Addressing gender-based violence is a matter of not just gender equality but of racial justice, as girls of color in the U.S. are often criminalized for their victimization. Historically, efforts to address mass incarceration have left women and girls of color behind. This interactive workshop will discuss findings from the Abuse to Prison Pipeline report and recent developments in the US justice reform movement to examine 1) the intersection between abuse and criminalization for women and girls of color 2) the importance of reforming laws to decriminalize and better support survivors and 3) promising legislative responses to dismantle the pipeline.
This session was curated in partnership with Rights 4 Girls.
Yasmin Vafa is co-founder and Executive Director of Rights4Girls, a national human rights organization dedicated to ending gender-based violence. An award-winning human rights lawyer and advocate, Yasmin's work focuses on the intersections of race, gender, violence, and the law. As a nationally…
Youth Outreach Coordinator, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
Melanie Thompson is the Youth Outreach Coordinator at the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and is separately a speaker, activist, and leader in the global fight to end prostitution and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficked and sold into prostitution in New York at the age of 12, she was later…
Maheen Kaleem, Esq. is a human rights lawyer who has dedicated her life to creating a world where girls of color are safe and free. She is the Deputy Director at Grantmakers for Girls of Color, a philanthropic organization dedicated to amplifying and mobilizing resource to supportive transformative…
Executive Director, Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women
Khara Jabola-Carolus is the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women, a feminist government agency in the United States dedicated to the liberation of women and non-binary people. Khara is the only millennial to direct a statewide government agency in Hawaiʻi…
