Domestic violence directly and indirectly affects victims’ life choices and behavior and can force them into situations no one should ever find themselves in – including breaking the law.

Yet, the criminal justice system is unjust for many survivors of domestic violence. Far too many victims find themselves on the wrong side, facing judgment and incarceration after being put in an impossible and unwinnable situation. The facts speak for themselves: according to the American Civil Liberties Union, nearly 60 percent of female state prisoners nationwide and as many as 94 percent of certain female prison populations have a history of physical or sexual abuse.^[1] We cannot pretend that these victims’ incarceration and their abuse are unconnected.

The Assembly has worked to stand up for victims of domestic violence and make the criminal justice system more just for them and for all New Yorkers, and the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act is an important step forward. Passed on March 4^th by the Assembly, this legislation provides judges with greater discretion when sentencing defendants who are victims of domestic violence when their abuse was a significant contributing factor in their offense (A.3974). The measure allows survivors to seek lesser sentences and alternative-to-incarceration (ATI) programs. The bill also allows certain survivors who are currently incarcerated to apply for resentencing under the more compassionate sentencing guidelines.

A criminal justice system that does not account for extenuating circumstances and the painful realities of intimate partner violence and trauma can never truly be just. Treating victims as criminals equal to their abusers isn’t just unfair – it’s unconscionable. It’s time survivors receive real justice on both sides of the system.

[1] aclu.org/other/prison-rape-elimination-act-2003-prea?redirect=prisoners-rights-womens-rights/prison-rape-elimination-act-2003-prea