnesota’s collective approaches to solutions in action — dubbed The Blueprint for Safety — is a foundation of laws that adapt to the proliferation of domestic violence in the state and successful efforts of marrying the advocate community with the criminal justice system.

Partnering cops and clinicians has led to a cultural change in New Haven's police department. Their definition of a victim extends past the person with physical injuries in order to help children from violence-stricken households, a more comprehensive approach.

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) provides comprehensive survivor support services including legal aid, medical care, shelters, and prevention programs, successfully building public trust and securing 140+ convictions while reaching 6.3 million people through awareness campaigns, though significant gaps remain between the 8,692 reported cases and actual access to justice and support services.

Stay-at-home orders keep us safe against the risk of infection, but for those suffering from domestic abuse they are no safe haven. The city of Philadelphia is working to let people know that services are still available despite the pandemic, although these services have had to adapt to the new circumstances. Some examples include special hotlines and FaceTime calls with judges for hearings. They also have a rotation of judges on call to deal with protection-from-abuse applications. There are also advocates and services outside the court system, like Philadelphia Legal Assistance.

The murder of a woman in Wisconsin highlights a lethality assessment tool for law enforcement to use that’s designed to help domestic victims and authorities understand how much danger victims might be in and help police connect them with services. It’s proven effective at helping those facing domestic violence take steps to reduce the chances they might be murdered by their partners. But getting it implemented, especially in rural areas where there may not be many resources for victims, has proven challenging with less than half of Wisconsin’s counties using it.

Volunteer advocates in Papua New Guinea are trained by the United Nations to be human rights defenders and are crucial links for women facing abuse to help them navigate through legal proceedings to get protection. In a country where many officials are bribed and women have few resources to get help, the defenders are usually their only route to escape. It's dangerous work but when it works by coordinating many sectors it's effective.

The Global Response Management is a humanitarian nonprofit led by U.S. military veterans and staffed by U.S. volunteers and "paid asylum seekers who were medical professionals in their homelands" that offers medical help to migrants at two clinics in Matamoros, Mexico – including, most recently, COVID-19 antibody tests. Although the organization's future is uncertain, it is not alone in its efforts, and it and other humanitarian aid organizations plan to continue collecting health data.

The Violence Against Women Act was billed as a way to make a patriarchal society, and policing profession in particular, take domestic violence more seriously. It encouraged policies making arrest of alleged abusers mandatory, even to the point of punishing victims who refused to cooperate in prosecutions. This has backfired on many victims, especially women of color who distrust police and their punitive approaches to solving family problems. The law also prioritizes punitive approaches in its awarding of federal grants, thus denying victim aid to women who do not wish to cooperate with arrests.