Project Period: 2019-2024
The prevalence of sexual violence is a health epidemic which transcends race, age, gender, sex, religion, and socio-economic status. As such, Justice + Joy National Collaborative was selected by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Division on Women to assist in addressing the statewide prevention of sexual violence at both the individual, relational, and community levels.
Through a three-phase initiative, Justice + Joy conducted field research, created an evidence-based report, and implemented a community action plan focused on girls’ leadership, which sought to decrease the risk of sexual violence and increase protective factors at the community level:
Phase 1 – listening sessions and a field scan with girls and direct program providers identified the need for a social justice framework that combines advocacy, leadership, and anti-oppression work and opportunities incorporated into organizational programming.
Phase 2 – a deeper dive, with the creation of a report that delineates demographic information for each county in New Jersey by region and has an analysis of current girl-led programs in the state.
Phase 3 – built on the research finding that girls’ leadership and advocacy disrupts the cycles of gender and health inequities and creates a ripple effect in reducing risk factors associated with gender-based violence, an action plan was created to provide training and technical assistance to build capacity across the state in the area of girl-led and informed leadership/advocacy programming.
A Youth Advisory Board – made up of eight girls from across New Jersey – worked alongside the Justice + Joy team to award three $30,000 grants to regional “collaboratives” consisting of young people, organizations, and advocates across New Jersey. Each collaborative was chosen based on whether their proposed girl-led action plans were trauma-informed, how well they incorporated a social justice framework, and how effectively they centered the needs of girls of color who may be system-impacted. Training and technical assistance was provided to the collaboratives and the Youth Advisory Board developed and implemented a program evaluation with the support of research experts in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) methodology.
The initiative culminated in a statewide, youth-led convening, titled the “Learning EmpowHERment and Achieving Diversity (LEAD) Summit.” With over 200 attendees, the LEAD Summit brought together girls and organizers from across the state to build community and share model girl-programming. Through leadership activities, youth panels, and wellness programming, the LEAD Summit provided a space to celebrate youth from diverse backgrounds and strategize for a more inclusive and equitable future.
This project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via Rape Prevention Education grant funds, administered by the NJ Department of Children & Families, Division on Women.
Additional Articles:
- Chalkbeat Article: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2023/4/4/23668780/new-jersey-justice-collaborative-girls-department-children-family-grants-youth-empowerment/?fbclid=IwAR2Ag8bQ-wLJFQjc6THXquo9XgFW3mG1BJPK8sE3eXe6Ax7q9tt1xIrUS6Y Concluding Newsletter: https://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=7eeb984a8693b594683bb12c9&id=d540c6683c
