Posted on February 13, 2023
Democracy Now!: Covering the Movements Changing America, and the World
Note from the CREDO team: This February, Democracy Now! is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO community will help produce its independent news hour, bringing tens of millions of people critical information about war and peace, threats to democracy, the climate crisis, abortion rights, gun control and more.
Read this important blog post from Amy Goodman, then click here to visit CREDODonations.com to cast your vote to help determine how we distribute our monthly grant to this organization and our other amazing grantees this February.
Going to where the silence is. That’s the responsibility of a journalist: giving a voice to those who have been forgotten, forsaken and beaten down by the powerful. It is the best reason I know to carry our pens, cameras and microphones out to the world.
When you hear someone speaking for themselves—whether it’s an elder from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe or an aunt in Afghanistan—it challenges the stereotypes that fuel division and hate. It’s not that you have to agree with what you hear. How often do we agree with our own family members? But you start to understand where a person is coming from. That understanding is the beginning of peace.
The media can be the greatest force for peace on Earth. Instead, all too often, it’s wielded as a weapon of war.
That’s why Democracy Now! is fighting to take the media back from government interests and corporations that, in the words of George Gerbner, late dean of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, “have nothing to tell and everything to sell.”
On February 19, 1996, Democracy Now! aired for the first time on nine community radio stations. It was the only national daily election show in public broadcasting.
When the 1996 election wrapped up, we thought that Democracy Now! would wrap up as well. But there was more demand for the show after the elections than before. Why? People are hungry for real solutions and authentic voices—not just the same handful of pundits on the network shows who know so little about so much, explaining the world to us and getting it so wrong.
This month Democracy Now! is celebrating 27 years of independent reporting. Over the past quarter-century, our daily, global news hour has become one of the leading independent news outlets in the world, broadcasting on more than 1,500 public TV and radio stations around the world and reaching tens of millions of people through our website, www.democracynow.org, and our social media channels. We also have a Spanish-language website, www.democracynow.org/es.
When we report on the climate emergency, our coverage isn’t brought to you by the oil, gas, coal and nuclear companies. When we cover war, our reporting isn’t sponsored by the weapons manufacturers. Our journalism is powered by the people, which gives us the editorial freedom to report on the issues that matter most: war and peace, the climate crisis, abortion rights, gun control, immigration, racism and police brutality, wealth inequality, LGBTQ rights, healthcare and much more.
Democracy Now! recently interviewed pioneering legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw about The College Board’s revision of its Advanced Placement African American studies high school curriculum, which removed Black Lives Matter, reparations and queer theory as required topics. The new curriculum was released on the first day of Black History Month, the same day as the funeral of 29-year-old Black father Tyre Nichols, killed by Memphis police last month. It also came after Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis banned the original AP Black studies class in Florida schools. The College Board, the nonprofit organization that administers Advanced Placement courses across the country, denies that it buckled to political pressure.
“Anybody who’s concerned about our democracy, anyone who’s concerned about authoritarianism has to wake up and pay attention to this, because this is how it happens,” Crenshaw told Democracy Now! Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” to study the overlapping or intersecting social identities and systems of oppression, domination or discrimination people experience.
Watch our full interview with Kimberlé Crenshaw here.
We also recently interviewed filmmaker Shaunak Sen about his Oscar-nominated documentary, All That Breathes, which follows two brothers who rescue black kite birds in New Delhi. The brothers have saved about 25,000 black kites from the dirty air in India’s capital over the last 15 years. “When you live in the city of Delhi, you’re almost always preoccupied with the air,” said Sen, who explained why he centered the film on the brothers and purposely stayed away from obvious environmental and political messages. “The idea is to open the conversation and not close it,” he said. All That Breathes became the only film ever to win the best documentary prize at both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals last year.
In these challenging times, as we face innumerable threats to our democracy—from the overturning of Roe v. Wade to election denialism to the climate crisis—we need a media that covers power, not covers for power.
We need a media that is the fourth estate, not for the state.
And we need a media that covers the movements that create static and make history. That is the power of independent media.
That is a media that will save us.
Democracy Now!
Posted on February 8, 2023
How Evergreen Action Is Leading the Fight for Bold Climate Action
Note from the CREDO team: This February, Evergreen Action is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO community will help Evergreen engage directly with federal and state officials to pass and implement ambitious climate policies to defeat the climate crisis and build a thriving, just, and inclusive clean energy future.
