Resilience in Action: Our Journey Through 2022 and 2023
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Read the full2022-2023Impact Report |
Read our newest Impact Report Resilience in Action: Our Journey Through 2022 and 2023 - a testament to the enduring strength, hard work, and collective power of our communities.
It reflects our visionary leadership in decarceration, economic justice, and leadership development for those historically left out of systems of opportunity.
Letter from Amika Mota
As a co-founder and the first Executive Director of Sister Warriors, I am continually inspired by our members’ relentless fight for justice and dignity. We are a mighty team of warriors, many of us having endured the pain of incarceration and family separation, which gives us a deep understanding of the reality facing women and trans people of all genders behind California’s prison walls. We know that no one is coming for us but us, and we carry the voices and power of thousands of Sister Warriors with us into every room we enter. We are no longer asking for permission—we demand immediate change.
In 2022 and 2023, we worked tirelessly to end the widespread sexual violence by prison staff in women’s prisons. We spoke with 700 incarcerated people and produced a legislative report that informed policy changes to better protect those inside and respond to incidents of assault. We also launched our first ambassador program inside prisons to build a robust membership among incarcerated people.
The work over the past two years has been incredibly difficult. Many of us are triggered daily by the trauma we’ve experienced, yet we understand the power we must command to create the change we are charged with making. We are steadfast in our mission to realize Freedom 2030 and end the criminalization and incarceration of women, girls, and trans people of all genders in California. Our commitment is unwavering as we work to end state-sanctioned violence and create pathways for healing, re-entry, and reunification.
We take this work seriously, knowing that the path to freedom is in our hands. Together, we are demanding transformation, holding hope, and pushing forward toward a future where safety and justice belong to all of us.
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In Solidarity, Amika Mota Executive Director, Sister Warriors |
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Success In Numbers
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Freedom Charter #2We have the right to be free from sexual, gender based, and physical violence, abuse, and exploitation perpetrated by our families, partners, community, the State, and institutions. We have a right to defend ourselves from intimate, community, State, and institutional violence. |
Freedom Charter #14We have the right to be consulted when institutions want to create, revise, and eliminate policies, legislation, rules, or laws that will impact the way we experience systems. We are best positioned to identify alternatives to incarceration, criminalization, and family separation. We should have insight over the systems and institutions that most impact us. |
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Our Growth
In 2017, Young Women’s Freedom Center launched the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition as a strategy to build the collective power of women, girls, and trans people of all genders who had experienced incarceration, exploitation, and life on the streets. This initiative began with a gathering in Oakland, where members united to better understand the full extent of their criminalization. The goal was to develop solutions that addressed the root causes of gender-based violence, poverty, and mass incarceration. Building on the successes of Young Women’s Freedom Center, the coalition sought to expand its power by base-building across California and beyond. It became clear that the movement couldn’t just influence policy; it needed to center the lived experiences of its members as the true experts in radically reshaping society.
Over the past two years, the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition has seen significant growth, including expanding its membership inside California’s women’s prisons and hiring its first full-time staff team. The coalition has also become an officially fiscally sponsored project of the Freedom Center, further solidifying its infrastructure and capacity to drive change.
Making Strides in Policy Change
Amidst a tumultuous political climate, Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition informed and won the following policy bills toward our Freedom 2030 goal to end the incarceration and criminalization of women and trans people of all genders in California over the past two years.
