‘A second chance’: YWCA, Davidson County District Attorney partner to help domestic abuse survivors

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A partnership between the Davidson County District Attorney’s (D.A.’s) Office has worked to give domestic violence survivors a second chance.

Often, they’re charged with misdemeanor crimes as a result of the abuse they endure. A program is making sure they get the help they need, without fear of criminal prosecution.

“I’ve been out to this house five times and he’s always the abuser and this time, we didn’t want to make the arrest, but he had a scratch on his face and I had to, and I hear that frequently,” Assistant District Attorney with the Davidson County D.A.’s Office, Christina Johnson, said.

In front of a special called meeting hosted by the Metro Council focused on domestic violence, Johnson shared some of the accounts she hears from officers who often respond to these domestic violence calls. She went on to say that, too often, these scenarios end with a victim facing charges.

“We are identifying defendants who are survivors of domestic violence who maybe fought back at the wrong time, or their abuser was the first one to call [the] police and we are diverting them from the criminal justice system and instead getting them supportive services with the YWCA,” Johnson explained.

It’s called the Survivors First Program. The program is a partnership between the D.A.’s Office and the YWCA, aimed at redirecting domestic abuse survivors away from the criminal justice system if they are charged with a misdemeanor crime related to their domestic violence.

“We understand the trauma that is associated with domestic violence and that often leads an individual to doing actions that are really not typical of the individual and so, therefore, this gives them a second chance,” president and CEO of the YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee, Sharon Roberson, said.

Since the start of the program in June, the D.A.’s Office says they have diverted at least 40 cases to the YWCA.

The D.A.’s Office is in charge of prosecuting these types of cases, looking at each one including the history of the defendant. The department will decide if a person qualifies for the program, and would then divert the defendant to the YWCA. After growing through the YWCA’s program services, the case is returned to the D.A.’s Office, where their record could be expunged.

“There’s a huge psychological impact on an individual who’s involved in a domestic violence relationship, and we’re very much aware of that because of the work that we’ve done for decades, and so we are very very excited,” Roberson added.

Partners in the program also included the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) and DCS Commissioner Margie Quin, the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, the Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Health and the Metro Office of Family Safety.