Read this important blog post from Evergreen Action’s Jamal Raad, then click here to visit CREDODonations.com to cast your vote to help determine how we distribute our monthly grant to this organization and our other amazing grantees this February.
The climate crisis is both an extraordinary challenge and an enormous opportunity to create a better, more equitable future.
Almost three years ago, we launched Evergreen Action with a mission to create an all-out mobilization to defeat the climate crisis and accelerate the transition to a just and equitable economy run on 100 percent clean energy.
Since then, we have successfully influenced the national climate policy landscape in a big way by developing bold climate policy and pairing it with campaign-style communications, digital, and advocacy tactics. The Biden administration has adopted significant pieces of our Evergreen Action Plan, our climate roadmap, and we helped play a pivotal role in the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which represents the largest climate investments ever made in our nation’s history.
Our policy vision is guided by three North Stars on our mission to defeat the climate crisis: Raising standards, catalyzing investment, and centering justice.
- Raising Standards: A standard establishes the date by which the most polluting sectors of our economy must achieve 100 percent clean energy. We write bold, actionable roadmaps for policymakers that lay out stringent clean energy standards in places like the power sector to cut dangerous carbon pollution. For example: By achieving 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, we can not only meet President Biden’s climate commitments—we can also decarbonize our homes, our cars, and some parts of heavy industry. That’s, well, powerful.
- Catalyzing Investment: Investments in a clean energy economy will ensure we meet those standards and put people to work in good union jobs. The Inflation Reduction Act was a huge step towards transformative investments in a clean energy future, and we’re already seeing the positive effects of this law in communities around the country today—with tax credits for home electrification, rebates for electric vehicles, a booming renewable energy industry, and much more. We’re fighting for investments like these, which create good jobs with family-supporting wages and benefits, uplift communities, and concretely improve lives.
- Centering and Advancing Justice: Prioritizing justice in our standards and investments helps to counter our nation’s legacy of economic, environmental and racial injustice, and jumpstart opportunities for people who have been left behind. We advocate for policies that both decrease greenhouse gas pollution and directly counter long-standing environmental racism, recognizing that the climate crisis is inextricably linked with the systemic racism that allows polluters to disproportionately impact communities of color.
The passage of the IRA was huge, but not enough. In the months and years ahead, we will work to ensure the effective implementation of the IRA and push for additional executive and state action to fully meet our climate, economic, and environmental justice goals.
This is a deeply exciting time to be in the climate movement. We’re at an inflection point in the fight for a thriving and just clean energy future, but our work is far from over. Together and with your support, we will continue to create the blueprint for exactly how federal and state policymakers can create a better future through actionable, ambitious climate policies that meet the political moment and the scale of the crisis.
You can learn more about our work and our impact at EvergreenAction.com.
Posted on February 6, 2023
Life After Hate is Making a Difference in Combating Violent Far-Right Extremism
Note from the CREDO team: This February, Life After Hate is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO community will help its crucial work to combat violent extremism. By interrupting violence committed to advance extremist beliefs, the organization can move toward a world that allows people to change and contribute to a society without violence.
Read this important blog post from LAH’s CEO Patrick R. Riccards then click here to visit CREDODonations.com to cast your vote to help determine how we distribute our monthly grant to this organization and our other amazing grantees this February.
Why Life After Hate?
Now, more than ever, our nation needs individuals and organizations who are committed to combating violent far-right extremism and who offer practical paths to help individuals disengage from their lives of violent and destructive hate, to a place where they can take accountability for their past actions, and reintegrate into society in meaningful, productive ways.
The United States continues to experience a surge in homegrown domestic terror incidents. This reality is flooded into our lives on a daily basis through social media platforms and news outlets. The deadly violence of domestic terrorism continues to threaten our nation on overwhelming levels. Today, violent far-right extremism (VFRE) assumes many forms. It is white supremacism, antisemitic, male supremacism, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-government, anti-Latino, anti-Asian, and it is all pro-hate.
Decades of research has concluded that individuals join VFRE because it provides them a place of belonging in a society where they feel disconnected and without hope.
It doesn’t have to be this way. For those who are prepared to account for their pasts, for those who are ready to leave their VFRE families behind, for those who are prepared to write a second chapter of their life focused on second chances and doing good, there is life after hate. Our efforts, and the results of our initiatives, demonstrate what is possible.
