GGE's Reproductive Justice Memo

GIRLS FOR GENDER EQUITY

reproductive

JUSTICE MEMO

2022

table of CONTENTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Introduction Reproductive Justice Herstory Supreme Court & Reproductive Justice GGE's Path to Reproductive Justice GGE and Sex Work Conclusion Relevant Legislation Sources & Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION GGE | Reproductive Justice Memo

Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) works intergenerationally, through a Black feminist lens, to achieve gender and racial justice by centering the leadership and needs of Black girls and gender-expansive youth of color to reshape culture and policy through advocacy, youth-led programming, and shifting dominant narratives. We center Black girls and gender expansive youth in our work because we believe that centering the most marginalized will benefit us all. We also do this with the understanding of just how ignored Black girls and gender expansive youth are throughout many different movements and policy/social issues.

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Reproductive justice is a beautiful, Black-led, expansive movement, and incredible work has been done throughout the years. However, we believe there is still more to be done within reproductive justice as it pertains to Black youth, their bodies, needs, and voices.

For many young people, sex education, access to contraceptives and reproductive healthcare, and resources to surviving sexual assault and gender- based violence are not provided to them and is not discussed. Young people face the most barriers to abortion care and services, and there is no reproductive justice movement without their voices at the forefront.

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For the first time in a few decades, people are seeing the biggest attacks on their reproductive freedoms and future. As an organization whose work for the last 20 years intersects with reproductive justice work, we believe that now is the time to finally present our reproductive justice stance.

GGE is perfectly positioned to continue to build out reproductive justice priorities that center the wants and needs of Black youth and build a reproductive revolution alongside them. At this time in history, absolutely no one can afford to not take up reproductive justice.

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REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE

HERSTORY

Black women, Indigenous women, women of color, and trans/Gender noncomforming (GNC) people have always fought for Reproductive liberation and bodily autonomy. From Black women only being seen as objects to breed people who would become enslaved to Black women’s bodies being used to nurse and sustain white children, Black women have always been considered last or not at all in reproductive rights and medical institutions. As attacks on abortion rights continued and discourse around “choice” and “access” prevailed, many Black women were erased from those conversations and calls to (1) action. Recognizing the myriad and magnitude of barriers and challenges they faced, systemically and institutionally, sixteen Black women published the first collective statement for abortion access in 1989. The “We Remember: African-American Women are for Reproductive Freedom” statement was groundbreaking with figures like Rep. Shirley Chisholm, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, and civil rights activist Dorothy Height among the signatories.

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The term “reproductive justice” was coined in 1994 when the Women of African Descent for (2) Reproductive Justice convened in Chicago, IL.

The 12 founding mothers of the reproductive justice movement, Toni M. Bond Leonard, Reverend Alma Crawford, Evelyn S. Field, Terri James, Bisola Marignay, Cassandra McConnell, Cynthia Newbille, Lorretta Ross, Elizabeth Terry, ‘Able’ Mable Thomas, Winnette P. Willis, and Kim Youngblood, came together to build out this framework. The collective agreed that the current reproductive rights movement was not reflective of their lives, interests, worldview, and identities. It was clear that a national movement led by marginalized women, families, and communities was required. On August 16, 1994, WADRJ collected an estimated $40,000 to run a full-page ad that served as a historic RJ statement with 800+ signatures in The Washington Post and Roll Call.

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Rooted in a human rights framework created by the United Nations, Reproductive Justice combines reproductive rights and social justice.

RJ recognizes that a choice framework could never capture the needs of Black women and Black people because the world we live in places limitations on all the “choices'' we make about our reproductive health. This is why RJ looks at the totality of our lives and came up with 3 core pillars/tenants which includes:

The right to have a child

The right to not have a child The right to parent our children in safe & healthy environments GGE | Reproductive Justice Memo

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THE SUPREME COURT

& REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), an appeal of the criminal conviction of the executive director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut for providing contraceptives to married couples, the Supreme Court found that a state statute making it a crime to use birth control violated married couples’ right to privacy. In Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972) that right was extended to single people. These cases set the precedent for the landmark case Roe v.

Wade (1973), when the Supreme Court struck down the taxes law that made it a crime to perform an abortion unless a woman’s life was at stake. In its ruling, the court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy and determined the right to privacy was broad enough to encompass the right to an abortion.

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Today, the fight for reproductive justice continues.

