AFG Recap | IGNITE the Capitol Day 2022

Alliance for Girls (AFG) launched Sexual Assault Awareness lastmonth by co-hosting the “IGNITE the Capitol” day, which brought together 100 girls to Sacramento to advocate for their safety on public transit, online, and in the housing space. AFG partnered with IGNITE to co-host their annual Ignite the Capitol event, which brings girls, gender-expansive youth, and allies from across California to advocate for bills and issues that impact them. The event on April 4, brought together over 100 youth with almost 20 youth from AFG member organizations such as Unity Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and Oakland Lacrosse Club attending. At the event, youth advocated to the offices of 10 elected officials for radical safety on transit, online, and in housing access through the following bills:

• SB 1161 will require California’s 10 largest transit districts to recognize street harassment as a rider safety concern; collect data on ridership safety and harassment, and create data-driven solutions based on the ridership experiences of women and other vulnerable communities on public transit systems.
• AB 2053 Social housing bill which forms the California Housing Authority to advance equitable access to housing for low-income communities through mixed-income housing models. 
• SB 53 would create a private right of action against any person who knows or reasonably should know that the lewd image transmitted is unsolicited. This will establish legal protections for technology users when they receive unsolicited sexually explicit images and videos—known as ‘cyber flashing.’

Youth who attended the event were empowered to speak with their elected officials about issues that matter to them. AFG staff held space for the youth to get trained in advocacy 101 before they went to their meetings. This event is a part of the AFG advocacy program goal which is to facilitate collective advocacy  with members for systemic change that creates radical safety for girls and gender-expansive youth at the local and state level in California. The bills supported through this event connect directly to key needs from Alliance for Girls' most recent reports:  Radical Visions of Safety for Girls by Girls and Uniting Isolated Voices: Girls & Gender Expansive Youth During COVID-19. Check out pictures from the event here.