Leadership of Voices of Experience (LOVE) Project
Meeting the needs of women impacted by gender-based violence and the criminal legal system
Our Work
Led and driven by currently and formerly incarcerated women, the LOVE Project has developed a training curriculum for victim service providers that builds providers’ capacity to support system-impacted women and gender expansive people—people who are transgender, gender nonconforming, gender queer, nonbinary. Specifically, the training is focused on developing the skills necessary to become advocates for social and economic change that advances the wellbeing and opportunity landscape for women who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system and gender-based violence.
The LOVE Project aims to
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Enhance victim service providers’ ability to support and cultivate advocates and leaders.
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Help currently and formerly incarcerated women and girls who are survivors of sexual violence develop the skills and confidence to advocate for policies that promote the safety, interests, and success of women and girls.
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Promote public awareness about the high rates at which women who are directly impacted by the criminal legal system experience sexual violence and the importance of establishing services that respond to their needs and experiences.
Our Approach
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Bring together diverse voices and expertise, including currently and formerly incarcerated women and leaders in criminal legal reform, victim services, and gender-responsive services for women and girls.
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Partner organizations provide technical assistance and training throughout the development and implementation of the curriculum.
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Currently and formerly incarcerated women lead the development and facilitation of the training-of-trainers (TOT) curriculum to ensure that it centers and uplifts the needs and experiences of women who are directly impacted by the criminal legal system.
Resources
Details
The Leadership of Voices of Experience (LOVE) Project is funded by the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). This project is a collaborative effort between National Crittenton, the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, the Young Women’s Freedom Center, and the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women.