Criminalized Survivors

Podcast Exposes Justice System’s Criminalization of Abuse Survivors

Journalist and author Justine van der Leun’s new book, “Unreasonable Women: Three Stories of Violence, Imprisonment and Extraordinary Survival,” examines the criminal legal system’s tendency to criminalize rather than protect survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Her investigation highlights instances where individuals, having endured significant abuse, face incarceration for acts committed within the context of their survival.