Life After Hate (LAH) is the leader in the violence intervention community in the United States. LAH is dedicated to helping individuals disengage and deradicalize from violent far-right extremist (VFRE) hate groups and online spaces.
To support this mission, LAH provides intervention services at the individual, family, and local community levels in conjunction with public education initiatives to weaken the growth and impact of violent extremist groups. Life After Hate’s work assists individuals find pathways away from hate and ideologically-driven violence.
Originally founded in 2011 by former violent extremists, today we are a growing team of community engagement leaders, mental health professionals, social workers, and Formers dedicated to helping individuals disengage from VFRE. This work is done through interventions, education, research and outreach.
Our Philosophy
Our crucial work in combating violent extremism is imperative to establish a safer and more resilient nation. Our clients come to us in various stages of disengagement from violent behavior; it can take months or years to completely disengage from VFRE and reintegrate into society. We assess and track progress at the individual level and aggregate data to identify trends, patterns and evidence to help measure our success. By interrupting violence committed to advance political, social, religious, or ideological beliefs, we are able to carry out our vision of moving toward a world that allows people to change and contribute to a society without violence.
What We Do
The only way to send VFRE into retreat is to help individuals identify what they need to leave hate and violence behind. More directly, we need to reduce the magnitude of VFRE and make it more difficult for new members to be recruited.
To accomplish our mission, Life After Hate offers a portfolio of resources, including our direct services program, ExitUSA™, and a range of complementary education and community engagement initiatives designed to amplify the work and findings of ExitUSA™.
ExitUSA™
ExitUSA™ is an intervention program addressing violent far-right extremism in the United States for individuals who are already radicalized by providing disengagement services and support for women, men, and families.
ExitUSA™ provides case management, life skills training, and peer mentoring services to individuals who are or have been involved in VFRE. ExitUSA™ also provides case management, skills training, and a bi-weekly psychoeducational support group for families or friends with loved ones involved in the violent far-right. Case management includes a comprehensive assessment, collaborative goal setting, and systematic identification and coordination of referrals and resources. Peer mentors work with clients to change violent far-right extremist beliefs, behaviors, and social networks to promote reintegration into society. Our work with clients is labor intensive and many of our clients are high-need, meaning they may require years of services.
Outreach, Education, and Research
We work diligently to ensure our staff and external partners have the training they require to handle the intricacies of the population we serve. Ongoing outreach and education is provided to mental health practitioners and social service providers who work with the specific needs of our clients in the state where they reside. Education and consultation is available to referral partners that we are working closely with such as, law enforcement, probation officers, correctional personnel, and state and regional threat assessment teams. These partners are able to offer support to individuals involved in and/or contemplating disengagement from VFRE. Life After Hate partners with researchers to facilitate better understanding of reasons people join and exit VFRE, which informs the ongoing development and implementation of our services and furthers our mission.
Posted on February 4, 2023
Our January grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups supporting gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and women and children displaced by crisis. In January, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation among Equal Rights Advocates, SAGE and Women’s Refugee Commission.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our January grant recipients thank you.
Equal Rights Advocates
“Thank you, CREDO supporters, for supporting gender equality and empowerment! Together, we can transform our communities into places where women, girls, and people of every gender identity have equal opportunities to lead and thrive.” – Noreen Farrell, Executive Director
To learn more, visit equalrights.org.
SAGE
“This funding will help SAGE build a long and fruitful future of helping and advocating for LGBTQ+ elders across the country. We are thrilled to support generations of elders to come with CREDO’s support.” – Michael Adams, Executive Director of SAGE
To learn more, visit sageusa.org.
Women’s Refugee Commission
“WRC breaks barriers for women, children, and others most at risk by working in partnership with those affected by conflict and crisis. Together, we ensure access to the services and opportunities necessary to rebuild their lives and thrive.” – Leila Rassekh Milani, JD. WRC Board of Directors; Program Director, Futures Without Violence
To learn more, visit https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in February, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on February 2, 2023
Survey Results: Which issues are most important to CREDO members?
CREDO members like you power our progressive movement — and your priorities help keep us working harder to make our world a better place.
That’s why, last month, we polled our members about which issues matter most to you to improve our philanthropy and donations program — which now totals over $94 million donated since 1985.
The response was incredible — thousands of you made your voices heard! — and here are the results.