On December 1st, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case challenging Mississippi’s most recent abortion ban. This bill would ban abortions after 15 weeks, a time period in which not every person is unaware that they are even pregnant. In other cases, that simply is not enough time for a pregnant person to save enough money to afford an abortion and depending on your state it can make going through that states barriers to abortion even more difficult. Mississippi’s attorney general has asked the court for two options: to undo Roe v. Wade or modify the ruling so that protections around having an abortion before fetal viability are removed. If Roe v.

Wade is overturned abortion access would be left up to each state. State by state control will be a disaster because it will further marginalize the people in those states. We will see a rise in abortion related deaths, criminalization, and extreme lack of privacy between doctors and patients, and so much more.

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Twenty-six states

are expected to ban or restrict access to abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

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Within those 26 states, eight states have unenforceable pre-Roe v. Wade bans in place that could go back into effect.

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Nine states have proposed restrictions that are currently deemed unconstitutional but could go into effect without the protections from Roe.

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Eleven states have 6-week bans that are currently not in effect, and one state — Texas — has a 6-week ban in effect.

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GIRLS FOR GENDER EQUITY'S

PATH TO REPRODUCTIVE

JUSTICE

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Girls for Gender Equity’s advocacy, community organizing, and cultural shift work began with the belief that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 could be used to provide health and wellness for Black girls in Central Brooklyn. We soon realized that sexual violence was the biggest barrier to Black girls’ safety, wellbeing, and bodily autonomy.

For 20 years, Girls for Gender Equity has centered the lived experiences of cis and trans girls and gender nonconforming girls of color, combatting gender and racial violence. We do this work through legal, policy, healing justice and intergenerational organizing efforts.

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THEORY OF CHANGE

IF we center and uplift cis and trans girls of color and gender nonconforming youth of color through programs, campaigns, and initiatives grounded in 1) Black feminism, 2) a strengths-based and intergenerational eco-systemic social work approach, 3) positive youth development model, and 4) popular education, THEN an emerging critical mass of folks dedicated to gender and racial justice will lead an intergenerational movement to end structural, raced-gender based violence, exclusion, and discrimination, BECAUSE we believe supporting the positive, holistic, and critically conscious leadership development of young folks with a gender lens will help young folks use their expertise to spur transformative change for individuals, schools, communities, cities, and states, with national and global impact.

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Black girls have never been a political priority in this country, but here at GGE, they are the foundation of everything.

Our 20 year long history at GGE begins with Black girls. After an 8 year-old girl is raped in the community while walking to school (Dec 2001), parents and youth plan a march, and GGES evolves to become a non-profit working to end violence against girls and women. GGES raises community awareness in response to the threat to Title IX. In 2005, Paul Robeson H.S. asked GGE to create a program for high school girls, and Sisters in Strength began. The first cohort organizes a dance to raise funds for local domestic violence shelters and facilitates workshops with guest speakers talking about topics like economic empowerment, college readiness, and legal issues.

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In 2011, GGE wrote and released Hey, Shorty! A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets. GGE is selected for the first Move to End Violence cohort, a 10-year initiative designed to strengthen collective capacity to end violence against girls and women in the US.

This all leads us to the creation of the Black Girl Bill of Rights, which similarly applies a human rights framework to Black youth.

Created in 2015, our Black Girl Bill of Rights states that Black girls have “The right to real sex education, contraception, tampons, and pads and the right to agency and control over our own bodies in every space.”

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As a result of our participatory action research project (PAR) in 2018 the “Schools Girls (5) Deserve” policy agenda was published. This research was done in collaboration with a variety of young people in all five boroughs of New York City. We held listening sessions with 120 participants aged 9-23 from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. We found that young people want more culturally responsive curriculum, girls and TGNC youth of color expressed a desire for a curriculum that includes comprehensive sex education.

A National Agenda for Black Girls was launched in 2019 with the goal of building political momentum and centering the voices and policy priorities of Black girls and gender expansive youth. Youth activists and Girls for Gender Equity identified six policy priorities that speak to the needs of Black girls nationwide, with the understanding that policies that address the needs of Black girls will serve to address the human rights needs for all. One of those policy priorities is “healing, wellbeing, and reproductive justice.”

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We have long advocated for Black girls to have access to culturally affirming mental health support which includes access to affordable mental health and physical health care. These two major campaign movements reflected reproductive justice needs, proving that GGE has always been a leading voice prioritizing Black youth.

