The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others brought a long overdue racial reckoning in this country. We lead a national conversation and co-authored a call to action on racial justice, signed by over 40 domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions across the country. As survivors across our state were dealing with an increase in violence, systemic racism, and the economic downturn, we offered both pragmatic support and set our sights on a shared vision and purpose: Creating communities where all people can live and love without fear. Our programming and policy advocacy increased community economic resilience, got cash to survivor households, and invested in new solutions to prevent violence.
Our visionary programming included:
- Leading a shift from over-reliance on criminal legal solutions as the primary strategy for ending domestic violence to increasing survivors’ options for safety, justice, and preventing future violence.
- Getting survivors and their children into stable housing as quickly as possible, and then providing the necessary support as they rebuilt their lives.
- Building farmworker Latinx survivor leadership and community self-help (promotora model) to address workplace sexual harassment and coercion in agriculture.
- Centering the values of the Reproductive Justice movement founded by BIPOC women in an innovative collaboration with community-based home visiting programs working with families from pregnancy through early childhood.
Our policy wins included:
- Expanding access to critical services and support benefits for immigrants harmed by human trafficking.
- Supporting violence prevention by requiring all public schools in Washington to provide comprehensive sexual health education, including education about consent and healthy relationships.
- Removing barriers survivors previously faced in accessing economic safety nets such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).