Defending Our Lives video
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Defending Our Lives aims to educate people about domestic violence and to spur legislative and judicial reform. It is appropriate for people working on any aspect of this issue, including general education, legal reform, police training, battered women advocacy, counseling, prosecution and defense, human rights activism and community education.
Domestic violence is the single greatest cause of injury to women in America - more than muggings, rapes, and car accidents combined. A woman in the United States is more likely to be killed by her partner than by any other assailant. Sarah Buel, a district attorney, outlines the problem throughout the video - not merely as a member of the criminal justice system, but as a former battered woman. Every person in this documentary is an expert; each has experienced first-hand the terror of domestic violence.
The women in the documentary are members of 'Battered Women Fighting Back!' a grass-roots organization dedicated to exposing domestic violence as a critical human rights violation threatening the majority of the population: women and children. 'Battered Women Fighting Back!' began as a prison support group for battered women who had killed their abusers, and with the support of human rights activist, Stacey Kabat, developed into a community-based task force of over 100 volunteers.
Each of these women tells her own horrific tale of beatings, rape and torture at the hands of her husband or boyfriend. They talk of being stalked, harassed and threatened with death, particularly after attempting to leave their abusive partners. They all testify to the failure of the criminal justice system to protect victims of domestic violence - from unenforced restraining orders, to reluctant law enforcement officials, to the courts' refusal to accept the special nature of their defense. And each woman's frightening account of the cycle of violence resonates with the stories of battered women everywhere.
These women were forced to defend their lives, and this documentary captures the cruel irony of putting them behind bars once they have finally escaped their abusers. They have chosen to share their stories, hoping to inspire creative strategies for ending this violence.
DEFENDING OUR LIVES UPDATE
What has happened to the women featured in Defending Our Lives?
• Former Assistant District Attorney Sarah Buel is currently writing, giving lectures and conducting legal and judicial trainingworkshops all over the United States and is a faculty member of the law school at the University of Texas
• Meekah Scott was released on appeal with time served. She works on community education and speaks about domestic violence atconferences and benefits.
• Eugenia Moore's sentence was commuted by the Governor of Massachusetts and she is now living at home with her family.
• Lisa Grimshaw was released from prison on special parole and conducts community education in Massachusetts and across thecountry about domestic violence.
• Shannon Booker's was released from prison on early parole. Since her release, she has conducted community education and givenlectures on domestic violence at locations ranging from shelters to international conferences.
• Patty Hennessy was released from prison in 2002!
• Three other women imprisoned in M.C.I. Framingham for killing their batterers were not featured in the film. Patricia Allen'ssentence was commuted by the Governor of Massachusetts and she is working in Massachusetts. Elaine Hyde was paroled from the
prison system and she is the director of a women's center and a domestic violence educator. Debra Reid, the only woman in the groupimprisoned for killing her lesbian partner, was recently released from prison.
In the Spring of 1994, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a ruling that makes prior abuse admissible evidence in the cases of battered women who kill theirabusers.
There are hundreds of women in America who are still imprisoned for defending their lives.
What has happened to the film?
The overwhelming response to the film, we believe, signals a ground swell of public awareness and outcry about this human rightscrisis. We hope that the continued widespread use of the film will further educate the public about domestic violence, and will spurpeople to take action in their own communities.
Defending Our Lives is currently being shown at numerous state legislatures, state boards of pardons, Attorney General's Offices,Police Academies, judicial training seminars, universities, law schools, hospitals, battered women's service agencies, and other
organizations working for social change. The film has been used very successfully as a fund-raiser for battered women's shelters, and ithas been featured at conferences and political forums across the country