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GGE has also advocated against stigmatizing pregnant and parenting students and proposed rules on discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

In 2019, we wrote a letter to the New York City Commission on Human Rights commenting on the proposed amendments to Title 47 of the Rules of the City of New York. We offered two recommendations (1) Broaden examples of violations to address additional public accommodations scenarios; and (2) Broaden the definition of “sexual or reproductive health decisions” to include the full scope of health decisions to include neutral language or the absence of seeking services. In addition, GGE has given testimony and written letters in support of pregnant and parenting students having access to education, resources, and support needed to engage and feel welcome in school. These rights are in clear alignment with the broader reproductive justice movement. In fact, similar demands were made in the 2021 Black Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda.

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GGE’s dedication to Black girls and gender expansive youth is not only reflected in the policy recommendations we provide but also in our programming.

Sisters In Strength (SIS) began in 2004 introducing cis and trans girls to community organizing and training. This program was reimagined into a survivorship space for survivors and their allies, focused on providing a healing and organizing space for young survivors of sexual abuse and gender based violence. Born out of the landmark Young Women’s Initiative, the Young Women’s Advisory Council (YWAC) engages young people in the work of informing institutional change by giving expert testimony, building policy recommendations, and organizing for the transformative change they imagine is necessary to live self-determined lives. Most recently, we launched JustUs, a gender-responsive diversion program for cisgender and transgender girls and gender nonconforming young people ages 15-20 that have ties to Brooklyn and are either involved, or at high risk of involvement, in the juvenile legal system. In 2021, GGE launched the Youth Speaker's Bureau as a program to engage our alumni youth in further organizing opportunities. Throughout all of our direct service programming, we have always had a stipend policy that includes paying for childcare of all young people parenting and participating in GGE (7) programs.

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FEDERAL LOBBYING GGE | Reproductive Justice Memo

In 2022, GGE gave public support to endorse the 2021 Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), a bill that protects the right to access abortion free from medically unnecessary restrictions and bans on abortion— including mandatory waiting periods, biased counseling, two-trip requirements, and mandatory ultrasounds. WHPA would create a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care, and a corresponding right for their patients to receive that care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion and impede access. The work at GGE has always been intertwined with reproductive justice as the work has always been about the self determination, bodily autonomy, wellness, and safety of Black women, girls, and GNC youth.

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RELEVANT LEGISLATION GGE | Reproductive Justice Memo

The Reproductive Health Act in New York State (RHA), which became law in early 2019, protects and expands coverage for reproductive health. The law ensures that abortion would be viewed and treated as healthcare, rather than as a criminal act as it was previously. It also held New York City up to the standard of Roe v. Wade, ensuring access to care throughout pregnancy when their health or life is at risk, or when a pregnancy is not viable.

RHA improves access to safe and affordable care, particularly for lowincome and rural communities. RHA protects abortion providers and expands who can provide an abortion: abortion care is no longer limited to doctors, and advanced practice clinicians, like nurse practitioners, can perform abortions.

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REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE is for Black Girls & Gender Expansive Youth.

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Girls for Gender Equity fully supports the 2021 Women’s Health Protection Act and New York Cities Reproductive Health Act. Girls for Gender Equity understands that these are two critical pieces of legislation that will support our communities if or when Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court this year.

Legality alone has never been enough — we are fighting for policies that free abortion from unnecessary legal restrictions, fund clinics, and make abortion available and affordable. We are fighting to remove the barriers to parenthood as well, including poverty, patriarchal violence, queer & transphobia, imperialism, white supremacy, ableism, and more. By ensuring abortion is truly about agency and choice, we must continue to look at the wide range of reasons that people move towards abortion. We know that in some cases it is because a pregnant person truly does not want or cannot have a child. We know in other cases this decision is made in response to the material reality of a person's life.

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Many amazing organizing efforts have been made towards reproductive justice all over the country, including but not limited to policy changes.

However, youth-led reproductive justice efforts and the needs of youth are still extremely lacking across the board.

In most cases, when people speak of reproductive rights and justice, youth are seen as an afterthought and Black girlhood is erased from these debates, conversations, and data. GGE has always known this, and that is why we do the work we do. Our organization is dedicated to thinking through the problems in our society with a youth lens and dedicated to listening to youth as well.

Throughout our extensive work, we have highlighted the substantial reproductive justice needs of young people.

