South SFV Today

A new study documents the pathways through which women who are survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) find themselves serving long prison sentences for acts of survival. The report, titled "Fatal Peril: Unheard Stories from the IPV-to-Prison Pipeline and Other Stories Touched by Violence," is a product of a multi-year study by the Regilla Project, a research initiative of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center focusing on women incarcerated for homicide offenses stemming from their own abuse.

"Fatal Peril" includes voices from approximately 650 individuals serving time for murder and manslaughter in two California prisons: Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino. Researchers conducted surveys at these prisons in July and November 2023 to better understand how people experiencing IPV are criminalized for actions taken to survive abuse. Stanford students contributed to proctoring, data analysis, and drafting of the report.

The study marks the first time that the Composite Abuse Scale and Danger Assessment—two validated instruments used to assess intimate partner violence and intimate partner homicide—have been applied to an incarcerated population. In addition to quantitative results, qualitative data was collected from hundreds of respondents who shared their experiences of abuse, circumstances surrounding their offenses, interactions with the criminal legal system, and feelings of regret, remorse, and healing.

Debbie Mukamal, executive director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center who led the study alongside Dr. Andrea N. Cimino, noted that women's testimonies were remarkably similar. "The stories of these women reflect a persistent belief that their lives were in danger," Mukamal said.

“These are a group of forgotten women,” said Cimino. “Their experiences of violence were silenced in the courtroom and they have been neglected in IPV research which focuses on non-incarcerated populations.”

David Sklansky, Stanley Morrison Professor of Law at Stanford University emphasized that current practices fail to account adequately for intimate partner violence realities. He stated: “This new report underscores the pressing need for comprehensive reform in this area."

Respondents recounted severe physical, psychological, and sexual abuse including strangulation or choking incidents leading to traumatic brain injuries—a factor highlighted as potentially affecting survivor-defendants’ testimony.

Retired U.S. Representative Jackie Speier remarked on broad national implications while U.S. Senator Cory Booker stressed society's moral imperative to address issues raised by this report.

The findings indicate nearly three-fourths of respondents experienced IPV within a year before their offense—a rate ten times higher than among U.S. women generally—and suggest systemic bias against survivor-defendants during trials.

Kelly Savage-Rodriguez from California Coalition for Women Prisoners expressed gratitude towards publication affirming her own experiences with many others criminalized for surviving abuse.

Recommendations include more consistent screening for IPV within criminal legal systems considering traumatic brain injuries' impact on survivor-defendants’ testimonies along with enhanced programs preventing IPV through cross-sector collaboration between various support systems.

The Regilla Project plans stakeholder meetings this Fall aiming at identifying viable solutions based on these findings.