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Tennessee launches nation-first domestic violence offender registry
Let’s say you’re going on a first date and you want to make sure the person you’re meeting up with isn’t a registered sex offender. If you live in the US, you can find this out very quickly: there’s a centralized website provided by the US Department of Justice that lets you search a name or location in seconds.
This doesn’t mean that everyone found liable for sexual abuse comes up, of course. They have to have been convicted of certain sex offenses in a criminal, rather than civil, court to be put on the registry.
Now let’s say you want to check whether your potential date has ever been found guilty of domestic violence. Good luck with that. There isn’t a similar sort of centralized registry and you’d have to look through various court records.
If you live in Tennessee, however, that situation has just changed: the state has created the first registry in the US to track repeat domestic violence offenders. Anyone convicted of more than one domestic violence offense after 1 January will be registered in a public database maintained by the Tennessee bureau of investigation. The new legislation, Savanna’s Law, is named for Savanna Puckett, 22, who was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, James Jackson Conn, in 2022. Conn, who also suffocated Puckett’s dog, had a history of domestic violence and stalking.
The fact that Tennessee, consistently in the top 10 states for domestic violence homicides, is taking this issue seriously should be applauded. The new law, which was passed with bipartisan support, is very much a step in the right direction. It raises awareness of intimate partner violence and signals to survivors that the state is on their side.
Nevertheless, it’s important to bear in mind the limitations to a registry like this. Domestic violence cases are underreported and can be notoriously difficult to prosecute – so a large number of offenders will never end up in the system.
While well-intentioned, it should also be noted that an easily searchable registry of serious offenders isn’t always an unalloyed good. Various analyses, for example, have found that many state registries that keep track of sex offenders are filled with errors. Some critics argue that the registry system is overly expensive and inefficient and diverts resources away from survivors and prevention strategies. And, in the case of domestic violence, it’s possible that some survivors might actually end up on the registry: perpetuators of abuse frequently weaponize the law to paint their victims as abusers. It’s certainly possible to envisage a situation where someone fighting back against their abuser ends up convicted of abuse, and put on a registry, themselves.
All that said, it’s good to see a red state making history in a positive way.
More Norwegian women reporting abuse amid royal family rape trial
The 28-year-old son of the Norwegian crown princess is due to stand trial next month for charges including rape, domestic abuse and filming without consent. He denies the charges. Meanwhile, the media coverage seems to be encouraging more women to come forward about abuse: staff at Norway’s largest women’s health organization say they’ve seen a rise in the number of women reporting sexual assault.
Elon Musk’s Grok AI alters images of women to digitally undress them
Who could have seen this coming? Oh yes, absolutely everybody.
Donald Trump is mainlining industrial quantities of aspirin
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
Angelina Jolie visits Rafah crossing to draw attention to situation in Gaza
Jolie couldn’t get into Gaza itself, of course, because the Rafah crossing is still closed. Israel continues to block aid from going into Gaza and the media is still not allowed to report freely from the enclave. Now, dozens of aid agencies, including highly respected organizations like ActionAid, the International Rescue Committee and Médecins Sans Frontières, have also been banned from working in Gaza by Israel. It’s almost like Israel doesn’t want anyone to witness the ongoing genocide.
The Trump administration is reportedly freezing childcare payments to all states
There have been long-running allegations of fraud related to federal funding for childcare programs in Minnesota, with a number of investigations and prosecutions happening during the Biden administration. Now, however, conservatives and the Trump administration appear to be weaponizing the issue because it’s a useful way of attacking Minnesota’s Somali American community and promoting Trump’s calls to ban refugees from Somalia. On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced it would be freezing federal funding for childcare programs in Minnesota after allegations of fraud.
Then, on Wednesday, it was reported that childcare funds to all 50 states are going to be frozen until the states can prove there’s no corruption. This is going to hurt a lot of families.
Tens of thousands of people want to deport Nicki Minaj
The pop star has lost a lot of fans after cozying up to Maga. Now a viral petition is calling for the rapper to be sent to Trinidad.
The week in pawtriarchy
A 3ft-tall wallaby called Rex ended 2025 by breaking out of a farm in New Jersey and going on the run. Eventually, the wandering wallaby was found hanging out next to Walmart. The marsupial is now back at his farm and possibly planning his next escape – hop-fully to somewhere rather more exciting.
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Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist