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Young people need access to the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare services including comprehensive sex education, contraception, maternity care, pre-natal care, and abortion. They also need support in their parenting via welfare policies such as expansion with housing vouchers, food stamps, and WIC programs.

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When they do become parents, young people are disproportionately affected by waiting periods, inability to travel, work limitations, affordability and stigma. Due to historical racism and sexism, Black women and girls have more stigmatized experience with motherhood and parenthood, leaving teen pregnancy amongst Black girls extremely unsupported materially and culturally.

Pregnant and parenting Black youth must be supported in making their own reproductive choices, and they must be safe from gender-based violence that infringes on their rights and bodily autonomy. They deserve the same opportunities to continue their education, gain employment, and receive affirming and accessible healthcare.

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GENDER EXPANSIVE

Trans, gender non-conforming, nonbinary, and gender expansive young people young people also face extreme barriers to full spectrum reproductive healthcare and support with motherhood and parenthood.

Trans youth have been under relentless attack: just last month, the government of Texas announced a policy that would criminalize the parents of trans children/young people for seeking affirmative care. In fact, we have seen a tremendous increase in anti-trans bills alone.

These attacks make it impossible for trans/GNC young people to achieve self-determination and bodily autonomy. Trans and GNC youth are struggling to access genderaffirming care and medication needs, which is a reproductive violation.

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SEX WORK Sex work decriminalization is an ongoing fight in this country. The Center for Court Innovation conducted a national study on Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade led by Rachel Swaner, Melissa Labriola, Michael Rempel, Allyson Walker, and Joseph Spadafore. Young people engage in sex work both willing and due to material circumstances. This is a fact that is largely ignored in most debates, but the study found when they asked the young people at what age they first had sex in exchange for money or some other good the average age was 16 while others ranged from 6-24 years old. 75% reported an entry into sex work as younger than 18. We know that sex workers are subject to violence from buyers and community members, they are faced with shame, and other life altering circumstances.

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People enter into sex work for many different reasons. It is important to understand that consent is not a binary.

This graphic from the Decriminalizing Survival: Policy Platform and Polling on the Decriminalization of Sex Work, highlights the spectrum: (10)

Here you can see the clear differences between choice, circumstance, and coercion.

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So how does criminalization happen in the US?

Here are a few ways:

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Charge

Who or What is criminalized

Prostitution

Sale of sex

Patronizing prostitution

Purchase of sex

Brothel-keeping

Renting spaces to or living with people in the sex trade

Promoting or permitting prostitution

Providing services to sex workers, living or associating with sex workers

Pandering, loitering for the purposes of prostitution

Advertising, occupying public space

Soliciting

Offering to buy or sell sex Table Source: Lou, Nina.

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DECRIMNOW

DecrimNOW is a campaign that understands the ways in which criminalizing sex work harms sex workers of all ages.

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The criminalization of sex work harms sex workers and disproportionately impacts Black sex workers and Black LGBTQ sex workers. This same report reveals that police strategies such as stings, raids, and busts are incredibly harmful. Sex workers report being abused, misgendered, and sexually assaulted by the same officers sent to “protect” them.

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The decriminalization of sex work best promotes the rights and safety of people in the sex trades. It reduces state-based violence, removes people from cycles of arrest, incarceration, criminal records, and/or deportation that prevent them from accessing healthcare and building economic stability, allows people in the sex trades to seek legal remedies for violence and exploitation, and encourages sex workers to negotiate and organize for safety and better working conditions.

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This makes decriminalization a reproductive justice concern, and it is a concern that an organization dedicated to youth cannot ignore.

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POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

We support the recommendations made by the ACLU on decriminalization:

GGE | Reproductive Justice Memo

We should fully decriminalize consensual sex work by eliminating all criminal penalties for sellers and buyers.

Remove all criminal penalties for youth who participate in sex work, but not for adults who exploit youth.

Police officers should not be targeting sex workers and trans people.

Laws like SESTA/FOSTA that prevent sex workers from screening clients and discussing safety online should be removed.

Policy makers should listen to sex workers.

Divesting from police and investing in community-based health care and housing initiatives is critical to sex worker safety.

