Advocates to the Front! 2024 WSCADV Conference

This workshop will focus on building narrative power in rural Washington to address gender-based violence and intersecting issues of economic justice, racial justice, and reproductive justice. Participants will learn to weave narrative strategies into campaign and initiative work, integrating community organizing and strategic communications. The session will include interactive exercises to help programs develop, distribute, and organize narrative change across key issues. Participants will also build connections across programs to use narrative change as a shared project.

Our panelists, Rokea Jones, BLK MAMAS Collective, Jamie Lovato, Spokane Tribe Indigenous Birth Justice and Jessica Houseman-Whitehawk, Ttáwaxt Birth Justice Center, are combining their expertise as doulas and birth justice advocates, while utilizing holistic, healing, plant, and cultural knowledge in their support of birthing families and training of doulas. They focus on dismantling oppressive systems and fighting for healthcare equity for Indigenous, Tribal, and Black birthing families. We invite you to join in on our discussion, facilitated by Andrea Garcia Brown, on what birth justice means to us and how it connects to our advocacy work.

Historically remote and rural communities have had limited access to reproductive health care and as a result survivors experience lifelong impacts that can undermine their health and choices. Rural Resources Victim Services created strategic messaging about Reproductive Justice and health care options while making sure neither survivors nor staff had a target on their backs.