April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). #SAAM is a crucial time for sexual assault service providers and advocates to show support for survivors and raise public awareness about consent, sexual assault and violence. As we head into #SAAM, we honor this collective moment where we find ourselves responding to the outbreak of COVID-19 by staying home, navigating new routines and moving our advocacy online.
This month we grappled with a way to advocate for #SAAM while simultaneously addressing the importance of consent: both personal and community. We felt it necessary to emphasize boundaries because we have seen local tribal leaders create community safety in unprecedented ways in response to coronavirus. By closing reservation borders to outside visitors we acknowledge that setting boundaries is an important step in creating safety.
And so, this month we move forward with the theme: “Respect Our Boundaries”. This is a call to action in which we empower all our relatives to respect people’s personal boundaries and respect tribal sovereignty, especially during this public health crisis.
#SAAM #RespectOurBoundaries #Boundaries #Consent
To learn more about how CSVANW is adapting our work around COVID-19 please check out our statement below, visit our
Resource Page
and stay engaged with our new
Webinar Calendar
.
|
|
Some SAAM Important Dates:
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 - SAAM Day of Action
We encourage you all to join CSVANW and wear teal, the color of sexual assault awareness and prevention, on SAAM Day of Action. Wearing teal will serve as a conversation-starter for important issues about respect, consent and supporting survivors. Share a selfie of your teal look online using hashtags #SAAM #HonorConsent #Teal #RespectOurBoundaries and tagging CSVANW.
April 19-25, 2020 - International Anti-Street Harassment Week
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of International Anti-Street Harassment Week, and it will be the last. Don't miss your chance to raise awareness and speak out against street harassment. Use #StopStreetHarassment and visit
stopstreetharassment.org
for more details.
Friday, April 24, 2020 - Day of Silence
A student-led national event where folks take a vow of silence to demonstrate the silencing effects erasure of LGBTQ folks in schools across the country. Find out more at
GLSEN.org
and use #DayofSilence to show your support.
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 - Denim Day
Wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate yourself and others about all forms of sexual violence. Register now at
peaceoverviolence.org
to participate in Demin Day.
|
|
CSVANW Announces New Executive Director
CSVANW is pleased to announce the selection of Angel Charley as their visionary Executive Director. The extensive national search led by a hiring committee comprised of Coalition members, Board of Directors and staff was guided by a strong dedication to furthering the mission and vision of the organization.
CSVANW looks forward to Charley’s vision of building and strengthening social, political, and economic environments in which violence against Native women and children no longer exists. Charley brings a record of accomplishment in leading complex organizational and corporate transitions and four years of experience of working alongside CSVANW members and partners.
|
|
A Message from our Executive Director
Greetings Relatives,
I am humbled to connect with you today as the Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women and would like to begin this journey rooted in gratitude. First, my deepest thanks to the amazing team of CSVANW: Kim, Curtison, Latonya, Cheyenne, Honey and Jovita, who have carried this movement forward tirelessly with love for our communities in their hearts and passion for social change in their souls. Second, thank you to our Board of Directors who
stepped up to
and
stepped into
their roles at the most uncertain of times, believing deeply in the mission of our organization and values of our team. And lastly, to our esteemed Members—da’wah’eh, for empowering us to continue this work, for giving our team your trust, support and radical love during this past year of transition.
And we must be honest, this past year was one of the most challenging for the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. We underwent unexpected and abrupt changes that allowed us the opportunity to balance accountability with healing; transparency with integrity; sustainability with forward movement and growth. Valuable lessons were learned about how to carry the weight of change and grief and love and power.
And these lessons in growth and building power are essential to our movement. As we continue to grow and move into a new decade we need to center this question always:
Who leads and why is it important
?
We know authentic social justice reform can only occur when we are centering the experience of those most directly impacted by systems of oppression, knowing they have lived these lessons of growth. From our member organizations, to CSVANW staff all the way up to our board of directors we must always ensure that we are grounding our work in the experiences of survivors.
This is achievable by developing mindful practices that grow power and leadership from our own member base. Our members are the very people most impacted by violence and remain dedicated to working toward social change in their tribal communities. Therefore, it is the responsibility of CSVANW to raise the capacity of our organizations so that collectively, we can build power. We do this through the cultivation of community leadership and we do this by honoring the sacred stories and experiences of survivors.
Supporting this transformation will require that we take on the real issues of power, race, class and privilege within social justice reform through an Indigenous lens. We will focus on healing, transcending trauma and our place as individuals within the systems that seek to oppress us. We will become more narrowly focused on how we move our communities forward. We will use our stories for resistance and move beyond survival.
The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women is ready to embrace our change and I am honored to be in this movement with you.
Together, we do more.
In Solidarity,
|
|
CSVANW Team Staying Connected
ZOOM Meetings
While we are practicing social distancing, our team is staying connected through the magic of technology.