We just want to begin by saying thank you so much to everyone who took a few minutes to fill out this important survey and left us with some very kind words. Here are a few of the wonderful notes we received:
“I love that CREDO is involved in donating to causes that make life better for us all.”
“Thank you for your work in making a better world!”
“You do excellent work. I’m very grateful for the help you give to worthy causes.”
“I think you are doing wonderful work. I wish more businesses had a greater social conscience like yours.”
Okay, now onto the results:
First, we asked our members about their political identity, and the results weren’t too surprising — we are the nation’s only progressive mobile company, after all — with more than 76% of respondents saying they are either “progressive” or “liberal,” while nearly 9% said “socialist” and a little more than 11% saying “moderate.” Less than one percent identify as conservative.
Next, we asked whether and how you are politically active. Nearly everyone responded that they took part in some sort of political activity, including signing petitions (84%), talking to loved ones about important issues (72%), volunteering (32%) and working to register voters (11%).
Now, to the big question of the survey: which issues are most important to CREDO members? We know it was incredibly hard to narrow down your picks to just three (all are so important!), but our members overwhelmingly chose climate justice, followed by voting rights, civil rights and women’s rights.
Next, we wanted to know what most concerns our members. Again, climate change and voting rights nearly tied as the top two answers, followed by gun violence and attacks on reproductive rights.
Finally, we wanted to know if you were aware that we donate to three progressive nonprofits every month, and if you have ever voted to help us distribute our funds among the groups. The answer was a resounding YES!
Again, thank you to everyone who shared their feedback with us to help strengthen our donations program. And speaking of which, if you haven’t yet cast your ballot this month for one, two or all three amazing groups, head over to CREDODonations.com and vote today!
Posted on February 1, 2023
Vote for Democracy Now!, Evergreen Action and Life After Hate
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly grant to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This February, you can support independent journalism, climate justice, and the fight against violent right-wing extremism by voting to fund Democracy Now!, Evergreen Action and Life After Hate.
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! is a daily, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Their reporting includes breaking news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the frontlines of today’s most pressing issues.
Funding from CREDO members would help Democracy Now! produce its independent news hour, bringing tens of millions of people critical information about war and peace, threats to democracy, the climate crisis, abortion rights, gun control and more.
Evergreen Action
Evergreen pairs bold policy products with campaign-style communications and advocacy tactics to drive positive change. The organization fights for a just and thriving clean energy economy through raising standards, catalyzing investment, and centering justice.
Funding from CREDO members will help Evergreen engage directly with federal and state officials to pass and implement ambitious climate policies to defeat the climate crisis and build a thriving, just and inclusive clean energy future.
Life After Hate
Life After Hate helps individuals disengage and deradicalize from violent far-right extremist (VFRE) hate groups and hateful online spaces.
Funding from CREDO members will help its crucial work to combat violent extremism. By interrupting violence committed to advance extremist beliefs, the organization can move toward a world that allows people to change and contribute to a society without violence.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donations among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by February 28.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and join our movement.
Posted on January 19, 2023
How to set up parental controls on your smartphone
Did you finally give in and purchase a new phone for a young person in your family — and you’re a little nervous about it?
We get it. There’s a lot of questionable content on the Internet, and there are real concerns about the social, emotional and educational issues that arise from excessive screen time.
The good thing is that there are tools that allow parents and caregivers to set boundaries and parental controls as your children test out their first phone. Here’s how to get started.
Set up Parental Controls on iPhone
On Apple devices, we recommend that you first set up Family Sharing so that you can manage your child’s screen time, purchases and other actions from your device. With Family Sharing, you can share subscriptions and locations, limit purchases, and of course, set up parental controls.
- To set up Family Sharing, go to Settings > > [your name] > Family Sharing, then follow the instructions to set it up.
- You can now add a family member to your family group. You may also need to create an Apple ID. Here’s how.
Now, you can set up parental controls. To set up Screen Time for a member of your family:
- Go to Settings > > [your name] > Family Sharing > Screen Time.
- Tap the child you want to set up Screen Time for.
- Tap Screen Time, then follow the onscreen instructions.
You can now go to your child’s device to set up Screen Time, safety, communications, content and privacy settings. Here’s a detailed explainer from Apple to adjust these settings.
Set up Parental Controls on Android
Like Apple devices, you can use the Family Link app on Android devices as a central place to control parental controls. This will allow you to create an account for your child, manage your child’s screen time and apps, know their location, and restrict access to certain content. Here’s how to get started:
- Download and install Family Link.
