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Domestic Violence Awareness Month at CEPP

CEPP recognizes the importance of developing evidence-based policies and practices that address domestic violence and its long-term impacts. The National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women (NRCJIW), a project of CEPP, uses a trauma- and gender-responsive approach that is informed by women, including those impacted by violence. Advancing Pretrial Policy & Research (APPR), CEPP’s pretrial initiative, acknowledges the tension between some of the goals of pretrial reform and survivors’ safety, and we make sure to take direction from survivors themselves.

CEPP is working with jurisdictions across the country to explore innovative ways to address domestic violence and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV). This newsletter spotlights the following activities:

APPR’s Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence Support 101 Training
Our Gender-Responsive and Trauma-Informed Prison Operations project with NRCJIW
NRCJIW’s resources to support justice-involved women

Support 101: APPR’s Domestic Violence / Intimate Partner Violence Training

On October 6, APPR held the first of what will be a quarterly training series on domestic violence and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV).

APPR team members Dr. Kelvin Banks and Keilah Joyner were joined by Shawn LaGrega, deputy director at Maine Pretrial Services; Dr. Tammy Meredith, APPR partner; and Tamika Cheree Henry, founder of I Am Here, to share foundational knowledge about DV/IPV, the impact of DV/IPV on survivors’ behavior, and personal stories of being involved with the criminal legal system.

Future training topics will include:

DV/IPV assessment tools (including law enforcement lethality assessments)
Innovative pretrial responses to DV/IPV court intervention and protective orders
Community supports for survivors and families

Learn More About This Project

Becoming Trauma-Informed:

NRCJIW’s Gender-Responsive and Trauma-Informed Prison Operations Project

Given the prevalence of trauma among justice-involved women and the realities of its effects, some correctional facilities have started to create a more trauma-informed culture. In a trauma-informed culture:

Staff understand trauma’s pervasive effects on the brain and body
Innovative programs are introduced to educate women on the effects of trauma and to help them cope with its effects
Operational practices are specifically structured to help women manage difficult symptoms so they can safely engage in institutional programs and services

For institutions, becoming trauma-informed means modifying operational practices that can cause further trauma to justice-involved women. CEPP's NRCJIW team works with agencies in facilities to assess, refine, and implement trauma- and gender-informed policies and practices that create safety and facilitate growth and change.

Explore NRCJIW’s Resource Library

Supporting Justice-Involved Women: NRCJIW’s Resource Library

Did you know that between 77% and 98% of women who are incarcerated have experienced trauma, including interpersonal violence and/or physical or sexual abuse?

NRCJIW has a robust library of fact sheets, guides, reports, and many other resources on topics such as:

Addressing trauma and victimization in women’s prisons
Working with women who perpetrate violence
The changing racial dynamics of women’s incarceration
And so much more