Hello All! This second episode of the First Season of the Social Work 720 podcast, Predominant Aggressor Law. We are grad students working to create awareness about public policy and how to have a voice. We reach out to interview grad students about their field practice expertise to see what we all can do to make a change in the society we live in. In this season we hear about Predominant Aggressor law and mandatory arrest and how this is detrimental to survivors of abuse and not economically effective from grad students, Taylor Jones and Katherine Orzechowski. Thank you for watching and listening! Youtube link of us recording the podcast: https://youtu.be/HwHhIRwquEoBelow is the email template you can use to contact your local representatives to help make change and the link to a policy brief with statistics and data supporting predominant aggressor law that you can download and attach as well to these emails. We appreciate you doing the work and being the change!Policy Brief Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LZyErgl_Rf9QlByZ9RajDYVvIpeDN16c/view?usp=sharing Email Template:EMAIL SUBJECT: _______ Dear Senator/Representative [LAST NAME]: As a [GRADUATE STUDENT, MEMBER OF __ ORGANIZATION, A CONSITUENT, ETC.] I am writing to urge you to support a (pre)dominant or primary aggressor law. The (pre)dominant or primary aggressor law is a policy that would require law enforcement agencies to lean into a deeper understanding of power dynamics in abusive relationships and not be swayed by false narratives and claims to mutual abuse leading to dual arrests on domestic violence claims. This would reduce further harm on victims/survivors as well as reduce the number of individuals being processed through our criminal justice system. Currently, Kansas has not adopted (pre)dominant or primary aggressor laws but 27 other states across the nation have, including Missouri and Oklahoma. In these states the number of dual arrests during domestic violence complaints has decreased which supports and protects victims/survivors, particularly those who are already marganlized such as Black, BIPOC femme and LGBTQIA+ victim/survivors. While many other wraparound services and resources are needed to eradicate domestic violence and promote healing, adoption of dominant aggressor laws nationwide can help move toward more trauma-informed practices that intentionally protect Black, BIPOC femme and LGBTQIA+ victim/survivors. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely,[NAME/TITLE/INSTITUTION]