- Open the app on your device and follow the on screen instructions to get started.
- To begin managing the parental controls on your child’s device, follow these steps from Google to limit screen time, allow or block apps, and find their location. You will need access to your child’s device to complete the steps.
For additional information and troubleshooting, browse this help guide from Google.
Posted on January 12, 2023
New phone? Here’s how to transfer your data from your old phone to your new one
Did you or a loved one get a brand new mobile phone over the holidays — but you’re still not sure how to transfer your apps, photos, files, settings and everything else from your old phone to your new one?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Transferring your data to a new phone may seem daunting, but it’s incredibly easy once you get started, if you follow these simple tips.
Moving data from your old iPhone to a new iPhone
With the introduction of iOS 15, Apple has made transferring data to a new iPhone even easier than before, with a new feature called “Prepare for New iPhone.” This feature gives you free temporary cloud storage space for 21 days from when you initiate the transfer, so you have extra space to move all of your photos, videos, data and settings if you don’t have enough cloud storage space available under your current plan. To initiate:
- Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone
- Tap Get Started > Continue
- It may then ask you to tap Turn on Backup to Transfer if iCloud backup isn’t already running.
- If you haven’t backed up your iPhone to iCloud recently, this process may take a while but you can come back to check the status before proceeding to the next steps
Now, to transfer your data to your new iPhone, you will need to use “Quick Start.” Here’s how:
Before you start:
- Have your Apple ID and password ready.
- If you have an Apple Watch, unpair it from your old phone.
Transfer your data (courtesy of Apple)
- Choose a time when you will not need to use both your old and new devices. The process may take a little while.
- Make sure that your current device is connected to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is on. Turn on your new device and place it near your current device. Follow the onscreen instructions to get started. If the prompt to set up your new device disappears from your current device, restart both devices.
- Connect your device to Wi-Fi or your device’s cellular network.
- You might be asked to activate your cellular service.
- Set up Face ID or Touch ID.
- Choose how you want to transfer your data.
- If you download from iCloud, your apps and data download in the background so that you can start using your new device right away.
- If you transfer directly from your previous device, you’ll need to wait for the transfer to complete on both devices before you can use them.
- Keep your devices near each other and plugged in to power until the data migration process is complete. Transfer times can vary based on factors such as network conditions and the amount of data being transferred.
Moving data from your old Android device to a new one
Transferring your important information between two Android devices is just as simple. Here’s how to transfer your data from an older Android phone a newer one (courtesy of Google):
Before you begin:
- Charge both devices.
- Make sure you can unlock the old device with a PIN, pattern, or password.
- On your old device, Sign in with your Google Account.
- Backup your data.
- Ensure your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Now, transfer your data:
- Turn on your new device.
- Tap Start. If “Start” doesn’t display, you can copy your data manually.
- When asked, make sure you connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- Choose to copy apps and data from your old device.
- If you have a cable to connect your devices, follow the on-screen instructions to copy your data.
- If you don’t have a cable:
- Tap No cable? Ok.
- Tap A backup from an Android phone.
- To copy your data, follow the on-screen instructions.
How to transfer your data from iOS to Android — or Android to iOS
Some new and existing CREDO members sometimes make the switch from Android to a new iPhone, or vice-versa. While transferring data to a new operating system isn’t difficult, it does involve a few extra steps.
That’s why we have a separate blog post to walk you through this painless migration. Check out our previous post “How to migrate your phone’s data from Android to Apple iOS — and back.”
Posted on January 12, 2023
Win Without War is leading a movement to put people and the planet over war and profit, thanks to CREDO members
Our long-time grantee partners at Win Without War are at the forefront of a national movement to build a more progressive and just U.S. foreign policy that values people and the planet over war and profit.
In June 2022, CREDO members voted to donate $31,267 to help Win Without War push back on the war hawks and weapons contractors and grow our power to ensure true safety and security — for everyone, everywhere. Since 2017, CREDO and our members have donated $185,155 to the organization.
Powered in part by the generosity of CREDO and our members, Win Without War had some recent victories and launched some great new initiatives. Here’s a quick rundown from the organization:
Recent Victories
During the House vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last summer, 151 members of Congress voted to lop off $37 billion off the Pentagon budget. It’s a level of congressional support for cutting the Pentagon budget that just a few years ago would have been unthinkable — and it’s an unmistakable mile-marker that the era of unchecked, limitless Pentagon spending is coming to an end.
