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.

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. 

If you are a survivor, or have a loved one who is a survivor, and are facing criminalization for actions taken to survive gender-based violence, tdc strongly recommends you reach out and join our dynamic survivor community. 

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

Depending on your case, tdc can offer the following support:

Survivor Community:

• Newsletter – tdc survivors receive a monthly newsletter with program updates, member blurbs, and educational opportunities. The newsletter enables incarcerated survivors to stay connected to outside tdc organizers and to survivors imprisoned in other facilities. 
• Direct Action Support – tdc seeks to generate public support for the release of all survivors who work with us. This includes drafting freedom petitions for survivors and reaching out to other organizations in Georgia to sign on behalf of the survivor’s release. tdc outside members also coordinate with the survivor’s network of friends, family, and teachers to collect letters of support for the survivor.
• Storytelling Guidance & Assistance – tdc survivors will work with an outside tdc organizer to tell their story of survival based on the survivor’s court records and additional testimony. Outside organizers check in with survivors during all steps of the process to ensure the survivor has autonomy over their story.
• Political Education & Training – tdc has the resources to send political education texts and books to survivors, who can choose which topics and books they are most interested in from an available list. Our political education program invites survivors to write personal reflections about the texts they read, and we share those reflections at monthly mass membership meetings so that we can build collective knowledge across prison walls.

Pre-Trial:

• Designing a Survivor Defense Campaign
• Participatory Defense
• Legal Connection and Support
• Expert Witness Location
• Crowdfunding & Community Organizing Support

Post-Conviction:

• Designing a Survivor Defense Campaign
• Pro-Bono Post-Conviction Sentence Negotiation → By Application only, cases are accepted for this service based on available resources to conduct pro-bono legal services. While we don’t have the capacity to provide legal services for everyone, all tdc survivors will receive advocacy and other kinds of support. 
• Narrative/Parole Packet Generation
• Post-Release Support
• Crowdfunding & Community Organizing Support

If you or a loved one has experienced criminalization for survival actions from gender-based violence, please email us at general@thedevicoop.org or write to us at:

Mann Law Group LLC
5900 Spout Springs Rd
Suite 3C
Flowery Branch, GA 30542
678-871-5589

Please indicate in your inquiry:

• If you are facing charges or have been convicted
• A brief description of you
• Your charges/conviction/sentence
• A brief description of your case
• Where you are located
• If you have identified legal counsel
• A member of our team will follow-up with you within 2-3 weeks.

If you are currently incarcerated, we HIGHLY recommend writing “LEGAL MAIL” on the envelope and all pages of your inquiry.