Women of Color have worked in and been an integral part of the anti-violence against women movement since its inception, and have participated in the building of culturally and linguistically specific programming for victim/survivors. Throughout the years, many Women of Color have reported feeling silenced, excluded, stereotyped and marginalized within their anti-violence organizations. Women of Color experience these as barriers to their professional ascension; however, far too little research has been conducted on this subject.
In 2010, the Women of Color Network engaged in a nation-wide survey on the experiences of WOC executives in the domestic violence and sexual assault movements, which identified real issues and patterns to that must be addressed in order to promote leadership of WOC in the anti-violence movement. This report outlines survey findings and action steps.