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bill of rights
Declaration for system-involved* women and girls
1
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION. We must determine what success looks like for ourselves. We have the right to lay our own paths free from punitive and controlling systems and the right to input and voice around all services impacting our lives.
2
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL VIOLENCE perpetrated by our families, our partners, our community, the state, and institutions.
3
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY regardless of our legal status, past criminal history, or classifications given by the state or institutions.
4
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO REDEMPTION, to break the cycle of abuse and violence. We have the right to heal, the right to own our mistakes, and the right to resources and support to seek transformation on our own terms. We claim the right to be free from discrimination based on criminal history and family history.
5
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACCESS (touch, hear, and see) our children, family, and loved ones when we are in the systems that criminalize and control women and girls.
6
WE HAVE THE RIGHT FOR OUR GENDER TO BE RESPECTED and the right to be free from limiting conceptions of masculinity and femininity.
7
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE OUR MEDICAL CARE DECISIONS and a right to access on-demand preventative care for our physical, dental, vision and reproductive health .
8
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACCESS CULTURAL, HOLISTIC, AND PROFESSIONAL METHODS OF HEALING to address the trauma we are exposed to while we are involved in systems.
9
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO PERMANENT SAFE, HEALTHY, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING and the right to determine what that looks like for ourselves and to participate in the process of seeking it.
10
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACCESS EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, AND TECHNOLOGY while incarcerated that will allow for us to keep up with the work we anticipate returning to when we are no longer part of the system.
11
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE DECLARED FREE FROM ANY DEBT TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM and the right to our confidentiality when we have completed our time.
12
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE CONSULTED when institutions want to create, revise, and eliminate policies, legislation, rules, or laws that will impact the way we experience systems.
Join the Coalition!
The Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition is a membership base of incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and system-involved women, girls, and gender non-forming folks. Together, we work to transform the laws and systems that have caused us harm.
Formed in 2017 and unified by the Bill of Rights, the Coalition provides members opportunities to come together with networking, education, emotional support, and paid opportunities to take leadership in the movement.
Have you ever been incarcerated or IDENTIFY AS "SYSTEM-INVOLVED?"
Formed in 2017 and unified by the Bill of Rights, the Coalition provides members opportunities to come together with networking, education, emotional support, and paid opportunities to take leadership in the movement.
Have you ever been incarcerated or IDENTIFY AS "SYSTEM-INVOLVED?"
You believe in the Audre Lorde quote “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
Ally Membership is open to anyone who believes deeply in the work of the Young Women’s Freedom Center, supports the Bill of Rights, and is committed to our mission to de-criminalize and de-carcerate women and girls of color.
JOin the coalition as an ally member
JOIN the CoalitionAlly Membership is open to anyone who believes deeply in the work of the Young Women’s Freedom Center, supports the Bill of Rights, and is committed to our mission to de-criminalize and de-carcerate women and girls of color.
JOin the coalition as an ally member
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