We have also created a space for our
Members to gather to collectively address our concerns, foster creativity and develop strategies to respond to the rapidly changing way we advocate.
Join us weekly on Zoom!
|
|
New Mexico MMIW Task Force Webinar
March 27, 2020
The MMIW Task Force meeting was held through a webinar online. The webinar covered the task force’s updates and included two presentations. Our CSVANW Sex Trafficking Project coordinator, Cheyenne A., and the Missing and Murder Diné Relatives (MMDR) Working Group gave presentations and discussed the scope of the crisis, barriers to address the issue, and recommendations to heal and protect Indigenous relatives.
|
|
|
|
Follow us on social media to stay updated when CSVANW is in the community.
|
|
THANK YOU
TO OUR CHANGE MAKERS
March
2020 DONORS
|
|
Katherine Brandhuber
Rebecca Miller Steele
Barbara Deppman
Pamela King
Keith Pryor
Uba Backonja
Kathryn Harris
Cat Bigney
Kristin Macapagal
Molly Lesser
Mikayla Daw
Samuel Busch
Caroline Young
Nicole Sharp
Kate McCurdy
Kimberly Milfort
Angela Delk
Shawn Jackinsky
Lavender McKittrick
Emily Blake
Dee Reisinger
Ash Zahlen
Tobias Shin
Scott Braun
|
|
Stacie Meikle
Natalie Young
Annie Mcnabb
Oshun Turner
Rachael Warren
Erin Briggs
Amanda Voss
Cheryl Zoeller
Margaret Bullis
Tara Lemen
Abigail Jones
Anna Brooke
Stephanie Simmons
Sierra Landrum
Katrina Case
Kaithlyn Hatch
Dan Jolliff
Liza Purdy
Liz Mick
Penelope Mainz
Lalena Meriwether
Bailey Barnett
Alexa Evans
Isbah Raja
|
|
SAAM: Respect Our Boundaries Live Q&A
with CSVANW, UNM Women's Resource Center & UNM KIVA Club
Tuesday, April 15, 2020
3:00 PM
ZOOM Webinar & Facebook LIVE
|
|
7th Annual Tribal Leaders Summit
POSTPONED
|
|
2020 Women Are Sacred Conference - POSTPONED
Update: As of 4/1/20, the 2020 Women Are Sacred Conference has been postponed. Conference will be rescheduled, new date to be shared at a later time.
|
|
Violence Against Women Postpones 2020 Annual Government-to- Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation until mid-October this year.
|
|
OVC FY 2020 Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Formula Program
FY 2020 Formula Grant Solicitation
|
|
Why Get Counted?
Every 10 years, the federal government conducts a count of every citizen in the United States as required by the U.S. Constitution. The data collected is used to allocate resources to all Americans and is a vital part of our democracy.
The Census is used to allocate seats and draw district lines for the U.S. House of Representatives, state legislatures, and local boards to target more than $800 billion annually in federal assistance to states, tribes and families. Each decade the count also guides community decision-making affecting schools, housing, health care services and business investment. These functions depend on a fair and accurate Census count.
Native Americans in New Mexico could lose political representation if we are undercounted. We currently have six Native American state House districts and three state Senate where the Native American population is over 50%. If Native Americans are undercounted, we could lose these districts at the state and local levels.
|
|
Safety Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
|
As if the lives of survivors of abuse, and safety planning to protect them, wasn’t difficult enough before COVID-19 and quarantines! What do we do now?
Two Zoom Webinars!
April 9th 2020 10 AM - 11:30 AM
April 9th 2020 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
DESCRIPTION:
As if the lives of survivors of abuse, and safety planning to protect them, wasn’t difficult enough before COVID-19 and quarantines! What do we do now?
Come learn how to partner with survivors to create safety plans that are thoughtful, client-centered, and tailored to the challenges of survivor's lives today.
|
|
As a result of COVID-19, most upcoming conferences, trainings, and events have been cancelled, including our own 2020 International Conference. We understand how disappointing this is because in-person events offer us a chance to connect and recharge.
However, EVAWI’s
OnLine Training Institute (OLTI)
offers a viable alternative to live training events! The OLTI is one of our most valuable training tools, because users can access cutting-edge training material from their own computer, on their own schedule, completely free of charge. As many of you are working remotely during this difficult time, you may consider turning to the OLTI to enhance your learning.
Cutting-Edge Training
OLTI modules are routinely updated to reflect current information on sexual assault response and investigations. For some professionals, this may be the first training they have had on sexual assault. For others, the OLTI goes beyond the basics to teach the complex nuances associated with successfully responding to and investigating cases of sexual assault.
Sign Up - It's Free!
|
|
|
|
|
Follow us on Social Media
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
