American Association of Empowered Women, Inc.
1-877-347-2220
AAEW Women's Justice Reform Alliance
AAEW Women's Justice Reform Alliance is designed to help women who have been convicted of murder when they were forced to protect themselves from physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence and/or wrongfully convicted of a crime they did not commit.
AAEW Women's Justice Reform Alliance is fighting for the women currently serving time (mainly life sentences) who finally stood up to their abusers the best way they knew how. We don't condone murder; however, the fight is to change laws that will not see self-defense as murder in these types of situations with proven history of abuse.
Forty-five percent of the women incarcerated are serving time for defending themselves against a family member, spouse, friend or partner who abused them physically and/or sexually. Many endured years of the abuse.
Justice for Women
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Maryland Law states that a person may not use deadly force to defend if it is possible to leave the situation safely. This means in cases such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, or physical abuse where the law feels a young girl/woman can "leave the situation safely" she cannot defend herself in any way that results in murder or even assault.
Many lawyers are accustomed to defending violent men and lack the experience/understanding to adequately defend women who act out of fear.
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7 out of 10 lawyers are male.
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8 out of 10 prosecutors are male and
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9 out of 10 judges are male.
There is an underlying sex-discrimination in the justice system. Women are up against sexism, stigma, and cultural assumptions from judges and juries and the law still does not take proper account of women’s experiences of abuse.
What the law does not take into consideration is the fear, the emotional and mental effect the abuse causes, the history of abuse suffered, the abuse that a woman had witnessed growing up, nor her mental health is ever fully explored . Being abused demolishes a woman’s self-esteem and self-confidence and in so many cases result in suicide.
Join Us. Donate Today!
(all donations are tax deductible)
We want to provide legal assistance for some of the cases and we need your help. We count on donations to provide the support needed to make the processes as successful and as un-traumatic for women as possible. Our goal is to provide legal, administration, public meetings, moral support, and a strong defense for the women we are assisting.