Bridging Differences: Advocating for Survivors from Undeserved Communities
November 1-3, 2017
Savannah, GA

This two-and-a-half-day conference will bring together ICJR grantees, along with advocates, to assess how they can advocate for marginalized survivors while taking into consideration the realities of the survivors’ lives. Working with long-time practitioners, researchers and BWJP staff, advocates will: 1) describe the context of abuse experienced by marginalized victims; 2) articulate how contemporary attitudes impact communities; 3) evaluate the implications of operating in a culture of disbelief where race and gender tips the scale, and 4) better assist victims to find optimal solutions and develop plans that lessen harm.

As a result of this conference, you will be better able to:

• Engage with survivors from some marginalized communities and evaluate options
• Examine how women’s stories are heard and how credibility issues affect survivors in all systems
• Describe the impact of arrest on survivor credibility and how it further marginalizes survivors from underserved communities
• Explore the effect of mental health and substance abuse coercion and how it intersects with race, class, and gender
• Discuss the rates of sexual assault in Indian Country, the current barriers to adequate prosecution of these crimes, and strategies for working with these survivors
• Recognize sexual abuse among LGBTQ survivors and recommend approaches to working with them
• Address distrust of the criminal and civil legal system and its impact on advocacy
• Determine how woman directed advocacy adapts to the needs of survivors from underserved or marginalized communities

For questions related to the content of the conference, please contact Sujata Warrier at BWJP: 612-824-8768, ext 116; [email protected]

Register Here