RALIANCE hosted a policy think tank bringing together over 50 social justice activists and policy makers with the goal of pushing beyond current approaches to find ways that more comprehensively support survivors from all walks of life and backgrounds to heal and thrive. For this meeting, we focused on the intersections of oppression, especially racism, and sexual violence to create more effective prevention and intervention policies.
From this think tank, RALIANCE formed a Policy Committee to work more specifically on policy affecting child sexual abuse victims from marginalized populations, including children of color, LGBT youth, and children with disabilities. Ensuring that systems created to respond to child sex abuse victims are inclusive of the needs of all children is a top priority for the Committee and will shape their work with RALIANCE.
Participants:
- Luz Marquez Benbow, Collaborative Fellow, Just Beginnings
- Martha Hernandez-Martinez, Casa de Esperanza
- Santos LaRose, Reentry Coordinator, TGI Justice
- Strong Oak Lefebvre, Founder/Former Board President/1st Executive Director, Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition (VBCIC)
- Klarissa Oh, Education Director, Oregon Abuse Advocates & Survivors in Service
- Mel Phillips, Victim Advocate/Artist in Residence, Oregon Abuse Advocates & Survivors in Service
- Terri Poore, Policy Director, RALIANCE
- Bamby Salcedo, Founder, Translatin@ Coalition
- Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Creator, #LoveWITHAccountability
- Amita Swadhin, Founder, Mirror Memoirs
- Tashmica Torok, Founder, Executive Director, Firecracker Foundation
- Ebony Tucker, Advocacy Director, RALIANCE