Tewa Women United’s 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence

Coming together to end gender-based violence through our VOICES and other programs

For the second time, TWU is taking part in 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign running from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day. This campaign seeks to galvanize action to end violence against women, girls, and Mother Earth. The international campaign originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991.

Our efforts this year will focus on a social media campaign and a free community-wide workshop on December 4 which will look at the roots of gender-based violence. Through discussion and activities, participants will learn how hyper-masculinity creates violent and sexually dominant men, and how our culture perpetuates this violence on both individual and large-scale levels. Community partner, Larry Hinojos, the Project Coordinator/Instructor at Resolve NM in Santa Fe, NM, will facilitate the workshop. Larry has been working in the sexual and domestic violence fields for over 12 years and specialized in working with men of color to redefine masculinity to end violence in the state of NM. We currently still have 9 spaces still available for this exciting and informative event. To register please email beverly@tewawomenunited.org.

TWU uses its intersectional braiding analysis to look at the ways that gender-based violence takes place in our four program areas. We would like to highlight the following resources during our campaign:

General Campaign Information

Environmental Health & Justice

“Violence on the Land, Violence on our Bodies: Building an Indingenous Response to Environmental Violence” is a community-based research and advocacy project aimed at documenting the experiences of Indigenous women, youth and community members whose sexual and reproductive health and rights have been affected by gas and oil, development, mining, and pesticides – something known as “environmental violence.” This initiative is a collaboration between the Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) and Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA).

Women’s Leadership & Economic Freedom

From the summer of 2016 to the beginning of 2017, NewMexicanWomen.org collaborated with a multi-disciplinary research team of social policy scholars of color from the University of New Mexico on a research and community engagement project with the aim of deepening our knowledge about how to most effectively advance gender equity work in New Mexico. The goal was to identify priorities at the intersection of health equity and economic security for women and girls in New Mexico and inform NMW.O’s strategy for advancing gender equity. The project resulted in a two-part report, The Heart of Gender Justice in New Mexico: Intersectionality, Economic Security, and Health Equity (see below to download). The sister reports include a qualitative report from community dialogues, as well as a quantitative report from an analysis on the link between economic security and women’s health status by race and ethnicity.

VOICES

Sexual assault has been experienced by Native women for centuries.  Used as a tool of war and colonization, rape was a way to conquer the people during attacks from the beginning of colonization.  The lack of responsibility, justice and criminal jurisdiction continues today on reservations, similar to the early American days of war and the appropriation of land during and after treaties.  The link above provides resources, stories and statistics about how sexual assault affects Native women.

Indigenous Women’s Health & Reproductive Justice

The resources provided in this section address a variety of issues that intersect with reproductive justice, including economic rights, the rights of incarcerated women, immigrants’ rights, transgender rights, disability rights, religion, birth choice and birth rights, voting rights, and environmental conservation.

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We need your support to continue our ongoing work to end violence against women, girls, and Mother Earth.

When you donate to Tewa Women United through NativeGiving.org 100% of your contribution goes directly to TWU, thanks to the generosity of First Nations Development Institute.