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CONCLUSION

We believe that young people are the experts of their own lives and best equipped to make decisions about their reproductive health and futures with the support of affirming and trained professionals. Research has shown that laws that remove the agency of young people disproportionately impact Black girls, young girls of color, and trans/GNC youth; thus, endangering their health and safety. Girls for Gender Equity takes a Black feminist, abolitionist, youthcentered approach to reproductive justice. We believe that a reproductive revolution will happen in this lifetime and we will continue to empower Black girls to lead that revolution in pursuit of the world's reproductive liberation.

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KEY DATA POINTS

36 states currently enforce laws that require a young person to notify or obtain consent from one or both parents before they can receive abortion care.

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3 states (Kansas, Mississippi, and North Dakota) require both parents to consent.

8 states require that the consent document be notarized.

11 states require parental notification only; 5 states require both consent and notification.

21 states require parental involvement even if the minor is a victim of incest.

The only way for minors to access abortion without involving their parents in 36 states is via judicial bypass, where they must petition the courts for permission.

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A majority of Americans support young people’s selfautonomy and right to make decisions about their sexual and reproductive health without their parent’s involvement.

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The Supreme Court ruled that states cannot give parents absolute veto over their child’s access to abortion.

Most state allow a judicial bypass procedure that requires a minor to receive court approval for an abortion without their parents knowledge or consent.

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RELEVANT LEGISLAATION

Protect Black Women and Girls Act of 2020 (H.R. 8196) This bill establishes an Interagency Task Force to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls to identify and assess the policies and programs designed to improve outcomes and to make recommendations to improve such policies and programs, specifically analyzing education, economic development, healthcare, justice, civil rights, and housing.

Other Relevant Legislation: Mommies Act The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Codify Title X family planning regulations Real Education for Healthy Youth Act PrEP Access and Coverage Act

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SOURCES 1

Reproductive Justice. Sister Song. Retrieved from: https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice

2

Guerrero, Victoria. “The Black History of Reproductive Justice.”

Progress Texas, 25 Feb. 2021. https://progresstexas.org/blog/black-history-reproductivejustice

3

Ries, Julia. “What Happens If Roe v. Wade Is Overturned?”

Healthline, Healthline Media, 5 May 2022. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/what-could-happenin-the-u-s-if-roe-v-wade-is-overturned#Many-states-couldban-or-restrict-abortion

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Nash, Elizabeth, et al. “26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion without Roe: Here's Which Ones and Why.” Guttmacher Institute, 21 Apr. 2022. https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2021/10/26-states-arecertain-or-likely-ban-abortion-without-roe-heres-whichones-and-why

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6

Girls for Gender Equity.” Schools Girls Deserve.” Girls for Gender Equity, 2017 https://ggenyc.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/11/GGE_school_girls_deserveDRAFT6FINA LWEB.pdf Girls for Gender Equity. https://campaigns.ggenyc.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/01/GGE-Comments-NYC-Commissionon-Human-Rights-Title-47-2.pdf

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SOURCES 7

Youth Led Programs, Girls For Gender Equity. Retrieved from: https://ggenyc.org/programs/

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“Legislative Tracker: Anti-Transgender Legislation Filed for the 2022 Legislative Session.” Freedom for All Americans, https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/antitransgender-legislation/

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Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade: A National Study. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/249952.pdf

10

Lou, Nina. “Decriminalizing Survival: Policy Platform and Polling on the Decriminalization of Sex Work”, Data for Progress, 2022, https://www.filesforprogress.org/memos/decriminalizing-sexwork.pdf

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ACLU. “ACLU Analysis Finds Decriminalizing Sex Work Improves Public Health and Public Safety.” American Civil Liberties Union, 16 Oct. 2020, https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/acluanalysis-finds-decriminalizing-sex-work-improves-publichealth-and-public-safety

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Sakay, Yasemin Nicola. “Resources to Get Abortion Help in Texas: Funding, Travel, Advice.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 9 Sept.

2021, https://www.healthline.com/health-news/texas-abortionlaw-what-are-my-options-now

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS GGE | Reproductive Justice Memo

Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) is an 20year-old organization building the political power of Black femmes, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming youth. GGE works intergenerationally to center cis and trans-Black girls and young women and gender-expansive youth of color through policy, advocacy, direct service, and culture shift to achieve gender and racial justice through a Black feminist lens.

Toni Wilson Director of Organizing twilson@ggenyc.org Breya M. Johnson Deputy Director of Organizing bjohnson@ggenyc.org ggenyc.org | natagenda4blackgirls.org Find us on Instagram & Twitter: @GGENYC

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