By Rise, November 1, 2022
At Rise, the vast majority of parents impacted by the family policing system are Black and brown women who are survivors of domestic violence (DV), intimate partner violence (IPV) and/or sexual violence. Every year, many—if not most—parents in our Rise & Shine Parent Leadership Program write about and/or discuss experiences of domestic violence, sexual abuse and/or intimate partner violence in connection to their experience with the family policing system, a more accurate term than “child welfare” system. Our intention in sharing stories in our programs and in this publication series is to hold space for each other and to honor each person’s story and what it means to them to share it. Often, parents choose to write or talk about these painful experiences and to build our advocacy skills out of a desire to support other people going through similar experiences—and to further our healing, reclaim our stories and push for meaningful societal and policy changes to prevent harm and support families.
Rise has been preparing for three years to launch this series on the intersection of family policing and domestic violence. As we publish it, we are continuing to explore strategies for preventing and addressing violence and harm. We are learning in community by sharing our experiences and listening to other parents, engaging in participatory action research and organizing, interviewing community groups, reading, writing, listening to podcasts and joining trainings and webinars. While we do not pretend to provide simple or quick solutions, we will share our experiences, what we are learning and who we are learning from, the restorative and transformative justice and survivor- and BIPOC community-led approaches we are discussing, and tools and resources we are finding helpful. We hope the series will deepen your understanding of DV/IPV and family policing and motivate you to take action and support community-based safety strategies.
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