Red Tape Talks is a grassroots effort to develop better and more effective communication methods between survivors of domestic violence and the law/legal systems in place to protect them.
My Story
Hello! My name is JoAnna—I’m a domestic violence survivor and the founder of Red Tape Talks.
In January of 2016, just shy of my 26th birthday, I met a man and quickly fell head-over-heels in love. He was attractive, personable, fun, intelligent, and loving… until he wasn’t.
In retrospect, I can see the red flags from early on—but at the time, I was so enamored that even the first inklings of negging (and what would later become emotional terrorism) only made me crave his affection and approval more. Of course, as the story goes, the abuse only escalated from there.
However, the catalyst for creating Red Tape Talks was not the turmoil I experienced throughout our turbulent, 4.5-year relationship—but rather, the years of trauma I experienced in the aftermath, as I attempted to navigate the intricate dance that is seeking protection and justice.
Despite a deep interest in true crime and activism, as well as experience interning with a pro bono legal office, I was completely caught off guard by the alarming number of miscommunications and bottlenecks I faced in my case.
Though I obtained (and continue to annually renew) a restraining order, I’ve run into several instances throughout my journey where my safety was put at great risk due to a lack of communication and/or reporting errors between law enforcement, courthouses, probation officer(s), and myself.
Imagine leaving your very existence to a game of telephone. That’s what the last three years of my life have felt like.
Even within my local jurisdiction—but especially as my abuser migrated from state to state, continuing to violate the protection order—I’ve encountered many situations that were at best triggering, and at worst, made me genuinely fear for my life. The majority of these instances were, in my opinion, unnecessary and preventable, if we only had better means of record-sharing and communication throughout the process.
I started Red Tape Talks because I know that, while all domestic abuse cases are different, my story is not uncommon. In fact, it’s prevalent. So many victims of abuse are left to contend with feelings of uncertainty, fear, frustration, and helplessness by the very systems that exist to protect them.
With your help, I’d like to change that.
Red Tape Talks exists to support survivors of domestic violence in their healing by listening to their stories, pinpointing areas of improvement in how their cases were handled by law enforcement and court officials, and advocating for a more streamlined, effective approach that protects future victims’ safety and sanity along the way.
I can’t thank you enough for your support. It really does take a village. So, I thank you for being a part of mine.