Grieving, Fuming, and Resisting

Submitted on November 15, 2016
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Last week, our world faced a devastating blow. A campaign built on sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamaphobia, ableism, anti-Native and anti-environmental sentiments, and general hate was victorious. The weight of the future, which we carry daily and work to transform, feels infinitely heavier than days prior. But now that there are new threats to our united future, our work and the work of sexual and reproductive justice organizations and activists has even more significance.

Esto es una imagen. En la imagen se muestra una escalera con mensajes pintados en los peldaños.Waking up on Wednesday morning felt like having the ground on which we were standing fall out from under us. Sexual and reproductive justice is threatened by the new US administration, and as an organization focused on global, regional, and national change, this is indeed a terrifying situation. But we at Balance continue our work to transform the context of sexual and reproductive justice. We encourage that all activists in this arena feel emboldened to resist.

We resist by empowering women leaders with HIV and young activists, providing the tools and planning assistance they need to take control over their lives and bodies within their own communities. We resist by engaging in public policies and political action nationally and internationally, so that we have a direct impact on regions where sexual and reproductive rights are threatened. We resist by giving women who have an unwanted pregnancy the ability to exercise their right to choose. We resist by teaching youth about their sexual and reproductive rights, so that the next generation is motivated to transform, without age as a limiting factor. We believe in the future, and we resist.

To all our allies in the US, to all of the amazing women, youth, gender-nonconforming folk, LGBTQ+ folk, sex workers, and individuals with HIV, we know you are worried about your safety and future. Know that we are proud of you and that we are working for you. Know that you have power, though sometimes you may feel weak. Know that the future can be transformative, equal, and just. We are here for you and we resist with you.