Re: Legislative Advocacy and Survivors

["Portia Davis, Executive Director" <portia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Julie,

I would suggest that you strongly consider interviewing survivors of
DV/child abuse and those who have addressed poverty issues to see how they
feel their own experiences of providing testimony to government bodies.  I
can provide you with names of people who have testified.  I can 100% assure
you that it is empowering to survivors to testify before governmental bodies
about these issues.

I have worked in grassroots advocacy for 26 years addressing issues of
poverty for women and minority males and with survivors of DV and child
abuse.

I have organized at the city, county, state and federal levels to assist in
bringing folks together to provide testimony.

I have witnessed folks who were shaking in their boots at the mere thought
of speaking in public transform into very empowered folks who knew that they
did make a difference as a result of providing their own personal
experiences and by providing solutions to law makers and those who develop
policy around these issues

I believe that there is a very profound difference in testifying before
legislatures and being a witness in court.  Providing legislative testimony
is much less traumatic.  The witness is not likely to be badgered by a
defense type attorney.  Yes, they may be questioned by an opposing panel
member, but not in the same hostile way that a defense attorney would attack
a witness on the stand in a trial.

Portia A Davis, Executive Director
The Ross County Network For Children
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/3648/
-----Original Message-----
From: Julie Steen, MSW <jsteen@lsi.fsu.edu>
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
<CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
Date: Friday, September 24, 1999 4:48 PM
Subject: Legislative Advocacy and Survivors


> I am beginning the first stage of creating a dissertation topic.  I have
>an idea of what I would like to focus on but am unsure if there is any
>knowledge base in the literature to build a dissertation upon.  I am not
>finding any literature that is directly related to my research question.
>
>My research questions are based on the following.  I have worked in the
>field of legislative advocacy and have seen people testify before
>legislative committee, where they recount their experiences of domestic
>violence and child abuse.  I have two primary questions:  Is this traumatic
>or empowering for these survivors to testify before the legislature?  What
>factors make this testimony more or less traumatic?  Would you say that
>this type of testimony is similar to the testmony in court, in terms of
>trauma experienced by the person testifying?
>
>I am hoping that through this research, the field of advocacy can gain
>insight into how advocacy can be successfully accomplished without
>sacrificing the emotional health of survivors or other consumers of social
>serives.
>
>Does anyone have any ideas of where I can go to get information on this
>topic?  If you have information on how to do advocacy while actively
>involving other consumers, such as families affected by disabilities,
>mental illness, or poverty, that information might also be helpful.
>
>Thank you.
>
>Julie Steen
>Florida State University
>
>
>