Communities Engaged in Resisting Violence

"Communities Engaged in Resisting Violence" documents a new movement in Chicago that seeks to end violence against women through community engagement and accountability, rather than solely social services and criminal justice. This report documents the innovative approaches, structures and strategies of sixteen community-based initiatives from across Chicago that are changing the way that we deal with violence against women in this society.Why do we need new approaches? The women's movement against violence has accomplished much over the past 35 years. There are now many local, regional and national organizations that provide support, advocacy, and educational resources. And yet, violence remains an omni-present fact of our day-to-day lives. The report looks at 6 limitations of the mainstream anti-violence movement:- One size fits all model, with standardized definitions, options and strategies- Over-reliance on the criminal legal system- Reliance on state funding- Exclusive focus on interpersonal violence- Exclusive focus on individual intervention- Professionalization of antiviolence workThe report then examines groups, approaches, structures and strategies, providing concrete suggestions of how individuals and communities can take action to end violence against women and girls.How anti-violence groups develop their approach: The report examines how groups have broadened the definition of violence; rethought the roles of survivors and perpetrators of violence; and identified systems of oppression as root causes of violence.How anti-violence groups structure their projects: Rather than copy the structures of the mainstream nonprofit system, groups are creating new structures and negotiating the older ones. The report looks at how groups ground their work in communities; how they grapple with the non-profit industrial complex; and how they build safe communities within the movement, including responses to acts of violence within the social justice community. Strategies to end violence: The report examines six strategies to end violence against women and girls: community engagement; community organizing; arts and performance; popular education; harm reduction and partnering with men

Status of Girls in Illinois - Full Report

This is a report that was released by the Women and Girls Collective Action Network. It was developed as a response to the need for accurate and timely data about the lives of girls and young women in Illinois. This report covers issues like health, education, sports, crime and incarceration and sexuality

Status of Girls in Illinois

CURL formed a partnership with Women and Girls' Collective Action Network and Chicago Girls' Coalition to conduct a secondary data analysis to determine how young women and girls are faring in Illinois. This project aims to provide statistical evidence that will inform on the issues, needs, and solutions required to ensure the healthy development of all young women and girls in Illinois

Status of Girls in Illinois: Executive Summary

CURL formed a partnership with Women and Girls' Collective Action Network and Chicago Girls' Coalition to conduct a secondary data analysis to determine how young women and girls are faring in Illinois. This project aims to provide statistical evidence that will inform on the issues, needs, and solutions required to ensure the healthy development of all young women and girls in Illinois

Status of Girls in Illinois Report - Executive Summary

This was a report that was released by the Women & Girls Collective Action Network in Chicago. The report was developed in response to the need for accurate and timely information about the lives of girls and young women in Illinois. The sections covered include sexuality, education, health, crime and incarceration, to name a few

Chronic immune barrier dysregulation among women with a history of violence victimization

We explored the association between violence victimization and increased risk for acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in women by measuring cellular immune barrier properties from the female reproductive tract. STI-negative participants reporting repeated prior victimization occurrences through the lifetime trauma and victimization history (LTVH) instrument were more likely to exhibit alterations in barrier homeostasis and the composition of critical immune mediators irrespective of demographic parameters or presence of bacterial vaginosis. By combining cellular data with mixed-effect linear modeling, we uncovered differences in local T cells, MHCII+ antigen-presenting cells, and epithelial cells indicative of altered trafficking behavior, increased immunosuppressive function, and decreased barrier integrity at sites of STI exposure that correlate most strongly with LTVH score. These data evidence a biological link between a history of violence victimization and risk of STI acquisition through immune dysregulation in the female reproductive tract.US CDC; Emory University; NIH [R01HL122559, 1R15AI113457-01A1, K23HD078153-01A1]; Emory University Center for AIDS research [P30AI050409]; Atlanta Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute [KLR2TR000455, UL1TR000454]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]