the devi co-op’s Survivor Defense Project (tdc-SDP) seeks to end the criminalization of surviving gender-based violence within the State of Georgia. tdc-SDP operates as a coalition of survivors, allies, family, and friends, inside and out, organizing for survivor rights and wellbeing.

As of 2024, the tdc-SDP does not have capacity for new referrals. For skill-shares/training on starting a new survivor defense campaign in Georgia, please email us at general@thedevicoop.org. We also recommend the following partners for training and referrals: Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence Justice for Incarcerated Survivors Program, Black & Pink, Survived & Punished California Chapter, and the Interrupting Criminalization TJ Help Desk. 

tdc-SDP has four major goals:

1. abolish the criminalization of surviving gender-based violence within the State of Georgia through harm reduction, community building, participatory defense, storytelling, and education. 
2. provide and generate legal representation and survivor defense opportunities for survivors who are criminalized on the pre-trial and post-conviction stages. 
3. research and elevate the issue of criminalized survival from gender-based violence in Georgia through toolkits, political education, press releases, etc.
4. make recommendations/advisements on legislative policies that can affect survivors experiencing criminalization.

tdc-SDP is incredibly fortunate to be in partnership with Attorney Janis Mann and The Mann Law Group in offering pro-bono post-conviction legal services for survivors in Georgia who have been convicted. Through a unique model of post-conviction participatory defense, tdc-SDP aims to re-negotiate sentences and advocate for the release of survivors who are incarcerated for their survival actions. 

Survival actions can include, but not be limited to (as outlined by Survived & Punished): 

• Self-defense – Defending oneself from the imminent threat of violence
• “Failure to Protect” – Being blamed for not being able to keep child safe from predominant aggressor of family violence
• Migration/Homelessness – Having to move or flee to escape abuse and/or being criminalized for experiencing homelessness due to escaping abuse
• Removing Children – Fleeing homes with children in order to escape violence. 
• Protecting a third party from being victimized by gender violence
• Coercive Control – Being coerced into acting as an “accomplice” for another crime
• Being criminalized for poverty
• Being criminalized for mental health struggles/substance use

tdc-sdp offers the following support:

Survivor Community:

• Newsletter – tdc runs an inside-outside quarterly newsletter with program updates, member blurbs, shares, and educational opportunities. 
• Storytelling Guidance & Assistance – tdc survivors will work with an outside tdc organizer to tell their story. Outside organizers check in with survivors during all steps of the process to ensure the survivor has autonomy over their story, and use these collected materials for campaign efforts.
• Letter Writing – please see the “Letter Writing” page for more information. 

Post-Conviction/Pre-Trial:

• Designing a Survivor Defense Campaign
• Expert Witness Location
• Pro-Bono Post-Conviction Legal Remedy & Legal Advocacy Services 
• Narrative/Parole Packet Generation
• Post-Release Support
• Crowdfunding & Community Organizing Support