Accountability, Healing and Eliminating Domestic Violence with Tamu Lane

Domestic violence is an epidemic which impacts people of all races, ages, genders and classes. Our society too often puts the onus on the victim to fix their situation by leaving their batterer. However, the reality is that this will not solve the problem of domestic violence; the perpetrators are the ones who need to be held accountable for their actions, otherwise they will abuse whomever they are in a relationship with. In today’s episode we are joined by Ms. Tamu Lane, a survivor who now runs one of the few New Jersey based programs which aims to eliminate domestic violence by working with the batterers themselves. Tamu and Rose discuss the compounding struggles experienced by women of color and how the common practice of victim blaming perpetuates abuse. You will also learn about the lack of coherent policies around domestic violence and the devastating impact this has on victims, why the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the levels of domestic violence and the fact that domestic violence is still not being treated as the nationwide emergency that it is. If you are a victim of domestic violence, even though you may feel alone, you are not, and there are many organizations out there to help you.