Domestic Violence

Domestic violence (DV), or intimate partner violence (IPV) involves any kind of repeated physical, sexual, emotional, psychological or economic actions to control, coerce, humiliate or threaten a romantic partner. DV or IPV can happen to people of all genders or backgrounds at any stage of a relationship.

‘Take Beauty From Ashes’: Advocating for Felony Murder Law Reform

In 2017, Briana Martinson, then 20, and Megan Cater, 19, went to the apartment of a man whom they believed had stolen medication from Martinson, with the intent to steal it back. By the time they arrived at the apartment, Martinson and Cater were joined by several other individuals, two of whom were older men that the women did not know. According to Martinson, one of the men threatened them with a gun before entering, at which point she realized, “Okay, there’s no turning back.”

In the end, they were each sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional felony murder.

Was this a case of wrongful conviction? It’s complicated.

The Digital War on Women: Sexualized Deepfakes, Weaponized Data and Stalkerware That Monitors Victims Online

The 2024 U.S. election is over, but the online abuse of women in politics is set to intensify.

Around the world, a growing number of female candidates have been targeted by manipulated explicit content; and while the harm escalates fast, legal recourse is lengthy. Moreover, nearly any system that collects and shares location data can now be weaponized against its users. Digital surveillance can have a devastating impact on women, especially given the lack of robust legal or social protections against gender-based violence. 

The Next President Will Decide Domestic Violence Policy for Millions of Survivors

Survivor Justice Action, alongside survivors and allies across the country, is taking the conversation about domestic violence beyond individual homes, ensuring it’s heard loudly throughout the halls of Congress.

We refuse to settle for a world that enables, perpetuates and ignores the root causes of domestic violence. We will always make survivors voices a priority, and we won’t stop until domestic violence ends.

Harris Campaign’s Message to Women: Vote Your Consciences

Even as one of their own vies to be the first female president, even with abortion rights high on the list of campaign issues, even after more than a century of suffrage, some women still look to their husbands and other trusted men before casting their ballots.

The phenomenon is not new, but it could make the difference in a presidential race that is projected to be unusually tight. And because polls predict what could be a record-setting gender gap—with the majority of women voting for Harris and most men backing former President Donald Trump—the possibility that even a small number of women will vote like their men has Harris supporters nervous.

The ‘Pro-Life’ Party Has a Funny Way of Respecting Women

Tony Hinchcliffe’s categorically unfunny appearance at Donald Trump’s recent rally in Madison Square Garden leaves me wishing that whoever discovered him left him sleeping in his car behind The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. (It’s how he opens the 12-minute set.)

Most of the ensuing backlash targeted Hinchcliffe’s puerile reliance on racism as humor. But another underreported moment that caught my attention was Hinchcliffe’s “joke” about Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce becoming “the next O.J. Simpson,” referencing Nicole Brown Simpson’s murder, widely believed to be the responsibility of her known abuser.

The joke hinges on the idea that Kelce might murder his girlfriend, Taylor Swift. Hinchcliffe referenced Swift’s political endorsement of Kamala Harris immediately after this joke. His punchline: If a woman voices her opinion, intimate partner violence is a hilarious solution. It’s an interesting stance for the so-called pro-life party to broadcast publicly.

Give the Gift of Ms. Magazine to Women in Prison and Domestic Violence Shelters

We send Ms. to 5,547 federal, state and county prisoners, and hundreds of shelters across the country. That’s a fraction of the total, but it’s a number we’re very proud of and hope to keep growing. Over the 19 years since this program’s birth, we’ve discovered that even this small gesture of recognition, support and information means a lot.

Gisèle Pelicot, the Woman at the Center of France’s Mass Rape Trial, ‘Never Regretted’ Making the Decision to Go Public

“I never, even for a single second, gave my consent to Mr. Pelicot or those other men.”

Halfway through the mass rape trial in France that has been shocking the world and brewing feminist rage since September, survivor Gisèle Pelicot took the stand for the first time on Wednesday to share her nightmarish story.

On why she’s taking a stand: “I wanted all woman victims of rape—not just when they have been drugged, rape exists at all levels—I want those woman to say: Mrs. Pelicot did it, we can do it too.”

For Three Decades, ‘Remember My Name’ Has Memorialized Those Lost to Domestic Violence

Created in 1994 in partnership with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and Ms. magazine, the “Remember My Name” project continues to raise awareness of individuals who have died from domestic violence.

We owe it to those who have died because of domestic violence, to every survivor, and every person actively planning for their safety, to do better. As we near the end of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and reflect on the 30 years since “Remember My Name” launched, we remember the people who have died because of domestic violence by saying their names. Loudly. Often. We need people to hear their stories, demand better tracking and reporting at all levels to fully understand this crisis, and work towards a day where we can stop adding names to the list. 

The Witch Hunts of the 1600s Never Really Ended

An excerpt from Mary Anne Franks’ new book, Fearless Speech: Breaking Free From the First Amendment:

“Amber Heard was professionally blacklisted, constantly surveilled by the press and the public, and subjected to death threats and harassment. All of this happened because Heard wrote something that people did not like—the kind of speech that, according to American free speech orthodoxy, should be most robustly protected by the First Amendment. But in a decision that chilled the speech of sexual abuse and domestic violence victims everywhere, Heard was found liable for defamation and ordered to pay Depp $15 million. … As the Heard case revealed in excruciating detail, when it comes to women’s speech, the protection of the First Amendment is little more than hollow rhetoric.”