25 years ago, as Michelle Benjamin was walking in the French Quarter, a man solicited her for sex and she refused. Despite saying no, she was attacked and fought back. In the struggle, her attacker died. For that, she was sentenced to life in prison. Michelle was only 16 at the time.
Like Cyntoia Brown, who defended herself against a man who had kidnapped, raped, and abused her, Michelle Benjamin was acting in self-defense. And like Cyntoia Brown, she spent decades in prison being punished for this “crime.”
This capitalist system treats women like slaves—to be used, controlled, kept quiet and submissive. We are supposed to submit to assault from partners or strangers. Killing someone in self-defense is often legal, but for women those protections rarely apply. Of the 219,000 women in prison, up to 30,000 are in prison for killing someone who attacked, abused, or raped them. Racist men like George Zimmerman hide behind “Stand Your Ground” laws for murdering innocent black children while women who protect themselves or their children from real harm are jailed.
Like Cyntoia Brown, Michelle Benjamin wasn’t found innocent. Her case wasn’t accepted as self-defense. She was only granted parole after 25 years of fighting for freedom. In the eyes of the state, she is still a murderer, not someone legally entitled to defend herself. Like Cyntoia Brown, she was not pardoned but was instead given a commuted sentence after a major pushback from the public.
Justice has been denied to Michelle Benjamin and Cyntoia Brown. They won their freedom despite the racist incarceration system because the people rose up with them. After decades of struggle, they won a concession, but justice still eludes them and the tens of thousands of others who have fought back.
Women deserve the right to self-defense & the resources to leave their abusers.
Cyntoia Brown was kidnapped into sex slavery. Michelle Benjamin was attacked for refusing solicitation for sex. Their cases mirror the thousands of women who have had to kill to survive in domestic or stranger abuse situations. Even when their lives are threatened or they are beaten, women who earn their living by selling sex are deemed criminal for fighting back. Even when a wife or partner’s life is threatened or she is being beaten, she is deemed the criminal. According to this unjust system, women are the property of men and have no right to protect their own lives.
Meanwhile, the billionaire class has continued its attack on women by refusing to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, stripping what few legal protections exist for women who try to escape abuse or seek protection from it. While there are many women fighting to push a renewal through, this still leaves many more vulnerable than before.
Many women have no choice but to defend their own lives. Women are 75% more likely to be killed by their abuser when they try to escape. There is no effective protection from the state for those who seek to escape domestic violence, sexual abuse, kidnappers, or dangers to their children.
Over 80% of women who are in shelters escaping abuse state that affordable housing is one of their top needs. Often, abusive men use money to control their victims. Even when a woman has a paying job, the wages are often too low to cover the costs of moving on.
Killing in self-defense is the only way for most women to survive once they find themselves in a violent domestic partnership or other situation. We must stand with women in this situation.
After the revolution in China, when men would abuse their wives, the women in the village gathered together and went in a large group to confront the abuser. They stripped him naked and marched him down the street often giving him the same beating he inflicted on his wife. Domestic violence dropped dramatically.