Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center - Womens Justice Circles

Women's Justice Circles

General Information

From the Justice for
Women Coordinator

List of Circles

Newsletter

Testimonials

Collaborators & Funders

Women's Justice Circles

The Justice Circles will begin again this fall.

Would you like to share your experiences and gain organizing skills while forming relationships with women who have a shared vision of justice? Join a Women's Justice Circle and come share and learn with us as we take action against injustices that concern us all.

Fall 2009 Campaña Quetzal Site Action and Story

Article: Community Garden Started by Nuestra Casa Volunteers

For a brochure contact IPJC: ipjc@ipjc.org or 206.223.1138

Each Women's Justice Circle...

Positions low-income women in leading roles.
Creates a space for women's voices to be heard
Builds partnerships with churches, hospitals, colleges, or community organizations and strengthens social networks for community support.
Fosters mutual and respectful relationships among participants.
Discovers participants' collective power.
Teaches basic community organizing skills.
Empowers women to take action for change.
Is offered in Spanish or English.

To date, we have coordinated over 160 Circles throughout the state, including Eastern, Central and Western Washington, as well as Western Oregon.

Watch the story of Women's Justice Circles!

11/06/09 interview with Jaime Méndez, news anchor from Noticias Noroeste

The Women's Justice Circle Process

Women’s Justice Circles partner low-income women with women collaborators from parishes, health care, educational settings and other community groups for the purpose of empowering low-income women to take action on an issue important to them and their families.

Each Circle meets for 8 weeks once a week for two hours, during which the low-income women and their women collaborators progress from community building and naming the issues to developing communication and leadership skills and planning a course of action.

Each gathering includes the following: ritual and song, reflection and sharing, and basic grassroots organizing skill-building.

There is no fee to participate; the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center (IPJC) provides all the materials, training, support, and childcare if needed.

Circle 1: Creating Community for Change: Get acquainted, name women’s justice issues.
Circle 2: In the Company of Powerful Women: Build relationships, claim our power.
Circle 3: Building Blocks and Stumbling Blocks: Explore diversity, choose a justice issue.
Circle 4: Collaborative Power: Learn techniques for collaboration, choose an action for justice through a consensus-building process.
Circle 5: Leadership in the Team: Learn about leadership skills/styles in the group, plan strategies for action.
Circle 6: Working like a River: Organize and rehearse for the action, share personal and group goals.
Circle 7: Stand Up, Sisters: Take action! Talk to a legislator, write letters, organize an event.
Circle 8: Celebration!: Celebrate the work, look at ways to use women’s organizing energy.