Domestic Prisoners of War (DPoW)

Mission Statement
The mission of Domestic Prisoners of War is to identify and make widely known the pervasive effects of domestic violence and misguided public policies which blame rather than offer healing and social reintegration to survivors. Like the feminist movements for the support of sexual assault survivors and rape law reform in the 1970s and 1980s, we seek to raise consciousness through branch action on the need to reform state laws which often add insult to the physical and psychological injury of domestic abuse.

Through our work, we strive to raise awareness of the economic and social costs of domestic violence in USA society, and of misguided laws that often impoverish survivors by inflicting on them legal disabilities and in turn impoverish society at large by raising barriers to their realizing their potential and making their full contributions to society. Additionally, these costs include overwhelming demands on our first responders. Everyone is affected by the victimization and subjugation of others behind closed doors, and as peace activists of WILPF we affirm that true peace begins at home. 

Our Vision
When our physical and mental autonomy is respected and society meets domestic violence with restorative and reparative justice for survivors, there are no limits to what each and every citizen is capable of achieving. When our physical and mental autonomy is violently invaded or violated, civil society will have measures in place for the restoration of the health of these survivors. Our vision is to work for survivor-centered reparative justice, as opposed to victim-blaming patriarchal laws -- as existed in the area of sexual assault not so many decades ago. 

Background
DPOW grew out of comparisons of survival experiences of contributing members as well as the comparing of the domestic violence experiences reported by others. Domestic violence is intersectional and touches on various dimensions of oppression — intimate partner violence, elder abuse, child abuse, and abuse within the LGBT community -- with many effects. People who have experienced shock and trauma, when their love and trust are violated through such violence, not infrequently feel residual effects. Those effects impact their work experiences, families, and other areas -- impacts too often aggravated, not alleviated or healed, by the new trauma of encounters with the legal system. However, this hidden violence of trauma effects and legal-system harms is an area that is rarely openly discussed, leading to domestic violence being seen as merely "a personal issue.”

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that 1 of 4 women and 1 out of 7 men is directly affected by domestic violence. Thus it is a high priority for a women's peace organization addressing the needs of its members.

Contact
It is your work that will effect the legislative and other change we wish to see. While DPoW consists mostly of survivors of domestic abuse, such experience is not required for membership in the committee. What is important is a shared recognition that survivors are the ultimate experts on relevant issues. All constructive participation is welcome and appreciated. 

For more information on the committee and how to support our efforts or to join,  please contact the committee founder and current chair, Deanna Murphy, at: nomoreDPoWs@wilpfus.org 

Projects

• At present, members of DPoW are examining the societal and economic costs of Domestic Violence to society. We are collaborating with other organizations in order to recommend research-based changes to Federal and State laws regarding the impacts of Domestic Violence. Our goal is to work with other WILPF Branches on state levels. 
• Every year in October, DPoW presents a conference designed to educate, inform, and recruit allies towards it’s mission. At present, members are continuing research in their chosen areas of interest for presentation.
• DPoW members choose demographics of society as an area of personal or professional interest. If a chosen area of interest is already being explored, we invite those who would like to join our work to join up with the members who are exploring your chosen topic area. If a chosen area of interest is not being explored, we welcome your initiation of this work and will work as a committee to see that you are supported in this area.

Resources for information/education

• US Department of Health and Human Services directory of resources
• Survived and Punished (survivor advocacy organization)
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• To further inform oneself or others about the challenges that survivors and protectors face in the judicial system, DPoW recommends viewing the documentary “Children of the Underground” (available through most streaming services). It has directly relevant information to the issues that some are still facing while trying to protect their children from abuse.