Alipato Project

The musician FKA twigs has filed a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf, accusing him of abusing her "physically, mentally and emotionally" during their nearly year-long relationship which began in 2018.

A survivor or person concerned about a domestic violence incident would call a hotline staffed by trained volunteers such as doctors, nurses, mental health professionals and community members. A team of volunteers would then respond in-person to the incident, work to deescalate the situation and connect the parties involved with community resources such as shelters, mental health treatment or financial assistance.

May we all have the strength and courage to be like this:

It is based on the allegations of a whistleblower, a nurse identified as Dawn Wooten. She worked at the centre, which houses immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As part of her complaint, filed on Monday , Ms Wooten expressed concerns about the high number of hysterectomies performed on Spanish-speaking women at the centre.... "We've questioned among ourselves like, goodness he's taking everybody's stuff outThat's his speciality, he's the uterus collector," Ms Wooten said in the complaint. One detainee, interviewed by Project South, likened the centre to "an experimental concentration camp", adding: "It was like they're experimenting with our bodies."

I’ve been reading a lot of posts about DV and police abolition, and I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts: - *Domestic violence is far more rampant amo...ng police officers than they are in the general population.* It is estimated that over 40% of officers are accused of being perpetrators of domestic violence in some time of their lives. Many officers are even drawn to this role because it augments the sense of power and control they aspire wield in their personal relationships. I’ve spoken to retired police chiefs who acknowledge in retrospect the victim-blaming culture and attitudes that prop up abusive behaviors. There is a pervasive culture of tolerance and normalization of domestic violence among the police. In addition, many states (including California) have a carve-out to Domestic Violence Restraining Orders that allows police officers who have been convicted of domestic violence, to be allowed to use guns in the course of their daily work, which as we have seen repeatedly, can lead to deathly misuse in their personal relationships (in contrast, many states do not allows those convicted of DV to legally possess firearmsat least in theory.) - *Police are not, and never have been, the solution to combating systemic domestic violence.* Societal change happens through changing attitudes, not wielding guns. Change happens through meaningful batterer-intervention and restorative justice programs that hold abusers accountable for their behaviors, and offer methods to change their future relationships. Change happens through educating youth on kinds of behaviors towards others that are acceptable, and those that are destructive. Change also happens through empowering survivors to make the decisions they believe are safest for them, and offering them meaningful resources to further their economic and housing stability. - *Police do not adequately enforce existing domestic violence laws.* They are supposed to support survivors whose abusers have violated Domestic Violence Restraining Orders by physically attacking, stalking, or communicating them when these orders specifically say they must not. Police repeatedly discredit and victim-blame survivors who report restraining order violations, which, as we have repeatedly seen, has even led to these survivors’ deaths. Although jurisdictions vary, on the whole police receive remarkably low levels of domestic violence education (often under 2 hours). At the same time - *Every survivor’s needs are different. We cannot speak for the needs of those who, in moments of extreme crisis, need law enforcement.* There are so many situations, particularly when an abuser is armed, where a 911 call will save a survivor’s life. In extreme but sadly far-too-common instances of physical abuse, the presence of an armed officer is perhaps the only thing that can deter an abuser from murdering their partner and/or children. There is little opportunity for a bystander to meaningfully intervene in these situations in any way but calling 911. When we advocate for immediate and complete abolition, the most marginalized of victims in lethal domestic violence situations are the ones who may suffer, and it is irresponsible to pretend that we know what is best for them. BUT I believe that the kinds of officers sent to these kinds of calls must be an extreme small portion of the officers, given the right training. - *DV training does not equate increased budgets*: In my ideal world, we have a world with perhaps about 5-10% of the number of police we currently have. And those who are dedicated to the aforementioned domestic violence emergency calls are perhaps one of the only ones who are armed, and get substantially more training on how to effectively use de-escalation methods rather than force. 911 operators already perform brief risk assessments, and we should tailor the decision to decide when to send police officers, versus other trained conflict resolution staff like social workers or mediators. - *The movement does not have to be carceral.* Arresting a highly volatile abuser in a moment of extreme peril and potential lethality does not mean we believe in locking them all up. It means removing them from the toxic situation that endangers the lives of victims, and in an ideal world, subsequently helping them heal. People aren't born with domestic violence in their blood; with the right support, almost anyone can change. Studies show how little incarceration (although criminal charges are already so rarely imposed for domestic violence crimes) do not rehabilitate or change abusers in any meaningful way. We can allocate resources to institutionalize methods that actually work, like the batterer-intervention and restorative justice programs. Just my two cents.

CW: domestic violence, stalking, death threats Wow it has been a minute since we last posted! And so much has changed. ... As many of y'all know, Alipato Project was formed to raise awareness about domestic violence civil suits (as a legal alternative to reliance on the prison industrial complex to deal with domestic violence). Police abolition is possible and just. Many DV advocates know this. Many survivors of color know this. And more and more lawyers are beginning to understand as well. There's a lot more work to do but for now, we just wanted to show solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter uprising and the call to #DefundPolice / #AbolishPolice. To support police abolition, donate to PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY MEDICS (Each One, Teach One) Black Organizing Project Anti Police-Terror Project TGI Justice Project (TGIJP) (We don't take on clients anymore but our volunteers do train law students, personal injury lawyers, and divorce lawyers to issue-spot DV torts for their clients. Moving forward, we will also have a quick history on the racist origins of police in all of our workshops - something we should've done before!)

We know this is a stressful time, and we’re here for you. The National Sexual Assault Hotline will continue to be a free, confidential phone & online chat resource for survivors and their loved ones. Get help 24/7 at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and online.rainn.org.

But the research on how domestic violence might be affected by our current situation simply does not exist. When an entire society shuts down, when children are home all day from school, when sports and gyms and social activities are all canceled, when friends can’t leave their own families to help, when places of worship are shuttered, when everything that ever tempered a violent situation is suddenly, terrifyingly, no longer available. What happens then?

Please join us next week for for an informational workshop with the @East Bay Community Law Center! The workshop will be April 30th from 2-4 at WORLD House (389 30th St, Oakland CA 94609). All are welcome. Reach out to Oriana at 510-986-0340 for more details.

#alipatosquad hella early in the morning & hella radical badass and feminist at the #oaklandmarathon

1 day til the #OaklandMarathon! If you want to help us raise awareness about domestic violence laws, please donate here: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/alipato-project-2019!

2 days til the Oakland Marathon! If you want to help us raise awareness about domestic violence laws, please donate here: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/alipato-project-2019!

3 days til the Oakland Marathon! If you want to help us raise awareness about domestic violence laws, please donate here: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/alipato-project-2019!