Win Without War activists also helped push back on a behind-the-scenes weapons lobby effort urging Congress to adjust already-signed, fixed-price contracts as part of “inflation relief” last fall. The organization made it clear that it’s our communities that need relief the most — not profit hungry weapons contractors.
As part of its NDAA work, Win Without War also successfully helped block millions of dollars for dangerous, unnecessary nukes: the B83 megaton bomb, a weapon 80 times more powerful than the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.
New Initiatives
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade last summer, Win Without War deepened its work to support reproductive rights. As part of that response, it ramped up efforts to repeal the Helms amendment, a law which effectively bans U.S. international funding for abortion-related activities — without exception. It is another reminder of the disastrous ways U.S. foreign policy negatively impacts peoples’ lives across the globe.
Throughout the fall the organization ran ads in support of the campaign, and when the Senate returned to DC after the August recess, Win Without War welcomed them back with a mobile billboard proclaiming a clear message: Abortion is STILL health care, everywhere.
Finally, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in October, Win Without War organized and led a webinar entitled “Breaking Down the Building Blocks of Endless War: Opportunities and Obstacles in 2022 and Beyond“ where Representative Barbara Lee and leading experts from across the movement discussed how we can finally tear up the Iraq war authorization — a key blank check for endless war.
If you’d like to learn more or get involved with Win Without War, please visit their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Posted on January 9, 2023
Putting Refugee Girls and Women First with The Women’s Refugee Commission
Note from the CREDO team: This January, The Women’s Refugee Commission is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO community will allow WRC to be more flexible, responsive, and relevant, especially in new and emerging crises where our expertise can help shape a gender-transformative response in real-time.
Read this important blog post about the organization’s critical work, then click here to visit CREDODonations.com to cast your vote to help determine how we distribute our monthly grant to this organization and our other amazing grantees this January.
From Afghanistan to Ukraine, from Ethiopia to Myanmar, more than 100 million people have been forced to flee, leaving behind their homes, their livelihoods, their dreams. Their very basic safety and security have been destroyed by violence, persecution, and human rights violations.
Yet, displaced people are resilient. They are survivors. Given the resources and support they need, they can rebuild their lives and thrive.
For more than 30 years, the Women’s Refugee Commission has worked to ensure that the inalienable rights and the needs of women, children, and young people displaced by conflict and disasters are prioritized in humanitarian response programs.
Before then, refugee women and children were all but invisible. The Women’s Refugee Commission set about to change that. We were the first organization to sit down with refugee women and ask them what they needed, what solutions they proposed. The feedback they shared formed the basis of our advocacy, and continues to do so today.
Our groundbreaking advocacy and research to advance gender equality and resilience have led to transformative changes in the response to conflicts and disasters. As a result, refugee women and young people now have greater access to sexual and reproductive health care from the very onset of an emergency. They are more likely to find safe, dignified work to support themselves and their families. Preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence, which is known to increase during conflict and crises, is now on the international agenda. Our pioneering study on child marriage in humanitarian settings provided the most robust evidence to date of the magnitude and the drivers of this violation of human rights. And our advocacy has been instrumental for people seeking asylum in the United States, including helping to reunite parents and children torn apart by the Trump administration’s family separation policy.
Underlying all our work to advance gender equality is a focus on affirming women’s agency and leadership, building self-reliance, and fostering inclusion of the voices of women, men, and young people in all their diversity, including displaced people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and older people, in decision-making. Our advocacy and research, and the practical training materials we have developed, have strengthened community resilience, bolstered efforts to engage local and national organizations in all phases of humanitarian action, and created the tools that promote greater economic and social justice for the most marginalized groups, working to level the playing field for everyone.
The Women’s Refugee Commission also plays an important convening role. We engage and partner with local and national organizations, humanitarian agencies, donors, and displaced people themselves to create a better world for refugees.
As conflict, COVID, and the climate crisis converge, and the needs of refugees have reached a historic high, the Women’s Refugee Commission’s focus on combining our powers of advocacy and research to achieve more sustainable and transformative humanitarian responses has never been more relevant or needed.
We remain committed to fighting for gender equality for displaced women and girls, and to leading a shift in humanitarian response—one that leverages refugees’ resilience and agency and helps them realize their fullest potential. Learn more about us at womensrefugeecommission.org.
