Welcome back to Taking Back Control! Today's episode will focus on public defense in honor of National Public Defenders Appreciation Day. We are joined by Cindene Pezzell Esq., Director of The National Defense Center for Criminalized Survivors and a major public defender fangirl. Cindene is going to share a few stories from her time as an assistant public defender, and talk about why it is crucial for defense attorneys and GBV advocates to join forces when serving criminalized survivors. To learn more about defense-based advocacy, please visit our website and check out the resources below. 

To learn more about incorporating a defense perspective into your community’s responses to gender based violence, please see our CCR Toolkit by Sue Osthoff and Jane Sadusky .  

Please visit and register with the National Gender-Based Violence Learning Community for more resources and opportunities to learn about serving survivors of gender-based violence, including criminalized survivors.