In this podcast episode, Kathryn Kosmides of Garbo talks with AEquitas CEO Jennifer Gentile Long about the prosecution of gender based violence and how AEquitas supports prosecutors in their efforts to achieve justice and safety for victims and their communities, by providing them with victim-centered and trauma-informed expert strategies.
What to Expect When Reporting a Sexual Assault to Law Enforcement
Allure spoke to Jennifer Long, the CEO of AEquitas, an NGO that focuses on issues of gender-based violence, stalking, and human trafficking. Long has years of experience as an attorney, and now her focus is providing training and research so that survivors are not retraumatized when they engage with the system. She says advocates can be incredibly helpful and encourages survivors to ask their own questions.
“Talk to community advocates; talk to law enforcement about what will happen and what the process looks like,” she says. “Survivors often don’t feel empowered to ask questions because it is a vulnerable time, but they have the right to be informed, and understanding can reduce the anxiety that comes with the process.”
Legal Jiu-Jitsu for Prosecutors in Intimate Partner Violence Cases: Forfeiture by Wrongdoing
Jiu-jitsu is a Japanese martial art that does not depend on the use of size or strength to defeat an opponent. Instead, it employs a variety of tactical moves to prevail by turning the force of an attack against the attacker. Prosecutors in domestic violence cases have a similar art at their disposal to counter confrontation challenges in the common scenario where the offender has intimidated, tricked, manipulated, paid off, killed, or otherwise arranged for the victim to be absent from the trial, leaving the prosecution with only the victim’s out-of-court statements to prove the case.
