Is It Possible To Address Intimate Partner Violence Without Police Involvement?

It’s About Agency

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It’s clear that once the police get involved, the couples or families involved in the IPV lose all agency over what happens next. The Guide For Community Response Without Police is about instructing and guiding minority communities in handling these matters on their own so the police can be left out of it, and the IPV survivor can keep agency over the situation.

Exactly how communities can show up for an IPV survivor is detailed in the guide. But Brooks shares some critical points with us, including this: sometimes the community repeats the patterns of correctional authorities. It isn’t intentional, but Brooks says that oftentimes, when an IPV survivor speaks up, her community shames her, and even punishes her.

This punishment can come in a number of forms, but often involves the community dominating the situation rather than listening to what he survivor wants. The core of this guide is about changing that pattern – the pattern of taking agency away from the survivor. If you want to help, Brooks says, “Listen, trust the survivor, follow her instructions – find resources and support in line with what she wants and is best for her family.”