Celebrating 15 years of advocacy and leadership addressing violence against women in Communities of Color!
March marks a time to honor the incredible achievements of women across this country. It is a time for all of us women to lift our heads proudly and roar! Here, at the National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA), we intend to roar loudly because we are celebrating 15 years of advocating and lifting up the voices and experiences of Women of Color.
Over the past 15 years, SCESA has been a leading voice for Women of Color in the anti-sexual violence movement, centering the voices of Communities of Color and especially Women of Color. We have trained and supported countless Women of Color and Communities of Color organizations in communities across the country, in the U.S.
Territories, and on the campuses of HBCUs. We have led the efforts to craft and ensure the inclusion of culturally specific language and resources for Communities of Color organizations as well as ensure equitable funding for the U.S. Territories in the Violence Against Women Act. Because of SCESA’s work, the movement to end sexual assault is more inclusive than ever before. And most importantly, access for survivors of sexual assault has been increased.
Acknowledging these last 15 years is bittersweet because although we are proud of the work we have accomplished so far, we are disheartened that 15 years later we still have so much farther to go. But alas, lifted by the incredible support of Women of Color across this country, we will keep moving forward. As we stand in this current environment, we understand that SCESA’s core work of enhancing the capacity of Women of Color and Communities of Color organizations is important now more than ever. It is our charge and purpose to provide culturally specific responses to sexual assault while raising the consciousness, outrage, and accountability within our communities regarding violence against women.
We are excited to continuously receive funding to move forward our work of supporting Communities of Color organizations addressing sexual assault, as well as funds to refocus our work on Women of Color leadership in the anti-sexual assault field. Our allies make the critical and life-sustaining work that we do possible year after year.
In acknowledgment of SCESA’s 15 years, we want to take this opportunity to recognize 15 Women of Color that have been doing amazing work in their local community. We realize this number represents only a fraction of the countless Sisters that are doing the work of supporting survivors and transforming their communities. With that, we apologize to the many Sisters who we know should have been on the list! The “15 Sheroes” campaign will be bringing you the stories of fifteen remarkable women who have worked tirelessly to address sexual assault and improve the lives of Women and Girls of Color in their communities. You will have an opportunity to learn more about these fabulous Sisters throughout the year, so stay tuned!
Also, we have a new logo and stay tuned to check out our redesigned website– we
figured since we are a “teenager” now, we should look a bit more fresh and “hip” (do
people still say that?)!
We are so thankful for the many Women (and men) of Color and our allies who have supported us along the way. We have not (and will not) forget our commitment to our communities; to do our part in ensuring that all Women of Color are able to live healthy lives free of violence.
In Sisterhood,
The SCESA team