Author

Justine van der Leun

Justine van der Leun is independent journalist and the author of several books, including Unreasonable Women. She is also the host of the podcast Believe Her. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, New York Magazine, Harper’s, The New Republic, and The Guardian.

All Articles

June 25, 2026

They Fought Their Abusers. They Were Imprisoned for It.

TC Brooks served decades before her sentence was commuted. Justine van der Leun’s new book, Unreasonable Women, tells her story and those of other criminalized survivors.

December 17, 2020

Justine van der Leun

“No Choice but to Do It”: Why Women Go to Prison

Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. And at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence.

May 3, 2020

Justine van der Leun

Death of a Survivor

In April, Darlene “Lulu” Benson-Seay became the first woman incarcerated by New York State to die from Covid-19. Should she have been in prison in the first place?

Justine van der Leun

Our Writers