Turning Inspiration into Action
Women’s Convention creates space for people to connect and find ways to make change in their communities
On January 21, 2017, I marched in Washington, D.C. Once-familiar sidewalks and streets and the green expanses of the National Mall were nearly impossible to navigate with the hordes of people who came out to say: we believe in a world that is just and safe for all, and we intend to make it that way. The Women’s Convention last week followed up on the spirit of the March to give people the tools to create that shared vision.
Having spent nearly my entire career in advocacy, the march was an infusion of new energy. It was the first time in months that I, and I imagine many others, felt like there was a way forward after a devastating election and the dark months that followed it. Nine months later, the 5,000 attendees and 172 workshops at the Women’s Convention proved that the March wasn’t just a one-day event; it marked the beginning of meaningful community engagement and activism for people across the country.
Last year’s election was a defining moment for Public Justice, as well. It was after the election that many of you began asking Public Justice — an organization that has been fighting injustice and holding corporations and governmental bodies accountable for the past 35 years — to take a more active role in rallying communities behind those causes.
I’m proud to stand alongside women across the country who want clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, a food supply that’s safe for our families to eat, schools where our children can learn free from violence and bullying, laws that protect consumers when they’re cheated and workers when they’re wronged, and courts that remain open and working for everyone. These are women who are teachers, social workers, marketing executives, car salespeople, you name it — and they want to make their communities and their country better.
For those of you who couldn’t join us in Detroit, here are my Women’s Convention highlights:
A commitment to speaking up and ending gender-based violence
Tarana Burke, who created #MeToo ten years before it exploded on Twitter this past month, joined Rose McGowan in the conference opening and welcomed attendees with truths she learned from her years in organizing: “There is power in truth telling. There is power in intersectionality. And there is power in community.”
While most press chose to focus on Rose McGowan’s speech at the conference, experts and advocates from the National Women’s Law Center, Know Your IX, End Rape on Campus, and the National Center for Transgender Equality imparted truly valuable information to the substantial audience at their panels on fighting for survivors of sexual assault in the age of Betsy DeVos and combating sexual violence with community. They shared background on our country’s history of civil rights as it relates to education, recent actions that have made young women and trans students more vulnerable than ever, and steps that all of us can take to protect students when schools and even the Department of Education seem more concerned with the rights of those accused of assault than survivors of sexual assault. We’re proud to work alongside these organizations to stand with survivors of sexual assault.
Farmworkers leading the way in securing basic rights and holding corporations accountable
Advocates from the Coalition of Imokalee Workers, Alliance for Fair Food, and the Student/Farmworker Alliance conducted a powerful bilingual panel detailing how women farmworkers — an incredibly marginalized community — have banded together to bring visibility to the issues that affect them. Through organizing, they are holding the food industry accountable for ensuring their safety and basic rights, all the way from their crew leaders to major fast food chains that purchase the produce these farmworkers harvest with their own hands.
Women farmworkers are typically seasonal or temporary workers, and are largely immigrants, many of whom do not speak English. Their work tends to take place in remote locations, and farmworkers often rely on their employers for transportation or housing, further exaggerating the power dynamic between employers and employees. A recent study found that approximately 80 percent of women farmworkers had experienced a form of sexual violence on the job.
With initial demands as basic as access to clean water, they have succeeded in winning protections for female workers, creating mechanisms to hold abusers accountable in instances of sexual violence, and pressuring purchasers and corporations into signing agreements that uphold farmworkers’ rights. Learn more about ongoing campaigns.
Moving forward, together
For 35 years, Public Justice has pursued high impact lawsuits to combat economic injustices. We’ve fought for the rights of students who are re-victimized by their schools when reporting sexual assault, stood by workers when they’ve been harmed by employers who fail to ensure their safety, and held corporations and factory farms accountable when they pollute our communities.
So expect to hear more from me and Public Justice on how you can make your voice heard on those issues and more. Are you in for this fight? Join us.
